In the same period, the global economy will grow to between four and five times its present size. As a result, industrialized nations will need to reduce material throughput, energy use, and environmental degradation by more than 90 percent in that period just to maintain overall impacts at current levels. Sustainable development changes the policy debate about the management of those resources in several important ways. The emphasis on ecological integrity, for example, means that one-species tree plantations are not an appropriate way to manage renewable resources such as forests. The ecological emphasis, in turn, requires the development and enhancement of incentives for private landowners.
Most forests are on private land.
As a result, sustainable forestry requires that private landowners have incentives to manage their property for both tree products and for other values, such as wildlife and biodiversity, that may not have an apparent economic value. It is also important to reduce the need for extraction of raw materials as much as possible. In addition to reducing the environmental impact of such activities, reducing extraction of raw materials preserves ecosystems as well as options for future generations. A consensus is emerging that our existing pollution control laws for manufacturing have achieved about as much as they can. These laws also do not fully protect human health and the environment.