tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/resources-468/articlesResources – The Conversation2024-03-18T00:27:02Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2257892024-03-18T00:27:02Z2024-03-18T00:27:02ZHow safe are Australia’s mines? New analysis shows reform has been stalled for a decade<p>On Sunday August 7 1994, an <a href="https://www.publications.qld.gov.au/dataset/moura-mining-disaster-inquiry-reports/resource/a8e96409-52a3-4075-b4a6-b1224ecc8e63">explosion at the Moura No 2 underground coal mine</a> in Queensland led to the deaths of 11 miners. This tragedy was the catalyst for a major shakeup in the approach to safety in all kinds of mines around Australia over the late 1990s and early 2000s.</p>
<p>Since that time, we have seen <a href="https://data.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/interactive-data/industry/mining">major improvements in safety performance</a>. In 2003, there were 12.4 fatalities per 100,000 workers; a decade later the figure was down to 3.4.</p>
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<p>However, since then progress has slowed if not stalled. Despite the industry’s adoption of risk management systems, competency training, and a shift away from prescriptive regulation in the years following Moura, the rate of deaths and serious injuries has barely changed over the past decade.</p>
<p>Given the huge size and variety of Australia’s mining industry, and the inherent dangers of the work, we may never reach a time when there are no deaths. But zero fatalities must still be the goal.</p>
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<h2>A rise in ‘one-off’ incidents</h2>
<p>In the past, most deaths were due to what are called “principal hazards”. These are major incidents such as fires, explosions and mine flooding that can kill or injure many people. </p>
<p>Most safety work has, for good reason, focused on these hazards, and by my count they are today involved in fewer than 20% of deaths. What this means is that today’s tragedy landscape is more diffuse, with fatalities scattered across a range of different scenarios.</p>
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<p>Now, most deaths are the result of “one-off” events such as being struck by objects, caught in machinery, falling from heights, or vehicle collisions. Addressing all these possibilities is more complex.</p>
<h2>Mental health, fatigue, staff turnover</h2>
<p>Human factors also loom large. Despite a huge increase in mine automation and remote operation technologies that reduce workers’ exposure to hazards, there are indications of <a href="https://www.ecu.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/1060080/Michael-Quinlan-Presentation.pdf">worsening mental health</a>, rising fatigue and <a href="https://www.aigroup.com.au/news/reports/2023-economics/factsheet-labour-turnover-in-2023/">high staff turnover</a>, which can erode corporate knowledge.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/mine-workers-and-their-families-suffer-the-toll-of-shift-work-10897">Mine workers and their families suffer the toll of shift work</a>
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<p>Psychological and social problems such as these affect an <a href="https://minerals.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/MCA_Mental_Health_Blueprint.pdf">estimated 20%</a> of the modern mining workforce. Although there are fewer workers on site, they are often under huge production pressures and the rosters can be very tough on family life. </p>
<p>Poor mental health can compromise decision-making and reduce vigilance, leading to safety problems.</p>
<h2>Slow, steady improvement</h2>
<p>There are some promising developments. The “<a href="https://www.icmm.com/en-gb/guidance/health-safety/2015/ccm-good-practice-guide">critical control management</a>” approach already adopted by <a href="https://www.riotinto.com/en/invest/reports/sustainability-report">Rio Tinto</a> and <a href="https://s24.q4cdn.com/382246808/files/doc_financials/2022/ar/%E2%80%8CNewmont-2022-Annual-Report.pdf">Newmont</a>, among others, has been highly effective. This is a method that identifies a relatively small number of vital controls that can prevent serious incidents, and directs resources towards rigorously designing, implementing and maintaining them.</p>
<p>We are also likely to see future safety gains from <a href="https://www.acarp.com.au/abstracts.aspx?repId=C29001">better equipment design</a>, further advances in automation and remote operation, and mental health initiatives, such as Western Australia’s <a href="https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/department-of-energy-mines-industry-regulation-and-safety/mental-awareness-respect-and-safety-mars-program">Mental Awareness, Respect and Safety</a> program.</p>
<p>But in an industry that has still averaged <a href="https://data.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/interactive-data/industry/mining">eight fatalities per year</a> over the past decade, more safety reform is overdue. While new technologies and initiatives may be helpful, none will be a “silver bullet”.</p>
<p>Queensland alone has staged three “<a href="https://www.rshq.qld.gov.au/about-us/resources/safety-reset">safety resets</a>” in the past five years, with little result. Real safety improvement will be slow and steady, and will come from diligently and consistently applying proven safety management techniques.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225789/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Cliff has received funding from many different sources including various major mining companies and government regulatory agencies such as Resources Safety And Health Queensland, research funding from various independent and industry funded agencies such as the Australian Coal Association Research Program. He is a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, the Mine Managers Association of Australia and various professional bodies such as the Australian Institute of Occupational Health and Safety, and the Royal Australian Chemical Institute.</span></em></p>Mining’s high-tech transformation has dramatically increased safety – but there is plenty more work to be done.David Cliff, Professor of Occupational Health and Safety in Mining, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2228182024-02-16T13:03:55Z2024-02-16T13:03:55ZExtraction of raw materials could rise 60% by 2060 – and making mining ‘greener’ won’t stop the damage<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575311/original/file-20240213-16-g7d1en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Extractive mining is predicted to increase drastically by 2060</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/industry-banner-open-pit-mine-extractive-2235404905">Parilov/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The United Nations’ flagship <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/31/raw-materials-extraction-2060-un-report">Global Resources Outlook</a> report is the portrait of a juggernaut. Due to be published later this month by the UN’s International Resource Panel, <a href="https://www.resourcepanel.org/reports/coming-soon-global-resources-outlook-2024">it highlights</a> how global consumption of raw materials, having increased four-fold since 1970, is set to rise by a further 60% by 2060. </p>
<p>Already, the <a href="https://courier.unesco.org/en/articles/unbearable-burden-technosphere">technosphere</a> — the totality of human-made products, from airports to Zimmer frames — is heavier than <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-3010-5">the biosphere</a>. From the 2020s onward, the weight of humanity’s extended body — the concrete shells that keep us sheltered, the metal wings that fly us around — have exceeded that of all life on Earth. Producing this volume of stuff is a major contributor to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/06/earth-on-verge-of-five-catastrophic-tipping-points-scientists-warn">global heating</a> and ocean acidification, and the rapidly accelerating extinction of plants and animals.</p>
<p>As the UN report spells out, the extractive activities that lie behind the concrete, metal and other materials we use are disrupting the balance of the planet’s ecosystems. The mining industry requires the annexation of large tracts of land for extraction and transportation; its energy consumption has <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378023001115">more than tripled</a> since the 1970s. </p>
<p>That upward curve is set to continue. The demand for materials is rising, the quality of ores such <a href="https://steadystate.org/two-cheers-for-circularity/">as copper</a> is declining, and deeper and more remote mines <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/green-growth-9781783604876/">require extra energy for extraction</a>. More seams will be dug and more mountains moved to bring glittering fortunes to some while many regions, above all in developing countries, become <a href="https://read.dukeupress.edu/environmental-humanities/article/15/1/3/343379/Sacrifice-ZonesA-Genealogy-and-Analysis-of-an">sacrifice zones</a>.</p>
<h2>Critical raw materials</h2>
<p>Attention is increasingly focused on a particular class of material. “Critical” and “strategic” raw materials are those that face supply risk either in their scarcity or their geographical concentration, and which the major powers require for their military sectors and for competitive advantage in tech industries. Right now, the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/04/europe-miles-behind-race-raw-materials-electric-car-batteries-lithium-cobalt-nickel">race for critical materials</a> is geopolitical: each major power wants to secure supplies in allied countries.</p>
<p>Critical raw materials are indispensable to the green transition too. The EU, for example, deems nickel a <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2011:0025:FIN:en:PDF">strategic</a> material in view of its role in batteries. </p>
<p>A wind turbine can require <a href="https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/24d5dfbb-a77a-4647-abcc-667867207f74/TheRoleofCriticalMineralsinCleanEnergyTransitions.pdf">nine times</a> the mineral inputs of a typical gas-fired power plant, while the average electric vehicle contains between <a href="https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/24d5dfbb-a77a-4647-abcc-667867207f74/TheRoleofCriticalMineralsinCleanEnergyTransitions.pdf">six</a> and ten times those of its conventional counterpart, according to the UN report that is due to be published on February 26. </p>
<p>None of this means that a green economy would use greater quantities of materials than the current fossil fuel-based one. Energy consumption due to mineral demand for energy transition technologies is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378023001115">dwarfed by</a> that which arises from mineral demand for the rest of the economy. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, the mineral demand of the energy transition stokes the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/net-zero-will-mean-a-mining-boom-electric-cars-minerals-oil-fossil-fuels-climate-change-policy-cb8d5137">mining boom</a> in such sectors as copper and lithium.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Back of man in orange hi-vis jacket and white hard hard looking across to copper mine, brown roads and pits, grey sky" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575312/original/file-20240213-28-y0xzr6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575312/original/file-20240213-28-y0xzr6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575312/original/file-20240213-28-y0xzr6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575312/original/file-20240213-28-y0xzr6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575312/original/file-20240213-28-y0xzr6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575312/original/file-20240213-28-y0xzr6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575312/original/file-20240213-28-y0xzr6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The need for critical raw materials, such as copper, is rising, but mining must develop more sustainable practices.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/copper-mine-worker-open-pit-surveying-2299216889">Einstock/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Urban mining</h2>
<p>Mining must change in order to reduce its environmental impact. On the supply side, recovering minerals from waste goods can be ramped up, for instance by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/28/retailers-to-pay-for-consumers-e-waste-recycling-from-2026-under-uk-plans">forcing retailers to offer collections</a> of household electronic waste that can be sent for enhanced recycling. </p>
<p>There is scope for urban mining: for example, locating copper from <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344922006723">inactive underground power cables</a> or recovering elements from <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344922006723">construction waste</a>, sewage, incinerator ash and other garbage zones.</p>
<p>In practice, however, the use of secondary materials relative to newly-extracted ones is <a href="https://steadystate.org/two-cheers-for-circularity/">declining</a>. The recovery rates of minerals from recycling remain low. Another <a href="https://www.resourcepanel.org/reports/recycling-rates-metals">UN study</a> of 60 metals found the recycling rate for most of them was below one percent. </p>
<p>The current economic system makes extractive mining cheaper and easier than urban mining. Extractive mining involves the purchase of cheap land, often in developing countries. </p>
<p>That land gets dug up, pulverised and processed in a simple flow that is amenable to capital-intensive operations. Urban mining by contrast is often labour-intensive and requires a complex and state-enforced <a href="http://www.opendemocracy.net/en/oureconomy/urban-mining-reuse-recycle-old-goods-electronics-save-planet-climate-crisis/">regulation of waste streams</a>.</p>
<p>Urban mining suffers from the refusal of governments to shift taxation from labour to “the use of non-renewable resources”, as <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9780230288843">Walter Stahel</a>, an originator of the circular economy concept, recommended in 2006. Until robust regulation and taxation is introduced, all forms of circular economy risk unleashing <a href="https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/news-and-resources/circular-economy-isnt-enough-we-need-system-change">rebound effects</a>. </p>
<p>So, throwing more materials onto the market lowers prices, which tends to expedite economic growth, raise energy consumption, and proliferate environmental harms. In short, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jiec.12545">there is nothing intrinsically “green”</a> about urban mining or the circular economy. The progressive potential of all such engineering programmes is governed by the political-economic framework.</p>
<h2>Is degrowth the answer?</h2>
<p>The insufficiency of engineering and <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/green-growth-9781783604876/">green growth</a> programmes has informed the waxing interest in “degrowth” strategies. This term is not intended to suggest that all economic sectors should shrink, but that for society-nature relations to regain some balance, the unsustainable global use of materials and energy must radically reduce, and in an egalitarian manner. </p>
<p>As the scale of the environmental crisis grows more daunting, even moderate voices — not degrowthers — have recognised that certain sectors, such as shipping and aviation, will have to be <a href="http://www.eng.cam.ac.uk/news/absolute-zero">cut to virtually zero</a> over the next 20 or 30 years.</p>
<p>What does this mean for critical minerals? According to degrowth advocate <a href="https://www.jasonhickel.org/blog/2023/12/21/accelerationist-possibilities-in-an-ecosocialist-degrowth-scenario">Jason Hickel</a>, political means should be forged through which to plan priority sectors.</p>
<p>Reducing luxury and wasteful sectors such as SUVs, aviation and fast fashion would free up critical materials for the green transition. “Factories that produce SUVs could produce solar panels instead,” suggests Hickel. “Engineers who are presently developing private jets could work on innovating more efficient trains and wind turbines instead.”</p>
<p>Such practical examples highlight the possibility that today’s predictions of utterly unsustainable materials throughput by 2060 could at least be revised downward.</p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gareth Dale does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Extractive mining disrupts the balance of the planet’s ecosystems and is set to rise. Could urban mining or degrowth help curb unsustainable practices?Gareth Dale, Reader in Political Economy, Brunel University LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2040042023-05-10T13:21:45Z2023-05-10T13:21:45ZChina’s population has peaked and is now falling – opportunities and risks for Africa<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523175/original/file-20230427-14-z7x5fr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Oleg Elkov/GettyImages</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>China will no longer be the world’s most populous nation. India’s population <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/content/World-Population-Prospects-2022.">will overtake it</a> this year at an <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/un-desa-policy-brief-no-153-india-overtakes-china-as-the-worlds-most-populous-country/">estimated population</a> of 1.42 billion. </p>
<p>It’s an epochal transition which speaks to other underlying demographic changes across the world, including the fact that China’s population <a href="https://www.cfr.org/blog/chinas-population-decline-not-yet-crisis-beijings-response-could-make-it-one">has peaked</a> and is now falling. Meanwhile, the region with the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/population">fastest-rising population</a> – from a current base of <a href="https://www.un.org/annualreport/files/2022/09/SG-Annual-Report-2022_E_3.pdf#page=2">around 1.4 billion</a> – is Africa. </p>
<p>I have <a href="https://saiia.org.za/people/lauren-johnston/">researched</a> the economics of China, and China-Africa relations, for nearly two decades. I’ve also specifically analysed the political economy of demographic change in China. </p>
<p>On the surface, China losing the “world’s most populous country” crown means nothing for African countries. However, as I outline in <a href="https://saiia.org.za/research/chinas-demographic-peak-lessons-and-prospects-for-africa/">my new paper</a>, the transition embodies a number of opportunities and risks for many African countries. </p>
<p>China has been a leading economic partner to the continent for most of this century. Demand for China’s manufactured goods <a href="http://www.sais-cari.org/data-china-africa-trade">is consistent</a> across the continent. It is an especially important import partner for some of Africa’s resource-rich countries, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260598975_The_Gravity_of_China's_African_Export_Promise#page=7">such as</a> Angola, Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. A slow-down in China’s economy – or a shift away from commodity-intensive manufacturing and infrastructure construction – could especially challenge African commodity exporters whose main buyer is China, such as <a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/2022/08/18/mounting-economic-challenges-threaten-basis-of-mpla-rule-in-angola-pub-87698">Angola</a>.</p>
<p>So, as China’s population declines and ages, there’ll be direct and indirect repercussions for many African countries. Here are some of the possible implications. </p>
<h2>Opportunities</h2>
<p><strong>End of labour-richness</strong></p>
<p>African countries with a large working-age population can theoretically benefit from the end of China’s period of labour-abundance. China had <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17538963.2018.1509529">a massive number of low-wage workers from the 1980s until the 2000s</a>. The broad passing of this abundance – in terms of both price and quantity – theoretically opens a window for other “younger” and low-wage economies. Labour-rich countries already banging on China’s door include Bangladesh, Indonesia and Vietnam. </p>
<p>African countries wanting to take advantage of this will need relevant policies. They will need enough qualified workers to take part in manufacturing opportunities; affordable and reliable energy; and competitive labour productivity. Ethiopia, for instance, has been attracting <a href="https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/109166/1/MPRA_paper_109166.pdf#page=5">Chinese foreign direct investment</a> in recent decades with more than 70% going into manufacturing.</p>
<p><strong>Increased service demand</strong></p>
<p>For a decade or more, China has also been pushing, if very incrementally, for <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1467-8462.12247?casa_token=yqEHlPqYPM4AAAAA%3AGXlw3tsDktNGDX2QVQ6gkdq-xfQzeQg8i7TU31eGrg1SrnY_CSbM01idwkjGZS2ZvUPOPL3HplSvzxk">services</a> – such as financial services, healthcare and tourism – to drive its domestic growth. This presents new opportunities for African goods and services providers too. </p>
<p>Things are already in the works. The official 2035 China-Africa Vision – which defines the overall framework of China-Africa cooperation – <a href="http://www.focac.org/eng/zywx_1/zywj/202201/t20220124_10632442.htm">includes</a> finance, tourism, media, and culture and sports. Some of these links, like the <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498593977/Chinese-Media-in-Africa-Perception-Performance-and-Paradox">media industry</a>, are relatively advanced already. Some countries, for example <a href="http://fta.mofcom.gov.cn/topic/enmauritius.shtml">Mauritius</a>, have already signed trade agreements which include <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/02/why-china-mauritius-trade-deal-matters/">financial services</a>. And, more recently, Kenya Airways and China Southern Airlines <a href="https://aviationmetric.com/kenya-airways-china-southern-expand-access-to-china-sign-interline-agreement-southern-airlines/">signed an agreement</a> to expand Nairobi’s role as a regional aviation hub for Chinese destinations.</p>
<p><strong>China’s pensioner boom</strong></p>
<p>The pensioner population is expected to peak mid-century when China is <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)02410-2/fulltext">forecast</a> to be home to some 400 million pensioners – a massive target market. Cambodia, for example, <a href="https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/cambodia-looks-to-draw-more-elderly-tourists/">already has</a> an official strategy for attracting elderly tourists. </p>
<p>African countries could tap into this demographic, for instance to support tourism industries. East African countries are looking for <a href="https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/business/east-african-countries-plans-to-spur-tourism-post-covid-4147438">emerging tourist markets</a> and also looking to expand offerings to include activities such as cruises – these would be <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9731214/">ideal</a> for an older demographic.</p>
<h2>Risks</h2>
<p><strong>Slowdown in China’s economy</strong></p>
<p>A big risk is that as China’s population declines and ages it will cause China’s economic development engine to falter. </p>
<p>As it’s one of the world’s largest economies, a stagnation would <a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/how-chinas-economic-slowdown-could-hurt-world?gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwu-KiBhCsARIsAPztUF3Eo_QrRrmbxYFEhyVFvM5Af4ySoKX2zmXFadrKvLEFaPN8IiLkcdgaAsEFEALw_wcB">cause ripples</a> across the world. It would slow China’s potential to trade with and invest in Africa. </p>
<p>For instance, <a href="http://www.sais-cari.org/data-china-africa-trade">China is South Africa’s largest export market</a>. Nigeria, Angola, Egypt and the Democratic Republic of Congo are also major exporters of goods to China. Nigeria is the leading importer from China, followed by South Africa, Egypt and Ghana.</p>
<p>Some countries are relatively China-dependent for growth and development. These include <a href="https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/35414/chapter-abstract/303161337?redirectedFrom=fulltext">Zimbabwe</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214790X16300995">Guinea</a>. </p>
<p>China could become more risk-averse in lending to African countries, and conservative in foreign aid allocations. Leading Chinese companies might also have less revenue to re-invest in other markets, and less reason to do so given lower growth. This could challenge African government budgets and leave many in poverty and unable to find formal jobs in their working-age prime.</p>
<p><strong>Keeping production at home</strong></p>
<p>There is also <a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/documents/publication/wcms_764445.pdf">the risk that automation will directly replace labour in China</a>, instead of shifting production to another country with a younger workforce. And foreign investors in China might seek to secure their own supply chains – at home – rather than shift production to a new labour-rich location after China.</p>
<p><strong>Regulatory challenges</strong></p>
<p>Africa could face new regulatory challenges as China’s population ages. Products demanded by an older Chinese population, with inputs sourced in Africa, may elevate existing regulatory challenges. </p>
<p>For instance, a Chinese traditional medicine known as <em>ejiao</em> uses collagen from donkey hides. It is believed to support sleep, blood vitality and those ageing in general. This has led to a trade in African donkeys that <a href="https://theconversation.com/chinas-demand-for-africas-donkeys-is-rising-why-its-time-to-control-the-trade-198597">has harmed</a> Africa’s own poor . </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/chinas-demand-for-africas-donkeys-is-rising-why-its-time-to-control-the-trade-198597">China's demand for Africa's donkeys is rising. Why it's time to control the trade</a>
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<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>In my opinion a probable scenario is that China’s economy lumbers forward at a slower pace than in the past, but fast enough to stave off a crisis at home. </p>
<p>On the surface this may reduce the scale of opportunity for Africa. But, since China’s economy is many times larger than any economy in Africa, there’ll still be enough growth volume to tap for trade, investment and specific projects. Slower growth in China may even compel Chinese investors to turn to faster-growing African economies.</p>
<p>Africa is the world’s youngest continent, and fast-ageing population-declining China is the continent’s most important trade partner and economic partner. African governments must keep a close eye on what happens next to tap into all potential opportunities – and mitigate any risks.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204004/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lauren Johnston does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>China’s population decline and intensive ageing will offer opportunities and risks to African countries.Lauren Johnston, Senior Researcher, South African Institute of International Affairs and Associate Professor at the China Studies Centre, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1873002022-11-14T17:03:11Z2022-11-14T17:03:11ZMoving back home doesn’t mean you’ve failed in life – here’s why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494860/original/file-20221111-24-dka0y7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">shutterstock</span> </figcaption></figure><p>“When I was in high school,” the essayist Anne P. Beatty <a href="https://therumpus.net/2022/10/18/constraints-a-hometown-ode/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=pocket_hits&utm_campaign=POCKET_HITS-EN-DAILY-RECS-2022_11_05&sponsored=0&position=7&scheduled_corpus_item_id=d4df565c-94b4-4835-b231-07973e8f1d94">recently wrote</a>, “ambition meant two things: escaping my hometown and becoming a writer”. </p>
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<p><em>You can listen to more articles from The Conversation, narrated by Noa, <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/audio-narrated-99682">here</a>.</em></p>
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<p>The idea that young people’s futures are best served by moving away from small towns and rural areas to big cities is deeply ingrained. The sociologist David Farrugia has described this as the “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2013.830700">metrocentricity of youth</a>”. However questions remain about whether moving away is always that easy and whether it is always the best way to achieve what you want in life.</p>
<p>I have <a href="https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.857503">researched</a> how young people in rural communities in Scotland think about their future prospects. I have found that whether leaving your hometown is a good idea depends on both your aspirations and the resources you have.</p>
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<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Fail Better" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492275/original/file-20221028-40947-7fl4wu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492275/original/file-20221028-40947-7fl4wu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492275/original/file-20221028-40947-7fl4wu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492275/original/file-20221028-40947-7fl4wu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492275/original/file-20221028-40947-7fl4wu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492275/original/file-20221028-40947-7fl4wu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492275/original/file-20221028-40947-7fl4wu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/fail-better-129121?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022+Fail+Better&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Fail Better</a></strong>, a series for those of us in our 20s and 30s about navigating the moments when things aren’t quite going as planned. Many of us are tuned into the highlight reel of social media, where our peers share their successes in relationships, careers and family. When you feel like you’re not measuring up, the pieces in this special <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022+Fail+Better&utm_content=InArticleTop">Quarter Life</a> series will help you learn how to cope with, and even grow from, failure.</em></p>
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<h2>How we make decisions about our lives</h2>
<p>French sociologist <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511812507">Pierre Bourdieu</a> identifies how our resources (which he terms “capitals”) provide us with certain opportunities. In his idea of “habitus”, meanwhile, he considers how our social environment influences the way that we see the world and the aspirations we develop. These ideas have been used to develop a theory of career development called “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/0142569970180102">careership</a>”. </p>
<p>Habitus helps to explain how the places we grow up in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2013.836591">influence</a> the kinds of futures we envisage: what we aspire to, not just in terms of employment, but also <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13676261.2016.1184241">housing, family life, and community</a>. Bourdieu’s wider concept of capital, meanwhile, can be used to explain <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ780809.pdf">how people have different abilities to move away</a> from their home towns dependent on their financial resources, personal networks and previous experiences of mobility. This suggests that how we decide where to live is not always a simple choice. Our ideas emerge from our social context, and are shaped by the resources we have. </p>
<p>Research suggests that moving away from rural areas is particularly connected to entry to higher education. Canadian education scholar Michael Corbett has shown how doing well at school is likely to see you <a href="https://fernwoodpublishing.ca/book/learning-to-leave">“learn to leave”</a> your community. In places like the UK where going away to university is a longstanding <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1068/a41177">tradition</a> young people may also have the resources they need to move, in the form of grants or loans for study, among others. Here we can see how aspirations and resources combined provide opportunities for leaving.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A group of school pupils in uniform outside." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494867/original/file-20221111-22-fi0o5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494867/original/file-20221111-22-fi0o5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494867/original/file-20221111-22-fi0o5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494867/original/file-20221111-22-fi0o5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494867/original/file-20221111-22-fi0o5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494867/original/file-20221111-22-fi0o5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494867/original/file-20221111-22-fi0o5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Young people who do well at school often ‘learn to leave’ for further opportunities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/portrait-smiling-male-female-high-school-1188872512">Monkey Business Images | Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Notably, however, research with young people from rural areas has shown that it is not the opportunities in themselves that explain why many leave their communities. Rather, moving away <a href="https://islandstudiesjournal.org/files/ISJ-11-1-K-Alexander.pdf">is associated with</a> self-development, growing confidence and independence. This distinction is important. It shows how moving away might be something you choose to do for reasons other than simply accessing what might be considered the “best” opportunities. </p>
<h2>Staying and returning</h2>
