Resource utilization as per carrying capacity of earth is important for sustainable development:

• Any system can sustain a limited number of organisms on a long-term basis which is known as its carrying capacity.
• In case of human beings, the carrying capacity concept becomes all the more complex. It is because unlike other animals, human beings, not only need food to live, but need so many other things to maintain the quality of life.
• Sustainability of a system depends largely upon the carrying capacity of the system.
• If the carrying capacity of a system is crossed, by over exploitation of a resource, environmental degradation starts and continues till it reaches a point of no return.
• Carrying capacity has two basic components:

1. Supporting capacity i.e. the capacity to regenerate.
2. Assimilative capacity i.e. the capacity to tolerate different stresses.

• In order to attain sustainability it is very important to utilize the resources based upon the above two properties of the system.
• Consumption should not exceed regeneration and changes should not be allowed to occur beyond the tolerance capacity of the system.