Rethinking the Area of Protection “Natural Resources” in Life Cycle Assessment

Life cycle impact
assessment (LCIA) in classical life cycle assessment
(LCA) aims at analyzing potential impacts of products and services
typically on three so-called areas of protection (AoPs): Natural Environment,
Human Health, and Natural Resources. This paper proposes an elaboration
of the AoP Natural Resources. It starts with analyzing different perspectives
on Natural Resources as they are somehow sandwiched in between the
Natural Environment (their cradle) and the human-industrial environment
(their application). Reflecting different viewpoints, five perspectives
are developed with the suggestion to select three in function of classical
LCA. They result in three safeguard subjects: the Asset of Natural
Resources, their Provisioning Capacity, and their role in Global Functions.
Whereas the Provisioning Capacity is fully in function of humans,
the global functions go beyond provisioning as they include nonprovisioning
functions for humans and regulating and maintenance services for the
globe as a whole, following the ecosystem services framework. A fourth
and fifth safeguard subject has been identified: recognizing the role
Natural Resources for human welfare, either specifically as building
block in supply chains of products and services as such, either with
or without their functions beyond provisioning. But as these are far
broader as they in principle should include characterization of mechanisms
within the human industrial society, they are considered as subjects
for an integrated sustainability assessment (LCSA: life cycle sustainability
assessment), that is, incorporating social, economic and environmental
issues.