<p>Despite the appeal of leaving, not all young people are able to, or want to move away from their hometowns. In fact, the evidence suggests that young people are increasingly staying at home <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1068/a41177">for their studies</a> or are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.1793">returning home</a> after they graduate.</p>
<p><a href="https://repository.derby.ac.uk/item/96w6q/the-impact-of-island-location-on-students-higher-education-choices-and-subsequent-career-narratives-a-case-study-of-the-orkney-and-shetland-islands">I have found</a> that in some cases choices to stay or return are positive choices, relating primarily to relationships and careers. Some young people choose to come back to be near family or to live with a partner, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00750770802076968">and “settle down”</a>. </p>
<p>Returning home can also be a positive experience in relation to work. Graduates – especially in professions such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2013.850848">law, medicine and education</a> – may find that their rural hometowns offer employment opportunities in line with their career aspirations. </p>
<p>Working in smaller places may also appeal to those who want to undertake work <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.04.033">more connected</a> to the community. Further, even though salaries may be higher in some large cities, housing costs can make <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203732281-5">living in regional locations</a> more affordable.</p>
<p>Moving back home is not necessarily a positive thing though. Sometimes returning home is prompted by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.1793">financial insecurity and difficulties finding work or accommodation elsewhere</a>. Decision to return might also be prompted by <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00750770802076968">difficult wider life circumstances</a>, for example relationship break-ups or elderly relatives becoming ill. In <a href="https://repository.derby.ac.uk/item/96w6q/the-impact-of-island-location-on-students-higher-education-choices-and-subsequent-career-narratives-a-case-study-of-the-orkney-and-shetland-islands">my research</a>, these experiences of return are especially challenging if young people perceive limited opportunities in their chosen careers in their hometown. </p>
<p>Previous research has shown that the “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.2002">metrocentricity of youth</a>” often influences how young people think about where to go and what to do. This runs the risk that returning (or staying) at home be <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14733285.2013.850848">positioned as a personal failure</a>. However, on the contrary, staying or returning to a small community can be a positive choice. Besides, choices to stay or leave are often driven by circumstances beyond our control. </p>
<p>As life circumstances change, decisions to move or stay <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.2124">can be revisited</a>. What you decide at one point in time will not necessarily shape your future forever.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187300/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rosie Alexander does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Whether moving away is a good idea depends as much on a young person’s aspirations as it does on their resources. Staying put – or moving back – does not necessarily mean personal failure.Rosie Alexander, Lecturer in Career Development and Guidance, University of the West of ScotlandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1923562022-10-19T16:52:55Z2022-10-19T16:52:55ZFacing the dual threat of climate change and human disturbance, Mumbai – and the world – should listen to its fishing communities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489362/original/file-20221012-24-hll9p1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Koli community depend on fishing, but fish stocks off Mumbai's coast have been declining.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mumbai-india-september-10-2017-south-1749662051">Akella Srinivas Ramalingaswami/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Coastal cities and settlements are at the forefront of climate disruption. Rising sea levels, warmer seas and changes in rainfall patterns are together creating conditions that mean misery for coastal dwellers.</p>
<p>Disasters triggered by extreme weather often make headlines, but many problems linked to the climate are harder to see. These include the effects of warmer sea temperatures on marine ecosystems, the encroachment of seawater into once-fertile land, and coastal erosion.</p>
<p>Climate risks vary for coastal cities around the world. But according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, people living in coastal settlements with high social inequality <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-ii/">are particularly at risk</a>. This includes cities with a high proportion of informal settlements and those built near river deltas.</p>
<p>The Koli people are one such community. As the original inhabitants of Mumbai, they are spread across a number of historic fishing villages on the city’s coast. But they have steadily been marginalised. Mumbai’s <a href="https://www.mcgm.gov.in/irj/go/km/docs/documents/EODB/Construction%20Permit/Related%20Circulars/DCPR-%202034%20and%20Notification.pdf">official development plan</a> ignores the role of the Koli, and the ecosystems they depend on, in reducing the climate risks facing the city. </p>
<p>This has forced the community to take risk mitigation into their own hands. Through our work with the Koli community, we have seen how their response to human threats has the potential to create a city more resilient to environmental change.</p>
<h2>Mumbai’s environmental problem</h2>
<p>In Mumbai, enormous wealth co-exists with poverty. Largely built on reclaimed land, the city has undergone rapid development.</p>
<p>Poor waste management, property development and increasingly frequent extreme weather have reduced mangrove cover and polluted the city’s coastal waters. Mangroves are important breeding grounds for a diverse range of aquatic species. Many of these species, such as the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2013/mar/22/bombay-duck-mumbai-fish">Bombay Duck</a> and <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/the-shrinking-pomfret-of-suburban-mumbai/">Pomfret</a>, are vital sources of income for Koli fishers and are key to mangrove biodiversity.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489364/original/file-20221012-14-2ag90b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="4 rows of bombay duck, a local fish, hanging to dry in front of a calm sea." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489364/original/file-20221012-14-2ag90b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489364/original/file-20221012-14-2ag90b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489364/original/file-20221012-14-2ag90b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489364/original/file-20221012-14-2ag90b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489364/original/file-20221012-14-2ag90b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489364/original/file-20221012-14-2ag90b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489364/original/file-20221012-14-2ag90b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bombay duck, a vital source of income for the Koli community, drying on a beach.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mumbai-india-bombil-bombay-duck-kept-1750309199">Akella Srinivas Ramalingaswami/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>But fish stocks are disappearing fast. Environmental degradation combined with intensive trawling has led to <a href="https://www.cmfri.org.in/uploads/files/Attachment%201.%20Major%20Research%20Achievemnt_Mumbai.pdf">declining catches</a> for traditional fishers. This has affected livelihoods, with Koli women feeling the impact particularly strongly due to their prominent role in processing and selling fish.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1385110121001684">Studies</a> have also shown that mangrove forests protect coastal areas from storm surges and coastal erosion. Reduced mangrove cover means extreme weather events now inflict <a href="https://www.indiaspend.com/climate-change/exposed-at-sea-fishers-need-better-insurance-to-manage-climate-risks-781266">severe damage to fishing infrastructure</a>. <a href="https://moes.gov.in/sites/default/files/RS-in-English-4026-07042022.pdf">Cyclone Tauktae</a> in 2021 inflicted losses of 10 billion rupees (£109,000) to coastal fishers – damage to fishing boats alone was worth 250,000 rupees (£2,700).</p>
<h2>Taking the initiative</h2>
<p>Following <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/148325/cyclone-tauktae-strikes-india">Cyclone Tauktae</a>, the Koli produced reports documenting the changing frequency and intensity of cyclones affecting the region. These reports, supplemented by <a href="https://qz.com/india/2030290/mumbais-koli-fishermen-cope-with-climate-change-and-cyclones/">media coverage</a>, have raised awareness of the community’s vulnerability towards climate change.</p>
<p>This has allowed the Koli to collaborate with various groups to reduce their vulnerability. We have been working with the Koli community through our own research project, <a href="https://tapestry-project.org/">Tapestry</a>. Our research has involved creating photographs and maps with the community to build a more comprehensive understanding of the consequences of climate change and environmental degradation for the region. This has highlighted the importance of mangroves for marine biodiversity and flooding protection.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An aerial shot of a mangrove forest in the foreground of a large sprawling city." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489415/original/file-20221012-19-1diumc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489415/original/file-20221012-19-1diumc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489415/original/file-20221012-19-1diumc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489415/original/file-20221012-19-1diumc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489415/original/file-20221012-19-1diumc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489415/original/file-20221012-19-1diumc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489415/original/file-20221012-19-1diumc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Mumbai’s mangrove forests are crucial for marine biodiversity and flood prevention.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/view-boats-mangroves-gorai-mumbai-india-1008986491">Viren Desai/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>The efforts of the <a href="https://cat.org.in/">Conservation Action Trust</a>, a Mumbai-based non-profit organisation that aims to protect forests and wildlife, have also been key in protecting mangroves. They found that mangroves were being cleared to make way for golf courses, residential buildings, rubbish dumps and transport infrastructure. They were instrumental in the development of the <a href="https://mangroves.maharashtra.gov.in/">Mangrove Cell</a>, a government agency that monitors efforts to conserve and enhance mangrove cover in India’s western Maharashtra state.</p>
<p>Addressing water pollution also emerged as a priority through discussions with the Koli community. Our project partner <a href="https://bombay61.blogspot.com/">Bombay61</a> has since implemented measures to <a href="https://tapestry-project.org/2022/08/08/catching-plastic-mumbais-koli-community-uses-fishing-nets-to-tackle-pollution/">improve water quality</a>. Over three days, a pilot trial of net filters collected around 500kg of waste from a single creek. This initiative also challenges the perception of creeks as “drains” or “sewers”.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489745/original/file-20221014-23-kcev7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A cluster of plastic bottles and litter floating in brown water." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489745/original/file-20221014-23-kcev7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489745/original/file-20221014-23-kcev7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489745/original/file-20221014-23-kcev7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489745/original/file-20221014-23-kcev7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489745/original/file-20221014-23-kcev7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489745/original/file-20221014-23-kcev7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489745/original/file-20221014-23-kcev7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The coastal waters the Koli depend on are heavily polluted.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mumbai-india-november-11-2017-rubbish-759116230">TK Kurikawa/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Engagement between the Koli community, environmental organisations, government officials and local public events and exhibitions has allowed more equitable solutions to human threats to be explored. These highlight the importance of local communities to resource governance and urban planning, and could help dissuade the government from destructive future development plans.</p>
<p>The lessons from the Koli experience extend beyond just Mumbai. While each coast and city will face different threats, the seeds of responses can be found in the people who know and understand the environments in which they live. Working with grassroots methods and groups can reveal how action can respond to local needs and address more than just physical climate risks.</p>
<p>If local strategies can be scaled up, they could transform urban planning and climate change mitigation. These strategies must address the need to adapt to climate change and minimise human disturbance. Paying attention to local people’s struggles and harnessing their ideas can be an essential part of creating cities that are more resilient to future threats.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192356/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lyla Mehta has based this article on research conducted for the Tapestry project. This project is financially supported by the Belmont Forum and NORFACE Joint Research Programme on Transformations to Sustainability, which is co-funded by ESRC, ISC, JST, RCN and the European Commission through Horizon 2020 under grant agreement No 730211</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>D Parthasarathy receives funding from Belmont Forum and International Science Council Paris. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shibaji Bose receives funding from Belmont-funded Tapestry project</span></em></p>Facing human threats, Mumbai’s Koli community are taking risk reduction into their own hands – other vulnerable coastal settlements should take note.Lyla Mehta, Professorial Fellow, Institute of Development StudiesD Parthasarathy, Professor of Sociology, Indian Institute of Technology BombayShibaji Bose, PhD Student in Community Voices, National Institute of Technology DurgapurLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1908052022-09-18T08:51:36Z2022-09-18T08:51:36ZNigeria’s endless lecturer strikes: insights from some essential reads<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484890/original/file-20220915-23-uz1tph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo by Pius Utomi Ekpei /AFP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>One thing that is synonymous with public universities in Nigeria is strikes. Since 1999, the public university system has lost about 57 cumulative months to industrial action. This always comes about as a result of under-funding. Lecturers’ unions have called for the revitalisation of the sector and wage increases. </p>
<p>The Conversation Africa has featured several analyses of the topic by academic experts. </p>
<p>A former vice-chancellor and professor of history, Ayo Olukoju, highlighted the winners and losers of the strikes and suggested a way forward for Nigeria’s public universities. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/nigerias-university-strikes-winners-losers-and-ways-forward-179698">Nigeria's university strikes: winners, losers and ways forward</a>
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<p>The latest strike by lecturers, which started on 14 February 2022, is the 17th in 23 years. The National Executive Council of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, an umbrella body of lecturers in Nigeria, declared the strike as an “indefinite action”. Council member Dele Ashiru explained what this meant and what the government would have to do for the strike to be called off.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/17-strikes-in-23-years-a-unionist-explains-why-nigerias-university-lecturers-wont-back-down-190170">17 strikes in 23 years: a unionist explains why Nigeria’s university lecturers won’t back down</a>
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<p>Incredibly, amid this strike, Nigeria’s parliament is mulling the idea of creating 63 new public institutions of higher education. An education management expert and lecturer at the University of Ibadan, Eragbai Jerome Isuku, examined the proposition and the reasons it’s been put forward. He concluded that Nigeria, for now, did not need any new universities because existing ones were underfunded.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-universities-in-nigeria-absolutely-not-189083">New universities in Nigeria? Absolutely not</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190805/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Nigeria’s public university system has lost about 57 months to industrial action since 1999. This has implications for the future workforce.Moina Spooner, Assistant EditorSegun Oluwagbile, Commissioning Editor: NigeriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1897722022-09-07T03:32:49Z2022-09-07T03:32:49ZWe asked Australian children what they needed from their communities. Here’s what they said<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482654/original/file-20220905-22-kzqa5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Francis Malasig/EPA/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>What does a “fair go” look like for Australian children? We asked 130 children aged between seven and 13 years what makes <a href="https://www.napcan.org.au/get-involved-2022/">communities strong, supportive, and fair</a>.</p>
<p>Many felt communities are about care and connection. As one ten-year-old girl said, “a community is really just a group of people that help you and always look out for you”.</p>
<p>The children in our research identified five themes that matter in determining whether they have a fair go – or not.</p>
<p>1) <a href="https://developingchild.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2004/04/Young-Children-Develop-in-an-Environment-of-Relationships.pdf">Good relationships</a> are essential to children’s experiences of community. An 11-year-old boy said “I love my community, because I know people and everyone is friendly”.</p>
<p>When children know their neighbours and are treated with respect by caring people, they feel included, safe, and supported. But too many children mentioned adults who are rude or dismissive towards them – and they usually felt it was because they were young.</p>
<p>2) <a href="https://www.napcan.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/NAPCAN-AIFS-Stronger-Communities-Safer-Children.pdf">Feeling safe</a> is very important to children – but many described the frightening ways some adults behave in their communities, most often because of excessive alcohol or drug use. Aggressive and dangerous driving also makes children feel unsafe and vulnerable in their neighbourhoods.</p>
<p>3) <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/give-children-a-voice-in-the-design-of-our-urban-environments-unicef/news-story/950bc41c21364fb0107d7fa7b2aed6c6">Inclusive places</a> ensure children can actively participate in their communities, but many described feeling unwelcome in public places. Some talked about places designed for very young children and places for teenagers to hang out – but said there was very little for those in middle childhood. Children wanted a say in how public places were designed. As one nine-year-old girl said, “We – us kids – should decide what playground we get, because the adults who design it don’t play on it. It’s our equipment”.</p>
<p>Often, children described parks that are littered with broken glass or dog poo, making them unpleasant places to play. A common concern for children is a lack of footpaths, making it hard for them to safely move around their neighbourhoods. </p>
<p>4) <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-asked-children-how-they-experienced-poverty-here-are-6-changes-needed-now-180567">Household resources</a> make an enormous difference to whether children can make the most of their communities. Some children said their family had to move regularly because rent is so expensive. As a result, they never feel part of any place they live. Many could not afford to take part in activities in their communities.</p>
<p>5) Children also spoke about public good and infrastructure – things that also <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ae6de517c932736b15f2cc7/t/624bedfb0b949a0d50abb147/1649143305012/Public+Good+Report+online+-+April+2022.pdf">matter to adults</a>. Health care is high on children’s list of what is most important. This is not what we might expect young children to focus on, but many described long waits in emergency rooms when they or their families were ill or injured. Homelessness was also an issue that worried children. </p>
<p>A small number of those involved in the research had experienced homelessness directly – but many more observed it, and said it was deeply unfair. An eight-year-old boy said, when people are homeless “they don’t have stuff, and some people think they are not the same as us. But they are, and it’s not right”.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-asked-children-how-they-experienced-poverty-here-are-6-changes-needed-now-180567">We asked children how they experienced poverty. Here are 6 changes needed now</a>
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<p>Children described the complexities of communities and the many factors that determine whether they have a fair go or not. Analysing the themes children identified, and the detail within each, was challenging – until a nine-year-old girl said “communities are like a jigsaw puzzle. You need to have all the pieces in place to make them work”. </p>
<p>And so, the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuYKO0ujN8I">community jigsaw</a> was born. The jigsaw presents the five major themes children identified, and the most important pieces within each. When all the pieces are in place, communities are strong and supportive – not only for children, but for people of all ages. As the pieces fall away, communities become less fair and children feel more vulnerable. </p>
<p>Our research was across communities with different socioeconomic profiles. While children in all communities raised similar issues – chidlren’s experiences varied greatly and <a href="https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/social-affairs/new-report-wealth-inequality-australia-and-rapid-rise-house-prices">reflected inequalities</a> in Australia. Those in more disadvantaged communities were far more likely to experience challenges. </p>
<p>Children living in less advantaged communities often talked about caring, friendly people who helped each other, but also described deep structural problems: a lack of public transport, poor services, few parks and playgrounds. Children from lower-income communities were more likely to describe not being able to participate in activities or visit places (such as movies or the local pool) due to the cost. </p>
<p>There are lessons from this research for how we can ensure every child, in every community really does have a fair go.</p>
<p>First, the way adults treat children, even in <a href="https://emergingminds.com.au/resources/the-role-of-neighbourhoods-in-young-childrens-mental-health-what-does-the-evidence-tell-us/">small, everyday encounters</a>, matters. For many children, the words and gestures used by adults make them feel vulnerable and excluded. </p>
<p>Second, there are structural and systemic issues that mean some children do not get a fair go. From policies that fail to address poverty and disadvantage to planning that is not child inclusive, too many children are being left behind. </p>
<p>Two initiatives would begin to address this immediately: the adoption of <a href="https://www.unicef.org.uk/publications/unicef-uk-cria-2017/">child rights impact statements</a> (already in place in <a href="https://hrc.act.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/130529-CIA-info-sheet-for-CMCD-Triple-Bottom-Line-process.pdf">some parts of Australia</a>) and <a href="https://childfriendlycities.org">child-friendly planning</a>. </p>
<p>Our research shows is it time for us to listen to children – and to act to ensure they are all safe and supported. In the process, we might make communities fairer for everyone.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189772/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sharon Bessell receives funding from:
The Australian Research Council
The Norwegian Research Council
The Paul Ramsay Foundation
The Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade</span></em></p>Children reported five key things they need from their communities, including better infrastructure and more inclusive spaces.Sharon Bessell, Professor of Public Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1828202022-05-11T12:06:26Z2022-05-11T12:06:26ZWealthy nations are carving up space and its riches – and leaving other countries behind<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462334/original/file-20220510-10405-28cfr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=52%2C152%2C3870%2C3205&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There is a U.S. flag on the Moon, but in the future, countries may start to turn access to the Moon and asteroids into serious wealth.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/AS11-40-5874HR.jpg">NASA/Neil A. Armstrong</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Satellites help run the internet and television and are central to the Global Positioning System. They <a href="https://theconversation.com/eyes-in-the-sky-cutting-nasa-earth-observations-would-be-a-costly-mistake-69705">enable modern weather forecasting</a>, help scientists <a href="https://theconversation.com/smallsat-revolution-tiny-satellites-poised-to-make-big-contributions-to-essential-science-71440">track environmental degradation</a> and play a <a href="https://theconversation.com/intelligence-information-warfare-cyber-warfare-electronic-warfare-what-they-are-and-how-russia-is-using-them-in-ukraine-177899">huge role in modern military technology</a>.</p>
<p>Nations that don’t have their own satellites providing these services rely on other countries. For those that want to develop their own satellite infrastructure, options are running out as space fills up.</p>
<p><a href="https://news.asu.edu/20220127-interplanetary-initiative-welcomes-its-first-fellow">I am a research fellow</a> at Arizona State University, studying the wider benefits of space and ways to make it more accessible to developing countries. </p>
<p>Inequity is already playing out in access to satellites. In the not-so-distant future, the ability to extract resources from the Moon and asteroids could become a major point of difference between the space haves and have-nots. As policies emerge, there is the risk that these inequities become permanent.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462337/original/file-20220510-26-94yfv7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A diagram showing a satellite orbiting Earth." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462337/original/file-20220510-26-94yfv7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462337/original/file-20220510-26-94yfv7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462337/original/file-20220510-26-94yfv7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462337/original/file-20220510-26-94yfv7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462337/original/file-20220510-26-94yfv7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=756&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462337/original/file-20220510-26-94yfv7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=756&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462337/original/file-20220510-26-94yfv7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=756&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Geostationary orbits, where a satellite stays above a single point along the Earth’s equator, are very valuable. But there is only enough room for 1,800 satellites in this orbit, and many of these slots are already taken or spoken for.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Geosynchronous-orbit.svg#/media/File:Geosynchronous-orbit.svg">MikeRun/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<h2>Where to park a satellite</h2>
<p>Thanks to the rapid commercialization, miniaturization and <a href="https://www.globalpoliticsreview.com/publications/2464-9929_v04_i02.pdf#page=72">plummeting costs of satellite technology in recent years</a>, more <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-many-satellites-are-orbiting-earth-166715">countries are able to reap the benefits of space</a>. </p>
<p>CubeSats are small, cheap, customizable satellites that are <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-mission-supports-launch-of-cubesats-built-by-middle-and-high-school-students">simple enough to be built by high school students</a>. Companies such as SpaceX can launch one of these satellites into orbit for relatively cheap – <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/23/spacex-raises-prices-for-launches-and-starlink-due-to-inflation.html">from $1,300 per pound</a>. However, there are only so many places to “park” a satellite in orbit around Earth, and these are quickly filling up. </p>
<p>The best parking is in geostationary orbit, around 22,250 miles (35,800 kilometers) above the equator. A satellite in geostationary orbit <a href="https://www.space.com/29222-geosynchronous-orbit.html">rotates at the same rate as Earth</a>, remaining directly above a single location on Earth’s surface – which can be very useful for telecommunications, broadcasting and weather satellites. </p>
<p>There are only 1,800 geostationary orbital slots, and as of February 2022, <a href="https://www.satsig.net/sslist.htm">541 of them were occupied by active satellites</a>. Countries and private companies have already claimed most of the <a href="https://www.spacelegalissues.com/orbital-slots-and-space-congestion/">unoccupied slots</a> that offer access to major markets, and the satellites to fill them are currently being assembled or awaiting launch. If, for example, a new spacefaring nation wants to put a weather satellite over a specific spot in the Atlantic Ocean that is already claimed, they would either have to choose a less optimal location for the satellite or buy services from the country occupying the spot they wanted.</p>
<p>Orbital slots are allocated by an agency of the United Nations called the <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/Pages/default.aspx">International Telecommunication Union</a>. Slots are free, but they <a href="https://theconversation.com/theres-a-parking-crisis-in-space-and-you-should-be-worried-about-it-83479">go to countries on a first-come, first-served basis</a>. When a satellite reaches the end of its 15- to 20-year lifespan, a country can simply replace it and renew its hold on the slot. This effectively allows countries to <a href="http://www.mjilonline.org/are-the-non-appropriation-principle-and-the-current-regulatory-regime-governing-geostationary-orbit-equitable-for-all-of-earths-states/">keep these positions indefinitely</a>. Countries that already have the technology to utilize geostationary orbit have a major advantage over those that do not.</p>
<p>While geostationary orbital slots are the most useful and limited, there are many other orbits around Earth. These, too, are filling up – adding to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/space-debris-8399">growing problem of space debris</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462339/original/file-20220510-16-hx0izt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A row of small satellites attached to a rocket with Earth in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462339/original/file-20220510-16-hx0izt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462339/original/file-20220510-16-hx0izt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462339/original/file-20220510-16-hx0izt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462339/original/file-20220510-16-hx0izt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462339/original/file-20220510-16-hx0izt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462339/original/file-20220510-16-hx0izt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462339/original/file-20220510-16-hx0izt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin are planning to put thousands of satellites in orbit – as seen in the photo of 60 SpaceX Starlink satellites about to detach from a rocket.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/people/130608600@N05">SpaceX/Flickr</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Low Earth orbit is around <a href="https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2020/03/Low_Earth_orbit#:%7E:text=A%20low%20Earth%20orbit%20">1,000 miles (1,600 km) above the surface</a>. Satellites in low Earth orbit are moving fast in a highly congested environment. While this may be a good place for Earth imaging satellites, it is not ideal for single communication satellites – like those used to broadcast television, radio and the internet.</p>
<p>Low Earth orbit can be used for communications if multiple satellites work together to form a constellation. Companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin are working on projects to <a href="https://www.space.com/megaconstellations-could-destroy-astronomy-no-easy-fix">put thousands of satellites into low Earth orbit</a> over the next few years to provide internet across the globe. The first generation of SpaceX’s Starlink consists of 1,926 satellites, and the second generation <a href="https://www.space.com/megaconstellations-could-destroy-astronomy-no-easy-fix">will add another 30,000 to orbit</a>.</p>
