It is all very well talking about a balanced holistic approach. But that can hide some real conflicts.

Some of the most important natural resources are owned by a handful of corporations. Oil is the most obvious example, controlled worldwide by five companies. Another five major companies control the wheat markets.

Most land is owned. In the UK 2% of the population own 74% of the land.

None of the worlds' resources are equally distributed, either geographically or between societies.

The water industry was privatized in the 1980 and is in the hands of fewer companies, increasingly owned from overseas.

People make a lot money out of the environment and they may not want to change their ways.

Also, people who are buying and using up the world's finite resources want everybody to protect the environment.

The poor have little or no access to these resources.

'What the richest do'.