The world’s population is expected to reach 9.7 billion people in 2050. There are already 7.3 billion of us today. This population is also becoming more and more urbanized.
With an increasing population comes ever greater demand for the planet’s finite resources, such as minerals, water, agriculture, forestry, and oil and gas. Along with growing appetite for fuel, food, and inputs into the products we depend on in our daily lives, there is of course also a price to pay – the impact on the environment.
How can we best manage the limited resources we have while ensuring we are being respectful of the most precious thing we have – the home all 7.3 billion of us share? Will increased competition lead to clashes over water resources, or can we find a way to manage them more effectively? Is it inevitable that we turn to outer space to find minerals when we have exhausted them here? Some predictions have commodities such as copper, vital in many consumer goods, expected to be in production decline in less than 20 years.
At the same time questions are being asked the future of Natural Resources and humanity globally, communities are demanding greater social responsibility from the enterprises that operate projects locally. Communities are seeking better environmental management and more insight into how a project will benefit the local citizens over the course of its life.
Businesses are asking the questions about how they can respond to increasing social license obligations and maintain profitability at a time when commodity prices are variable and unpredictable.
Through the world of 3DEXPERIENCE, it is possible to bring all stakeholders together in the virtual world. With this, natural resources projects and their impact on the environment and communities can be simulated and communicated clearly.
The virtual world of collaboration and visualization will bring with it social innovation, uncovering new ways of managing natural resources, improving the efficiency of how they are recovered. This will result in a win-win for people and business as fuel consumption and emissions are lowered, decreasing the impact on the environment and lowering operating costs.
In parts of the world where water is scarce, it would be possible to bring together scientists from anywhere in the world, along with planners, and government officials in the virtual world to find ways of using a limited water supply more efficiently. They could test ideas such as the utilization of alternative types of crops, which were dependent on less water.
The time to start thinking differently about how we manage natural resources is now, not 2050. Populations are growing rapidly, putting pressure on natural resources in even the richest countries. The good news is, many are starting to have conversations now.
On the web: 3DS.com/natural-resources/
