Scarcity of Lunar Resources - Policy Brief
contributor: Zac WagerCross-sectional collaboration to adopt a resource management framework addressing scarcity in a way that fairly balances the interests of all stakeholders - small and large, rich and poor, present and future - would be a fantastic policy base on which to build a space economy.
Abstract
There are countless historical examples on Earth of what happens when we care for our environmental riches incompetently. Although some high-level agreements and treaties have been struck to address some of these issues, like the recent 30x30 Leaders Pledge to protect oceans and land from biodiversity loss, the future of many natural goods and environments – and the organisms that depend on them – are still in jeopardy (Leaders Pledge 4 Nature, 2022). The fact remains that the scarcity of resources can lead to unfathomable and uncontrollable consequences for those who rely on them or the environments from which they come. Unique to outer space environments is that as all actors have equal access to the same resources, all of humanity will share in the burden of their mismanagement (UNOOSA, 2018). This paper outlines a few of the problems associated with resource scarcity on the Moon and why it is essential for policymakers to be looking for solutions to them now.
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