Some advantages of the notion of “Critical Zone” for Geopolitics

I take “critical zone” to mean a spot on the envelope of the biosphere (Gaia's skin in Lovelock's parlance) which extends vertically from the top of the lower atmosphere down to the so-called sterile rocks and horizontally wherever it is possible to obtain reliable data on the various fluxes of ingredients flowing through the chosen site (which in practice generally means water catchments)3. “Ingredients” here does not mean only chemicals or physical elements since “EU legislation”, “agricultural practices” or “land tenure” might be part of the data to recover from the study just as well as the amount of nitrates.
In the eye of an outsider, what are the advantages of the notion of critical zones for geopolitics?