Key Concepts

• Resource systems operate as interconnected and interdependent networks, where changes in the consumption of one generate cascading effects across other resources.

• Globalization has transformed resource use into complex flows of “virtual resources” where embedded resources are transferred from one part of the world to another through trade.

• Resource consumption can be measured using ecological footprints, which reveals inequalities in consumption patterns over space and time

• Increasing pressure on resources has intensified questions of security, equity, and sustainability, as competition for scarce resources often shifts environmental burdens onto less powerful regions through trade, extraction, and waste disposal.

• Approaches to resource management are shaped by competing perspectives on population and scarcity.