Natural resources are naturally occurring substances that are considered

valuable in their relatively unmodified (natural) form. A natural resources

value rests in the amount of the material available and the demand for it. The
latter is determined by its usefulness to production. A commodity is
generally considered a natural resource when the primary activities
associated with it are extraction and purification, as opposed to creation.
Thus, mining, petroleum extraction, fishing, hunting, and forestry are
generally considered natural-resource industries, while agriculture is not.
hen people do not have some natural resources, their !uality of life can get lower. "or
example, when they can not get clean water, people may become ill# if there is not
enough wood, trees will be cut and the forest will disappear over time (deforestation)# if
there are not enough fish in a sea, people can die of starvation.
Depletion Of Natural Resources
$ver a period of time, many of our natural resources are being depleted. %any activities
of human society are responsible for this degradation of the environment. Agricultural
practises such as indiscriminate use of fertili&ers and pesticides contaminate the soil.
'rbanisation, overpopulation, increase in use of carbon monoxide producing
automobiles, deforestation, deterioration of water resources are all factors contributing to
this depletion.
(epletion of natural resources refers to the exhaustion of raw materials within a region.
$ur resources are getting depleted at a faster rate than they are produced or renewed by
nature. Thus even renewable resources need to be used in sustainable ways, otherwise
they will run out.
)hanges in the condition of natural resources, and their long-term, usually negative
impacts on society and economy have been pointed out clearly and alarmingly by several
comprehensive studies, such as the %illennium *cosystem Assessment. And yet these
pessimistic assessments have not been able to bring on a brea+through of policies
or economic and institutional tools that promote efficient and sustainable management of
natural resources.,nternational )ooperation must position itself within this area of tension
and identify future priorities of development policy.
Depletion of natural Resources will continue
An average of -./ of ,maginelands soils are degraded to the extent that their
productivity is limited. The countrys forested area is decreasing by 0/ every year.
(uring the dry seasons there are water shortages, and 011 high plant species are
threatened.
2ressure on the natural resources will increase due to expansion and
intensification of agriculture, among others also for reasons of commercialisation
and increase of global trade.
The impact of climate change is assessed differently by the various experts. The
conse!uences they predict include more fre!uent occurrence of extreme events,
increasing intrusion of invasive plant species, and decreasing soil fertility. All
experts are of the opinion that the adaptation of people and their agricultural
systems to climatechange re!uires competences and mechanisms similar to those
necessary for adaptation to other degradation processes.
,mproved institutional settings, such as guaranteed land use rights for women and
men or local water and forest user associations, can contribute to sustainable
resource management.
Causes
Over population
The 'nited 3ations reports states that the world population is currently growing by
approximately 4- million people per year. *stimates state that by -151 the worlds
population could be as much as 00 billion people. The ma6ority of this population growth
will ta+e place in developing countries. This rising population would increase the demand
for food, water, clothing, and shelter. ith the increasing urbani&ation there would also
be an increase in the use of consumer goods. To meet this demand we will utilise natural
resources such as minerals, forests, fossil fuels, etc. %any of these resources are limited
or non-renewable such as land, fossil fuels, minerals etc. *ven renewable resources such
as forests are under severe pressure and it may not be possible to renew them at the same
rates at which they are being used up.
Thus overpopulation refers to a condition where the carrying capacity of a habitat is
lesser that the actual numbers of an organism. To fulfil the food re!uirements of a large
population, more land has to be brought under cultivation. "orests have been destroyed in
the past to be used as farming land. To increase the crop yield, fertilisers and pesticides
are used extensively. 7owever, in the long run these pollute the environment and reduce
the fertility of the soil and eventually affect the crop yield. "or meeting water re!uirement
for drin+ing and irrigation, dams have to be built. (ams disturb the environment. 2oor
management of ground water has also led to its depletion.
$verpopulation, as discussed above, has many adverse effects8
0. 9arge-scale consumption of resources such as fossil fuel, minerals etc.
-. 7igh consumption of fertili&ers and fossil fuel leads to pollution of air, water and
soil.