<p>At the current rate, the major space players are rapidly occupying geostationary and low Earth orbits, potentially monopolizing access to important satellite capabilities and <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/28/17906158/nasa-spacex-oneweb-satellite-large-constellations-orbital-debris">adding to space junk</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462338/original/file-20220510-22-kcqmf2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A rendering of a brown and silver asteroid in space." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462338/original/file-20220510-22-kcqmf2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462338/original/file-20220510-22-kcqmf2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462338/original/file-20220510-22-kcqmf2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462338/original/file-20220510-22-kcqmf2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462338/original/file-20220510-22-kcqmf2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462338/original/file-20220510-22-kcqmf2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462338/original/file-20220510-22-kcqmf2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Asteroids contain mind-boggling amounts of valuable metals – like 16 Psyche, seen here, which holds massive reserves of US$10 quintillion worth of iron.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/how-nasa-s-psyche-mission-will-explore-an-unexplored-world">NASA/JPL-Caltech</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Access to resources in space</h2>
<p>Orbital slots are an area where inequity exists today. The future of space could be a gold rush for resources – and not everyone will benefit.</p>
<p>Asteroids hold astounding amounts of <a href="https://www.manufacturing.net/technology/blog/21113380/asteroid-mining-could-solve-rare-metal-shortage">valuable minerals and metals</a>. Later this year, <a href="https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/psyche/in-depth/">NASA is launching a probe</a> to explore an asteroid named 16 Psyche, which scientists estimate contains over <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/3175097/nasa-plans-mission-to-a-metal-rich-asteroid-worth-quadrillions/">US$10 quintillion worth of iron</a>. Tapping huge resource deposits like this and transporting them to Earth could provide massive boosts to the economies of spacefaring nations while disrupting the economies of countries that currently depend on exporting minerals and metals.</p>
<p>Another highly valuable resource in space is helium-3, a rare version of helium that scientists think could be used in nuclear fusion reactions <a href="https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Preparing_for_the_Future/Space_for_Earth/Energy/Helium-3_mining_on_the_lunar_surface">without producing radioactive waste</a>. While there are <a href="https://www.thespacereview.com/article/2834/1">considerable technological obstacles to overcome</a> before helium-3 is a feasible energy source, if it works, there are enough deposits on the Moon and elsewhere in the solar system to <a href="https://www.mining.com/web/quest-find-trillion-dollar-nuclear-fuel-moon/">satisfy Earth’s energy requirements for several centuries</a>. If powerful spacefaring countries develop the technology to use and mine helium-3 – and choose not to share the benefits with other nations – it could result in lasting inequities. </p>
<p>Existing international space laws are <a href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP68859.html">not well suited</a> to handle the complicated web of private companies and nations competing for resources in space. Countries are organizing into groups – or “space blocs” – that are <a href="https://theconversation.com/space-blocs-the-future-of-international-cooperation-in-space-is-splitting-along-lines-of-power-on-earth-180221">uniting on goals and rules for future space missions</a>. Two notable space blocs are planning missions to set up bases and potential mining operations on the Moon: the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-accords/index.html">Artemis Accords</a>, led by the U.S., as well as joint <a href="https://carnegiemoscow.org/commentary/86094">Chinese and Russian plans</a>. </p>
<p>Right now, the major players in space are establishing the norms for exploiting resources. There is a risk that instead of focusing on what is best for everyone on Earth, competition will drive these decisions, damaging the space environment and causing conflict. History shows that it is <a href="https://legal.un.org/avl/pdf/ls/greenwood_outline.pdf">hard to challenge international norms once they are established</a>.</p>
<h2>Moving forward</h2>
<p>Access to space is critical for the functioning of a modern nation. Space access will only become more important as humanity rapidly advances toward a future of <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/space-hotel-orbital-assembly-scn/index.html">space hotels</a> and <a href="https://www.space.com/nasa-3d-printed-habitat-competition-winners.html">colonies on Mars</a>. </p>
<p>The 1967 Outer Space Treaty, the founding document of space law, says that space should be used “<a href="https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/outerspacetreaty.html">for the benefit and in the interests of all countries</a>.” The policies taking shape today will dictate whether this is the case in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182820/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Theodora Ogden is a full-time research fellow at the Interplanetary Initiative at Arizona State University. She is currently on secondment from RAND Europe. The views are the author's own and do not represent the organizations with which she is affiliated. </span></em></p>Current trends suggest that powerful nations are defining the rules of resource use in space and satellite access in ways that will make it hard for developing nations to ever catch up.Theodora Ogden, Research Fellow in Emerging Space Countries, Arizona State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1706112021-11-19T13:16:28Z2021-11-19T13:16:28ZCuba’s post-revolution architecture offers a blueprint for how to build more with less<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429039/original/file-20211028-19-1ndyd3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C118%2C3602%2C2428&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Builders construct experimental vaults of brick and cement blocks in Santiago de Cuba in December 1960.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Centro de Documentación, Empresa RESTAURA, Oficina del Historiador de la Ciudad de La Habana</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Around the world, there’s a conjoined crisis of climate change and housing shortages – two topics at the <a href="https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/comment/comment/cop26-climate-change-and-why-housing-matters-73166">top of the list of discussions</a> in the recent <a href="https://ukcop26.org/">COP26 climate summit</a> in Glasgow. </p>
<p>Construction and buildings <a href="https://unhabitat.org/the-climate-is-changing-so-must-our-homes-how-we-build-them">account for more than one-quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions</a>. Meanwhile, according to a September report by Realtor.com, the U.S. alone <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/14/america-is-short-more-than-5-million-homes-study-says.html">is short 5.24 million homes</a>.</p>
<p>Addressing both crises will require building structures <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2020/jan/15/the-case-for-making-low-tech-dumb-cities-instead-of-smart-ones">more sustainably</a> and <a href="https://www.designworldonline.com/abb-robotics-advances-construction-industry-automation-to-enable-safer-and-sustainable-building/">more efficiently</a>.</p>
<p>But this isn’t the first time architects and governments have had to deal with dwindling resources and the task of housing large numbers of people. <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/post-revolution-cuba/">In 1959</a>, an armed revolt led by Fidel Castro ousted Cuba’s military dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. As part of a broader plan to improve the quality of life for millions of Cubans, Castro’s new government sought to develop a program to mass-produce new housing, schools and factories.</p>
<p>In the years that followed, however, this dream clashed with difficult realities. Sanctions and supply chain disruptions had created a shortage of conventional building materials.</p>
<p>Architects realized they needed to do more with less and invent new construction methods using local materials.</p>
<h2>A thousand-year-old technique</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1525/jsah.2021.80.3.321">In an article</a> that I co-authored with architect and engineer <a href="https://www.arct.cam.ac.uk/people/mhr29%40cam.ac.uk">Michael Ramage</a> and architect <a href="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1406-4588">Dania González Couret</a>, we explored the creative challenges of this period by focusing on a specific structural element that these Cuban architects soon seized upon: the tile vault.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/988501">Tile vaulting</a> is a technique that flourished in the eastern Mediterranean <a href="https://www.academia.edu/46049241/2021_BRICK_CONSTRUCTION_IN_ALMORAVID_MARRAKECH_THE_QUBBAT_AL_BARUDIYYIN">after the 10th century</a>. </p>
<p>It involves constructing arched ceilings made of multiple layers of lightweight terra cotta tiles. To build the first layer, the builders use fast-setting mortar to glue the tiles together with barely any temporary support. Afterward, the builder adds more layers with normal cement or lime mortar. This technique doesn’t require expensive machinery or use of a lot of timber for formwork. But speed and craftsmanship are paramount.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429024/original/file-20211028-26-1rirswx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Pencil drawings of different arches." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429024/original/file-20211028-26-1rirswx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429024/original/file-20211028-26-1rirswx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=266&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429024/original/file-20211028-26-1rirswx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=266&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429024/original/file-20211028-26-1rirswx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=266&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429024/original/file-20211028-26-1rirswx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429024/original/file-20211028-26-1rirswx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429024/original/file-20211028-26-1rirswx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Three types of vaults – clockwise, from top left: conventional stone, tiled dome and tiled vault.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://oa.upm.es/38027/">Luis Moya Blanco</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Because of its affordability and durability, tile vaulting spread <a href="https://researchportal.vub.be/en/publications/the-construction-of-tile-vaults-in-belgium-1900-1940-contractors">to different parts of Europe</a> and <a href="https://papress.com/products/guastavino-vaulting-the-art-of-structural-tile">the Americas</a>. It became known as <a href="https://sap.mit.edu/article/standard/guastavino-vaulting-art-structural-tile">Guastavino tiling</a> in the U.S – a nod to Spanish architect Rafael Guastavino, who used the technique in <a href="https://savingplaces.org/stories/7-majestic-guastavino-tile-vaults-from-around-the-country#.YZS4P9BBzIU">over 1,000 projects in the U.S.</a>, including the Boston Public Library and New York’s Grand Central Station. </p>
<h2>Vaults in vogue</h2>
<p>In Cuba, tile vaults were famously used to build the National Art Schools, or Escuelas Nacionales de Arte. </p>
<p>Fidel Castro advocated for the construction of the five schools on what, before the revolution, had been a golf course in Cubanacán, a town west of Havana. </p>
<p>Designed by Ricardo Porro, Vittorio Garatti and Roberto Gottardi, the <a href="https://papress.com/products/revolution-of-forms-updated-edition-cubas-forgotten-art-schools">schools integrate terra cotta shells and arches with the site’s green landscape</a>. They were long thought to be the only tile vault buildings in post-revolution Cuba. </p>
<p>However, we discovered that the National Art Schools are only the tip of the iceberg. From 1960 to 1965, a range of vault experiments and projects took place across the country. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429025/original/file-20211028-13-11t51l9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Black and white photo of an open air arched building." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429025/original/file-20211028-13-11t51l9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429025/original/file-20211028-13-11t51l9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429025/original/file-20211028-13-11t51l9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429025/original/file-20211028-13-11t51l9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429025/original/file-20211028-13-11t51l9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429025/original/file-20211028-13-11t51l9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429025/original/file-20211028-13-11t51l9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The School of Ballet by Vittorio Gratti, one of the five vaulted National Art Schools in Havana.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">M. Wesam Al Asali</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Shortly after the revolution, architects and engineers at the Ministry of Construction – known as MICONS – went to Camagüey, a province known for its terra cotta brick-making, to learn more about the craft. One of these architects, Juan Campos Almanza, then a recent graduate of the University of Havana, led the research team. As an experiment, he built a load-bearing vault on the grounds of the Azorin brick factory. </p>
<p>It was a success. He went on to use the design to construct affordable and elegant beachfront homes in Santa Lucía, north of Camagüey, using the same vault design.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429026/original/file-20211028-19-13u43mb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Vaulted homes lined up side by side." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429026/original/file-20211028-19-13u43mb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429026/original/file-20211028-19-13u43mb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=194&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429026/original/file-20211028-19-13u43mb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=194&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429026/original/file-20211028-19-13u43mb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=194&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429026/original/file-20211028-19-13u43mb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=243&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429026/original/file-20211028-19-13u43mb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=243&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429026/original/file-20211028-19-13u43mb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=243&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Juan Campos Almanza’s beachfront homes were built based on a vaulting experiment that took place in 1960.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Documentation Center, Office of the Historian of Havana</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The best of both worlds</h2>
<p>Brick-and-tile vault construction appeared to be a promising solution to build replicable and cost-effective ceilings. </p>
<p>The Center of Technical Investigations, an agency tasked with developing housing, schools and factories, used Almanza’s research to construct its own vaulted offices. An outdoor space nearby – famously called “El Patio del MICONS” – became a staging ground for more structural experiments.</p>
<p>In El Patio, craftspeople, engineers and architects worked together to develop affordable vaulted buildings, while teachers at El Patio’s tile masons’ school taught building techniques to cohorts of apprentices.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429033/original/file-20211028-25-hbesj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429033/original/file-20211028-25-hbesj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429033/original/file-20211028-25-hbesj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429033/original/file-20211028-25-hbesj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429033/original/file-20211028-25-hbesj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429033/original/file-20211028-25-hbesj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429033/original/file-20211028-25-hbesj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429033/original/file-20211028-25-hbesj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Builders practice putting together a vaulted roof in the Patio del MICONS in 1961.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Documentation Center, Office of the Historian of Havana</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Vaulted buildings and homes soon started cropping up across the country. In 1961, Juan Campos Almanza completed his first housing projects in Altahabana, a new neighborhood located near Havana, building simple barrel vaults on prefabricated beams. Similar designs were used for more beachfront houses, schools and factories.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429036/original/file-20211028-17-1ui2vdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429036/original/file-20211028-17-1ui2vdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429036/original/file-20211028-17-1ui2vdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429036/original/file-20211028-17-1ui2vdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429036/original/file-20211028-17-1ui2vdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429036/original/file-20211028-17-1ui2vdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/429036/original/file-20211028-17-1ui2vdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Architect Mario Girona built a vaulted elementary school in Marianao, Cuba.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Documentation Center, Office of the Historian of Havana</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In his report about the Altahabana pilot project, Campos defined his method as “tradicional mejorado,” or “improved traditional construction” – a mix of conventional building methods with some prefabricated elements. </p>
<p>This way, he argued, builders could gain the best of both worlds: The construction, some of it built by hand, was fast and replicable. And it didn’t require a lot of materials and preexisting infrastructure.</p>
<p>The best example of this construction method is the vaulted Pre-University Center at Liberty City, the site of a former U.S. Army base. The structure was designed in 1961 by Josefina Rebellón, who at the time was a third-year architecture student. </p>
<p>Only a couple of miles from the Schools of Art, Rebellón’s design was completed in 18 months. It was made up of two circular vaulted buildings, with conical vaults and prefabricated beams, with an undulating two-story classroom building between the two circles.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Bird's-eye drawing of two circular buildings" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432083/original/file-20211115-13-1bgtdne.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432083/original/file-20211115-13-1bgtdne.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432083/original/file-20211115-13-1bgtdne.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432083/original/file-20211115-13-1bgtdne.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432083/original/file-20211115-13-1bgtdne.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432083/original/file-20211115-13-1bgtdne.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432083/original/file-20211115-13-1bgtdne.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A sketch of Josefina Rebellón’s Pre-University Center.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Documentation Center, Office of the Historian of Havana</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A brief experiment with a lasting legacy</h2>
<p>These exciting new construction methods didn’t last long. </p>
<p>In 1963, Havana hosted the conference for the International Union of Architects. That year’s theme was <a href="https://www.uia-architectes.org/webApi/en/congress/havana-1963.html">Architecture in Developing Countries</a>.</p>
<p>The conference gave Cuban architects an opportunity to reflect on their recent experiences. The Ministry of Construction pushed to end what it viewed as a period of experimentation; mass housing, they argued, demanded industrialized construction.</p>
<p>Buildings started being made in factories and then assembled on site. Skilled and specialized labor, like vault-building, was no longer seen as an asset but an obstacle, since vault builders were difficult to find in the country’s remote areas, and novice builders required extensive training.</p>
<p>[<em>More than 140,000 readers get one of The Conversation’s informative newsletters.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-140K">Join the list today</a>.]</p>
<p>Yet the story of these buildings offers lessons for designing with scarcity. </p>
<p>The ability to experiment is important. Coordination among builders, governments and architects is crucial. And craftsmanship matters, too, whether it’s tile vaulting or <a href="https://practicalpreservationservices.com/traditional-joinery-what-it-is-and-why-is-it-important-in-preservation/">traditional carpentry</a>. </p>
<p>For too long, buildings that required craftsmanship have been thought of as overly expensive pet projects that deployed techniques better suited for a different era. But the Cubans were able to show that craftsmanship can be developed, scaled up and combined with technological advances.</p>
<p>Today, a handful of promising initiatives show how the craft of tile vaulting can serve for the <a href="https://architizer.com/projects/rwanda-cricket-stadium/">low-carbon construction of buildings</a> or engineered <a href="https://block.arch.ethz.ch/brg/research/rib-stiffened-funicular-floor-system">ceiling systems</a>. Back in Cuba, tile vaulting is now being taught in the <a href="http://www.eusebioleal.cu/noticia/se-crea-aula-taller-eusebio-leal-spengler/">Escuela Taller Gaspar Melchor</a>, a training center in Havana’s historical center.</p>
<p>Cuba’s vaulted architecture reflects the relationship between necessity and invention, a process that many people mistakenly think of as automatic. It isn’t. It is a relationship based on perseverance, trial and error and, above all, passion.</p>
<p>Look no further than what Juan Campos Almanza and his peers left behind on the island: beautiful, replicable buildings, many of which are still standing today.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170611/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>M. Wesam Al Asali is the Lead Designer and Founder of IWlab and CERCAA.
</span></em></p>After Fidel Castro took power, government plans to build new housing, schools and factories were hindered by sanctions and supply chain issues, forcing architects to come up with creative solutions.M. Wesam Al Asali, Global Fung Postdoctoral Fellow, Princeton UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1638222021-07-14T20:13:22Z2021-07-14T20:13:22ZTravelling through deep time to find copper for a clean energy future<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410519/original/file-20210709-27-mocuom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Stunning mosaic of oxidised copper in the form of azurite (blue) and malachite (green) in a rock. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dimitri Houtteman</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than 100 countries, including the United States and members of the European Union, have committed to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The world is going to need a lot of metal, particularly copper.</p>
<p>Recently, the International Energy Agency <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-critical-minerals-in-clean-energy-transitions">sounded the warning bell</a> on the global supply of copper as the most widely used metal in renewable energy technologies. With Goldman Sachs <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2021/06/01/the-race-for-copper-the-metal-of-the-future/?sh=75b2cf60319a">predicting</a> copper demand to grow up to 600% by 2030 and global supply becoming increasingly strained, it is clear we need to find new and large deposits of copper fast.</p>
<p>Getting this much copper will be impossible unless we discover significant new copper deposits. But there has been little exploration for copper over the past decade, as prices have been relatively low.</p>
<p>We have been developing software to model Earth in four dimensions to look deep inside the planet and back into the past to <a href="https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1dHMNcTGy8cG3">discover</a> where copper deposits formed along ancient mountain ranges. This software, called <a href="https://www.gplates.org/">GPlates</a>, is a powerful four-dimensional information system for geologists.</p>
<h2>How large copper deposits form</h2>
<p>Many of the world’s richest copper deposits formed along volcanic mountain chains such as the Andes and the Rocky Mountains. In these regions, an oceanic tectonic plate and a continent collide, with the oceanic plate sinking under the edge of the continent in a process called subduction.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411177/original/file-20210714-19-vn1mup.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411177/original/file-20210714-19-vn1mup.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411177/original/file-20210714-19-vn1mup.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411177/original/file-20210714-19-vn1mup.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411177/original/file-20210714-19-vn1mup.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411177/original/file-20210714-19-vn1mup.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411177/original/file-20210714-19-vn1mup.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411177/original/file-20210714-19-vn1mup.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mountain ranges like the Andes are formed through subduction and can be rich in copper deposits.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Adèle Beausoleil / Unsplash</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This process creates a variety of igneous rocks and copper deposits to form along the edge of the continent, at depths of between one and five kilometres in the crust, where hot magmatic fluids containing copper (and other elements) circulate within networks of faults. After millions of years of further plate movement and erosion, these treasures move close to the surface – ready to be discovered. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410521/original/file-20210709-25-1bbsx55.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410521/original/file-20210709-25-1bbsx55.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410521/original/file-20210709-25-1bbsx55.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410521/original/file-20210709-25-1bbsx55.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410521/original/file-20210709-25-1bbsx55.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410521/original/file-20210709-25-1bbsx55.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410521/original/file-20210709-25-1bbsx55.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A sample of copper hosted in a quartz vein in the form of a mineral called chalcopyrite. When exposed to air, the surface oxidises to create this metallic ‘peacock’ lustre.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marek Novotňák / Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Searching for copper</h2>
<p>Geologists typically use a set of well-established tools to look for copper. These include geological mapping, geochemical sampling, geophysical surveys and remote sensing. However, this approach does not consider the origin of the magmatic fluids in space and time as the driver of copper formation.</p>
<p>We know these magmatic fluids come from the “mantle wedge”, a wedge-shaped piece of the mantle between the two plates that is fed by oceanic fluids escaping from the downgoing plate. The oceanic plate heats up on its way down, releasing fluids that rise into the overlying continental crust, which in turn drives volcanic activity at the surface and the accumulation of metals such as copper.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Cross section of the Earth showing one tectonic plate going under the other, creative volcanism and copper deposits directly above" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411209/original/file-20210714-17-ps4hkp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411209/original/file-20210714-17-ps4hkp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411209/original/file-20210714-17-ps4hkp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411209/original/file-20210714-17-ps4hkp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411209/original/file-20210714-17-ps4hkp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411209/original/file-20210714-17-ps4hkp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411209/original/file-20210714-17-ps4hkp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Copper deposits tend to form above subduction zones along volcanic chains. This schematic is not to scale.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Modified from Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Differences in how subduction occurs and the characteristics of the oceanic plate may hold the secret to better understanding where and when copper deposits form. However, this information is traditionally not used in copper exploration.</p>
<h2>Building a virtual Earth</h2>
<p>At the <a href="https://www.earthbyte.org/">EarthByte</a> research group, we are building a virtual Earth powered by our <a href="https://www.gplates.org/">GPlates</a> plate tectonic software, which lets us look deep below the surface and travel back in time. One of its many applications is to understand where copper deposits have formed along mountain belts.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1dHMNcTGy8cG3">recent paper</a>, we outline how it works. We focus on the past 80 million years because most of the known economic copper deposits along mountain belts formed during this period. This period is also most accurate for <a href="https://www.earthbyte.org/category/resources/data-models/global-regional-plate-motion-models/">our models</a>.</p>
<p>We used machine learning to find links between known copper deposits along mountain belts and the evolution of the associated subduction zone. Our model looks at several different subduction zone parameters and determines how important each one is in terms of association with known ore deposits.</p>
<p>So what turns out to be important? How fast the plates are moving towards each other, how much calcium carbonate is contained in the subducting crust and in deep-sea sediments, how old and thick the subducting plate is, and how far it is to the nearest edge of a subduction zone.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Xm7O9kuc4i0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Plate motions and age of the ocean crust, with age-coded porphyry copper-gold deposits overlaid. Animation by Michael Chin.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Using our <a href="https://github.com/EarthByte/porphyry_copper_spatiotemporal_exploration">machine learning</a> approach, we can look at different parts of the world and see whether they would have experienced conditions conducive to forming copper deposits at different times. We identified several candidate regions in the US, including in central Alaska, southern Nevada, southern California and Arizona, and numerous regions in Mexico, Chile, Peru and Ecuador.</p>
<p>Knowing when copper ore deposits may have formed is important, as it helps explorers to focus their efforts on rocks of particular ages. In addition, it reveals how much time given deposits might have had to move closer to the surface.</p>
<p>Australia has similar deposits, including the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadia-Ridgeway_Mine">Cadia copper-gold district</a> in New South Wales. However, these rocks are significantly older (roughly 460 million to 430 million years old) and require virtual Earth models to look much further back in time than those applied to the Americas.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/5-rocks-any-great-australian-rock-collection-should-have-and-where-to-find-them-163578">5 rocks any great Australian rock collection should have, and where to find them</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The future of mineral exploration</h2>
<p>Finding <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-19/the-world-will-need-10-million-tons-more-copper-to-meet-demand">10 million tonnes of copper by 2030</a> – the equivalent of eight of the largest copper deposits that we mine today – presents an enormous challenge.</p>
<p>With support over a decade from <a href="https://www.auscope.org.au/">AuScope</a> and the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/ncris">(NCRIS)</a>, we are in a position to imagine tackling this challenge. By supercharging GPlates in Australia’s <a href="https://www.auscope.org.au/news-features/building-australias-downward-looking-telescope">Downward Looking Telescope</a>, together with AI and supercomputing, we can meet it head on.</p>
