Natural resource
Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. On Earth, it includes sunlight, atmosphere, water, land, all minerals along with all vegetation, and wildlife.[1][2][3][4]
Natural resources are part of humanity's natural heritage or protected in nature reserves. Particular areas (such as the rainforest in Fatu-Hiva) often feature biodiversity and geodiversity in their ecosystems. Natural resources may be classified in different ways. Natural resources are materials and components (something that can be used) that can be found within the environment. Every man-made product is composed of natural resources (at its fundamental level).
A natural resource may exist as a separate entity such as fresh water,
Natural-resource allocations can be at the center of many economic and political confrontations both within and between countries. This is particularly true during periods of increasing scarcity and shortages (
Classification
There are various criteria of classifying natural resources. These include the source of origin, stages of development, renewability and ownership.
Origin
- Biotic: Resources that originate from the biosphere and have life such as flora and fauna, fisheries, livestock, etc. Fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum are also included in this category because they are formed from decayed organic matter.
- , etc.
Stage of development
- Potential resources: Resources that are known to exist, but have not been utilized yet. These may be used in the future. For example, petroleum in sedimentary rocks that, until extracted and put to use, remains a potential resource.
- Actual resources: Resources that have been surveyed, quantified and qualified, and are currently used in development. These are typically dependent on technology and level of their feasibility, wood processing for example.
- Reserves: The part of an actual resource that can be developed profitably in the future.
- Stocks: Resources that have been surveyed, but cannot be used due to lack of technology, hydrogen vehicles for example.
Renewability/exhaustibility
- Renewable resources: These resources can be replenished naturally. Some of these resources, like solar energy, air, wind, water, etc. are continuously available and their quantities are not noticeably affected by human consumption. Though many renewable resources do not have such a rapid recovery rate, these resources are susceptible to depletion by over-use. Resources from a human use perspective are classified as renewable so long as the rate of replenishment/recovery exceeds that of the rate of consumption. They replenish easily compared to non-renewable resources.
- fossil fuels, which are in this category because their rate of formation is extremely slow (potentially millions of years), meaning they are considered non-renewable. Some resources naturally deplete in amount without human interference, the most notable of these being radio-active elements such as uranium, which naturally decay into heavy metals. Of these, the metallic minerals can be re-used by recycling them,[5] but coal and petroleum cannot be recycled.[6]
Ownership
- Individual resources: Resources owned privately by individuals. These include plots, houses, plantations, pastures, ponds, etc.
- Community resources: Resources which are accessible to all the members of a community. E.g.: Cemeteries
- National resources: Resources that belong to the nation. The nation has legal powers to acquire them for public welfare. These also include minerals, forests and wildlife within the political boundaries and Exclusive economic zone.
- International resources: These resources are regulated by international organizations. E.g.: International waters.
Extraction
Resource extraction involves any activity that withdraws resources from nature. This can range in scale from the
Extractive industries represent a large growing activity in many less-developed countries but the wealth generated does not always lead to
Depletion
In recent years, the
"The conservation of natural resources is the fundamental problem. Unless we solve that problem, it will avail us little to solve all others."
Depletion of natural resources is associated with
At present, there is a particular concern for rainforest regions that hold most of the Earth's biodiversity.[19] According to Nelson,[20] deforestation and degradation affect 8.5% of the world's forests with 30% of the Earth's surface already cropped. If we consider that 80% of people rely on medicines obtained from plants and 3⁄4 of the world's prescription medicines have ingredients taken from plants,[17] loss of the world's rainforests could result in a loss of finding more potential life-saving medicines.[21]
The depletion of natural resources is caused by 'direct drivers of change'
Protection
In 1982, the
Management
Natural resource management is a discipline in the management of natural resources such as land, water, soil, plants, and animals—with a particular focus on how management affects quality of life for present and future generations. Hence, sustainable development is followed according to judicial use of resources to supply both the present generation and future generations. The disciplines of fisheries, forestry, and wildlife are examples of large subdisciplines of natural resource management.
Management of natural resources involves identifying who has the right to use the resources, and who does not, for defining the boundaries of the resource.[31] The resources may be managed by the users according to the rules governing when and how the resource is used depending on local condition[32] or the resources may be managed by a governmental organization or other central authority.[33]
A "...successful management of natural resources depends on freedom of speech, a dynamic and wide-ranging public debate through multiple independent media channels and an active civil society engaged in natural resource issues..."[34] because of the nature of the shared resources, the individuals who are affected by the rules can participate in setting or changing them.[31] The users have rights to devise their own management institutions and plans under the recognition by the government. The right to resources includes land, water, fisheries and pastoral rights.[32] The users or parties accountable to the users have to actively monitor and ensure the utilisation of the resource compliance with the rules and to impose penalty on those peoples who violate the rules.[31] These conflicts are resolved in a quick and low cost manner by the local institution according to the seriousness and context of the offence.[32] The global science-based platform to discuss natural resources management is the World Resources Forum, based in Switzerland.
