At the global scale sustainability and environmental management involves managing the oceans, freshwater systems, land and atmosphere, according to sustainability principles.Buchenrieder, G., und A.R. Göltenboth: Sustainable freshwater resource management in the Tropics: The myth of effective indicators, 25th International Conference of Agricultural Economists (IAAE) on “Reshaping Agriculture’s Contributions to Society” in Durban, South Africa, 2003.

Land use change is fundamental to the operations of the biosphere because alterations in the relative proportions of land dedicated to urbanisation, agriculture, forest, woodland, grassland and pasture have a marked effect on the global water, carbon and nitrogen biogeochemical cycles.Krebs (2001) pp. 560–582. Management of the Earth's atmosphere involves assessment of all aspects of the carbon cycle to identify opportunities to address human-induced climate change and this has become a major focus of scientific research because of the potential catastrophic effects on biodiversity and human communities. Ocean circulation patterns have a strong influence on climate and weather and, in turn, the food supply of both humans and other organisms.

Atmosphere

In March 2009, at a meeting of the Copenhagen Climate Council, 2,500 climate experts from 80 countries issued a keynote statement that there is now "no excuse" for failing to act on global warming and without strong carbon reduction targets "abrupt or irreversible" shifts in climate may occur that "will be very difficult for contemporary societies to cope with".University of Copenhagen (March 2009) "Key Messages from the Congress" News item on Copenhagen Climate Congress in March 2009. Retrieved on: 2009-03-18.Adams, D. (March 2009) "Stern attacks politicians over climate 'devastation'". The Guardian. Retrieved on: 2009-03-18. Management of the global atmosphere now involves assessment of all aspects of the carbon cycle to identify opportunities to address human-induced climate change and this has become a major focus of scientific research because of the potential catastrophic effects on biodiversity and human communities.

Other human impacts on the atmosphere include the air pollution in cities, the pollutants including toxic chemicals like nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, volatile organic compounds and airborne particulate matter that produce photochemical smog and acid rain, and the chlorofluorocarbons that degrade the ozone layer. Anthropogenic particulates such as sulfate aerosols in the atmosphere reduce the direct irradiance and reflectance (albedo) of the Earth's surface. Known as global dimming the decrease is estimated to have been about 4% between 1960 and 1990 although the trend has subsequently reversed. Global dimming may have disturbed the global water cycle by reducing evaporation and rainfall in some areas. It also creates a cooling effect and this may have partially masked the effect of greenhouse gases on global warming.Hegerl, G.C. et al. (2007). "Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis." Chapter 9, "Understanding and Attributing Climate Change." Contribution of Working Group 1 to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. p. 676. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Full report at: IPCC Report. Retrieved on: 2009-03-18.

Oceans

Ocean circulation patterns have a strong influence on climate and weather and, in turn, the food supply of both humans and other organisms. Scientists have warned of the possibility, under the influence of climate change, of a sudden alteration in circulation patterns of ocean currents that could drastically alter the climate in some regions of the globe.Kerr, R.A. (2004). "A slowing cog in the North Atlantic ocean's climate machine." Science 304: 371–372. Retrieved on: 2009-04-19. Major human environmental impacts occur in the more habitable regions of the ocean fringes – the estuaries, coastline and bays. Eight point five of the world's population – about 600 million people – live in low-lying areas vulnerable to sea level rise. Trends of concern that require management include: over-fishing (beyond sustainable levels);Black, R. (November 2006). "'Only 50 years left' for sea fish". BBC News, UK. coral bleaching due to ocean warming, and ocean acidification due to increasing levels of dissolved carbon dioxide;Harrabin, R. (March 2009). "'Coral lab' offers acidity insight". BBC News, UK. Retrieved on: 2009-03-18. and sea level rise due to climate change. Because of their vastness oceans also act as a convenient dumping ground for human waste.Schukman, D. (March 2009). "Sea rise 'to exceed expectations'". BBC News, UK. Retrieved on: 2009-03-18. Remedial strategies include: more careful waste management, statutory control of overfishing by adoption of sustainable fishing practices and the use of environmentally sensitive and sustainable aquaculture and fish farming, reduction of fossil fuel emissions and restoration of coastal and other marine habitats.Lindenmayer & Burgman (2005).

