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How can biological resources be used sustainably for human development?

In my development economics research, I see "bio-based development" touted as a solution, but it often leads to over-exploitation. There's a tension between immediate human needs and conservation. From a practitioner's view, what frameworks or principles actually work to navigate this balance effectively?

 

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By Saleh Alsanie Answered 6 years ago

In my fieldwork, I've seen that the "sustainable use" ideal fails without embedded local governance. The principle I recommend is framing biological resources as natural capital that provides dividend services, not principal to be spent. Successful frameworks, like community-controlled biocultural protocols, explicitly value ecosystem services and create transparent benefit-sharing. It moves from extraction to stewardship, aligning long-term human development with the resource's health by giving local stakeholders a decisive voice and vested interest.

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