<p>These emerging technologies are increasingly being used by Australian startups like <a href="https://lithodat.com/">Lithodat</a> and <a href="http://www.deeperx.com/">DeeperX</a> and mining companies in collaboration with universities to develop AI’s enormous potential for <a href="https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/24d5dfbb-a77a-4647-abcc-667867207f74/TheRoleofCriticalMineralsinCleanEnergyTransitions.pdf">critical minerals</a> discovery.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/clean-energy-the-worlds-demand-for-copper-could-be-catastrophic-for-communities-and-environments-157872">Clean energy? The world’s demand for copper could be catastrophic for communities and environments</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163822/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dietmar Müller receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) via AuScope, and BHP. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jo Condon works for AuScope, a non-profit organisation funded by NCRIS that enables the GPlates software used in this research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rohitash Chandra receives funding from Australian Research Council - Industrial Transformation Training Centre in Data Analytics for Resources and Environments.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julian Diaz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Using geology and AI, a virtual model of how the Earth’s tectonic plates have evolved can help reveal deposits of copper.Dietmar Müller, Professor of Geophysics, University of SydneyJo Condon, Honorary researcher, The University of MelbourneJulian Diaz, Exploration Geologist, University of SydneyRohitash Chandra, Senior Lecturer, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1628492021-06-23T00:32:06Z2021-06-23T00:32:06ZThe Antarctic Treaty is turning 60 years old. In a changed world, is it still fit for purpose?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/407787/original/file-20210622-16-1fo78ho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=718%2C294%2C6991%2C4932&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AUSTRALIAN ANTARCTIC DIVISION/PR Handout</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The 1959 <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat/treaties/1961/12.html">Antarctic Treaty</a> celebrates its 60th anniversary this week. Negotiated during the middle of the Cold War by 12 countries with Antarctic interests, it remains the only example of a single treaty that governs a whole continent. </p>
<p>It is also the foundation of a rules-based international order for a continent without a permanent population.</p>
<p>The treaty is remarkably short and contains only 14 articles. Principal provisions include promoting the freedom of scientific research, the use of the continent only for peaceful purposes, and the prohibition of military activities, nuclear tests and the disposal of radioactive waste. </p>
<p>However, since the treaty was negotiated in a very different era and there have been a number of environmental, resource and geopolitical disputes related to Antarctica in recent decades, it begs the question: is it still fit for purpose?</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/407788/original/file-20210622-17-1kxg3di.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/407788/original/file-20210622-17-1kxg3di.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407788/original/file-20210622-17-1kxg3di.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407788/original/file-20210622-17-1kxg3di.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407788/original/file-20210622-17-1kxg3di.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407788/original/file-20210622-17-1kxg3di.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407788/original/file-20210622-17-1kxg3di.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies (left) at the first Antarctic Treaty consultative meeting in Canberra in 1961.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">National Archives of Australia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What the treaty says about territorial claims</h2>
<p>The most important provision of the treaty is <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat/treaties/1961/12.html">Article IV</a>, which effectively seeks to neutralise territorial sovereignty in Antarctica. </p>
<p>For the Antarctic territorial claimants, this meant a limit was placed on making any new claim or enlargement of an existing claim. </p>
<p>Likewise, no formal recognition was given to any of the <a href="https://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/law-and-treaty/history/antarctic-territorial-claims/">seven territorial claims</a> on the continent, by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1407016714345369607"}"></div></p>
<p>Russia, the United States and China — signatories with significant Antarctic interests who have not formally made territorial claims — are also bound by the limitations of Article IV. </p>
<p>And one sector of Antarctica is <a href="https://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/law-and-treaty/history/antarctic-territorial-claims/">not subject to the claim of any country</a>, which effectively makes it the last unclaimed land on earth.</p>
<p>The treaty also put a freeze on any disputes between claimants over their territories on the continent. Claimants agreed to abide by the rules and obligations of the treaty, which meant countries that don’t recognise claims (such as China and Russia) are free to go about scientific research and peaceful activities. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/murky-waters-why-is-japan-still-whaling-in-the-southern-ocean-71402">Murky waters: why is Japan still whaling in the Southern Ocean?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How the treaty has expanded</h2>
<p>Though the compact has held for 60 years, there have been tensions from time to time. Argentina and the UK, for instance, have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/oct/19/climatechange.fossilfuels">overlapping claims</a> to territory on the continent. When combined with their ongoing dispute over the nearby Falkland (Malvinas) Islands, their Antarctic relationship remains frosty. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/407610/original/file-20210622-19-mp22fn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4489%2C3059&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/407610/original/file-20210622-19-mp22fn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407610/original/file-20210622-19-mp22fn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407610/original/file-20210622-19-mp22fn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407610/original/file-20210622-19-mp22fn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407610/original/file-20210622-19-mp22fn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407610/original/file-20210622-19-mp22fn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Argentina’s Base Orcadas Research Station on Laurie Island in Antarctica. It is the oldest research station on the continent.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A key reason why the treaty has been able to survive has been its ability to evolve through a number of additional conventions and other legal protocols. These have dealt with the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/other/dfat/treaties/ATS/1982/9.html?stem=0&synonyms=0&query=Antarctic%20Marine%20Living">conservation of marine living resources</a>, <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat/treaties/1998/6.html">prohibitions on mining</a>, and the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat/treaties/1998/6.html">adoption of comprehensive environmental protection mechanisms</a>. </p>
<p>As disputes have arisen over the years, many have been addressed through the expansion of the treaty framework with these agreements. This framework is now referred to as the “<a href="https://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/law-and-treaty/australia-and-antarctic-treaty-system/">Antarctic Treaty System</a>”. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1404448311784902658"}"></div></p>
<p>These measures have been a great success, but tensions have arisen in recent years over the promotion of Southern Ocean marine reserves. Agreement was reached in 2016 on a <a href="https://www.mfat.govt.nz/tr/environment/antarctica-and-the-southern-ocean/ross-sea-region-marine-protected-area/">Ross Sea Marine Protected Area</a>, and momentum is building for a broader network of <a href="https://www.antarctica.gov.au/news/2021/momentum-builds-for-southern-ocean-protection/">Southern Ocean marine protected areas</a>. China and Russia have resisted these initiatives. </p>
<p>Membership of the treaty has grown in the intervening years, with <a href="https://www.ats.aq/devAS/Parties?lang=e">54 signatories</a> today.</p>
<p>Scientific engagement in Antarctica is considered critical to exercising influence under the treaty. New treaty parties have to meet certain criteria relating to active scientific programs before they are able to participate in meetings as “<a href="https://www.ats.aq/devAS/Parties?lang=e">consultative parties</a>”. A total of 29 treaty parties, including Australia, meet these scientific engagement thresholds.</p>
<p>Building, operating and conducting scientific research programs are key to the success not only of the treaty, but also to the claimants’ credibility in Antarctica. Australia, for instance, has permitted Belarus, China, France, India, Italy, Russia, and the US to conduct scientific programs at their own research bases within its Antarctic territory, which covers 42% of the continent. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-there-about-to-be-a-dash-for-antarcticas-resources-24457">Is there about to be a dash for Antarctica's resources?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Where to from here?</h2>
<p>While the Antarctic Treaty has been able to successfully respond to a range of challenges, circumstances are radically different in the 2020s compared to the 1950s. Antarctica is much more accessible, partly due to technology but also climate change. More countries now have substantive interests in the continent than the original 12. Some global resources are becoming scarce, especially oil. </p>
<p>This will inevitably result in increased attention being given to the potential for Antarctic mining to take place sometime in the future. Calls to revisit the prohibition on Antarctic mining would seem inevitable. </p>
<p>There is also uncertainty as to China’s intentions in Antarctica. China joined the treaty in 1983, became a consultative party in 1985, and in 2017 hosted a <a href="https://www.ats.aq/devAS/Meetings/Past/82">consultative party meeting in Beijing</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/407789/original/file-20210623-17-7twmte.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/407789/original/file-20210623-17-7twmte.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407789/original/file-20210623-17-7twmte.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407789/original/file-20210623-17-7twmte.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407789/original/file-20210623-17-7twmte.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407789/original/file-20210623-17-7twmte.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407789/original/file-20210623-17-7twmte.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Xue Long, a Chinese icebreaker, en route back to Shanghai after a visit to Antarctica in 2016.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>China has a developing scientific program on the continent, with four research stations (three of which are in Australia’s Antarctic Territory), and a fifth planned. While Australia and China cooperate on a number of Antarctic scientific and logistics programs, the direction of <a href="https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/eyes-on-prize-australia-china-and-antarctic-treaty-system">China’s Antarctic engagement</a> and long-term support for treaty is not clear. </p>
<p>There is considerable speculation as to China’s interests in Antarctic resources, especially <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/05/antarctica-great-power-competition-australia-united-states-britain-russia-china-arctic/611674/">fisheries</a> and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-20/chinas-desire-for-antarctic-mining-despite-international-ban/6029414?nw=0">minerals</a>, and whether China may seek to exploit weaknesses in the treaty system to secure access to those resources.</p>
<p>All of the treaty signatories, but especially those with significant stakes in the continent, need to give the future of the treaty more attention. </p>
<p>The Australian parliament, for instance, last conducted an <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/National_Capital_and_External_Territories/AntarcticTerritory/Report">inquiry</a> into the Australian Antarctic Territory in 2018. None of the 22 recommendations, however, had a precise focus on the Antarctic Treaty.</p>
<p>The mining ban under the Madrid Protocol to the treaty could be subject to review in 2048. If the treaty’s signatories wish to ensure it remains fit for purpose in 2048 and beyond, more strategic thinking needs to be given to Antarctica’s future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162849/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Donald Rothwell has previously received funding from the Australian Research Council, and was previously a member of the Antarctic Science Advisory Council</span></em></p>Complex questions over environmental protection and resource extraction require the signatories to give the future of the treaty much more serious attention.Donald Rothwell, Professor of International Law, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1611072021-05-31T15:24:11Z2021-05-31T15:24:11ZMozambique’s difficult decade: three lessons to inform next steps<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403090/original/file-20210527-21-a1fdlt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A child plays in a street in the port village of Paquitequete near Pemba, northern Mozambique. The region suffered decades of neglect, and major gas projects have failed to deliver local benefits.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo by Alfredo Zuniga/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>At the start of the last decade, Mozambique’s prospects looked stellar. Following from the early 1990s, when peace finally arrived after a devastating and protracted armed conflict, this vast country in Southern Africa could look back proudly on a sustained period of <a href="http://cdm15738.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getfile/collection/p15738coll2/id/87288/filename/87289.pdf">rapid growth and poverty reduction</a>. </p>
<p>Mozambique was a <a href="https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/public/Research/Africa/0810brown_weimer.pdf">darling of the international development community</a>, enjoying significant direct support to the government budget, and investment possibilities in the natural resources sector seemed bright.</p>
<p>By 2016, much of this <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-mozambique-can-contain-its-debt-crisis-and-avoid-long-term-damage-59180">lustre had been lost</a>. In part this was due to an economic crisis heralded by the discovery of <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-mozambique-can-avoid-stepping-into-the-abyss-57356">illegal debts</a> taken on by newly formed state companies. Ultimately, these appeared to have been designed to enrich a small political elite and their overseas collaborators. And this led international donors to freeze much of their support. </p>
<p>But mounting debts have not been the only challenge. By the early 2010s, prospects for the coal sector – which, under conservative assumptions, had been <a href="https://www.iese.ac.mz/%7Eieseacmz/lib/publication/III_Conf2012/IESE_IIIConf_Paper19.pdf">projected</a> to deliver $1 billion in annual government revenue by now – had been slashed. The exit of Rio Tinto in 2014, at a <a href="https://www.mining.com/rio-tintos-3-7bn-mozambique-coal-business-sold-for-50m-72265/">loss to the company</a> of over US$3 billion, was indicative.</p>
<p>Fast-forward to the present day. The macro-economy has stabilised somewhat. Yet little of the promise of 10 years ago has been fulfilled. Even though massive private investment inflows have continued, <a href="https://edi.opml.co.uk/research/mozambique-institutional-diagnostic/">real economic growth has fallen sharply</a>. <a href="https://www.wider.unu.edu/publication/evolution-multidimensional-poverty-crisis-ridden-mozambique">Poverty and other indicators of deprivation</a> have also remained stubbornly high. </p>
<p>And serious conflicts have emerged, especially in the north of the country. An <a href="https://www.iom.int/news/communities-displaced-recent-violence-mozambique-offered-respite-assistance-new-transit-centre">estimated</a> 700,000 people – that’s 2% of the country’s population – have been internally displaced due to conflict. </p>
<p>Large investments in the natural gas sector have been delayed or cut back. And the largest potential investment, by the French giant Total, has now been placed on indefinite (if not permanent) <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/frances-total-declares-force-majeure-mozambique-lng-project-2021-04-26/">hold</a>, citing security concerns. </p>
<p>COVID-19 has only added to the list of complex, protracted challenges facing the country.</p>
<p>In sum, Mozambique has experienced a difficult decade. It’s time to recognise that the development strategy of this period has not delivered.</p>
<h2>Drawing lessons</h2>
<p>A few lessons are emerging as to why Mozambique’s recent development path has failed to live up to expectations. These are relevant to avoid further mistakes. They also serve as a warning to other low-income countries betting heavily on large-scale inward foreign direct investment. </p>
<p>Three lessons stand out:</p>
<p><strong>Don’t believe the hype:</strong> A consistent and defining feature of the engagement of foreign companies in Mozambique’s natural resource sector has been their tendency to make extremely bullish predictions of their own success. One example was Rio Tinto, which proclaimed in 2011 that its newly acquired Mozambique operations represented the “<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/rio-tinto-plc-fraud-timeline-idUSL4N1MT21Y">greatest underdeveloped seaborne coking coal in the world</a>”.</p>
<p>Projected project timelines have been routinely highly optimistic, suggesting production and government revenues will quickly come on stream, to the benefit of all parties. Alas, as the US Securities and Exchange Commission <a href="https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2017-196">complaint</a> against managers at Rio Tinto notes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>On-the-ground realities in Mozambique quickly undermined {their optimistic} narrative.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Both international partners and government officials have often sung the same tune. Indeed, the International Monetary Fund’s <a href="https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/dsa/pdf/2016/dsacr1609.pdf">2015 debt sustainability assessment</a> projected new liquefied natural gas (LNG) production would start as early as 2021. And that it would yield annual growth rates of 50% in the value of exports. </p>
<p>Similarly, Mozambique’s 2016 <a href="https://www.open.ac.uk/technology/mozambique/sites/www.open.ac.uk.technology.mozambique/files/files/Presentation_by_the_Ministry_of_Economy_and_Finance_-_25_October_2016.pdf">presentation</a> to commercial creditors suggested new LNG production should come online as early as 2022/23, generating double-digit growth in real GDP. In a stroke the country’s external debt problems would be resolved. </p>
<p>These projections were wildly over-optimistic.</p>
<p>Of course, hindsight has clear advantages. But excessively bullish predictions, which are then used as <a href="https://www.wider.unu.edu/publication/extractive-industries-and-development">key assumptions to forecast future macroeconomic sustainability</a>, have been repeated on multiple occasions. </p>
<p><strong>Foreign investment is a means, not an end:</strong> The theme of natural resource investments has dominated policy discussions in Mozambique over the last decade. Assuring these projects move ahead has often seemed like the only objective, automatically guaranteeing Mozambique becomes a middle-income country, perhaps even the “<a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150527006452/en/Research-and-Markets-Mozambiques-Potential-to-Become-the-Qatar-of-Africa">Qatar of Africa</a>”. </p>
<p>Sadly, emerging macroeconomic challenges have only entrenched the salience of finalising these investments. The <a href="https://www.elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/002/2016/009/article-A003-en.xml">IMF’s message</a> has been clear:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Ensuring that LNG production materialises remains important to underpin Mozambique’s long-run debt sustainability.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But natural resource investments in low-income countries have <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/mining-for-change-9780198851172?q=mining%20for%20change&lang=en&cc=dk">rarely delivered widespread developmental gains</a>. As the experiences of Nigeria and Angola show, benefits are often extremely narrow and captured by a small elite. At worst, the distortionary effects can undermine competitiveness in the rest of the economy, leaving the poorest even poorer. </p>
<p><a href="https://edi.opml.co.uk/resource/mozambique-institutional-diagnostic-chapter-12/">Arguably</a>, some of these effects have already been apparent in Mozambique. Millions of dollars have been poured into the capital city, fuelling multiple high-end real estate investments. Any dividend for the poor has yet to emerge. And public investment has collapsed.</p>
<p>The more general lesson is that managing large-scale private investments so that they deliver broad-based (inclusive) developmental gains <a href="https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/Publications/Working-paper/PDF/wp2018-140.pdf">is never easy</a>. </p>
<p>At the minimum, alongside genuine political will, it demands pro-active upgrading of the capabilities of the state. This includes strengthening institutions and the quality of economic governance. Without this, weaknesses are easily exploited to the private benefit of the companies and corrupt local factions.</p>
<p><strong>Don’t forget the poor:</strong> A flip side of the focus on natural resource investments has been a lack of attention to other sectors, as well as the increasingly unbalanced regional and rural-urban patterns of development. A pronounced north-south gradient has been <a href="https://edi.opml.co.uk/research/mozambique-institutional-diagnostic/">evident</a> in a range of socio-economic outcomes for decades. But the imbalance has worsened over recent years. </p>
<p>Many <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-56773012">commentators</a> suggest that current conflicts, particularly in the north, directly reflect these growing inequalities. The lesson is that rising inequality, particularly in countries such as Mozambique where nation-building remains a work in progress, can represent a very serious threat to developmental success.</p>
<h2>What comes next?</h2>
<p>In addition to the immediate cessation of conflict, Mozambique requires a coherent set of policies, not projects, based on a clear vision for the development of the country as a whole.</p>
<p>These cannot be formulated from the luxury of air-conditioned offices in Maputo, Brussels or Washington. Without a genuine understanding of the complexities of “on-the-ground realities”, including weaknesses in state capacity and <a href="https://www.econ.ku.dk/derg/wps/08-2021.pdf">political dynamics</a>, earlier mistakes are likely to be repeated. Listening to poor communities, learning from local successes, and building a common – yet realistic – vision of the future is fundamental. </p>
<p>This takes time. Delegating it to external consultants or political apparatchiks will be a recipe for failure.</p>
<p>But the process of building an inclusive developmental vision also represents an opportunity – to build state capability as well as to renew today’s fragile social compact. </p>
<p>Nurturing engines of economic growth outside the natural resources sector will be critical for long-term development and sustainability. In their absence, it may not be so bad if some natural resources stay in the ground.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/161107/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The development strategy based on foreign investment in natural resources projects has not delivered economic growth or security. What’s needed is an inclusive vision based on local realities.Sam Jones, Research Fellow, World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), United Nations UniversityFinn Tarp, Professor of Economics, University of CopenhagenLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1580792021-03-30T14:40:38Z2021-03-30T14:40:38ZOffshore gas finds offered major promise for Mozambique: what went wrong<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/392531/original/file-20210330-21-1w2h3jg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People displaced by the atacks on the town of Palma, northern Mozambique, flee to safety with meagre possessions.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alfredo Zuniga / AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Recent events in Palma, a town in the volatile Cabo Delgado province in the north of Mozambique, have taken bloodshed in the region to new levels. Dozens of people were killed when <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-56557623">hundreds of Islamist militants stormed the town</a> on Wednesday, 25 March. They <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-56563539">targeted</a> shops, banks and a military barracks.</p>
<p>The attack has been devastating for the people living in the area – as well as the country. The escalating violence has already <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/08/14/mozambique-growing-insurgency-take-strategic-port-mocimboa-praia-islamic-state/">left at least a thousand dead</a> and displaced hundreds of thousands more. </p>
<p>The conflict has put a temporary lid on plans that have been in the making for more than a decade since rich liquefied natural gas (LNG) deposits were discovered in the Rovuma Basin, just off the coast of Cabo Delgado. Western majors like Total, Exxon Mobil, Chevron and BP entered the Mozambique LNG industry as well as Japan’s Mitsui, Malaysia’s Petronas and China’s CNPC.</p>
<p>The gas projects are estimated to be worth <a href="https://www.iiss.org/blogs/military-balance/2020/10/mozambique-insurgency">US$60 billion</a> in total. Some observers recently predicted that Mozambique could become one of the <a href="https://www.nsenergybusiness.com/features/mozambique-lng/">top ten LNG</a> producers in the world. </p>
<p>The development of the projects had led to the area becoming a hive of economic activity.</p>
<p>The plan was for Palma to become a LNG manufacturing hub where hundreds of skilled workers would be located. And, more broadly, the hope was that it would drive the rapid advancement of a country that ranks close to the <a href="http://hdr.undp.org/sites/all/themes/hdr_theme/country-notes/MOZ.pdf">bottom of the United Nations Human Development Index</a>. More than 70% of the population have been classified as <a href="http://hdr.undp.org/sites/all/themes/hdr_theme/country-notes/MOZ.pdf">“multidimensionally poor”</a> by the United Nations Development Programme.</p>
<p>The LNG projects in the northern Cabo Delgado area represented a silver lining of hope. Since 2012 the major multinational energy companies have spent billions of dollars on developing the offshore gas sites. Today, offshore exploration in the Cabo Delgado area includes Africa’s <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/gas-rich-mozambique-headed-disaster-200223112556449.html">three largest LNG projects</a>. These are the Mozambique LNG Project (involving Total and previously Anadarko) worth <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/gas-rich-mozambique-headed-disaster-200223112556449.html">$20 billion</a>; the Coral FLNG Project (involving Eni and Exxon Mobil) worth <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/gas-rich-mozambique-headed-disaster-200223112556449.html">$4.7 billion</a>; and the Rovuma LNG Project (involving Exxon Mobil, Eni and CNPC) worth <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/gas-rich-mozambique-headed-disaster-200223112556449.html">$30 billion</a>.</p>
<p>Production was <a href="https://constructionreviewonline.com/project-timelines/mozambique-lng-project-timeline-and-all-you-need-to-know/">scheduled to start in 2024</a> but intensifying attacks near the gas site on the Afungi peninsula are now posing serious challenges to the production time lines. </p>
<p>There have been no material benefits for the people of Cabo Delgado thus far. Moreover, many local people feel deeply aggrieved because many <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/gas-rich-mozambique-headed-disaster-200223112556449.html">were evicted and had to relocate</a> soon after the discovery of gas in Cabo Delgado to make way for LNG infrastructure development. </p>
<h2>History of instability</h2>
<p>Cabo Delgado is Mozambique’s most northern province. Neglected over many years, the people who live there have been politically marginalised. And the area is underdeveloped. </p>
<p>Since independence in 1975 investment, and rising incomes, were largely confined to the capital Maputo in the south as well as the <a href="https://saiia.org.za/research/cabo-delgado-and-the-rise-of-militant-islam-another-niger-delta-in-the-making/">southern parts of the country</a>.</p>
<p>In addition, the central government in Maputo has only had a fragile and precarious control over the territory and borders of the country. A 16-year civil war that involved <a href="https://issafrica.org/research/southern-africa-report/the-genesis-of-insurgency-in-northern-mozambique">clashes between the central government</a> and Renamo, a militant organisation and political movement during the liberation struggle and now opposition party, claimed more than a million lives.</p>
<p>More recently, since 2017, the militant Islamic movement, <a href="https://institute.global/policy/mozambique-conflict-and-deteriorating-security-situation">Ansar al-Sunna</a>, locally known as Al-Shabaab, has been active in Cabo Delgado. It now poses the biggest security threat in the country, rendering some of the northern parts almost <a href="https://saiia.org.za/research/cabo-delgado-and-the-rise-of-militant-islam-another-niger-delta-in-the-making/">ungovernable</a>. </p>
<p>The militants took advantage of the Mozambican government’s failure to exercise control over the entire territory of the country. </p>
<p>Ansar al-Sunna <a href="https://www.state.gov/state-department-terrorist-designations-of-isis-affiliates-and-leaders-in-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-and-mozambique/">reportedly</a> pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in April 2018. It was acknowledged as an affiliate of ISIS-Core in August 2019. In view of this, the US Department of State has designated Ansar al-Sunna Mozambique, which it refers to as <a href="https://www.state.gov/state-department-terrorist-designations-of-isis-affiliates-and-leaders-in-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-and-mozambique/">ISIS-Mozambique</a>, as a foreign terrorist organisation. </p>
<p>What makes this armed force so significant is that the movement has orchestrated a series of large scale and targeted attacks. In 2020 this led to the temporary capturing of the strategic <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-53756692">port of Mocimboa da Praia</a> in Cabo Delgado. </p>
<p>In addition, the turbulence caused by the militants’ attacks has <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/mozambique/mozambique-caring-people-displaced-violence-cabo-delgado">displaced nearly 670,000 people</a> within northern Mozambique. Obviously, foreign companies in the LNG industry with their considerable investments feel threatened, especially at the current stage where final investment decisions have to be taken.</p>
<p>In recent months the situation in Cabo Delgado has gone from bad to worse. In November 2020, dozens of people were reportedly <a href="https://mg.co.za/africa/2021-03-23-beheadings-aid-workers-wait-for-visas-as-violence-intensifies-in-mozambique/">beheaded</a> by the militants. Now the bloodshed has spread to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/29/total-chaos-survivors-tell-of-insurgent-attack-in-mozambique-palma">Palma</a>. </p>
<p>Amid the development of an increasingly alarming human rights situation towards the end of last year, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26497&LangID=E">appealed for urgent measures</a> to protect civilians. She described the situation as “desperate” and one of “grave human rights abuses”. Bachelet also stated that more than 350,000 people had been displaced since 2018.</p>
<h2>Growing risk</h2>
<p>There is little doubt that Islamist insurgents are increasing the scale of their activities in Cabo Delgado. A lack of governance and a proper security response by both the Mozambican government and southern African leaders make this a case of high political risk for the LNG industry.</p>
<p>The escalation of the insurgency can potentially jeopardise the successful unlocking of Mozambique’s resource wealth. Until now, the main LNG installations and sites have not been targeted, but the attacks in Palma have brought the turbulence dangerously close to some of the installations. </p>
<p>The Mozambican armed forces are clearly stretched beyond the point where they can protect the local communities. A part of the solution lies in Southern African Development Community or at least South African military support to stabilise Cabo Delgado and restore law and order in the short term. Wider international support might even be necessary. </p>
<p>But this would require the Mozambican government to change its stance by allowing multinational foreign military forces on its soil. </p>
<p>At the same time, a long term solution should be pursued. This will require better governance of the northern areas and the local people in what has been called <a href="https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/sar-27.pdf">a forgotten province</a>.</p>