Freshwater

Water covers 71% of the Earth's surface. Of this, 97.5% is the salty water of the oceans and only 2.5% freshwater, most of which is locked up in the Antarctic ice sheet. The remaining freshwater is found in lakes, rivers, wetlands, the soil, aquifers and atmosphere. All life depends on the solar-powered global water cycle, the evaporation from oceans and land to form water vapour that later condenses from clouds as rain, which then becomes the renewable part of the freshwater supply.Clarke & King (2006) pp. 20–21. Awareness of the global importance of preserving water for ecosystem services has only recently emerged as: during the 20th century, more than half the world's wetlands have been lost along with their valuable environmental services. Biodiversity-rich freshwater ecosystems are currently declining faster than marine or land ecosystemsHoekstra, A.Y. (2006). "The Global Dimension of Water Governance: Nine Reasons for Global Arrangements in Order to Cope with Local Problems." Value of Water Research Report Series No. 20 UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education. Retrieved on: 2009-03-18. making them the world's most vulnerable habitats.World Wide Fund for Nature (2008). Living Planet Report 2008. Retrieved on: 2009-03-29. Increasing urbanization pollutes clean water supplies and much of the world still does not have access to clean, safe water. In the industrial world demand management has slowed absolute usage rates but increasingly water is being transported over vast distances from water-rich natural areas to population-dense urban areas and energy-hungry desalination is becoming more widely used. Greater emphasis is now being placed on the improved management of blue (harvestable) and green (soil water available for plant use) water, and this applies at all scales of water management.

Land

Loss of biodiversity originates largely from the habitat loss and fragmentation produced by artificial land development, forestry and agriculture as natural capital is progressively converted to man-made capital. Land-use change is fundamental to the operations of the biosphere because alterations in the relative proportions of land dedicated to urbanisation, agriculture, forest, woodland, grassland and pasture have a marked effect on the global water, carbon and nitrogen biogeochemical cycles and this can negatively impact both natural and human systems. At the local human scale major sustainability benefits accrue from the pursuit of green cities and sustainable parks and gardens.Organic Gardening Techniques, Missouri University Extension. October 2004. Retrieved June 17, 2009.Sustainable Gardening & Food Production , Daniel Boone Regional Library. Retrieved June 17, 2009

Forests

Since the Neolithic Revolution, human consumption has reduced the world's forest cover by about 47%. Present-day forests occupy about a quarter of the world's ice-free land with about half of these occurring in the tropics.World Resources Institute (1998). World Resources 1998–1999. Oxford: Oxford University Press. . In temperate and boreal regions forest area is gradually increasing (with the exception of Siberia), but deforestation in the tropics is of major concern.Groombridge & Jenkins (2002).

Forests moderate the local climate and the global water cycle through their light reflectance (albedo) and evapotranspiration. They also conserve biodiversity, protect water quality, preserve soil and soil quality, provide fuel and pharmaceuticals, and purify the air. These free ecosystem services are not given a market value under most current economic systems, and so forest conservation has little appeal when compared with the economic benefits of logging and clearance which, through soil degradation and organic decomposition returns carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.Food and Agriculture Organisation (2006). "Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005: Progress Towards Sustainable Forest Management." Forestry paper 147. Rome: FAO. Retrieved on: 2009-04-17. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that about 90% of the carbon stored in land vegetation is locked up in trees and that they sequester about 50% more carbon than is present in the atmosphere. Changes in land use currently contribute about 20% of total global carbon emissions (heavily logged Indonesia and Brazil are a major source of emissions). Climate change can be mitigated by sequestering carbon in reafforestation schemes, plantations and timber products. Also wood biomass can be utilized as a renewable carbon-neutral fuel. The FAO has suggested that, over the period 2005–2050, effective use of tree planting could absorb about 10–20% of man-made emissions – so monitoring the condition of the world's forests must be part of a global strategy to mitigate emissions and protect ecosystem services.IPCC (2006). IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Inventories, Vol.4, Agriculture, Forestry, and other Land Uses. Japan: Institute for Global Environment Strategies. However, climate change may preempt this FAO scenario as a study by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations in 2009 concluded that the stress of a temperature rise above pre-industrial levels could result in the release of vast amounts of carbonKinver, M. (April 2009). "Key role of forests 'may be lost'" BBC News, UK. Retrieved on: 2009-04-19. so the potential of forests to act as carbon "sinks" is "at risk of being lost entirely".Dold, M. (April 2009). "New Study Warns Damage to Forests from Climate Change Could Cost the Planet Its Major Keeper of Greenhouse Gases.". IUFRO News. Retrieved on: 2009-04-20.

Cultivated land