.. 7uman activity such as mining, destroying forests, consuming resources upsets
the ecological balance in nature
:. A lot of human activities also leads to depletion of the o&one layer
Excessive or Irrational use
The rise in human population along with growing urbanisation and economic growth are
leading to an overuse of resources. ,ncrease in per capita economic growth is generally
associated with a growth in the resource use. There is a limited capacity of the planet to
meet the increasing demand for resources and to absorb the emissions and waste resulting
from their use. ,n several cases it has been seen that the existing demand exceeds the
carrying capacity of the environment.
There is a shortage of several resources due to overuse. 9and is being developed, forests
are cut to meet the need for agricultural land and there is a loss of wildlife habitat. ;oil is
a resource that is getting degraded due to overuse, pollution and erosion. "ossil fuels li+e
coal, oil and natural gas, ta+e millions of years to form. <ut they are being used at a faster
rate, leading to an energy crisis.
*xcessive use of resources also refers to higher standard of living and the consumer
culture that is prevalent in most developed countries as well as in urban areas in the
developing countries. All this adds up to more housing, food, mobility, washing
machines, refrigerators, personal computers, or television sets. 2roducing all this utilises
our natural resources. %uch of this also generates waste. ,f we continue to consume at
existing rates, we will soon be in a crisis where the demand for natural resources will far
exceed the supply.
Non-Equitable distribution of Resources
3atural resources are not distributing in a uniform way. At one place a particular resource
may be in excess and in other places they may be scarcely available. ,n ,ndia, coal
reserves are found in =har+hand and $rissa but there are no +nown reserves in 2un6ab and
7aryana. >a6asthan faces and acute shortage of water. )rude oil is found at very few sites
in ,ndia.
$il is present in abundance in the %iddle *ast but not so much in other parts of the
world. This leads to exploiting the available resource to the maximum to create economic
opportunities for the region. <y building trade around the available resources, other
industries and services could be built over time. 7owever, this exploitation of resources
comes at a cost to the environment.
3on-e!uitable distribution of resources also can cause conflict amongst states and
nations. An example of this is the )auvery water dispute between ?arnata+a and Tamil
3adu. ,n many parts of the world there are conflicts due to water. The Tigris- *uphrates
river is an example. ,ran, ,ra! and ;yria each present a valid claim over the waters but the
total demand exceeds the supply.
Technological and industrial developent
Technological and industrial development gives us an opportunity to use our natural
resources in many new ways. ,ndustrialisation led to mass production, which means that
we can produce more and more goods in a shorter period of time. 7owever, this has
rapidly increased the usage of minerals, fuels such as coal, petrol and pac+aging material
such as paper and wood. The !uantity of metals used in the -1th century alone exceeds
the !uantity consumed during the entire history of man+ind.
Technological development can help us to build dams, construct roads, railways, metros
and build airplanes. All of these uses up natural resources and do harm the environment
in many ways. )onstruction of roads and metros re!uire a lot of the trees to be chopped
off. The use of aviation fuel causes air pollution. (ams also cause ecological imbalance.
The Aswan dam constructed on the river 3ile in *gypt is an example of how the dam had
an opposite effect than what was expected. The dam constructed in 0@A4 was expected to
prevent annual flooding, provide water for irrigation and generate electricity8 <ut it had
the following effects8
0. 9oss of soil fertility due to the absence of floods as the silt was not carried to the
fields
-. "ertiliser factories had to be set up to replenish the soil with fertilisers. These
consumed most of the hydroelectricity.
.. As the nutrients in the river decreased, the fish decreased.
:. The change in the groundwater level due to dam construction led to high
concentration of salts in the water table. After the construction, the continuous
high level of the water table led to soil salination of previously arable land. The
canals that were dug for irrigation had salt in them, so the soil had to be
desalinated.
Effects
3aturally it is difficult to predict precisely how long we can continue to have oil, coal or
natural gas. The answer depends on the estimated reserves and the rate of global
consumption. And both are sub6ect to change8 they are prospecting for new deposits and
is even going to extract oil from fields that were long ago abandoned as unprofitable.
<ut the trends are becoming clearer, even the most optimistic can ignore that it is non-
renewable fossil resources whose extraction is becoming increasingly expensive,
resulting in a progressively more expensive oil, which has soared to an alarming after the
invasion of ,ra!.