<p>It is clear that Cabo Delgado is an area which the central government in Maputo is unable to control, govern effectively, or even influence. In short, <a href="https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/sar-27.pdf">weak state institutions</a> – including weak armed forces – are key to the problems of Mozambique and specifically the turbulence in the northern parts.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158079/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Theo Neethling receives funding from the National Research Foundation. </span></em></p>The conflict has put a temporary lid on plans that have been in the making for more than a decade since rich liquefied natural gas reserves were discovered in the Rovuma Basin.Theo Neethling, Professor of Political Science, Department of Political Studies and Governance, University of the Free StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1474552020-11-10T19:01:39Z2020-11-10T19:01:39ZA third of our waste comes from buildings. This one’s designed for reuse and cuts emissions by 88%<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368204/original/file-20201109-21-1pqcis4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4031%2C2667&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Roberto Minunno</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Designing buildings so they can easily be taken apart and the materials reused provides a feasible and commercial pathway for minimising waste and greenhouse gas emissions. Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.104855">research</a> shows one such Curtin University building, the <a href="http://l3.curtin.edu.au">Legacy Living Lab</a> in Fremantle, reduces construction waste and cuts emissions to almost a tenth of what a conventional building process would produce. </p>
<p>The modular, <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-the-circular-economy-23298">circular economy</a> building produces benefits in all six environmental indicators we assessed. It’s part of <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/8/9/125">our vision</a> for the <a href="https://www.climateworksaustralia.org/resource/decarbonisation-futures-buildings/">decarbonisation of buildings</a>. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Hf8SBkBfzCs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Legacy Living Lab is proof that designing buildings for disassembly and reuse greatly reduces their environmental impacts.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/buildings-produce-25-of-australias-emissions-what-will-it-take-to-make-them-green-and-wholl-pay-105652">Buildings produce 25% of Australia's emissions. What will it take to make them 'green' – and who'll pay?</a>
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</em>
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<h2>Learning from nature</h2>
<p>Natural biogeochemical cycles create little or no waste. These circular cycles eventually transform used material into a new resource. For example, through the nutrient cycle a fallen leaf provides the building blocks for future leaves. </p>
<p>It’s simple and beautiful. The opposite of a linear model of “take, make, dispose”. It’s complex and ugly. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, this is the model industrialised society has adopted. And not only for our coffee pods, which mostly <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-16/most-nespresso-coffee-pods-not-being-recycled/11708910">end up in landfill</a>, but also for most commercial and residential buildings. </p>
<p>The building industry consumes about <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2015.06.001">50% of mineral resources and produces about 35% of waste</a>. It’s a <a href="https://theconversation.com/buildings-produce-25-of-australias-emissions-what-will-it-take-to-make-them-green-and-wholl-pay-105652">major source</a> of global greenhouse gas emissions. What, then, can be done?</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="steel frames of a building under construction" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368422/original/file-20201109-14-lqujzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368422/original/file-20201109-14-lqujzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368422/original/file-20201109-14-lqujzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368422/original/file-20201109-14-lqujzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368422/original/file-20201109-14-lqujzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368422/original/file-20201109-14-lqujzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368422/original/file-20201109-14-lqujzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The reuse of steel frames for building saves costs and reduces resource consumption and emissions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-create-20m-tons-of-construction-industry-waste-each-year-heres-how-to-stop-it-going-to-landfill-114602">We create 20m tons of construction industry waste each year. Here's how to stop it going to landfill</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Rethinking ‘downward spiral’ recycling</h2>
<p>The answer lies in revisiting the basics of our recycling practices. Since the late 1990s, recycling has been <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652615012287">considered an environmental solution</a>, with recycling bins popping up everywhere. However, researchers and consumers alike have begun to realise recycling often comes down to mere “<a href="https://theconversation.com/recycling-isnt-enough-the-worlds-plastic-pollution-crisis-is-only-getting-worse-144175">wishcycling</a>”. <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/7/e1700782">Less than 10% of plastics</a> is actually being recycled.</p>
<p>Reprocessing is considered the best way to keep materials in use, particularly for artefacts like coffee cups or microchips. However, for many other products, such as building materials, recycling often translates into less than helpful down-cycling. </p>
<p>Even seemingly environmentally benign material, such as timber, often cannot be recycled. Rather, it is remanufactured into products of lower economic value and quality. The material is in a downward spiral that only delays its disposal to landfill.</p>
<p>Clearly, it is much better for the environment if we can find ways to reuse products. Indeed, there are “<a href="https://theconversation.com/avoiding-single-use-plastic-was-becoming-normal-until-coronavirus-heres-how-we-can-return-to-good-habits-140555">reusable alternatives for almost everything</a>: beeswax or silicone food wraps, reusable coffee pods, shampoo and conditioner bars, reusable safety razors and bars of soap, rather than liquid soap”. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/with-the-right-tools-we-can-mine-cities-87672">With the right tools, we can mine cities</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Applying reuse principles to buildings</h2>
<p>Can this reuse practice be adopted for buildings too? After all, a building is a sophisticated and complex product compared to coffee pods or cling wrap. </p>
<p>Researchers from Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute put this question to the test by building a modular, reusable laboratory. It’s a place where researchers, builders and citizens alike can meet to prototype and study new products. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="interior of building" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368424/original/file-20201109-14-1qalx88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368424/original/file-20201109-14-1qalx88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368424/original/file-20201109-14-1qalx88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368424/original/file-20201109-14-1qalx88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368424/original/file-20201109-14-1qalx88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368424/original/file-20201109-14-1qalx88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368424/original/file-20201109-14-1qalx88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Legacy Living Lab is a highly functional building that can be taken apart and reused elsewhere within a matter of days.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="http://l3.curtin.edu.au">Legacy Living Lab</a> (L3) is a highly functional, state-of-the-art building with offices and space for collaboration. Yet it can be taken apart – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2015.08.485">deconstructed or disassembled</a> – moved and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.104855">reused anywhere within weeks</a>. </p>
<p>Findings from studying the environmental impact of this facility point towards a resounding yes to the question of whether reuse practices can be adopted for buildings. The in-built reuse practices of the L3 <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.104855">save 18 tonnes of construction materials</a> from disposal compared to common building industry practices. This leads to an 88% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions.</p>
<p>So how was this done? Simply, by choosing reused steel frames, opting for steel foundations instead of concrete, and designing internal wall cladding that’s easily disassembled. This makes it almost as easy to take the building apart as your average Lego spaceship.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="wall cladding" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368419/original/file-20201109-24-kng7ia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368419/original/file-20201109-24-kng7ia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368419/original/file-20201109-24-kng7ia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368419/original/file-20201109-24-kng7ia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368419/original/file-20201109-24-kng7ia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368419/original/file-20201109-24-kng7ia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368419/original/file-20201109-24-kng7ia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The internal wall cladding is designed to be easily taken apart.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/green-cement-a-step-closer-to-being-a-game-changer-for-construction-emissions-126033">Green cement a step closer to being a game-changer for construction emissions</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>When the time comes to decommission the building, it can be deconstructed as eight modules. These can be moved to the next site for reuse rather than being demolished.</p>
<p>Modular buildings are made of box-shaped structures, built off-site and delivered on-site in a matter of hours. This has the added benefit of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2011.11.049">minimum disruption for our cities</a> compared to traditional construction sites. </p>
<p>Modular buildings come in all shapes and dimensions, from tiny houses to skyscrapers and factories. They are often <a href="https://www.mymove.com/home-inspiration/decoration-design-ideas/basic-facts-about-modular-homes/">more cost-effective</a> to produce than traditional double-brick constructions. </p>
<p>Thus, as well as a minimal environmental footprint, the advantages of modular buildings include flexibility, speed and cost. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People watch as a crane lowers a building module into place" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368421/original/file-20201109-16-1t6dbsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368421/original/file-20201109-16-1t6dbsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368421/original/file-20201109-16-1t6dbsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368421/original/file-20201109-16-1t6dbsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368421/original/file-20201109-16-1t6dbsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368421/original/file-20201109-16-1t6dbsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368421/original/file-20201109-16-1t6dbsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The building’s eight modules were built off-site and then rapidly put together on site.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Creating a new building materials market</h2>
<p>By adopting easily disassembled modular buildings, we can create a whole new market for reusable building materials. Design-for-disassembly and closed-loop supply chains can keep building components in the material loop as they are – without the need for wishy-washy and wasteful recycling procedures. </p>
<p>Similar to the way nature operates, the team at CUSP created a building whose byproducts from one process remain in the loop as inputs for the next, keeping waste to a minimum. In this way, disassembly becomes <a href="https://theconversation.com/unbuilding-cities-as-high-rises-reach-their-use-by-date-129002">much safer and cleaner</a>, which benefits our cities and their residents.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/unbuilding-cities-as-high-rises-reach-their-use-by-date-129002">Unbuilding cities as high-rises reach their use-by date</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>All that does not mean <a href="https://www.positivefootprints.com.au/assets/files/133-construction-waste-draft-1.pdf">recycling building waste</a> isn’t beneficial. It all depends on the project. Timber can at least be chipped into garden mulch, bricks and concrete crushed into road base, and so forth.</p>
<p>But this approach is not nearly as neat as nature’s way of handling waste. Design for disassembly and modularity comes closer to that. It can lead the way towards a marketplace where it is common practice to retain material in the supply chain. </p>
<p>If our goal is to create products and processes that “<a href="https://biomimicry.org/what-is-biomimicry">solve our greatest design challenges sustainably</a> and in solidarity with all life on Earth”, it’s time we turned toward nature. We believe it will be a wiser guide than any other in our efforts to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652617303220">redefine wasteful, linear business models</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/147455/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roberto Minunno receives funding from ARC ITTC – CAMP.H (Centre for Advanced Manufacture of Prefabricated Housing) Grant number: IC150 1000 23.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Greg Morrison receives funding from CRC LCL, ARENA, Commonwealth Smart Cities and Suburbs, ARC CampH, RACE for 2030 CRC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Timothy Michael O'Grady receives funding from ARC ITTC – CAMP.H (Centre for Advanced Manufacture of Prefabricated Housing) Grant number: IC150 1000 23. JTSI PhD Fellowship research project J0546/201801 </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard L. Gruner does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A building designed to be easily taken apart so the components can be reused is a model for much less wasteful construction. It reduces resource use and environmental impacts, and can be cheaper too.Roberto Minunno, Research Fellow in Sustainability Buildings, Curtin UniversityGreg Morrison, Professor and Director, Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute, Curtin UniversityRichard L. Gruner, Associate professor, The University of Western AustraliaTimothy Michael O'Grady, PhD researcher, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1338082020-05-06T09:56:12Z2020-05-06T09:56:12ZWhat a sustainable circular economy would look like<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333033/original/file-20200506-49546-bsrn4y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C0%2C4966%2C3368&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/small-plats-growing-carton-chicken-egg-1379753951">FotoHelin/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/22/worlds-consumption-of-materials-hits-record-100bn-tonnes-a-year">100 billion tonnes</a> of materials entered the global economy in 2017 to generate power, build infrastructure and homes, produce food, and provide consumer goods such as clothes and phones. There are now <a href="https://theconversation.com/weve-declared-a-climate-emergency-heres-what-universal-basic-income-could-do-to-help-the-planet-110222">more phones than people</a> on the planet, and the amount of clothes purchased is forecast to reach <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvaud/1952/full-report.html">more than 92 million tonnes by 2030</a>.</p>
<p>Some estimates suggest that <a href="https://www.getrichslowly.org/the-story-of-stuff/">99% of the things</a> people buy is discarded within six months of purchasing without the material being recovered. That’s because we have what you might call a <a href="https://theconversation.com/our-prosperity-is-in-peril-unless-we-shift-from-a-wasteful-world-to-a-circular-economy-47247">linear economy</a>. It works by extracting resources and manufacturing products from them, that are sold to people and then generally disposed of after a short period of use.</p>
<p>But the COVID-19 pandemic has upended normal economic activity, dipping the global economy into what may become the worst economic downturn <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/us/politics/coronavirus-economy-recession-depression.html">since the Great Depression</a>. Rather than try to revive a system that’s inherently wasteful, the European Commission has vowed to <a href="https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/opinion/which-world-do-we-want-after-covid-19/">build a sustainable circular economy</a> post-pandemic.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/331811/original/file-20200430-42918-8q4lij.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/331811/original/file-20200430-42918-8q4lij.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331811/original/file-20200430-42918-8q4lij.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331811/original/file-20200430-42918-8q4lij.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331811/original/file-20200430-42918-8q4lij.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331811/original/file-20200430-42918-8q4lij.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331811/original/file-20200430-42918-8q4lij.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A sustainable circular economy in which production and consumption are optimised and embedded in the natural environment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Anne Velenturf</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-economy/what-is-the-circular-economy">idea</a> of a circular economy is simple: to make better use of resources, close loops of resource flows by fully recovering materials instead of wasting them, and prevent waste and pollution by better design of products and materials and keeping them in use for longer.</p>
<p>Sounds great, but how might it work? Our <a href="https://rrfw.org.uk/">research programme</a> supported the implementation of a circular economy in the UK and we discovered that <a href="https://resourcerecoveryfromwaste.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/rrfw_programme_brochure_web_spreads.pdf">three broad types exist</a>.</p>
<h2>1. Closing loops with energy from waste</h2>
<p>The first strategy to “close” loops of material flows is energy from waste (EfW) – burning discarded material to generate electricity. This has replaced landfill as the main processing method for household waste in the UK. Local authorities in the UK collect <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/878124/Digest_of_Waste_and_Resource_Statistics_2018_v2_accessible.pdf">26 million tonnes</a> of waste per year, of which 11 million tonnes goes to EfW while three million tonnes ends up in landfill. Between three to six times more waste plastic, food and textiles go to EfW than are recycled. One and a half times more paper and card go to recycling as go to EfW.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/331822/original/file-20200430-42923-14qknm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/331822/original/file-20200430-42923-14qknm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=160&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331822/original/file-20200430-42923-14qknm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=160&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331822/original/file-20200430-42923-14qknm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=160&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331822/original/file-20200430-42923-14qknm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=202&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331822/original/file-20200430-42923-14qknm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=202&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331822/original/file-20200430-42923-14qknm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=202&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The shift from landfill to energy from waste (million tonnes per year).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">DEFRA and WRAP/Phil Purnell</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Burning materials that could be recycled means everything invested in them is lost, such as money, energy, water and labour. Materials such as nutrients in food and fibres in textiles are then replaced by virgin resources, perpetuating the <a href="https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/31276/RMB_Strategy2020.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y">unsustainable impacts</a> of resource extraction.</p>
<p>Although a recent <a href="https://www.policyconnect.org.uk/news/policy-connect-launching-call-evidence-inquiry-future-energy-waste">inquiry</a> suggests EfW may have some social benefits – like providing <a href="https://network.efwconference.com/users/325167-maddie-ballard/posts/61223-efw-conference-2020-three-takeaways-from-day-1">heat</a> to fuel-poor households – it <a href="https://www.green-alliance.org.uk/employment-and-the-circular-economy.php">creates fewer jobs</a> than recycling, reuse, repair and remanufacturing and <a href="https://zerowasteeurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/edd/2019/09/ZWE_Policy-briefing_The-impact-of-Waste-to-Energy-incineration-on-Climate.pdf">releases greenhouse gases</a>. </p>
<p>But investment in the UK <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23789689.2017.1405654">favours EfW</a>. It’s the path of least resistance, requiring hardly any changes to supply chains or how goods are consumed and disposed of. The UK is practically heading for this pseudo circular economy that is effectively unchanged from the linear take-make-waste model, fitting in with the prevailing short-term economic thinking and a singular focus on GDP growth.</p>
<h2>2. A circular economy based on recycling</h2>
<p>One step up from EfW is the recovery of materials – recycling. In England, the volumes of municipal waste and the proportion that is <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/env18-local-authority-collected-waste-annual-results-tables">collected for recycling</a> has remained more or less unchanged (42%) for the past ten years. Some recycling rates have gone up (eg. from 5% to 11% for food) but others have dropped (56% to 53% for paper and card).</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/331823/original/file-20200430-42962-1xpypis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/331823/original/file-20200430-42962-1xpypis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331823/original/file-20200430-42962-1xpypis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331823/original/file-20200430-42962-1xpypis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331823/original/file-20200430-42962-1xpypis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331823/original/file-20200430-42962-1xpypis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331823/original/file-20200430-42962-1xpypis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Changes in recycling rates for materials collected by local authorities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">DEFRA and WRAP/Phil Purnell</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Textiles are particularly poor. The average UK citizen buys <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvaud/1952/full-report.html">26.7 kg of clothing</a> annually – the most in Europe – and one million tonnes are discarded each year in England. Most binned clothes are incinerated, and increasingly less are recycled (from 17% to 11% since 2010). The recovered fibres are normally suitable only for lower-value applications, such as carpets and insulation. New clothes rarely contain more than a few percent of recycled material, sustaining demand for virgin natural resources.</p>
<p>In a circular economy that relies on recycling to close loops, people aren’t forced to change how much stuff they buy, but manufacturers and waste management companies would change more radically. For example, drinks bottles often use different plastics for the body, cap and label. If these mix in the recycling process they reduce the quality of the recycled material, but separating them is awkward. All products should be <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969718328389">redesigned to ensure they are recyclable</a>.</p>
<p>Manufacturers should <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/resources-and-waste-strategy-for-england">use more recycled material</a> in new products too, creating markets for recovered materials. Massive investment in recycling infrastructure would be required though. Just to meet plastic packaging recycling targets, more than <a href="https://green-alliance.org.uk/building_a_circular_economy.php">50 new recycling plants</a> would be needed in England.</p>
<p>Although recycling normally is <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-circularity-paradox-in-the-european-steel-industry-125613">less energy-intensive</a> than processing virgin resources, it still uses a lot of energy which produces carbon emissions. Even if all recycling used <a href="https://theconversation.com/focusing-on-cutting-emissions-alone-wont-halt-ecological-decline-we-must-consume-less-former-uk-chief-environmental-adviser-122778">renewable energy</a>, the new infrastructure would require vast amounts of virgin materials to be built. In developed countries the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652618340009">total amount of materials</a> within the economy has to be reduced.</p>
<h2>3. A sustainable circular economy</h2>
<p>To achieve a truly sustainable circular economy, consumption and production practices would <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/9/1603">need to change together</a>. A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969719330220">sustainable circular economy</a> involves designing and promoting products that last and that can be reused, repaired and remanufactured. This retains the functional value of products, rather than just recovering the energy or materials they contain and continuously making products anew.</p>
<p>We have to do more with less material and consume responsibly. For example, people in the UK should <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2019/feb/19/dont-feed-monster-the-people-who-have-stopped-buying-new-clothes">buy fewer new clothes</a> and wear what they already have <a href="https://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/VoC%2520FINAL%2520online%25202012%252007%252011.pdf">more often</a>. Repairing and <a href="http://www.leeds.ac.uk/info/4000/around_campus/460/be_curious_festival-about_leeds_and_yorkshire">restyling</a> our favourite clothes can also help to use them more and waste less.</p>
<p>New ways of consuming opens up opportunities for circular economy <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-circular-economy-four-million-business-models-and-counting-115664">business models</a>, such as leasing clothes and producing things that people need <a href="https://timreview.ca/article/1000">on demand</a> only. Business models based on reuse, leasing, repair and remanufacturing could generate <a href="https://green-alliance.org.uk/building_a_circular_economy.php">four times more jobs</a> than waste treatment, disposal and recycling. They generate local economic activity, helping to strengthen relations within communities. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/331812/original/file-20200430-42918-59fm7r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/331812/original/file-20200430-42918-59fm7r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331812/original/file-20200430-42918-59fm7r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331812/original/file-20200430-42918-59fm7r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331812/original/file-20200430-42918-59fm7r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331812/original/file-20200430-42918-59fm7r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331812/original/file-20200430-42918-59fm7r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The transition towards an increasingly sustainable circular economy radically changes the purpose of the economy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Anne Velenturf</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A sustainable circular economy represents a new economic model in which <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969718331887">the aim shifts</a> from narrow GDP growth to “multi-dimensional progress” – the broader strengthening of environmental quality, human well-being and <a href="https://www.cusp.ac.uk/themes/aetw/blog-tj-circular-conversations/">economic prosperity</a> for current and future generations. Only such a circular economy could potentially <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/664563/industrial-strategy-white-paper-web-ready-version.pdf">regenerate the environment</a>.</p>
<p>How we use resources has transformed our economy and society in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/circular-economy-ancient-populations-pioneered-the-idea-of-recycling-waste-107332">past</a>. A circular economy offers us a chance to deliver sustainable benefits for the future. Let’s not waste it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/133808/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anne Velenturf has received funding from the Natural Environment Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Phil Purnell receives funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the Natural Environment Research Council, the Economic and Social Research Council, and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. </span></em></p>From take-make-waste to reuse, repair and remanufacture.Anne Velenturf, Research Impact Fellow in Circular Economy, University of LeedsPhil Purnell, Professor of Materials and Structures, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1315472020-02-16T18:55:42Z2020-02-16T18:55:42ZCritical minerals are vital for renewable energy. We must learn to mine them responsibly<p>As the world shifts away from fossil fuels, we will need to produce enormous numbers of wind turbines, solar panels, electric vehicles and batteries. Demand for the materials needed to build them will skyrocket.</p>
<p>This includes common industrial metals such as steel and copper, but also less familiar minerals such as the lithium used in rechargeable batteries and the rare earth elements used in the powerful magnets required by wind turbines and electric cars. Production of many of these critical minerals has <a href="https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2019/03/apo-nid225446-1339216.pdf">grown enormously</a> over the past decade with no sign of slowing down.</p>
<p>Australia is well placed to take advantage of this growth – some claim we are on the cusp of a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-03/central-australia-on-possible-cusp-of-rare-earths-boom/11753620">rare earths boom</a> – but unless we learn how to do it in a responsible manner, we will only create a new environmental crisis. </p>
<p><iframe id="Ipt1g" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Ipt1g/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>What are critical minerals?</h2>
<p>“<a href="https://www.ga.gov.au/about/projects/resources/critical-minerals">Critical minerals</a>” are metals and non-metals that are essential for our economic future but whose supply may be uncertain. Their supply may be threatened by geopolitics, geological accessibility, legislation, economic rules or other factors. </p>
<p><iframe id="Ce92q" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Ce92q/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>One consequence of a massive transition to renewables will be a drastic increase not only in the consumption of raw materials (including concrete, steel, aluminium, copper and glass) but also in the diversity of materials used. </p>
<p>Three centuries ago, the technologies used by humanity required half a dozen metals. Today we use more than 50, spanning almost the entire periodic table. However, like fossil fuels, minerals are finite. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/metals-and-minerals-will-be-the-next-finite-resource-shortfall-20170">Metals and minerals will be the next finite resource shortfall</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Can we ‘unlearn’ renewables to make them sustainable?</h2>
<p>If we take a traditional approach to mining critical minerals, in a few decades they will run out – and we will face a new environmental crisis. At the same time, it is still unclear how we will secure supply of these minerals as demand surges. </p>
<p>This is further complicated by geopolitics. China is a major producer, accounting for <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2020/mcs2020-rare-earths.pdf">more than 60% of rare earth elements</a>, and significant amounts of tungsten, bismuth and germanium.</p>
<p>This makes other countries, including Australia, dependent on China, and also means the environmental pollution due to mining occurs in China.</p>
<p>The opportunity for Australia is to produce its own minerals, and to do so in a way that minimises environmental harm and is sustainable.</p>
<h2>Where to mine?</h2>