See also
- Asteroid mining
- Citizen's dividend
- Conservation (ethic)
- Cultural resources
- Environmental movement
- Land (economics)
- Lunar resources
- Mining
- Resource nationalism
- Sustainable development
- United Nations Framework Classification for Resources
- United Nations Resource Management System
References
- ^ "natural resources - definition of natural resources in English". Oxford Dictionaries. 2014-04-20. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
- ^ "Definition of natural resource - Student Dictionary". Wordcentral.com. 2012-09-20. Archived from the original on 2017-08-03. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
natural resource [...] : something (as a mineral, waterpower source, forest, or kind of animal) that is found in nature and is valuable to humans (as in providing a source of energy, recreation, or scenic beauty[.]
- ^ "What is Natural Resources? definition and meaning". Investorwords.com. Archived from the original on 2019-11-02. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
- ^ "Natural resource dictionary definition | natural resource defined". Yourdictionary.com. Archived from the original on 2019-10-22. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
Natural-resource meaning [:]
An actual or potential form of wealth supplied by nature, as coal, oil, water power, timber, arable land, etc.
A material source of wealth, such as timber, fresh water, or a mineral deposit, that occurs in a natural state and has economic value.
Something, such as a forest, a mineral deposit, or fresh water, that is found in nature and is necessary or useful to humans.
Any source of wealth that occurs naturally, especially minerals, fossil fuels, timber, etc. - ^ "Earth's natural wealth: an audit". Science.org.au. May 23, 2007. Archived from the original on July 20, 2008.
- ^ "Peak Everything?". Reason.com. April 27, 2010. Archived from the original on January 1, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
- ^ "EnviroStats: Canada's natural resource wealth at a glance". Statcan.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2014-11-06. Retrieved 2014-05-31.
- ^ Evelyn Dietsche; Samantha Dodd; Dan Haglund; Mark Henstridge; Maja Jakobsen; Esméralda Sindou; Caroline Slaven. "Extractive industries, development and the role of donors - ECONOMIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR PROFESSIONAL EVIDENCE AND APPLIED KNOWLEDGE SERVICES". Partberplatform.org. Archived from the original on 2017-02-05. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
- ^ Indra Overland (2018) 'Introduction: Civil Society, Public Debate and Natural Resource Management', in Indra Overland (ed.) Public Brainpower: Civil Society and Natural Resource Management, Cham: Palgrave, pp. 1–22. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320656629 Archived 2018-06-12 at the Wayback Machine
- S2CID 111088968.
- ^ a b c "UN 2002 Earth Summit Agenda 21 The United Nations programme for action from Rio: Section Two – Conservation and Management of Resources for Development, United Nations, Rio". Un.org. 12 September 2011. Archived from the original on 2019-10-10. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
- ^ a b Schilling M and Chiang L 2011 The effect of natural resources on sustainable development policy: The approach of non-sustainable externalities. Energy Policy 39: 990–998
- ^ "UN 1987 'Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future' UN Documents: Gathering a body of global agreements". Un.org. 12 September 2011. Archived from the original on 2019-05-17. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
- ^ Salvati L and Marco Z 2008 Natural resource depletion and economic performance of local districts: suggestions from a within-country analysis Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology. 15(6): 518–523
- ^ Theodore Roosevelt, Address to the Deep Waterway Convention Memphis, TN, October 4, 1907
- ^ UNESCO and UNEP 2002 Cultural Diversity and Biodiversity for Sustainable Development, World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg.
- ^ a b Nellemann C and Corcoran E 2010 Dead Planet, Living Planet- Biodiversity and Ecosystem Restoration for Sustainable Development: A Rapid Response Assessment. United Nations Environment Program, GRID-Arendal
- ^ Von Braun J cited in Inforesources Trends 2005 Depletion of Natural Resources – Implications for Development: An assessment by experts Berne, Switzerland
- ^ Nations, United (12 September 2011). "UNEP 2011 International Year of Forests". United Nations. Un.org. Archived from the original on 2016-12-09. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
- ^ a b c d "Nelson 2005 Chapter 3: Drivers of Ecosystem Change: Summary Chapter in Current State and Trends Assessment Millenium Ecosystem Assessment" (PDF). 12 September 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2009. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
- ^ Clark H cited in UNESCO and UNEP 2002 Cultural Diversity and Biodiversity for Sustainable Development, World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg
- ^ "UN 1982 General Assembly World Charter for Nature: 48th Plenary meeting". United Nations. 13 September 2011. Archived from the original on 2019-04-02. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
- hdl:10072/368672. Archived from the original(PDF) on September 14, 2015. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
- ^ M. E. Soulé and B. A. Wilcox. 1980. Conservation Biology: An Evolutionary-Ecological Perspective. Sinauer Associatess. Sunderland, Massachusetts.
- ^ M. E. Soule. (1986). What is conservation Biology? BioScience, 35(11): 727–734 [1] Archived 2019-04-12 at the Wayback Machine
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- California Department of Fish & Game. Archived from the originalon 2019-10-26. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
- ^ a b c "Ostrom E cited in Kommers N and Mackie P 2005 Journalist guide to world resources 2005 World Resources Institute 1-30" (PDF). Pdf.wri.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2011-11-25. Retrieved 2011-09-22.
- ^ a b c "UNDP, UNEP, The World Bank and World Resources Institute – The Wealth of the Poor: Managing Ecosystems to Fight Poverty Institute 2005 Chapter 3 The board's role in governance, World Resources 2005" (PDF). Sc.com.my. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-25.
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External links
- Natural resource, britannica.com
- Natural resources, encyclopedia.com
- Media related to Natural resources at Wikimedia Commons