Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI)

1
Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI)

• IB SL

2
What Is It?

• Uses 21 indicators and 76 measurements to create
  a sustainability score for each country.
• The higher the score better environmental
  sustainability.

3
Comparing Countries

• The 10 most sustainable countries ranked by the
  ESI are mainly wealthy, sparsely populated
  nations with an abundance of natural resources.
• The only densely populated countries with an
  above average ranking include Japan, Germany,
  Italy, and The Netherlands.

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ESI
ESI Rank Country ESI Score
1 Switzerland 95.5
2 Sweden 93.1
13 Germany 86.3
21 Japan 84.5
51 South Korea 79.4
95 Zimbabwe 69.3
105 China 65.1
120 India 60.3
125 Bangladesh 58.0
149 Niger 39.1
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Environmental Sustainability

• Essential for helping poor people (highly
  dependant on the environment and its resources).
• Climate change affects all countries but mainly
  LEDCs and their environmental sustainability.

6
Problems Today

• Overfishing has meant that many fisheries have
  collapsed.
• 60 of the worlds ecosystems are being used
  unsustainably or exploited.
• 10-30 of mammal, bird, and amphibian species
  face extinction.
• 40 of all forested areas has been lost and this
  is set to continue.

7
Challenges

• Education?
• Research?
• Who makes these decisions?
• Economic growth of countries?
• Investments?

8
Activity

• From what you have just seen and using A2
  Geography P198-199, answer the following
  questions...
• How useful/accurate is the ESI in ranking the
  environmental sustainability of countries?
• Using figure 5.47 on P198, outline how
  unsustainability is human induced.
• Explain how mainly MEDCs could be held
  responsible for the natural and social signs of
  unsustainability (using P198-199).