Resource Sovereignty: Reclaiming Control Over the Systems That Sustain Us

Modern societies depend upon complex global networks to provide food, energy, water and materials. While these networks have increased efficiency and reduced costs, they have also created new forms of dependency. Resource sovereignty asks a fundamental question: who controls the resources that sustain society?

The concept of resource sovereignty is closely connected to the work of Vandana Shiva, who argues that communities should maintain control over essential resources, particularly food and agricultural systems. In Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Development (1988), Shiva critiques industrial approaches to development that separate communities from local ecosystems and traditional knowledge.

For Shiva, sustainability is not only an environmental challenge but also a question of power. When communities lose control over land, seeds and production systems, they may become dependent on external economic forces. Resource sovereignty therefore represents the ability of societies to manage essential resources in ways that protect both ecological systems and human wellbeing.

However, resource sovereignty does not require complete independence from global exchange. Instead, it involves building resilience: maintaining local capabilities while participating responsibly in wider economic networks.

References

Shiva, V. (1988) Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Development. London: Zed Books.

Shiva, V. (2000) Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply. Cambridge, MA: South End Press.