<p>Australia has well established resources in base metals (such as gold, iron, copper, zinc and lead) and presents an outstanding potential in critical minerals. Australia already produces <a href="https://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/minerals/mineral-resources-and-advice/australian-resource-reviews/lithium#heading-6">almost half</a> of lithium worldwide, for example. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315203/original/file-20200213-10985-1t3ljyh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315203/original/file-20200213-10985-1t3ljyh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315203/original/file-20200213-10985-1t3ljyh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315203/original/file-20200213-10985-1t3ljyh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315203/original/file-20200213-10985-1t3ljyh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315203/original/file-20200213-10985-1t3ljyh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=688&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315203/original/file-20200213-10985-1t3ljyh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=688&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315203/original/file-20200213-10985-1t3ljyh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=688&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Existing and potential sites for mining critical minerals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Geoscience Australia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In recent years, Geoscience Australia and several universities have focused <a href="https://www.ga.gov.au/about/projects/resources/critical-minerals">research</a> on determining which critical minerals are associated with specific base ores. </p>
<p>For example, the critical minerals gallium and indium are commonly found as by-products in deposits of lead and zinc. </p>
<p>To work out the best places to look for critical minerals, we will need to understand the geological processes that create concentrations of them in the Earth’s crust.</p>
<p>Critical minerals are mostly located in magmatic rocks, which originate from the Earth’s mantle, and metamorphic rocks, which have been transformed during the formation of mountains. Understanding these rocks is key to finding critical minerals and recovering them from the bulk ores. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315457/original/file-20200214-11011-ixfiru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315457/original/file-20200214-11011-ixfiru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315457/original/file-20200214-11011-ixfiru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315457/original/file-20200214-11011-ixfiru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315457/original/file-20200214-11011-ixfiru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315457/original/file-20200214-11011-ixfiru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315457/original/file-20200214-11011-ixfiru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315457/original/file-20200214-11011-ixfiru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Magmatic rocks such as carbonatite may contain rare earth elements.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bénédicte Cenki-Tok</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Fuelling the transition</h2>
<p>For most western economies, rare earth elements are the most vital. These have electromagnetic properties that make them essential for permanent magnets, rechargeable batteries, catalytic converters, LCD screens and more. Australia shows a great potential in various deposit types across all states. </p>
<p>The Northern Territory is leading with the <a href="https://www.arultd.com/projects/nolans.html">Nolans Bore mine</a> already in early-stage operations. But <a href="https://www.austrade.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/5572/Australian_Critical_Minerals_Prospectus.pdf.aspx">many other minerals</a> are <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/the-next-mining-boom-rare-earths-and-the-rise-of-australia-s-other-minerals-20191119-p53c48.html">vital</a> to economies like ours.</p>
<p>Cobalt and lithium are essential to ion batteries. Gallium is used in photodetectors and photovoltaics systems. Indium is used for its conductive properties in screens. </p>
<p>Critical minerals mining is seen now as an unprecedented economic opportunity for exploration, extraction and exportation. </p>
<p>Recent <a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/2019/12/08/rare-earth-australia/">agreements</a> to secure <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-03/central-australia-on-possible-cusp-of-rare-earths-boom/11753620">supply to the US</a> opens new avenues for the Australian mining industry.</p>
<h2>How can we make it sustainable?</h2>
<p>Beyond the economic opportunity, this is also an environmental one. Australia has the chance to set an example to the world of how to make the supply of critical minerals sustainable. The question is: are we willing to?</p>
<p>Many of the techniques for creating sustainable minerals supply still need to be invented. We must invest in geosciences, create new tools for exploration, extraction, beneficiation and recovery, treat the leftover material from mining as a resource instead of waste, develop urban mining and find substitutes and effective recycling procedures.</p>
<p>In short, we must develop an integrated approach to the circular economy of critical minerals. One potential example to follow here is the <a href="http://www.eurare.eu/docs/EURAREbrochure_vfinal.pdf">European EURARE project</a> initiated a decade ago to secure a future supply of rare earth elements.</p>
<p>More than ever, we need to bridge the gap between disciplines and create new synergies to make a sustainable future. It is essential to act now for a better planet.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/131547/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bénédicte Cenki-Tok receives funding from the European Union MSCA H2020 program, BRGM (Bureau des Recherches Minières et Géologiques which is the French Geological Survey), CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France).</span></em></p>Wind turbines and solar farms need a lot of raw materials. Australia can supply some, but we need to do it sustainably.Bénédicte Cenki, Associate professor at Montpellier University, EU H2020 MSCA visiting researcher, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1265632019-12-04T09:15:57Z2019-12-04T09:15:57ZHow we can recycle more buildings<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304563/original/file-20191201-156090-vgtqcx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Thinking big.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/city-top-view-skyscrapers-building-by-774140332">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118710">35 billion tonnes</a> of non-metallic minerals are extracted from the Earth every year. These materials mainly end up being used to build homes, schools, offices and hospitals. It’s a staggering amount of resources, and it’s only too likely to increase in the coming years as the global population continues to grow. </p>
<p>Thankfully, the challenges of sustainable construction, industrial growth and the importance of resource efficiency are now clearly recognised by governments around the world and are now at the forefront of strategy and policy.</p>
<p>A critical component of the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/securing-the-future-delivering-uk-sustainable-development-strategy">UK government’s sustainability strategy</a> concerns the way in which construction and demolition waste – CDW, as we call it in the trade – is managed. CDW comes from the construction of buildings, civil infrastructure and their demolition and is one of the heaviest waste streams generated in the world – 35% of the world’s landfill is made up of CDW.</p>
<p>The EU’s <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/growth/content/eu-construction-and-demolition-waste-protocol-0_en">Waste Framework Directive</a>, which aims to recycle 70% of non-hazardous CDW by 2020, has encouraged the construction industry to process and reuse materials more sustainably. This directive, which favours preventive measures – for example, reducing their use in the first place – as the best approach to tackling waste, has been implemented in the UK since 2011. More specific to the construction industry, the <a href="https://www.sustainabilityexchange.ac.uk/berr-strategy-for-sustainable-construction">Sustainable Construction Strategy</a> also sets overall targets for diverting CDW from landfill.</p>
<p>Policies worldwide recognise that the construction sector needs to take immediate action to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, tackle the climate crisis and limit resource depletion, with a focus on adopting a <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-a-circular-economy-29666">circular economy</a> approach in construction to ensure the sustainable use of construction materials. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/circular-economy-ancient-populations-pioneered-the-idea-of-recycling-waste-107332">Circular economy: ancient populations pioneered the idea of recycling waste</a>
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<p>Instead of simply knocking buildings down and sending the CDW to landfill, circular construction would turn building components that are at the end of their service life into resources for others, minimising waste.</p>
<p>It would change economic logic because it replaces production with sufficiency: reuse what you can, recycle what cannot be reused, repair what is broken, and re-manufacture what cannot be repaired. It will also help protect businesses against a shortage of resources and unstable prices, creating innovative business opportunities and efficient methods of producing and consuming.</p>
<h2>Changing the mind-set</h2>
<p>The mind-set of the industry needs to change towards the cleaner production of raw materials and better circular construction models. Technical issues – such as price, legal barriers and regulations – that stand in the way of the solutions being rolled out more widely must also be overcome through innovation.</p>
<p>Materials scientists, for example, are currently investigating and developing products that use processed CDW for manufacturing building components – for example, by crushing up CDW and using it to make new building materials.</p>
<p>Technical problems around the reuse of recycled materials should be solved through clever material formulations and detailed property investigations. For instance, the high water absorption rate in recycled aggregates causes durability problems in wall components. This is something that research must address.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304697/original/file-20191202-67017-1fq3pn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304697/original/file-20191202-67017-1fq3pn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=261&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304697/original/file-20191202-67017-1fq3pn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=261&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304697/original/file-20191202-67017-1fq3pn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=261&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304697/original/file-20191202-67017-1fq3pn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304697/original/file-20191202-67017-1fq3pn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304697/original/file-20191202-67017-1fq3pn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Robots and AI should play a key role in future circular construction.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/manager-engineer-check-control-automation-robot-1104780941">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Moreover, it is illegal in the EU to use products that haven’t been certified for construction. This is one of the main obstacles standing in the way of the more widespread reuse of materials, particularly in a structural capacity. Testing the performance of materials for certification can be expensive, which adds to the cost of the material and may cancel out any savings made from reusing them.</p>
<p>For the construction, demolition and waste management industries to remain competitive in a global marketplace, they must continue to develop and implement supply chain innovations that improve efficiency and reduce energy, waste and resource use. To achieve this, substantial research into smart, mobile and integrated systems is necessary.</p>
<p>Radically advanced robotic artificial intelligence (AI) systems for sorting and processing CDW must also be developed. Many industries are facing an uncertain future and today’s technological limitations cannot be assumed to apply. The construction industry is likely to be significantly affected by the potential of transformative technologies such as AI, 3D printing, virtual/augmented reality and robotics. The application of such technologies presents both significant opportunities and challenges.</p>
<h2>A model for the future</h2>
<p>As the image below shows, we have developed a concept for an integrated, eco-friendly circular construction solution. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304567/original/file-20191201-156095-1h42cnl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304567/original/file-20191201-156095-1h42cnl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304567/original/file-20191201-156095-1h42cnl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304567/original/file-20191201-156095-1h42cnl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304567/original/file-20191201-156095-1h42cnl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304567/original/file-20191201-156095-1h42cnl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304567/original/file-20191201-156095-1h42cnl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Advanced sensors and AI that can detect quickly and determine accurately what can be used among CDW and efficient robotic sorting could aid circular construction by vastly <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2018.05.005">improving the recycling of a wide range of materials</a>. The focus should be on the smart dismantling of buildings and ways of optimising cost-effective processes.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Vkchv4TLinE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>The industry must also be inspired to highlight and prove the extraordinary potential of this new construction economy. We can drive this through a combination of creative design, focused academic research and applied technology, external industry engagement and flexible, responsive regulation. </p>
<p>Only through a combination of efforts can we start to recycle more buildings, but I’m confident that with the right will – and the right investment – we can start to massively reduce the amount of materials we pull from the ground each year and move towards a truly sustainable future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126563/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Seyed Ghaffar, Brunel University London, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering.</span></em></p>Old buildings aren’t just waste – the materials can be reused to create the cities of the future.Seyed Ghaffar, Associate Professor in Civil Engineering and Environmental Materials, Brunel University LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1175352019-05-23T21:17:20Z2019-05-23T21:17:20ZExploration in Western Canada could hold the answer to the global helium shortage<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275930/original/file-20190522-187189-kifef4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=125%2C71%2C3868%2C2592&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Helium is a vital element in several industries, and a global shortage could have devastating effects.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/future-helium-air-180972220/">The world is currently experiencing its third major helium shortage in the past 14 years</a>, putting science and industry at risk. Helium is a key gas used in industries like space exploration, health care and technology. While everyone is familiar with helium’s use in party balloons, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/not-just-party-city-why-helium-shortages-worry-scientists-researchers-n1007151">the lighter-than-air element has many more important uses</a> in semiconductor manufacturing, medical imaging and other technological applications. </p>
<p>Helium is generated deep underground by the radioactive decay of uranium and thorium over geological timescales. It gets trapped in non-porous rock formations. The only way to find helium is to drill exploration wells deep into the subsurface.</p>
<p>Scientists are facing a number of new challenges to get a reliable supply of helium for their research programs. The shortage has consistently raised helium prices; research applications like <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/ac020210p">gas chromatography</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1098-2787(1997)16:5%3C227::AID-MAS1%3E3.0.CO;2-J">mass spectrometry</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/ac012435q">nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy</a> take a backseat to helium needs in health care.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275929/original/file-20190522-187185-1r5db95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275929/original/file-20190522-187185-1r5db95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275929/original/file-20190522-187185-1r5db95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275929/original/file-20190522-187185-1r5db95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275929/original/file-20190522-187185-1r5db95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275929/original/file-20190522-187185-1r5db95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275929/original/file-20190522-187185-1r5db95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275929/original/file-20190522-187185-1r5db95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A global helium shortage has affected several industries, including entertainment, health care, technology, education and research.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>I am <a href="https://www.mundlelab.com/">the principal investigator for a research group</a> that has been involved with sampling and analysis of some of the recently drilled helium wells in Saskatchewan. </p>
<h2>New helium sources</h2>
<p>With no guarantee of a steady supply, the cost of helium used for research has increased over 15 per cent over the past four years when buying individual tanks of gas. At these prices, universities have been forced to ration due to a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/helium-shortages-windsor-1.5106537">lack of supply</a>, while <a href="https://calgaryherald.com/commodities/mining/who-knew-theres-a-global-helium-shortage-and-its-going-to-disrupt-more-than-balloons/wcm/f9253f98-3c72-4f26-aabf-ada07c059652">wholesale prices have risen</a> to $500 or more for bulk supply.</p>
<p>Over the past few years, a number of start-up companies have been successful in new exploration and production efforts in Western Canada. An American company opened the <a href="https://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/manufacturing/weil-group-officially-opens-12m-saskatchewan-helium-plant-173277/">first new helium production facility in Canada in 2016</a> since Canadian Helium stopped production from their plant near Swift Current, Sask., in the early 1970s.</p>
<p>Calgary-based North American Helium has also been active on the exploration front, with <a href="https://www.pipelinenews.ca/news/local-news/helium-drilling-supported-by-sask-geological-survey-1.23400758">six successful wells</a> completed as of last summer. That company has over one million acres of helium permits and leases and is preparing for the construction of its <a href="https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/north-american-helium-appoints-experienced-oil-amp-gas-industry-executive-as-new-president-amp-chief-operating-officer-879772612.html">first production plant</a>.</p>
<p>A number of companies have been bringing smaller-scale production online in the United States for the last few decades, but even with an existing discovery, <a href="https://cen.acs.org/articles/95/i30/helium-way.html">it takes years to develop a well from concept to plant</a>. With production and sales from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management helium reserve <a href="http://www.heliumscarcity.com/?p=3702">coming to an end</a>, there is a need for new North American helium production. </p>
<p>The industry has relied on discoveries made by companies exploring for oil in the 1960s, including three fields in Saskatchewan. Only recently have companies started drilling exploration wells <a href="https://medicinehatnews.com/news/local-news/2018/09/08/city-continues-exploration-of-helium/">targeting helium</a>.</p>
<h2>The Saskatchewan advantage</h2>
<p>What makes the helium resource in Western Canada so attractive is the gas composition itself, which differs from other helium resources in other parts of the world. These have high levels of carbon dioxide or methane, but the helium wells in Western Canada are associated with underground reservoirs of nitrogen gas. Because nitrogen is benign and already makes up 78 per cent of Earth’s atmosphere, these projects don’t require large pipelines for methane recovery or carbon dioxide disposal. Extracting this resource will have a much smaller environmental footprint in Canada.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275933/original/file-20190522-187143-gfxxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275933/original/file-20190522-187143-gfxxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275933/original/file-20190522-187143-gfxxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275933/original/file-20190522-187143-gfxxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275933/original/file-20190522-187143-gfxxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275933/original/file-20190522-187143-gfxxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275933/original/file-20190522-187143-gfxxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275933/original/file-20190522-187143-gfxxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Graduate student Karly Dominato on a helium drilling project in Saskatchewan in the fall of 2018.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Scott Mundle</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Western Canada has another huge advantage over other areas with potential for helium exploration, like central Australia or Siberia. All of the major recent historical helium discoveries in Canada, are in areas that have already seen significant oil and gas development. This means that the growing helium exploration industry can piggyback on decades of investment by oil and gas companies, such as existing seismic data and well control.</p>
<p>What is also likely contributing to higher levels of investment and activity is the proven nature of the opportunity for helium extraction and the maturity of the exploration industry. Western Canada also hosts a huge and capable oil-service sector, providing the skills, expertise and tools to get wells drilled and brought online in a timely fashion. </p>
<p>In other jurisdictions seeing interest for helium exploration, <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4965540/Helium-reserve-Tanzania-TWICE-big-thought.html">such as Tanzania in East Africa</a>, whether due to financial constraints or the lack of an oil service sector, none of the companies targeting helium in East Africa have yet to successfully drill a helium production well.</p>
<p>With a nascent helium exploration and production industry reaching maturity, multiple companies active in the area, a small environmental footprint and attractive economics, Western Canada is now poised to become a leader in the future production of helium. These new explorers are well positioned to fill the supply gap.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/117535/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Scott Mundle does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Renewed helium exploration in Western Canada may provide new sources to address the global shortage.Scott Mundle, Assistant Professor, University of WindsorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1156632019-04-25T17:55:08Z2019-04-25T17:55:08ZThe circular economy: building an economy on the template of nature<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271159/original/file-20190426-194627-wssvhb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C131%2C5473%2C3514&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1513836279014-a89f7a76ae86?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&auto=format&fit=crop&w=634&q=80">Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The earth is a closed system. Apart from the energy we receive from sunlight, everything produced and consumed on earth is based on its own resources. It is also a special planet. One of the <a href="https://www.fridaysforfuture.org/">“Fridays for Future”</a> kids wrote: “Save the earth, it is the only planet that serves pizza.” Our planet can do that, because as far as we know, it is the only one supporting life and does so by well equilibrating different life forms. Plants breathe in the CO<sub>2</sub> that animals breathe out, while producing the oxygen animals need to breathe. Almost all substances contained in plants and animals become nutrients for other life forms at some point. Plants are eaten by animals; animals eat other animals, and after dying, both decompose into biomolecules and minerals becoming part of the next generation of plants and animals. The building blocks of life are recycled in an endless circle.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the waste and emissions that humans and households produce are often insalubrious and do not come with the advantage of being someone else’s favourite meal. In particular, a significant portion of industrial waste is currently <a href="http://datatopics.worldbank.org/what-a-waste/trends_in_solid_waste_management.html">dumped or burned</a>; accumulates as emissions in the air and the atmosphere, litters our <a href="https://theconversation.com/pristine-paradise-to-rubbish-dump-the-same-pacific-island-23-years-apart-80811">beaches</a> or floats as <a href="https://theconversation.com/pristine-antarctic-fjords-contain-similar-levels-of-microplastics-to-open-oceans-near-big-civilisations-91360">microplastics in the oceans</a>. <a href="https://theconversation.com/youre-eating-microplastics-in-ways-you-dont-even-realise-97649">Animals often accidently eat it</a> and thus bring it back on our plates, but that is certainly not the kind of circle we want.</p>
<h2>The economy is using up the resources it lives on</h2>
<p>While everything in nature is disassembled and reused, “waste” is actually not waste, but part of the circulating resource pool. Human production and consumption still works with a linear resource flow, however: we take valuable and in many cases <a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-humans-are-depleting-earths-resources-but-footprint-estimates-dont-tell-the-full-story-100705">finite resources</a> and use them up in a process that transforms them into harmful emissions, excess heat, and plastics-metals compounds that cannot be recovered by nature. This is not only wasteful, but it also endangers our long-term survival, because – remember – the earth is a closed system performing a <a href="https://theconversation.com/catastrophic-failure-of-earths-global-systems-led-to-the-extinction-of-the-dinosaurs-we-may-yet-go-the-same-way-114348">precarious balancing act</a>.</p>
<p>If we continue to disregard the closed system dynamic of the earth, the economy will run out of fossil fuels, the oil we use to produce plastics and synthetics, the minerals and metals that we grind down to dust and even of some renewable resources if we are not careful and jeopardise them – as <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/07/fish-stocks-are-used-up-fisheries-subsidies-must-stop/">threatens to happen with our seafood</a>, <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/only-60-years-of-farming-left-if-soil-degradation-continues/">agriculture</a>, and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/10/plummeting-insect-numbers-threaten-collapse-of-nature">the supporting insect population</a>.</p>
<h2>Circulating substances – circular economy</h2>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/270932/original/file-20190425-121224-ag2y2q.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/270932/original/file-20190425-121224-ag2y2q.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/270932/original/file-20190425-121224-ag2y2q.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/270932/original/file-20190425-121224-ag2y2q.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/270932/original/file-20190425-121224-ag2y2q.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/270932/original/file-20190425-121224-ag2y2q.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/270932/original/file-20190425-121224-ag2y2q.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/270932/original/file-20190425-121224-ag2y2q.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Closed System of a Circular Economy.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In a growing world with an increasing population that gets richer and demands even more consumption, it is high time to find a balanced solution for our activities. Nature provides us with the template. Plant and animal species are well equilibrated with each other and each habitat only contains the amount and size it can support. Our economy should be organised the same. It should only take renewable resources in amounts that can recover, not rely on non-renewables and not burn fossil fuels releasing carbon that has been stored for millions of years, in just a few.</p>
<p>The good news is that nature shows how that is possible with only the influx of energy from the sun and that concepts on how to transfer this idea to our economy are plentiful. They are discussed in research and practice under many terms, the best known and most far reaching being the concept of a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/tie.21924">circular economy</a> which is actively supported by influential institutions such as the <a href="https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/">Ellen MacArthur foundation</a>, or <a href="http://www.r2piproject.eu">EU research programmes</a>.</p>
<h2>More than just recycling</h2>
<p>What does a circular economy mean? It is often misunderstood as just good recycling. While it is certainly true that the proper collection and treatment of waste and products, machines, clothes or buildings and other artefacts at the end of their usage is a key element of a circular economy, it is by far not the only requirement and not necessarily the one to start with. Circularity must be built into every stage of a product’s life cycle. It starts with first developing the product and does not end with collecting it after use.</p>
<p>To make an economy fully circular, products have to be designed differently. They have to contain materials that are available and unproblematic – ultimately only renewable ones – sourced in a non-destructive manner, in supportable amounts and assembled into compounds that can be disassembled after usage. Production, consumption and recovery process, as well as recycling and all transportation involved need to be fuelled by renewable energy and the entire amount of activity in a given area should not surpass its carrying capacity. This requires well balanced sizes and activities on the meso level of cities up to the macro level of national economies and the world economy – with its current high level of interchange.</p>
<p>The concept of a well-designed circular economy does not exclude such trade and exchange, but it needs to be tracked that circular requirements are still fulfilled. Just shipping our used electronics to <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/tomorrow/electronic-waste-in-africa-recycling-methods-damage-health-and-the-environment-a-1086221.html">Ghana</a> would certainly not qualify as adequately circular, where they are often <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=pr1zQrXM_7s">burned by children on waste dumps</a> emitting highly toxic fumes as they desperately try to extract some copper cables.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/270931/original/file-20190425-121216-1cw34sw.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/270931/original/file-20190425-121216-1cw34sw.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/270931/original/file-20190425-121216-1cw34sw.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/270931/original/file-20190425-121216-1cw34sw.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/270931/original/file-20190425-121216-1cw34sw.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/270931/original/file-20190425-121216-1cw34sw.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/270931/original/file-20190425-121216-1cw34sw.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Circular economy framework.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Circularity as a business model?</h2>
<p>Obviously a circular economy will not work unless it pays, but clever business models and promising technologies are in no short supply. Companies are developing new ways to produce fertilizer out of thin air, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-the-phenix-giving-a-second-life-to-food-waste-97407">avoid food waste</a> or produce food in better equilibrated <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-sustainable-vegetables-that-thrive-on-a-diet-of-fish-poo-50160">plant-animal ecosystems</a> than in traditional agriculture or from different, <a href="https://theconversation.com/food-for-thought-feeding-our-growing-population-with-flies-64374">more sustainable sources</a>.</p>
<p>Solutions are around; it is up to us to make them work, to let the planet continue to be the (only?) one that serves pizza.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/115663/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sylvie Geisendorf is a member of the European consortium R2Pi (The Route to Circular Economy) funded under the European programme Horizon 2020 grant agreement No.730378.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Wolf is a member of the European consortium R2Pi (The Route to Circular Economy) funded under the European programme Horizon 2020 grant agreement No.730378.</span></em></p>In a growing world with an increasing population with ever-greater needs, it is high time to find a balanced solution for our activities. Nature provides us with the template.Sylvie Geisendorf, Professor of Environment and Economics, Member of Deloitte-Chair "Circular Economy", ESCP Business SchoolPaul Wolf, PhD Candidate - Chair of Environment and Economics ••• Member of Deloitte-Chair "Circular Economy", ESCP Business SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1089582019-02-21T11:43:39Z2019-02-21T11:43:39ZGuyana hopes oil will bring wealth – not corruption and crisis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/260025/original/file-20190220-148523-1v8rzy9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The discovery of oil can make or break a country's economy.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/digital-illustration-oil-rig-157145126?src=tSfUxZB7wiQRrxSLrgyBsA-2-44">bluecrayola/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When ExxonMobil begins oil production in Guyana next year, mining crude from its seven new deepwater wells, life may change dramatically in this small South American country.</p>
