Resource Use in Regions Around the World

Hook: two forests, two stories

In one country, forests are cut and the land is turned into cattle pasture. In another, forests are cut and new trees are planted by law. Both countries harvest wood. Only one is likely to have the same amount of forest in 100 years. In this lesson you'll look at real regions and ask: Is this sustainable?

Case 1: Forests in the Amazon and in Sweden

The Amazon (South America, mostly in Brazil) is the world's largest tropical rainforest. Large areas have been cleared, mainly to create cattle pasture, and also for crops like soybeans, logging, mining and roads. Once roads are built, more people move in and clear more land. Rainforest soils are often poor, so cleared land can lose its fertility, and farmers may clear more forest. Indigenous peoples who live in the Amazon have often been at the front of efforts to protect it.

Sweden has a large forestry industry too. Its law requires forest owners to make sure new forest grows back after a harvest, by planting or natural regrowth. Sweden's forests are mostly managed for timber, so some scientists point out that managed forests have fewer old trees and less variety of wildlife than natural forests.

Comparison: cutting a forest and turning it into pasture (deforestation) is not sustainable. Cutting and regrowing a forest can be much more sustainable, though it may still change habitat.

Case 2: Fishing off Newfoundland and off West Africa

The Grand Banks (Canada): For hundreds of years people fished the huge cod stocks here. After the 1950s, large factory trawlers from many countries caught enormous amounts. The northern cod population collapsed, and in 1992 the Government of Canada announced a moratorium, stopping commercial fishing of northern cod. Many thousands of people in Newfoundland and Labrador lost their jobs, and many coastal communities shrank. The moratorium lasted more than 30 years. In 2024 the federal government ended it and allowed a larger commercial catch again, though scientists and fishers still debate how fully the stock has recovered.

West Africa: Many people in coastal countries such as Senegal depend on fish for food and jobs. Large industrial fishing boats from other parts of the world also fish these waters, some legally under agreements and some illegally. Many local small-boat fishers report that they must travel farther to catch fewer fish. Weak enforcement and poverty make the problem hard to solve.

Case 3: Coal and electricity in China

China has huge coal deposits, and coal has been its largest source of electricity. Burning coal helped China's economy grow very fast, but it caused serious smog in many cities and large greenhouse gas emissions. In the 2010s China took strong steps to cut air pollution, and it has become the world's largest producer of solar and wind power. It is still a major user of coal, so this case shows a country in transition.

The link between poverty and resource use

When people are very poor, they may have few choices. A family may clear forest to grow food, cut trees for cooking fuel, or catch every fish they can, because they need to eat today. That's why many sustainability programs also try to give people other ways to earn a living, like sustainable farming, ecotourism or fair prices for their products. Poverty is not the only cause: large companies and wealthy countries' demand for products like beef, soy, wood and fish also drive resource use.