7.1.9—Sustainable natural capital use
- Syllabus
- First assessment 2026
- Objective
- 7.1.9
- Level
- SL
Two Rates Decide Sustainability
Sustainable natural-capital use must satisfy two rate limits: extraction must not exceed regeneration, and waste release must not exceed environmental transformation or safe assimilation.
| Pressure | Sustainable test | Failure pathway |
|---|---|---|
| Harvest or extraction | removal ≤ recruitment, recharge or regrowth | stock decline, habitat loss and livelihood insecurity |
| Polluting waste | release ≤ transformation or safe assimilation | accumulation, toxicity and degraded ecosystem services |
A fishery can remain within recruitment yet still be unsustainable if processing waste accumulates faster than the receiving water can transform it.
Measure both resource stock and waste sink; variability and delayed effects can make a safe-looking average misleading.
Keeping harvest below average regrowth does not excuse pollution or ecosystem damage elsewhere in the chain.