Human-Karst Landscape Interactions and the Anthropo-Karstosphere: Toward a Nexus of Geoethics, Groundwater, and a Sustainable Society

Abstract

The Earth’s karst systems, with all their components (hydrology, human impacts, biodiversity, geodiversity, economic resources, and cultural heritage), could be called the karstosphere. Where human effects can disrupt aspects of the sustainability of karst environments, such a system could be called the anthropo-karstosphere. There are places where the natural environment has been severely affected by, for example, land use change, deep drilling in buried karst aquifers and groundwater mining, destruction of karst landscapes, depletion of karst aquifers, and drying out of karst springs. However, neither simple, one-dimensional scenarios nor multi-dimensional decisions can guarantee conservation plans and protect karst resources without a fundamental, moral understanding of the importance of these resources and the engagement of local communities. Considering the potential effects of climate change, human impacts, increased demand for karst resources (including water, soil, and biodiversity), and disruption of natural karst systems, sustainability paradigms based on responsible management should be integrated by geoethics and the local society’s responsibility. In this study, the sustainability of local communities is based on karst resource management, and the perspective of geoethics is taken into consideration. Based on a conceptual model, sustainable extraction of groundwater, ethical views on the utilization and protection of karst aquifers, and patterns of social behavior in various karstosphere settings are discussed with examples from Iran. As expressed in this study, the intellectual framework and communication regarding factors affecting the karstosphere can be considered a basis for establishing a nexus of geoethics, groundwater, and sustainable society.