<p>The mega deal is expected to increase Guyana’s gross domestic product from US$3.4 billion in 2016 to <a href="https://www.thenational.ae/business/energy/guyana-may-be-the-next-big-beast-in-global-oil-1.778295">$13 billion by 2025</a>. That’s because Guyana, one of the poorest in South America, will <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/business/energy-environment/the-20-billion-question-for-guyana.html">receive about half</a> of all ExxonMobil’s oil revenue <a href="https://guyanatimesgy.com/230m-spent-on-drilling-remainder-on-seismic-surveys-experts-exxonmobil/">after the company’s exploration costs are repaid</a>. </p>
<p>Nearly <a href="http://gbpi.institute/2017/08/27/poverty-facts-almost-4-in-10-guyanese-cannot-afford-basic-costs-of-living/">40 percent</a> of Guyana’s 800,000 people live in poverty. The oil money will provide a remarkable economic boost that could strengthen education, health care and infrastructure.</p>
<p>But oil production brings <a href="https://theconversation.com/guyana-one-of-south-americas-poorest-countries-struck-oil-will-it-go-boom-or-bust-86108">risks</a>, too. Guyana’s rice and sugar farmers worry that these traditional industries will suffer government disinvestment and neglect, and world history <a href="https://resourcegovernance.org/sites/default/files/nrgi_Resource-Curse.pdf">shows</a> that great oil wealth often fuels political corruption.</p>
<p>Guyana has a cautionary tale of the dreaded “resource curse” right next door. <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-venezuelas-oil-money-could-keep-undermining-its-economy-and-democracy-111013">Oil-rich Venezuela</a> is in economic and political crisis, with inflation expected to reach <a href="https://fee.org/articles/venezuelas-inflation-rate-projected-to-hit-10-000-000-in-2019/">10 million percent</a> in 2019. </p>
<h2>A blessing or a curse?</h2>
<p>I study <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jennapher_Lunde_Seefeldt">natural resource extraction in Latin America</a>. Based on my research in Venezuela, Ecuador and beyond, Guyana is right to fear Venezuela’s fate.</p>
<p>The Guyanese government scores relatively poorly on <a href="https://www.transparency.org/country/GUY">measures of transparency and public corruption</a>, making it much more prone to the resource curse than a robust democracy like oil-producing Norway. Guyana’s government is also is <a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gy.html">heavily indebted</a>, so overspending its share of ExxonMobil’s revenue could be tempting.</p>
<p>The “resource curse” is a dangerous spiral of political corruption and economic mismanagement that has frequently driven commodity-rich nations – not just Venezuela but also Angola, Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea – into crisis. </p>
<p>It typically works like this: High oil revenues <a href="https://www.ned.org/docs/Samuel-P-Huntington-Democracy-Third-Wave.pdf">reduce the need</a> to collect taxes from citizens. This can create a “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/20072891?seq=1">no representation without taxation</a>” effect, where governments use real or anticipated economic windfalls to <a href="https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/levitsky/files/ross_world_politics.pdf">fund social programs</a> that placate citizens. That, in turn, reduces popular demand for – and a government’s willingness to provide – actual democratic representation. </p>
<p>Corruption blooms as elected leaders use oil income as their political slush fund, and votes are bought instead of earned. Ultimately, oil-funded governments can become <a href="http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/?GCOI=80140100358620">less accountable</a> to their citizens.</p>
<p>Guyana needs its oil to be a <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/eureka-giant-oil-find-set-to-bring-guyana-startling-riches-maybe-1529578800">blessing</a>, not a curse. </p>
<p><a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.IMRT.IN">Infant mortality</a> is very high: 26 of every 1,000 babies die at birth. And adult literacy, at 86 percent, is <a href="http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/GUY">lower</a> than South America’s <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/SEADTLITRZSLAC">regional average</a>.</p>
<h2>Venezuela’s resource curse</h2>
<p>The origins of neighboring Venezuela’s economic crisis are <a href="https://theconversation.com/nobody-is-going-to-bail-out-venezuela-87428">complicated</a>, but <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/07/16/how-venezuela-struck-it-poor-oil-energy-chavez/">mismanagement of its petroleum industry</a> is the central cause. </p>
<p>For the past 15 years, the Venezuelan government has overspent its oil revenue to fund social programs. When global oil prices dropped, as they often do, the government diverted funds for finding new wells to keep <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/feb/02/venezuela-hugo-chavez-anniversary-election">popular anti-poverty initiatives</a> running. </p>
<p>Venezuela repeatedly borrowed money to keep the government going. It is now <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/03/chavez-wasnt-just-a-zany-buffoon-he-was-an-oppressive-autocrat/273745/">heavily indebted</a> to international lenders, from <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/venezuela-oil-debt-refugees-bonds-maduro-1.4807633">China, Russia to the U.S. investment firm BlackRock</a>. </p>
<p>Its oil industry has also been debilitated. </p>
<p>In the early 2000s, President Hugo Chávez fired many of the high-level managers who’d previously worked with Exxon, Chevron and other private energy firms in Venezuela, saying they were a foreign threat to Venezuela’s national oil business. </p>
<p>These executives had important technical expertise in extracting and processing Venezuela’s heavy crude that “would take at least 15 years to rebuild,” the <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/07/16/how-venezuela-struck-it-poor-oil-energy-chavez/">government acknowledged</a> at the time. </p>
<p>Venezuela’s oil production in 2018 was the lowest in <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-venezuela-oil/">seven decades</a>. Today in Venezuela, home to the world’s great oil reserves, gasoline shortages occur regularly.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259986/original/file-20190220-148509-chszsl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259986/original/file-20190220-148509-chszsl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259986/original/file-20190220-148509-chszsl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259986/original/file-20190220-148509-chszsl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259986/original/file-20190220-148509-chszsl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259986/original/file-20190220-148509-chszsl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259986/original/file-20190220-148509-chszsl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259986/original/file-20190220-148509-chszsl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A closed gas station in Venezuela in 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Escasez_de_gasolina_en_Venezuela.png">Voice of America</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How to beat the resource curse</h2>
<p>The resource curse is <a href="http://sciences.ucf.edu/politicalscience/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2015/03/Aytac-Mous-Orsun-On-Line.pdf">not inevitable</a> in Guyana. Many resource-rich countries – including <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/business/energy-environment/the-20-billion-question-for-guyana.html">Malaysia</a>, Chile, Botswana, Norway and Canada – have all avoided economic and political chaos.</p>
<p>The trick is to use commodity revenues in a responsible and sustainable manner and protect existing industries as a backstop to the volatile oil market.</p>
<p>Guyana has already joined several international coalitions, including the <a href="https://eiti.org/guyana">Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative</a> and the <a href="https://www.chathamhouse.org/about/structure/eer-department/new-petroleum-producers-discussion-group-project">New Petroleum Producers Group</a>, that offer voluntary guidance and transparency requirements to help countries manage their commodity wealth soundly.</p>
<p>One strong recommendation is to create a sovereign wealth fund. Both <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/sovereign-wealth-funds-what-does-it-take-to-succeed-1.3002020">Norway</a> and <a href="https://money.cnn.com/2012/02/29/markets/alaska_oil/index.htm">Alaska</a> use these investment accounts to grow oil revenue, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/sovereign-wealth-funds-what-does-it-take-to-succeed-1.3002020">stabilize government budgets</a> against fluctuations in oil prices and save for a rainy day. </p>
<p>To work as planned, however, these funds require <a href="https://brage.bibsys.no/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/2440211/Working_CAMP_3-2017.pdf?sequence=1">strong oversight and strict management</a>. </p>
<p>Since economic growth usually <a href="https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2017/12/cust.htm">lags behind</a> official projections in oil states, sovereign wealth funds are often overspent. Volatile oil prices compound that risk. Sovereign wealth funds can also serve as a slush fund for leaders who use the money to buy popular support, fueling corruption. </p>
<p>Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, and Ghana have all seen <a href="https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2017/12/cust.htm">their sovereign wealth funds</a> mismanaged or depleted by over-borrowing. </p>
<p>In January, Guyana’s National Assembly <a href="https://guyanatimesgy.com/natural-resources-fund-bill-passed/">approved</a> a bill that would create a sovereign wealth fund, which the finance ministry says is a “<a href="https://finance.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/Green-Paper-Final.pdf">national imperative</a>” to avoid the resource curse. </p>
<p>Guyana’s financial governance plan looks promising, says the <a href="https://resourcegovernance.org/analysis-tools/publications/discussion-guyana-green-paper-managing-future-petroleum-revenues">Natural Resource Governance Institute</a>, a nonprofit that aims to improve countries’ governance and development of natural resources. </p>
<p>The Guyanese government will <a href="https://resourcegovernance.org/sites/default/files/documents/discussion-of-guyana-green-paper.pdf">publish</a> quarterly and annual reports on expenditures from its sovereign wealth fund. All withdrawals from the fund will also be subject to parliamentary approval.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259843/original/file-20190219-43261-14cz5qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259843/original/file-20190219-43261-14cz5qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259843/original/file-20190219-43261-14cz5qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259843/original/file-20190219-43261-14cz5qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259843/original/file-20190219-43261-14cz5qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259843/original/file-20190219-43261-14cz5qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259843/original/file-20190219-43261-14cz5qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The discovery of major oil and gas deposits offshore ignited hope that Guyana will undergo an economic transformation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Guyana-Oil-Future/3dab423e3a63427986cb023a4ff9b28d/2/0">AP Photo/Bert Wilkinson</a></span>
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<h2>Transparency and civil society</h2>
<p>Citizen oversight also <a href="http://uncaccoalition.org/en_US/civil-society-participation-an-essential-element-in-anti-corruption-efforts/">helps prevent corruption</a>, especially in <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-60627-9_1">resource-rich states</a>.</p>
<p>When governments know that citizens are watching their every move, they are more likely to be accountable and transparent in spending commodity revenue.</p>
<p>Several domestic watchdog groups have emerged in Guyana since the discovery of oil there in 2015. </p>
<p>The website <a href="https://oilnow.gy/profiles/companies/whos-who-in-the-oil-and-gas-sector-in-guyana/">OilNow</a> offers news, updates and podcasts alongside an interactive map of oilfields, offering industry information to Guyanese in accessible layman’s terms.</p>
<p>Guyana’s domestic branch of <a href="https://www.transparency.org/country/GUY">Transparency International</a> has brought international experts to the country to train other Guyanese civil society organizations to “<a href="https://www.stabroeknews.com/2018/news/guyana/11/28/transparency-institute-moves-to-rally-civil-society-for-oil-and-gas-oversight/">ensure the scrutiny of the governance of Guyana’s oil and gas sector</a>.” </p>
<p>The Open Society Foundations, financier George Soros’ international human rights philanthropy, has also <a href="https://guyanatimesgy.com/exxonmobil-recommits-to-environmental-obligations/">pressured ExxonMobil</a> to ensure environmentally safe extraction. The philanthropy has also <a href="https://www.stabroeknews.com/2018/news/guyana/11/28/transparency-institute-moves-to-rally-civil-society-for-oil-and-gas-oversight/">provided funding</a> to train Guyanese journalists to report on the oil sector. </p>
<p>Compared to some neighbors in Latin America and the Caribbean, Guyana is better prepared for its oil boom. </p>
<p>To avoid the resource curse, however, the Guyanese government, people and ExxonMobil must continuously hold each other accountable – and remember the pitfalls they face.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108958/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennapher Lunde Seefeldt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With ExxonMobil set to begin oil production in Guyana next year, this tiny South American country will soon become unthinkably rich. But neighboring Venezuela shows how an oil boom can go bust.Jennapher Lunde Seefeldt, Visiting Assistant Professor of Politics and International Studies, Centre CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1048682018-10-31T14:01:23Z2018-10-31T14:01:23ZWhen water is scarce we’re willing to share what we really need – new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241409/original/file-20181019-105782-1n1vp7c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">No, please, after you.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/thirsty-little-asian-boy-girl-sharing-1183219318?src=yAUZ1jNhIbUHPVf6VGazyA-1-41">TY Lim / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Cape Town’s recent drought brought into sharp relief how people behave and the choices that they make when resources become scarce. The South African city was <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-key-lessons-other-cities-can-learn-from-cape-towns-water-crisis-94045">teetering on the brink</a>: a sustained dry spell meant that residents were faced with “day zero” – the very real possibility that water supplies could be turned off, leaving them queuing for access to this most important of natural resources.</p>
<p>Day zero was averted in large part by people’s willingness to use dramatically less water than normal, while waiting for rain to fall. This was at once a worrying story about the impact of these “mega droughts”, which, according to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05849-9">top scientists from around the world</a>, have become substantially more likely due to climate change. At the same time, Cape Town told an optimistic tale of a society pulling together in a crisis.</p>
<p>My research, <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0201358">recently published</a> with colleagues Oliver Vitouch and Judith Glück from the University of Klagenfurt, shows that we perhaps shouldn’t be so surprised by the way that the people of Cape Town responded to water scarcity. In fact, people may be more willing to share scarce resources they really need than apocalyptic Hollywood movies may suggest. As such, the results offer hope that, in a world facing a dramatic population increase and a potentially greater struggle for resources, it will not be every person for themselves.</p>
<p>Our research asked how a crucial resource is shared by individuals when it is critical to their physical needs and well-being. The premise was simple: are people more or less generous with a “primary” resource such as water than with a “secondary” one like money, where needs may strongly vary across individuals and which is also more abstract? </p>
<p>The results revealed that even when people themselves were in need of water, they still acted in an altruistic way by sharing the very valuable and very limited supply of water they had equally with others. This was true even when they didn’t know who they were sharing their water with. This also contrasted <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10683-011-9283-7">with how they shared money</a>.</p>
<p>In our study, participants were invited into the lab in pairs (but they did not have a chance to meet or get to know each other). In separate rooms, they were asked to ride a stationary bike for half an hour to work up a thirst. They did not have access to a drink for an hour before, during or after the study. </p>
<p>We then used a used a common experiment that’s used in experimental economics research called the “<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10683-011-9283-7">Dictator Game</a>”. One person was made an “allocator”, in control of giving out money and water. The other was the “recipient”. </p>
<p>The pairs were placed in two experimental conditions. In one condition, allocators received water and money as a windfall to give anonymously to recipients. In the other, those doing the allocating were informed that they had “earned” the water and money during the training session. Recipients in both conditions indicated how much they expected to receive. This was designed to test if their expectations were linked to whether or not allocators had “earned” the resource.</p>
<h2>Sense of altruism?</h2>
<p>The results were intriguing: the allocators who earned the small amounts of water gave about the same as those who hadn’t earned it. In both groups, they were willing to share water more generously than money. Similarly, recipients expected to receive more water than money.</p>
<p>This goes against the idea that people are purely self-interested. One may argue that thirsty allocators were less generous because water simply had less value compared to money. But findings from other research suggest that what we observed may be guided by increased <a href="http://psych.colorado.edu/%7Evanboven/vanboven/publications_files/vanbovenadvancesvol48.pdf">empathy towards others with a similar need</a> which makes altruistic behaviour more likely. This may also explain why <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep00593">a related study</a> conducted at UCL showed that when thirsty recipients were allowed to reject water offers, they were less likely to accept the ones that were very small and may thus have been perceived as unfair.</p>
<p>Perhaps such a strong sense for fairness also speaks to the age-old wisdom that despite money’s value, we know deep down that it’s no substitute for the basics we and others need day to day. Ultimately, a thirsty man knows he can’t drink the money in his pocket; and others can’t either.</p>
<p>Research such as ours aims to better understand what drives people’s behaviour – and how likely they are to cooperate – when resources are scarce. This may allow us to predict how individuals will behave before they run out of a resource.</p>
<p>We now need to learn how sharing <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16372952">varies in different contexts</a>, with different resources, when scarcity occurs in the real world and over long periods of time, like during the drought in Cape Town. The events in Cape Town are another warning about the consequences of climate change and the increasing need to preserve the world’s natural resources. But our results may also indicate that it is when crises are at hand and resources are scarce that our shared humanity is more likely to show.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104868/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The research described in this article was funded by the Group for Adaptive Behavior and Cognition at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, my previous workplace. Relevant affiliations: Centre for Decision Research and Priestley International Centre for Climate, University of Leeds, UK and Harding Center for Risk Literacy, Max Planck Institute for Human Development Berlin, Germany.</span></em></p>People may be more willing to share scarce resources they really need than apocalyptic Hollywood movies may suggest.Astrid Kause, Research Fellow, Management, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1021932018-08-29T20:11:01Z2018-08-29T20:11:01ZLocal communities need more reassurance about the legacy left by coal seam gas wells<p>One of the key questions any industry must consider is: what is left behind when it is finished. For coal seam gas (CSG), this question is crucial, considering the thousands of CSG wells that have already been drilled, not to mention the many more that could potentially be drilled in the future. </p>
<p>While most CSG wells will not be decommissioned until the later stages of a project, some wells are decommissioned earlier as they are no longer used for activities such as exploration, monitoring or production. This provides an opportunity to ask the key question: what does <a href="https://gisera.csiro.au/project/decommissioning-pathways-csg-projects/">successful decommissioning</a> of CSG wells look like?</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-coal-seam-gas-is-changing-the-face-of-rural-queensland-21064">How coal seam gas is changing the face of rural Queensland</a>
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<p>Australia has around 6,000 CSG wells in active production, <a href="https://data.qld.gov.au/dataset/petroleum-gas-production-and-reserve-statistics">mostly in Queensland</a>, and a growing number of decommissioned wells. Our <a href="https://gisera.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Social-9-Final-Report.pdf">new research</a> looks at perspectives on decommissioning at different stages of the life cycle, including places where the industry is winding down (Camden, New South Wales), where it is continuing (Chinchilla, Queensland), and where future CSG development has been proposed but not yet approved (Narrabri, NSW).</p>
<p>We held a workshop in each of these places, bringing together between 8 and 16 people from state agencies, industry and local community in each location. </p>
<p>Workshop participants agreed strongly on several key principles: that decommissioned wells should never leak; that they should not impinge on future land uses; and that they should be barely noticeable. </p>
<p>Across all workshops, the majority of government and industry representatives expressed strong confidence in the code of practice for each state. When decommissioned correctly, they argued, old CSG wells would not cause legacy problems and would not require further action. </p>
<p>In contrast, a majority of local community participants tended to lack confidence in these codes of practice, and said that clear information about well decommissioning was hard to access or understand. As a result, they had markedly less confidence in the decommissioning process.</p>
<h2>Improving trust</h2>
<p>Our results suggest that clear, easily accessible information about CSG well decommissioning would help reduce this divergence of views. Publication of <a href="https://gisera.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/18-00394_GISERA_FACTSHEET_SE_DecommissioningCSGWells4pp_WEB.pdf">factsheets</a> by government, outlining the regulatory processes, who is responsible, ownership questions and what would happen if there were a long-term problem, would help to improve confidence in the decommissioning process.</p>
<p>Another way to improve trust would be for industry to provide plain language summaries of well completion and decommissioning reports, with local stakeholders given details on when, how and where to access them.</p>
<p>The ultimate authority to decide whether decommissioning and rehabilitation have been properly completed lies with the state regulator. Both Queensland and NSW have similar regulations for decommissioning of CSG wells, drawing on international experiences and lessons from past practice. </p>
<p>Decommissioning involves rehabilitating the surface around the well pad, and plugging and abandoning the well. Abandonment involves preventing the flow of gas or fluid with cement plugs placed throughout the well.</p>
<p>Consultation with landholders is required in both jurisdictions. Landholders declare whether they are satisfied with rehabilitation works, and can also negotiate to retain infrastructure such as fences or concrete slabs, if that suits their future objectives.</p>
<p>Regulators in both states require companies to make a deposit that covers the full costs of decommissioning, as a way of protecting against companies defaulting on their obligations.</p>
<p>Monitoring was another important issue raised through the workshops. Because the confidence held by government and industry representatives in the codes of practice was so strong and informed by lessons from decades of practice overseas, monitoring has not been seen to be required so far for decommissioned wells, after all steps in the code of practice were completed. </p>
<p>But local community members disagreed, arguing that ongoing monitoring of decommissioned wells is crucial to detecting and addressing any potential future problems. Instigating a program to monitor decommissioned CSG wells, with publicly accessible results, would go a long way towards addressing the concerns raised by residents and increasing confidence in the industry more broadly.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/not-getting-a-social-licence-to-operate-can-be-a-costly-mistake-as-coal-seam-gas-firms-have-found-93718">Not getting a social licence to operate can be a costly mistake, as coal seam gas firms have found</a>
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<p>Different stakeholders in the CSG industry will not necessarily see eye-to-eye on all aspects of how the industry is managed. That’s why understanding their different perspectives is an important step towards providing reassurance about the legacy left by coal seam gas wells. </p>
<p>These steps could include monitoring abandoned CSG wells and improved mechanisms to deal with public enquiries, questions and complaints.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102193/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tom Measham receives funding from CSIRO and the Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance (GISERA) which is a collaboration between CSIRO, Commonwealth and state governments and industry established to undertake publicly-reported independent research. The purpose of GISERA is to provide quality assured scientific research and information to communities living in gas development regions. The governance structure for GISERA is designed to provide for and protect research independence and transparency of research. He works for CSIRO Land and Water. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cameron Huddlestone-Holmes receives funding from CSIRO and the Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance (GISERA) which is a collaboration between CSIRO, Commonwealth and state governments and industry established to undertake publicly-reported independent research. The purpose of GISERA is to provide quality assured scientific research and information to communities living in gas development regions. The governance structure for GISERA is designed to provide for and protect research independence and transparency of research. Cameron works for CSIRO Energy. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia. </span></em></p>The coal seam gas industry and its regulators still have work to do in persuading local communities that old wells can be decommissioned without future problems, according to new CSIRO research.Tom Measham, Principal Research Scientist, CSIROCameron Huddlestone-Holmes, Senior Research Scientist, CSIROLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/971732018-06-17T18:53:58Z2018-06-17T18:53:58ZChina and India’s border dispute is a slow-moving environmental disaster<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223302/original/file-20180615-32307-1p57oni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Development is peaking in the high country between India and China.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:India-china_border_and_nathula_peak.jpg">Vinay Vaars/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Chinese and Indian competition on their shared Himalayan border is more likely to create a slow-moving environmental catastrophe than a quick military or nuclear disaster. </p>
<p>The Himalayan plateau plays a crucial role in Asia. It generates the monsoonal rains and seasonal ice-melts that feed rivers and deliver nutrients to South, Southeast and East Asia. Almost <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/05/07/map-more-than-half-of-humanity-lives-within-this-circle/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.ab1ac6b83208">half the world’s population</a> and <a href="http://databank.worldbank.org/data/download/GDP.pdf">20% of its economy</a> depend on these rivers, and they are already threatened by <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/double-threat-for-tibet-1.15738">climate change</a>. China and India’s competition for their headwaters increases this threat. </p>
<p>Until the mid-20th century, the Himalaya’s high altitude prevented its large-scale development and conserved its environment. But after the Republic of India and the People’s Republic of China were created in the late 1940s, these two new states began competing for high ground in the western and eastern Himalayas. They fought a <a href="https://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/forgotten-war-himalayas">war over their unresolved border in 1962</a>, and have scuffled ever since. The most recent clash was in 2017, when China built a road into <a href="https://theconversation.com/lessons-from-the-doklam-pass-how-little-bhutan-faced-down-china-over-a-border-dispute-84158">Doklam</a>, an area claimed by Bhutan and protected by India. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lessons-from-the-doklam-pass-how-little-bhutan-faced-down-china-over-a-border-dispute-84158">Lessons from the Doklam Pass: how little Bhutan faced down China over a border dispute</a>
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<p>Tensions rose again last week when China unveiled a new mine in Lhunze, near the de facto border with India’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, east of Bhutan. The mine sits on a <a href="http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2146296/how-chinese-mining-himalayas-may-create-new-military-flashpoint">deposit of gold, silver and other precious metals worth up to US$60 billion</a>. </p>
<p>Most analysis of the Sino-Indian border dispute has focused on the potential for <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/asias-cold-peace-china-and-indias-delicate-diplomatic-dance/">another war between these two nuclear-armed neighbours</a>. The environmental impacts of their continued entrenchment are rarely mentioned, despite the fact that they are significant and growing.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223305/original/file-20180615-32316-14um4ti.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223305/original/file-20180615-32316-14um4ti.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223305/original/file-20180615-32316-14um4ti.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223305/original/file-20180615-32316-14um4ti.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223305/original/file-20180615-32316-14um4ti.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223305/original/file-20180615-32316-14um4ti.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223305/original/file-20180615-32316-14um4ti.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223305/original/file-20180615-32316-14um4ti.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The various tracts of the disputed Sino-Indian border are host to many new development projects.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>All of this development along the border is built on the world’s third-largest ice-pack or in biodiversity hotspots. The region was militarised during the 1962 war, and has since been <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09584930903108911?journalCode=ccsa20">inundated by troops, roads, airports, barracks and hospitals</a>. These have caused deforestation, landslides, and – if a <a href="http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1659/0276-4741(2002)022%5B0316:ASPPTS%5D2.0.CO%3B2">study on troop movements on other glaciers</a> is any guide – possibly even glacial retreat. </p>
