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Unit 2:
NATURAL RESOURCES
Topics: a) Renewable and non-renewable resources: Forest resources, Use and
over-exploitation, deforestation, case studies. Timber extraction, mining, dams
and their efforts on forests and tribal people b) Water resources: Use and over-
utilization of surface and ground water, floods, drought, conflicts over water,
dams-benefits and problems c) Mineral resources: Use and exploitation,
environmental effects of extracting and using mineral resources’, case studies d)
Food resources: World foods problems, changes caused by agriculture and
overgrazing, effects of modern agriculture, fertilizer – pesticide problems, Water
logging, salinity, case studies e) Energy resources: growing energy needs,
renewable and renewable energy resources, use of alternate energy sources f)
Land resources: land as a resource, land degradation, man induced landslides,
desertification.
Role of an individual in conservation of natural resources.
Equitable use of resources for sustainable lifestyles.
Objectives:
To understand the concept of natural resources
To distinguish between renewable and non-renewable resources
To know the important natural resources such as Forest, Water, Minerals,
food, energy and land resources-
To study the resources in context of their usage, over utilization issues,
factors responsible, environmental effects and remedial measures
To ascertain role of an individual in conservation of natural resources
To learn the equitable use of the resources for sustainable lifestyles
NATURAL RESOURCES
INTRODUCTION:
Resources does not refer to a thing or a substance but to a function which a thing
or substance may perform or to an operation in which it may take part namely the
function or operation of attaining a given end such as satisfying a want.
Resource, therefore, means to attain given ends. The aspect of satisfaction is so
important that we consider a thing or substance resource so long it meets our
needs.
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Life on this planet depends upon a large number of things and services provided
by the nature, which are known as Natural Resources. Thus water, air, soil,
minerals, coal, forests, crops and wild life are all examples of natural resources.
Any material which is required or used to sustain life or livelihood is termed as a
resource. In other words, resources are all these requirements of organisms,
population and communities which tend to help in accumulation of energy by
their increased availability. Some examples of resources are air for breathing,
water for drinking, land for living and growing food, forests for timber and paper,
ores for aluminium, copper, iron and other metals and coal, oil and natural gas
for producing energy.
Natural Resources:
A natural resource is defined as a form of energy and/or matter which is
essential for the functioning of organisms, populations and ecosystems. In
the case of humans, a natural resource, in his words, refers to any form of
energy or matter essential for the fulfillment of physiological, socio-economic and
cultural needs, both at the individual level and that of the community.
Life on our planet earth depends upon a large number of things and services
provided by the nature, which are known as natural resources. Water, air, soil,
minerals, coal, forests, crops and wild life are all the examples of natural
resources.
The basic ecological variables- energy, space, time and diversity are sometimes
combined called natural resources. These natural are maintaining ecological
balance among themselves. Man is the only organisms who have disrupted this
duplicate balance.
According to Ramade (1984), a natural resource is defined as a form of energy
and/or matter, which is essential for the functioning of organisms, populations
and ecosystems. In the case of humans, a natural resource, in his words, refers
to any form of energy or matter essential for the fulfillment of physiological, socio-
economic and cultural needs, both at the individual level and that of the
community.
The basic ecological variables- energy, space, time and diversity are sometimes
combined called natural resources. These natural resources are maintaining
ecological balance among themselves. Man is the only organism who has
disrupted this duplicate balance.
Classification of natural resources:
According to Odum (1971), natural resources can be divided into two categories
such as (1) renewable and (2) Non renewable resources.
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1. Renewable resources: The resources that can be replenished through rapid
natural cycles are known as renewable resource. These resources are able to
increase their abundance through reproduction and utilization of simple
substances. Examples of renewable resources are plants, (crops and forests),
and animals who are being replaced from time to time because they have the
power of reproducing and maintain life cycles. Some examples of renewable
resources though they do not have life cycle but can be recycled are wood and
wood-products, pulp products, natural rubber, fibers (e.g. cotton, jute, animal
wool, silk and synthetic fibers) and leather. In addition to these resources, water
and soil are also classified as renewable resources.
Solar energy although having a finite life, as a special case, is considered as a
renewable resource in as much as solar stocks are inexhaustible on the human
scale.
2. Non-Renewable Resources: The resources that cannot be replenished
through natural processes are known as non-renewable resources. These are
available in limited amounts, which cannot be increased. These resources
include fossil fuels (petrol, coal etc.), metals (iron, copper, gold, silver, lead, zinc
etc.), minerals and salts (carbonates, phosphates, nitrates etc.). Once a non-
renewable resource is consumed, it is gone forever. Then we have to find a
substitute for it or do without it.
Non-renewable resources can further be divided into two categories, viz. a) re-
cycle able and b) non-recyclable
a) Recycleale: These are non-renewable resources, which can be collected after
they are used and can be recycled. These are mainly the non-energy mineral
resources, which occur in the earth’s crust (e.g. ores of aluminium, copper,
mercury etc.) and deposits of fertilizer nutrients (e.g. phosphate sock and
potassium and minerals used in their natural state (asbestos, clay, mica etc.)
b) Non-recyclable: These are non-renewable resources, which cannot be
recycled in any way. Examples of these are fossil fuels and uranium, which
provide 90 per cent of our energy requirements.
Some authors prefer to classify resources into biotic and abiotic resources:
a) Biotic resources: These are living resources (e.g. forest, agriculture, fish and
wild life) that are able to reproduce or replace them and to increase.
b) Abiotic resources: These are non-living resources (e.g. petrol, land, minerals
etc.) that are not able to replace themselves or do so at such a slow rate that
they are not useful to consider them in terms of the human life times.
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Natural resources can be classified as a) inexhaustible and b) exhaustible
resources.
1. Inexhaustible resources: The resources which are not changed or exhausted
by man’s activities and are abundantly available for ever are said to be
inexhaustible. Examples are solar energy, atomic energy, wind power, power
from tides etc. Most of the renewable resources are classified as inexhaustible.
But if not maintained properly, they become extinct. For example, ground water is
renewable only if water continues to percolate in the soil at a rate at which it is
removed.
2. Exhaustible resources: These resources are limited in nature and they are
non-maintainable e.g. coal, petrol and some minerals etc. Hence, they come
under non-renewable category.
Examples of Renewable and Non-renewable resources:
Even our renewable resources can become non-renewable if we exploit them to
such extent that their rate of consumption exceeds their rate of regeneration. For
example if a species is exploited so much that its population size declines below
the threshold level then it is not able to sustain itself and gradually the species
becomes endangered or extinct.
It is very important to protect and conserve our natural resources and use them
in a judicious manner so that we don’t exhaust them. It does not mean that we
should stop using most of the natural resources. Rather, we should use the
resources in such a way that we always save enough of them for our future
generations.
Following are some examples of the major natural resources:
1. Forest resources
2. Water resources
3. Mineral resources
4. Food resources
5. Energy resources
6. Land resources
1. FOREST RESOURCES:
Forest Resources: It is a dense growth of trees, together with other plants,
covering a large area of land. Forests are one of the most natural resources on
this earth. Covering the earth like a green blanket these forests not only produce
innumerable material goods, but also provide several environmental services
which are essential for life.
