Paper no.

2 Natural Resources
Name: Cristy P. Millondaga

Introduction

Natural resources are resources that exist without actions of humankind. This includes
all valued characteristics such as magnetic, gravitational, and electrical properties and forces.
On earth it includes: sunlight, atmosphere, water, land (includes all minerals) along with all
vegetation and animal life that naturally subsists upon or within the heretofore identified
characteristics and substances.

Particular areas such as the rainforest in Fatu-Hiva are often characterized by the
biodiversity and geo diversity existent in their ecosystems. Natural resources may be further
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, air, and as well as a living organism such as a fish, or it
may exist in an alternate form that must be processed to obtain the resource such as metal
ores, petroleum, and most forms of energy.

There is much debate worldwide over natural resource allocations, this is particularly
true during periods of increasing scarcity and shortages (depletion and overconsumption of
resources) but also because the exportation of natural resources is the basis for many
economies (particularly for developed countries). Some natural resources such as sunlight
and air can be found everywhere, and are known as ubiquitous resources. However, most
resources only occur in small sporadic areas, and are referred to as localized resources. There
are very few resources that are considered inexhaustible (will not run out in foreseeable
future) these are solar radiation, geothermal energy, and air (though access to clean air may
not be). The vast majority of resources are theoretically exhaustible, which means they have a
finite quantity and can be depleted if managed improperly.

Discussion

Classification

There are various methods of categorizing natural resources, these include source of origin,
stage of development, and by their renewability.

On the basis of origin, natural resources may be divided into two types:

Biotic Biotic resources are obtained from the biosphere (living and organic
material), such as forests and animals, and the materials that can be obtained from
them. Fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum are also included in this category
because they are formed from decayed organic matter.
Abiotic Abiotic resources are those that come from non-living, non-organic
material. Examples of abiotic resources include land, fresh water, air and heavy
metals including ores such as gold, iron, copper, silver, etc.

Considering their stage of development, natural resources may be referred to in the following
ways:

Potential resources Potential resources are those that exist in a region and may be
used in the future. For example, petroleum occurs with sedimentary rocks in various
regions, but until the time it is actually drilled out and put into use, it remains a
potential resource.
Actual resources Actual resources are those that have been surveyed, their quantity
and quality determined and are being used in present times. The development of an
actual resource, such as wood processing depends upon the technology available and
the cost involved.
Reserve resources The part of an actual resource which can be developed
profitably in the future is called a reserve resource.
 Stock resources Stock resources are those that have been surveyed but cannot be
used by organisms due to lack of technology. For example: hydrogen.

Renewability is a very popular topic and many natural resources can be categorized as either
renewable or non-renewable:

Renewable resources Renewable resources can be replenished naturally. Some of

these resources, like sunlight, air, wind, water, etc., are continuously available and
their quantity is 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.
Non-renewable resources Non-renewable resources either form slowly or do not
naturally form in the environment. Minerals are the most common resource included
in this category. By the human perspective, resources are non-renewable when their
rate of consumption exceeds the rate of replenishment/recovery; a good example of
this are 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 actually 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 but coal and petroleum cannot be recycled. Once they are
completely used they take millions of years to replenish.

Extraction

Resource extraction involves any activity that withdraws resources from nature. This can
range in scale from the traditional use of preindustrial societies, to global industry. Extractive
industries are, along with agriculture, the basis of the primary sector of the economy.
Extraction produces raw material which is then processed to add value. Examples of
extractive industries are hunting, trapping, mining, oil and gas drilling, and forestry. Natural
resources can add substantial amount to a country's wealth, however a sudden inflow of
money caused by a resource boom can create social problems including inflation harming
other industries ("Dutch disease") and corruption, leading to inequality and under
development this is known as the "resource curse".

Extractive industries represent a large growing activity in many less-developed

countries but the wealth generated does not always lead to sustainable and inclusive growth.
Extractive industry businesses often are assumed to be interested only in maximizing their
short-term value, implying that less-developed countries are vulnerable to powerful
corporations. Alternatively, host governments are often assumed to be only maximizing
immediate revenue. Researchers argue there are areas of common interest where development
goals and business cross. These present opportunities for international governmental agencies
to engage with the private sector and host governments through revenue management and
expenditure accountability, infrastructure development, employment creation, skills and
enterprise development and impacts on children, especially girls and women.

