NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF POLICY FRAMEWORKS

Abstract

Natural resource depletion, which is unprecedented, is one of the most important threats to sustainable development in the 21^st century. The policy frameworks in this paper are critical analyses of natural resource management at the global, regional, and national levels. By providing a literature review and analyzing the data presented by the authoritative sources, such as UNEP, FAO, and IRENA, this paper will discuss the efficiency of existing strategies of managing the available resources to attain the objectives of sustainability. The study shows that the world's resource mining has increased threefold in the last 50 years, and the figures are likely to rise by another 60 percent by 2060 should the current trends prevail. The analysis indicates that the extraction and processing of resources contribute more than 60 percent of greenhouse gases and 40 percent of health contributions to air pollution issues. The water problem is experienced by about 3.2 billion individuals in agriculture, and deforestation is being caused at a terrifying rate despite global conservation efforts. It compares the key policy frameworks, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and SDG 12, sustainable consumption and sustainable production, and scrutinizes case studies in different nations that are applying the principles of the circular economy. The results have shown that high levels of inequality exist in the consumption of resources, with high-income countries consuming six times more resources and creating ten times the impact of climate change than the low-income countries. The paper suggests combined policy solutions with a focus on resource efficiency, the adoption of a circular economy, enhanced governance instrumentation, and the harmonious distribution of resources. It ends by concluding that to have sustainable natural resource management, there is an urgent and coordinated action at the global level that involves a combination of technological innovation, policy reform, and behavior change that will guarantee intergenerational equity and planetary health.