Natural Resources

The nature of resources varies from society to society. The variation is related to the culture, level of development and work of a society. The primitive human beings had used only those resources that supported their life. For instance, they drank river water, consumed fruits, roots and tubers of plants, and flesh of animals as food. They used stones and bones for tool making, hides of animals for clothing and feathers of birds and teeth of animals for making ornaments. However, the growing population, industrialization and consequent urbanization have created new needs and compelled us to overexploid the natural resources.

TYPES OF NATURAL RESOURCES:

Natural resources on the basis of their availability and abundance are classified as inexhaustible (air, water) and exhaustible (minerals, fossil fuels) resources.

Exhaustible resources can be of two types:

Renewable resources:

These resources can maintain themselves if managed wisely. These include forest, crops, ground water, wildlife, etc.

Non-renewable resource:

These get exhausted with use because they are not recycled or replenished. These include minerals, fossil fuels, etc.

NATURAL RESOURCES

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Inexhaustible Exhaustible

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Renewable resources Non-renewable resources

Renewable resources Non-renewable resources

• Can replenish themselves by quick recycling ∙ Cannot replenish themselves by recycling and replacement within a reasonable time. and replacement.
•  Not likely to be exhausted. ∙ It may be exhausted.

∙ e.g., Soil, forests, wild life. ∙ e.g., minerals and fossil fuels like coal and petroleum.

MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

Natural resource managementrefers to the management ofnatural resourcessuch asland,water,soil,plantsandanimals, with a particular focus on how management affects thequality of lifefor both present and future generations (stewardship).

Natural resource management deals with managing the way in which people and naturallandscapesinteract. It brings together land use planning, water management,biodiversity conservation, and the future sustainability of industries likeagriculture,mining,tourism,fisheriesandforestry. It recognises that people and their livelihoods rely on the health and productivity of our landscapes, and their actions as stewards of the land play a critical role in maintaining this health and productivity.

Natural resource management is also congruent with the concept of sustainable development, a scientific principle that forms a basis for sustainableglobal land management andenvironmental governanceto conserve and preserve natural resources.

Natural resource management specifically focuses on a scientific and technical understanding of resources andecologyand the life-supporting capacity of those resources.Environmental managementis also similar to natural resource management. In academic contexts, thesociology of natural resourcesis closely related to, but distinct from, natural resource management.

Progress in science and technology has developed such tools and technology with which man has started extracting natural resources at a much larger scale. This has led to their depletion because nature has only a limited amount of them in reserve. The only solution to save the life of mankind is the conservation of natural resources.

CONSERVATION:

Conservationis anethicof resource use, allocation, and protection. Its primary focus is upon maintaining the health of thenatural worlditsfisheries,habitats, andbiological diversity. Secondary focus is onmaterialsconservation andenergy conservation, which are seen as important to protect the natural world.