<ut unfortunately, the situation of planetary emergency is not attributable to a single
problem, however serious the oil depletion. ,n fact, some fear that will not be exhausted
!uic+ly enough to stem the rapid climate change is causing combustion (9ynas, -11:).
And if we still consider the problem of resource depletion, for the vast ma6ority of the
world population is e!ually or more serious the process of desertification and drastic
decrease of water resources, an essential resource apparently only renewable energy,
access to which imbalances occur unsustainable and that, by its vital importance, we
devoted specifically one of the +ey action themes (3ew ater )ulture.)
According to a recent study (orm et al., -11A), all marine life is a real danger situation
which will affect the !uality of life of the human species because, among other things, the
sea provides the 51/ of the oxygen we breathe and is a filter for pollution, and a vital
food source. ,n this research indicates that .1/ of marine species that are fished and has
collapsed, meaning that their total number has been reduced by @1/ since 0@51 and that,
unless urgent action is ta+en, the species currently caught fishing fleets come into a state
of collapse by -151.
The problems and imbalances and enhance each other, threatening the survival of the
human species. A clear example of this is another essential tool in reverse8 that of the
forest. ,n the past 011 years the world has lost almost half its forest area. And, as
indicated by reports of the "A$ ("ood and Agriculture) the *arth is losing on net every
year 00.- million hectares of virgin forest
This decline of forests, particularly serious in the case of tropical forests not only
increases the greenhouse effect by reducing the absorption of carbon dioxide (see climate
change) but also aggravated the decline of water resources8 a As the dwindling forest
cover, logically increases rainfall runoff, which favors the floods, soil erosion and
reduces the amount that seeps into the ground to recharge a!uifers.
;umatra (eforestation B for the sale of wood and burning to prepare land for
agriculture, coupled with spontaneous fires, came to form a column of smo+e that spread
over one million +m-, which affected 41 million people in cities far away. The same has
happened repeatedly in the Ama&on rainforest.
$n the other hand, logging and fires are made, supposedly to have more fertile soil, but
the result is a total brea+down after a very short time is what happens in the rainforests.
<ut shortly after having cut down and burned large areas, the fertile soil, very little
thic+ness, had been swept away by not having the setting of trees and crops extraordinary
first year fell dramatically.
%oreover, the use of biofuels such as bioethanol and biodiesel, is driving the use of corn,
soybeans, etc.., hich was intended for human consumption, which is not only
contributing to the scarcity of these products but also is causing deforestation to have new
arable land, biodiversity loss and increased costs in the food industry. "ortunately, these
biofuels is critical to promoting research in cleaner alternatives8 the so-called second-
generation biofuels are produced from the use of grass, straw, agricultural waste, human
waste and animals, etc.
!hat !e Can Do
those critical resources, but often overloo+ed as resources because apparently Cdo not
cost moneyD E which represent sin+s (atmosphere, oceans, the land itself) that are diluted
and sometimes neutrali&e pollutants result of human activity. And it is that we are also
wasting resources, soils, oceans, air, saturated with pollutants.
3ot all are simple measures, of course, but it is urgent to begin to implement, as claimed
by <rown (-11:), with Ca mobili&ation and in times of warD and pay due attention to the
CFuidelines for applying the precautionary principle to biodiversity conservation and
natural resource management.
All we can and should implement the C.>D (reduce, reuse and recycle) and contribute to
the necessary decision-ma+ing. *stimates as provided by the calculation of the ecological
ruc+sac+ of each product (indicating the amount of materials that are added during the
life cycle of the product) can help the decision-ma+ing.
"or example, a wooden tray eight 0.5 ?g ecological ruc+sac+ has a little over - +g,
whereas if it is a copper plate to provide the same services, your bac+pac+ can exceed
half a ton. *!ually important is the calculation of those essential resources such as water,
used in the preparation of a product, but do not appear in the final product, so are called
CvirtualD (Cvirtual waterD, etc. .)
,n short, the danger of resource depletion and human transformation of ecosystems, due
to our lifestyles, it is really very high and re!uires urgent action to save.