Drivers

Drivers are often defined as socio-economic sectors that fulfill human needs  for food & raw materials, water, shelter, health, culture, and security.  Other socio-economic sectors do not directly fulfill human needs, but instead support other sectors by building and maintaining the infrastructure needed for the economy to operate. 

A useful approach is to derive Drivers from the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS), the government standard which defines a comprehensive list of sectors of the economy.  In creating a generic DPSIR, we found it useful to slightly re-categorize NAICS sectors to reflect human needs, and we emphasized certain sub-sectors that seemed particularly relevant to environmental management, while collapsing other sectors.  Some sectors may fall under more than one category (recreational fishing for food & culture), or can be placed where most relevant to a given management issue.

Sectors providing Food & raw materials include…

• Agriculture- croplands, rangelands
• Aquaculture
• Oil & Gas Extraction
• Fishing- commercial fisheries, artisanal fishing, & recreational fishing
• Forestry
• Mining & Quarrying – coal mining, mineral mining

Sectors fulfilling human needs for Water include…

• Drinking water supply
• Irrigation

Sectors fulfilling human needs for Shelter include

• Housing - home construction, real estate, single family & multi-unit housing
• Textiles & Apparel

Sectors fulfilling human needs for Health include

• Medical care - hospitals
• Pharmaceuticals and cosmetics
• Social assistance - child care centers
• Waste management - sewage treatment facilities and landfills

Sectors fulfilling human needs for Culture include

• Tourism & recreation – recreational fishing & hunting, beaches & natural lands, 
• Education – primary & secondary education, colleges & universities
• Information – telecommunications, scientific research, biotechnology research & development
• Social organizations- churches, outreach groups, families

Sectors fulfilling human needs for Security include

• National defense – coastal defense, munitions
• Public administration – government, courts, law enforcement

Infrastructure sectors provide the physical, organizational, and technical support for the economy to function and include…

• Manufacturing & trade
• Transportation – air & road transportation, ship & boat operation, warehousing
• Construction & civil engineering – road & utility line construction, building construction, dam construction, pipeline construction
• Finance & insurance – banks, insurance
• Technical services – management of companies, repair & maintenance services, personal services
• Utilities – electric power, natural gas