<p>The buildup of troops on the border has displaced local ethnic groups, and they have been encouraged to give up their land to make way for <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248903596_Agriculture_in_central_Tibet_an_assessment_of_climate_farming_systems_and_strategies_to_boost_production">intensive farming</a>. Animal habitats have decreased and <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bjhs-themes/article/studying-the-snow-leopard-reconceptualizing-conservation-across-the-chinaindia-border/992F367FE853AA276EB4B229FE71A716">clashes with tigers and snow leopards have increased</a>. Population transfers and agricultural intensification have even heightened the risk that <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-antibiotic-pollution-of-waterways-creates-superbugs-38046">antibiotic-resistant superbugs and other toxic pollutants</a> will seep into the world’s most diffused watershed.</p>
<p>During the past 20 years, first China and then India have increased this degradation by building large-scale mines and hydroelectric dams in this sensitive region. These projects have <a href="https://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/4509-Tibet-s-mining-menace-">not been profitable or environmentally sound</a>, but they have solidified state control by entrenching populations, upgrading transport networks, and integrating these fringes into national economies. The tightening of state control along the border has been further complicated by calls from the Tibetans and other ethnic groups for greater autonomy.</p>
<p>Many of the projects have been developed within the transnational Brahmaputra River basin. This river’s headwaters are in China, but most of its catchment is in Arunachal Pradesh, which is controlled by India but claimed by China. It then flows through Assam and Bangladesh, where it joins the Ganges River. Some 630 million people live in the Ganges-Brahmaputra River catchment.</p>
<p>China and India’s geopolitical resources rush threatens the safety of this entire river system. The new Lhunze mine’s position among the Brahmaputra’s headwaters is so precarious that its owner, Hua Yu Mining, was only allowed to mine there under strict environmental conditions. To its credit, Hua Yu has agreed to be a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=EeBprffFbic">“green” miner, limiting emissions, water use and minimising “grassland disturbance”</a>. But even if the company does not inadvertently leak acid and arsenic into the environment like <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/tibetans-in-anguish-as-chinese-mines-pollute-their-sacred-grasslands/2016/12/25/bb6aad06-63bc-11e6-b4d8-33e931b5a26d_story.html?utm_term=.d260cc80defa">other mines in Tibet</a>, the mine is still liable to be damaged by the region’s frequent earthquakes. Any toxic leak from Lhunze will flow straight into the Brahmaputra and then into the lower Ganges.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/chinas-growing-footprint-on-the-globe-threatens-to-trample-the-natural-world-88312">China’s growing footprint on the globe threatens to trample the natural world</a>
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<p>On its side of the border, India has concentrated on dams rather than mines. Between 2000 and 2016, the Arunachal Pradesh government approved the <a href="https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/2016/02/25/private-dam-builders-back-out-of-brahmaputra-dams/">construction of 153 dams</a>, before realising that it had overextended itself. </p>
<p>So far only one dam is complete, and all the other projects have stalled. One of these stalled dams is on the Subansiri River, the same river from which the Lhunze mine draws water. India is racing to build these dams <a href="https://theconversation.com/china-and-indias-race-to-dam-the-brahmaputra-river-puts-the-himalayas-at-risk-65496">without community consultation or environmental studies</a> because it sees itself as competing with China for the region’s water. China has already built four dams in the upper Brahmaputra River basin. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/4799-Fighting-India-s-mega-dams">Indian strategists argue</a> that they can stop China building more dams by building hydroelectric projects whose need for water will be recognised under international law. Given China’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/13/china-damns-international-court-after-south-china-sea-slapdown">dismissal of previous rulings by the International Court of Justice</a>, and its <a href="https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/2018/05/17/china-resumes-sharing-brahmaputra-water-flow-data-with-india/">recent refusal to share water-flow data</a> with India after the Doklam incident (data that India needs to plan flood controls), this strategy seems unlikely to succeed. </p>
<p>Even if it does, it is hard to see how building large hydropower projects in an earthquake-probne region will ultimately help India. It won’t stop China developing the borderland, and it could cause more problems than it solves. </p>
<p>To keep Asia’s major rivers flowing and relatively non-toxic, both nations need to stop competing and start collaborating. Their leaders understand that neither nation would win a nuclear war. Now they need to realise that no one will benefit from destroying a shared watershed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97173/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ruth Gamble does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>For decades, China and India have clashed over their disputed Himalayan border. This clash is also playing out via a development boom that threatens the health of one of the world’s biggest river catchments.Ruth Gamble, David Myers Research Fellow, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/930692018-03-22T19:09:03Z2018-03-22T19:09:03ZSustainable shopping: if you really, truly need a new phone, buy one with replaceable parts<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210742/original/file-20180316-104694-3wmnkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C5%2C3901%2C1553&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Before taking that tempting upgrade, ask yourself if it's really necessary.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Shopping can be confusing at the best of times, and trying to find environmentally friendly options makes it even more difficult. Our <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/sustainable-shopping-38407">Sustainable Shopping</a> series asks experts to provide easy eco-friendly guides to purchases big and small. Send us your suggestions for future articles <a href="mailto:michael.hopkin@theconversation.edu.au">here</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Almost 90% of Australians own a smartphone, and almost <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/au/mobile-consumer-survey">40% of us are expected to update our phone</a> in the coming year.</p>
<p>The most sustainable mobile phone is actually the phone you already own! This is because manufacturing a phone has far more environmental impact than using it.</p>
<p>The circuit board, display and battery are primarily responsible for your phone’s environmental impacts. These contain valuable minerals such as cobalt, gold, silver, palladium and tin. Huge amounts of ore, processing and energy are required to yield small amounts of these materials. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-chuck-that-old-mobile-phone-theres-gold-in-there-52074">Don't chuck that old mobile phone, there's gold in there</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://www.greenpeace.de/sites/www.greenpeace.de/files/publications/20161109_oeko_resource_efficency_final_full-report.pdf">Mining impacts</a>, especially in unregulated areas, can result in land and agricultural degradation, heavy metal pollution of water, soil and air, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/conflict-minerals-3718">human rights and social impacts</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210485/original/file-20180315-104699-1aj3e6c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210485/original/file-20180315-104699-1aj3e6c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210485/original/file-20180315-104699-1aj3e6c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210485/original/file-20180315-104699-1aj3e6c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210485/original/file-20180315-104699-1aj3e6c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210485/original/file-20180315-104699-1aj3e6c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210485/original/file-20180315-104699-1aj3e6c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">More than 40 refined metals and elements are needed to make a phone.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>According to Apple, manufacturing makes up 77% of the firm’s <a href="https://www.apple.com/au/environment/climate-change/">carbon footprint</a>, with 17% attributed to usage and the remainder to transport, recycling and facilities. This percentage is generally <a href="https://www.greenpeace.de/sites/www.greenpeace.de/files/publications/20161109_oeko_resource_efficency_final_full-report.pdf">consistent</a> with other smartphone manufactures.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211556/original/file-20180322-54881-1s2fp5w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211556/original/file-20180322-54881-1s2fp5w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211556/original/file-20180322-54881-1s2fp5w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211556/original/file-20180322-54881-1s2fp5w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211556/original/file-20180322-54881-1s2fp5w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211556/original/file-20180322-54881-1s2fp5w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211556/original/file-20180322-54881-1s2fp5w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211556/original/file-20180322-54881-1s2fp5w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Greenhouse emissions breakdown for an iPhone 8.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.apple.com/environment/pdf/products/iphone/iPhone_8_PER_sept2017.pdf">Apple</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There is estimated to be more than <a href="http://ewastemonitor.info/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Global-E-waste-Monitor-2017-electronic-spreads_Executive_Summery_4_7.pdf">one active mobile phone</a> for every person in the world. Cumulatively, this takes up many resources and has serious environmental and social impacts.</p>
<h2>Considering a phone’s lifespan</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160612-heres-the-truth-about-the-planned-obsolescence-of-tech">Planned obsolescence</a> is a design feature of most smartphones. </p>
<p>This strategy is nothing new. Back in 1954, the American industrial designer <a href="https://mam.org/collection/archives/brooks/bio.php">Brooks Stevens</a> encouraged manufacturers to deliberately design products that would become obsolete long before they broke, as a way to boost sales. He encouraged incremental annual design updates – “a little newer, a little better, and a little sooner than necessary”.</p>
<p>In addition to fashion obsolescence, physical attributes also play a key role. Diminishing battery performance, poor durability, deteriorating appearance, and poor repairability can all persuade us to replace our phones sooner than necessary.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211557/original/file-20180322-54866-1isv4lm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211557/original/file-20180322-54866-1isv4lm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211557/original/file-20180322-54866-1isv4lm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211557/original/file-20180322-54866-1isv4lm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211557/original/file-20180322-54866-1isv4lm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211557/original/file-20180322-54866-1isv4lm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211557/original/file-20180322-54866-1isv4lm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211557/original/file-20180322-54866-1isv4lm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A case in point is the <a href="https://www.apple.com/au/batteries/why-lithium-ion">lithium-ion battery</a> in your phone, which declines in performance as it ages. Lithium-ion batteries are usually only good for a specified number of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-ion_battery#Battery_life">charging and discharging cycles</a>, so they typically require replacement after a few years. Yet most phone batteries are designed in a way that prevents user replacement and discourages servicing. </p>
<p>Apple even recently admitted that it has been “throttling” the performance of certain iPhones due to <a href="https://www.apple.com/au/iphone-battery-and-performance">reduced battery performance</a>. In fairness, Apple said that this was done to prevent the phone from unexpected shutdowns, and has now dramatically cut the cost of its battery replacement service for recent iPhone models.</p>
<p>Extending a phone’s lifespan from one to four years can <a href="https://www.ieee.org/about/news/2013/22april_2013.html">decrease its environmental impact by about 40%</a>. Unfortunately, most manufacturers actively discourage users from replacing the battery, or any other internal component, by using tamper-resistant fasteners or strong adhesives. This is rather like fitting a car with a set of tyres that are designed never to be removed and replaced. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ifixit.com">iFixit</a> is a notable source for free smartphone repair manuals, and its organisers have advocated for <a href="https://ifixit.org/blog/category/activism/">right-to-repair legislation</a> that would require manufacturers to give owners and independent repairers access to replacement parts and technical information.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, there are some simple ways you can get around your phone’s inbuilt limitations, such as:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>ensuring you <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-how-to-extend-your-phones-battery-life-80958">maximise its battery life</a></p></li>
<li><p>fitting a screen protector, so a smashed or scratched screen doesn’t prematurely end your phone’s career. </p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-how-to-extend-your-phones-battery-life-80958">Explainer: how to extend your phone's battery life</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What are the most sustainable phones on the market?</h2>
<p>But say you’ve decided that you genuinely do need a new phone. What next? </p>
<p>You could consider buying a refurbished phone. They are often indistinguishable from an equivalent new phone and will save you money too.</p>
<p>Whether buying new or used, try to choose a model that is easy to repair or upgrade. <a href="https://www.ifixit.com/smartphone-repairability?sort=score">iFixit</a> scores various phones’ repairability, awarding points for upgradability, use of non-proprietary tools for servicing, and replaceability of individual components.</p>
<p>Greenpeace’s annual <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/reports/greener-electronics-2017">Guide to Greener Electronics</a>, meanwhile, assesses the use of energy, resource and chemicals for different phone models, as well as supply-chain management. </p>
<p>This analysis found that, of the major manufacturers, <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/reports/greener-electronics-2017/#grades">Apple led the field</a> when it comes to environmental performance. </p>
<p>But another, lesser-known brand scored higher still. The standout was the <a href="https://www.fairphone.com/en/">Fairphone 2</a>, made by a small Dutch company which claims to have created the world’s first ethical, modular smartphone. It is currently only available in Europe, although it is reportedly compatible with other countries’ phone networks.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210746/original/file-20180316-104663-s3ktar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210746/original/file-20180316-104663-s3ktar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210746/original/file-20180316-104663-s3ktar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=343&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210746/original/file-20180316-104663-s3ktar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=343&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210746/original/file-20180316-104663-s3ktar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=343&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210746/original/file-20180316-104663-s3ktar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210746/original/file-20180316-104663-s3ktar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/210746/original/file-20180316-104663-s3ktar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Fairphone, described by its makers as the world’s first ethical phone.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fairphone/9800393576/in/photolist-fW2zz3-iQHL6c-8Bb3W9-afAVk2-oTWLk1-iQJmmY-iQLopU-8B7SF6-iQHJgk-afDDio-iQJkes-r6MHQ3-kwdgru-jFWx9T-afAR5M-9onDZG-afAYdv-afAZ4z-kwbbtt-afDHY9-kwdgME-afAUkp-9onLcE-oNq2qb-rm3FgN-gji2QX-rocvHV-9onUuJ-dWj3fe-dgv91X-BRDNah-kuLc4j-iQHJ8K-afAU1a-afAUcc-kxPCjg-jFYN4h-gjhR1Q-BRDQuY-afDLmN-afAYhg-Cgtsd5-kuJ8g4-kwbBbT-gkKQKu-afAU8R-zhw1pX-afDFQG-afDEQy-oQbo2x">Fairphone/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What to do with your old phone?</h2>
<p>OK, so you bought a new phone! The next question is what to do with the old one. <a href="https://www.mobilemuster.com.au/media/135343/mob_annualreport-2016-17final.pdf">One in seven of us will keep an old phone</a>, even if it doesn’t work. According to a <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/au/mobile-consumer-survey">survey commissioned by eBay</a> in Australia, that equates to A$8.6billion worth of smartphones gathering dust in drawers. Popular models of smartphones will have resale value even if they are broken.</p>
<p>The final end-of-life option is to recycle your mobile phone through a retailer that offers a <a href="https://www.mobilemuster.com.au/recycling">recycling service</a>. As mobile phones make up one of the largest categories of <a href="http://ewastemonitor.info">e-waste</a>, it is important that you recycle your phone responsibly to ensure that valuable material can be recovered and toxic materials properly managed. Unfortunately, too much of our e-waste is not properly documented and is being exported to emerging economies, where it is recycled in <a href="https://theconversation.com/our-thirst-for-new-gadgets-has-created-a-vast-empire-of-electronic-waste-47678">sometimes appalling conditions</a>.</p>
<p>A final tip: if you sell or recycle your old phone, ensure that you have removed the old SIM, erased all data, and reset the phone.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/93069/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Miles Park does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The most sustainable phone is the one you already own. But if you’re in the market for a new handset, consider choosing one with replaceable parts to avoid having to replace the whole thing again.Miles Park, Senior Lecturer, Industrial Design, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/883122017-12-05T19:18:43Z2017-12-05T19:18:43ZChina’s growing footprint on the globe threatens to trample the natural world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197080/original/file-20171130-12035-1gkyop1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A Chinese road-building corporation felling rainforest in the Congo Basin.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bill Laurance</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many observers of China’s escalating global program of foreign investment and infrastructure development are crossing their fingers and hoping for the best. In an ideal world, China’s unbridled ambitions will improve economic growth, food security and social development in many poor nations, as well as enriching itself.</p>
<p>Such hopes are certainly timely, given the isolationism of the US Trump
administration, which has created an international leadership vacuum that China is eager to fill.</p>
<p>But a close look reveals that China’s international agenda is <a href="http://e360.yale.edu/features/the-dark-legacy-of-chinas-drive-for-global-resources">far more exploitative than many realise</a>, especially for the global environment. And the Chinese leadership’s claims to be embracing “green development” are in many cases more propaganda than fact.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/china-will-need-to-be-more-transparent-to-achieve-its-development-goals-67464">China will need to be more transparent to achieve its development goals</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>To help steer through the maze, I provide here a snapshot of China’s present environmental impacts. Are China’s assertions reasoned and defensible, or something else altogether?</p>
<h2>Predatory force?</h2>
<p>For a start, China is overwhelmingly the world’s <a href="https://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2016/09/wild-laws-china-role-wildlife-trafficking/">biggest consumer of illegally poached wildlife</a> and wildlife products. From rhino horn, to pangolins, to shark fins, to a menagerie of wild bird species, Chinese consumption drives much of the global trade in wildlife exploitation and smuggling.</p>
<p>Over the past 15 years, China’s rapacious appetite for ivory has largely driven a <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/111/36/13117.abstract">global collapse of elephant populations</a>. In response to growing international criticism, China promised to <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-31/china-to-ban-domestic-ivory-trade-by-end-of-2017/8155462">shut down its domestic ivory trade</a> by the end of 2017.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197081/original/file-20171130-12075-1at9skl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197081/original/file-20171130-12075-1at9skl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197081/original/file-20171130-12075-1at9skl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197081/original/file-20171130-12075-1at9skl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197081/original/file-20171130-12075-1at9skl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197081/original/file-20171130-12075-1at9skl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197081/original/file-20171130-12075-1at9skl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The author examining a Forest Elephant gunned down by ivory poachers in central Africa.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mahmoud Mahmoud</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But even before China’s ban has taken full force, a <a href="http://www.savetheelephants.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/2017-Vigne-Lao-Ivory-Report-web.pdf">black market for ivory is developing in neighbouring Laos</a>. There, Chinese entrepreneurs are churning out great quantities of carved ivory products, specifically designed for Chinese tastes and openly sold to Chinese visitors.</p>
<p>China is also the world’s <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-timber/china-at-the-center-of-global-illegal-timber-trade-ngo-says-idUSBRE8AS08D20121129">biggest importer of illegal timber</a>, a trade that <a href="http://e360.yale.edu/features/chinas_appetite_for_wood_takes_a_heavy_toll_on_forests">imperils forests</a> while defrauding developing nations of billions of dollars each year in timber royalties.</p>
<p>China claims to be working to reduce its illegal timber imports, but its efforts are <a href="https://www.illegal-logging.info/regions/china">half-hearted at best</a>, judging by the amount of illegal timber still <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2017/10/checkpoint-china-the-shadowy-world-of-timber-smuggling/?n3wsletter&utm_source=Mongabay+Newsletter&utm_campaign=1868686cdf-newsletter_2017_11_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_940652e1f4-1868686cdf-67241623">flowing across its border with Myanmar</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197117/original/file-20171130-30931-19uglzn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197117/original/file-20171130-30931-19uglzn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197117/original/file-20171130-30931-19uglzn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197117/original/file-20171130-30931-19uglzn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197117/original/file-20171130-30931-19uglzn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197117/original/file-20171130-30931-19uglzn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197117/original/file-20171130-30931-19uglzn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197117/original/file-20171130-30931-19uglzn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A queue of logging trucks in Southeast Asia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jeff Vincent</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Infrastructure tsunami</h2>
<p>More damaging still are China’s plans for infrastructure expansion that will irreparably degrade much of the natural world. </p>
<p>China’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Belt_One_Road_Initiative">One Belt One Road</a> initiative alone will carve massive arrays of new roads, railroads, ports, and extractive industries such as mining, logging, and oil and gas projects into at least 70 nations across Asia, Europe, and Africa.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197214/original/file-20171130-30907-ikjt5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197214/original/file-20171130-30907-ikjt5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197214/original/file-20171130-30907-ikjt5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197214/original/file-20171130-30907-ikjt5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197214/original/file-20171130-30907-ikjt5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197214/original/file-20171130-30907-ikjt5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197214/original/file-20171130-30907-ikjt5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197214/original/file-20171130-30907-ikjt5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A partial representation of China’s One Belt One Road scheme, circa 2015.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mercator Institute for China Studies</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Chinese President Xi Jinping promises that the Belt and Road initiative will be “<a href="https://theconversation.com/chinas-green-planning-for-the-world-starts-with-infrastructure-85438">green, low-carbon, circular and sustainable</a>”, but such a claim is profoundly divorced from reality.</p>
<p>As my colleagues and I recently argued in <a href="science.sciencemag.org/content/358/6362/442">Science</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/articles/29065299/">Current Biology</a>, the modern infrastructure tsunami that is largely being driven by China will open a <a href="https://theconversation.com/massive-road-and-rail-projects-could-be-africas-greatest-environmental-challenge-51188">Pandora’s box of environmental crises</a>, including large-scale deforestation, habitat fragmentation, wildlife poaching, water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.</p>
<p>China’s pursuit of natural resources is also escalating across Latin America. In the Amazon, for example, big mining projects – many of which are feeding Chinese industries – don’t just cause serious local degradation, but also promote <a href="https://phys.org/news/2017-10-amazon-threat-deforestation.html">widespread deforestation</a> from the networks of roads bulldozed into remote areas to access the mines. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mwwlxlMoVVQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Why roads are so dangerous for nature.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Overall, China is the most aggressive consumer of minerals on the planet, and the <a href="https://globalcanopy.org/sites/default/files/documents/resources/sleeping_giants_of_deforestation_-_2016_forest_500_results.pdf">biggest driver of tropical deforestation</a>.</p>
<p>Beyond this, China is pushing to build a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/16/amazon-china-railway-plan">5,000km railroad across South America</a>, to make it cheaper for China to import timber, minerals, soy and other natural resources from ports along South America’s Pacific coast. If it proceeds, the number of critical ecosystems that would be impacted by this project is staggering.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/abs/10.1596/1813-9450-3505">World Bank study</a> of more than 3,000 overseas projects funded or operated by China revealed how it often treats poor nations as “pollution havens” – transferring its own environmental degradation to developing nations that are desperate for foreign investment.</p>
<p>Finally, much has been made of the fact that China is beginning to temper its appetite for domestic fossil-fuelled energy. It is now a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/05/china-invest-renewable-fuel-2020-energy">leading investor</a> in solar and wind energy, and recently <a href="http://reneweconomy.com.au/china-halts-150-coal-fired-power-plants-84937/">delayed construction</a> of more than 150 coal-fired electricity plants in China.</p>
<p>These are unquestionably pluses, but they need to be seen in their broad context. In terms of greenhouse-gas emissions, China has exploded past every other nation. It now produces <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions">more than twice the carbon emissions of the United States</a>, the second-biggest polluter, following the greatest building spree of coal, nuclear, and large-scale hydro projects in human history.</p>
<p>Despite its new post-Trump role as the world’s de facto <a href="https://theconversation.com/trumps-paris-retreat-is-beijings-opportunity-78804">climate leader</a>, China’s overall agenda could scarcely be described as green.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197116/original/file-20171130-30919-pdm1e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197116/original/file-20171130-30919-pdm1e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197116/original/file-20171130-30919-pdm1e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197116/original/file-20171130-30919-pdm1e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197116/original/file-20171130-30919-pdm1e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197116/original/file-20171130-30919-pdm1e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197116/original/file-20171130-30919-pdm1e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197116/original/file-20171130-30919-pdm1e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A tiger relaxes along a grassy bank.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matt Gibson/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Iceberg ahead</h2>
<p>Some would say it’s unfair to criticise China like this. They would argue that China is merely following a well-trodden path of exploitative development previously forged by other nations and colonial powers.</p>
<p>But China is not the same as any other nation. The astounding growth and size of its economy, its <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/31/china-wrote-belt-and-road-initiative-into-the-party-constitution.html">dangerously single-minded vision for exploiting natural resources and land internationally</a>, its intolerance of internal and external criticism, and its increasingly closed media and official myopia all combine to make it unique.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/developing-countries-can-prosper-without-increasing-emissions-84044">Developing countries can prosper without increasing emissions</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>President Xi admits that many Chinese corporations, investors and lenders operating overseas have often acted aggressively and even illegally. But he says his government is powerless to do much about it. The most notable government response to date is a series of “green papers” containing guidelines that sound good in theory but are almost universally ignored by Chinese interests overseas.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197121/original/file-20171130-30896-1lw73xn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197121/original/file-20171130-30896-1lw73xn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197121/original/file-20171130-30896-1lw73xn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197121/original/file-20171130-30896-1lw73xn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197121/original/file-20171130-30896-1lw73xn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197121/original/file-20171130-30896-1lw73xn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197121/original/file-20171130-30896-1lw73xn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197121/original/file-20171130-30896-1lw73xn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Indigenous forest people in the Congo Basin become increasingly poor and marginalised as foreign miners, loggers and poachers invade their lands.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mahmoud Mahmoud</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Are Xi’s assertions of powerlessness believable? He increasingly <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-17/china-president-xi-jinping-communist-party-congress/9056154">rules China with an iron hand</a>. Is it really impossible for China to guide and control its overseas industries, or are they simply so profitable that the government doesn’t want to?</p>
<p>Of course, China’s huge international ambitions will have some positive effects, and could even be economically transformative for certain nations. But many other elements will benefit China while profoundly damaging our planet.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/88312/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bill Laurance receives funding from scientific and philanthropic research organisations. He is the director of the Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science at James Cook University, and founder and director of ALERT--the Alliance of Leading Environmental Researchers & Thinkers. </span></em></p>Chinese investment is driving an unprecedented investment boom in global infrastructure. But despite its claims to be pursuing green development, China’s building bonanza is harming the planet.Bill Laurance, Distinguished Research Professor and Australian Laureate, James Cook UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.