Depletion

Wind is a natural resource that can be used to generate electricity, as with these 5MW wind
turbines in Thorntonbank Wind Farm 28 km (17 mi) off the coast of Belgium
See also: Exploitation of natural resources

In recent years, the depletion of natural resources has become a major focus of governments
and organizations such as the United Nations (UN). This is evident in the UN's Agenda 21
Section Two, which outlines the necessary steps to be taken by countries to sustain their
natural resources. The depletion of natural resources is considered to be a sustainable
development issues. The term sustainable development has many interpretations, most
notably the Brundtland Commission's 'to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs', however in broad
terms it is balancing the needs of the planet's people and species now and in the future. In
regards to natural resources, depletion is of concern for sustainable development as it has the
ability to degrade current environments and potential to impact the needs of future
generations.
"The conservation of natural resources is the fundamental problem. Unless we solve that
problem, it will avail us little to solve all others."
Theodore Roosevelt

Depletion of natural resources is associated with social inequity. Considering most

biodiversity are located in developing countries, depletion of this resource could result in
losses of ecosystem services for these countries. Some view this depletion as a major source
of social unrest and conflicts in developing nations.

At present, with it being the year of the forest there is particular concern for rainforest regions
which hold most of the Earth's biodiversity. According to Nelson 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 of
the world's prescription medicines have ingredients taken from plants, loss of the world's
rainforests could result in a loss of finding more potential life-saving medicines.

The depletion of natural resources is caused by 'direct drivers of change' such as Mining,
petroleum extraction, fishing and forestry as well as 'indirect drivers of change' such as
demography, economy, society, politics and technology. The current practice of Agriculture
is another factor causing depletion of natural resources. For example: the depletion of
nutrients in the soil due to excessive use of nitrogen and desertification. The depletion of
natural resources is a continuing concern for society. This is seen in the cited quote given by
Theodore Roosevelt, a well-known conservationist and former United States president, who
was opposed to unregulated natural resource extraction.

Environmental protection

In 1982, the UN developed the World Charter for Nature, which recognized the need to
protect nature from further depletion due to human activity. It states that measures need to be
taken at all societal levels, from international to individual, to protect nature. It outlines the
need for sustainable use of natural resources and suggests that the protection of resources
should be incorporated into national and international systems of law. To look at the
importance of protecting natural resources further, the World Ethic of Sustainability,
developed by the IUCN, WWF and the UNEP in 1990, set out eight values for sustainability,
including the need to protect natural resources from depletion. Since the development of
these documents, many measures have been taken to protect natural resources including
establishment of the scientific field and practice of conservation biology and habitat
conservation, respectively.

Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity
with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of
extinction. It is an interdisciplinary subject drawing on science, economics and the practice of
natural resource management The term conservation biology was introduced as the title of a
conference held at the University of California, San Diego, in La Jolla, California, in 1978,
organized by biologists Bruce A. Wilcox and Michael E. Soul.

Habitat conservation is a land management practice that seeks to conserve, protect and
restore, habitat areas for wild plants and animals, especially conservation reliant species, and
prevent their extinction, fragmentation or reduction in range.

Natural resource 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 the
quality of life for both present and future generations. Hence sustainable development can be
followed where there is a judicial use of resources which compromises the needs of the
present generations as well as the future generations.

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. The resources are managed by
the users according to the rules governing of when and how the resource is used depending
on local condition.

A successful management of natural resources should engage the community because of the
nature of the shared resources the individuals who are affected by the rules can participate in
setting or changing them. 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. The users or parties accountable to the users have to
actively monitor and ensure the utilization of the resource compliance with the rules and to
impose penalty on those peoples who violates the rules. These conflicts are resolved in a
quick and low cost manner by the local institution according to the seriousness and context of
the offense.

Conclusion

It is the common understanding of natural environment that underlies environmentalism a

broad political, social, and philosophical movement that advocates various actions and
policies in the interest of protecting what nature remains in the natural environment, or
restoring or expanding the role of nature in this environment. While true wilderness is
increasingly rare, wild nature (e.g., unmanaged forests, uncultivated grasslands, wildlife,
wildflowers) can be found in many locations previously inhabited by humans.

The following are some goals for the benefit of people and natural systems

1. Elimination of pollution and toxicants in air, water, soil, buildings, manufactured goods,
and food.

2. Preservation of biodiversity and protection of endangered species.

3. Conservation and sustainable use of resources such as water, land, air, energy, raw
materials, and natural resources.

4. Halting human-induced global warming, that represents pollution, a threat to biodiversity,

and a threat to human population.

5. Shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy in electricity, heating and cooling, and
transportation, which addresses pollution, global warming, and sustainability. This may
include public transportation and distributed generation, which have benefits for traffic
congestion and electric reliability.
6. Establishment of nature reserves for recreational purposes and ecosystem preservation.

7. Sustainable and less polluting waste management including waste reduction (or even zero
waste), reuse, recycling, composting, waste-to-energy, and anaerobic digestion of sewage
sludge.

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