Natural Resources - YouTube

welcome to another video. today, we will discuss  about natural resources. A resource fulfills human  

needs. Anything that is useful can be defined as  resource. So, things that are not useful or cannot  

fulfill human needs are considered as waste and  at the same time whether a material is resource or  

waste that depends on time and technology also. The  same thing at a particular time may be considered  

as waste and at other time with the advancement of  the technology the same thing may become resource.

So, this is one of the more  meaningful definition for resource.  

Resource is a source or supply from  which a benefit is produced and that  

has some utility. So resources  sustain our life in this planet.

There are two points of views  to look at the resources.

From economic point of views, resource is  human-centric. In economics, a resource is defined  

as a service or other asset used to produce goods  and services that meet human needs and wants. The  

word human is used that means it is human-centric  but in biological point of view or ecological  

point of view the definition is not human-centric  but nature-centric or biocentric or eco-centric.  

In biology and ecology, a resource is defined as a substance that is required by a living organism  

for normal growth, maintenance and  reproduction. So it targets the word organism  

as a whole so whole organism is addressed  from biological definition of resource and  

in economic definition of resource word human is stressed. So if we become more human-centric  

there will be more exploitation on these natural resources and rapid depletion of the resources  

is expected. So natural resource includes  some valued characteristics. Like natural  

resources have some commercial value  and also industrial values it has got  

the aesthetic values other than the commercial and industrial values. And it has scientific interest  

and it has also some cultural values and resources in a broad sense may include air mineral deposits.  

It may includes the fossil fuels,  plants, crops and vegetation, soil,  

water and wildlife including flora and fauna that  is plant life and animal life. Classification  

of resources or natural resources. There are  various methods of classifying natural resources.  

This includes the source of origin - on the basis  of source the natural resources can be classified.  

Stage of development and also by their  renewability. So we'll concentrate on two aspects  

of classification of resources: first we will  see the renewable and non-renewable resources. So  

these are two major classification of resources:  renewable resources that replaces from time to  

time and they have a life cycle and a continuous  harvest is possible. So after a particular time  

the renewable resources get regenerated after  the cycle is complete. And so in that pace, we  

can exploit the resource and that will not affect  on the total capital of the renewable resources.

Another is non-renewable type of resources.  Resources which are not regenerated  

because they do not have any life  cycle and are not recycled so both  

life cycle is absent and the recycle  component is not there. So as a result,  

if we go on using the non-renewable resources one  day it will deplete or the stock will be less.

Renewable resources include wildlife  including plants and animal life,  

aquatic life, pastures and forest. And there are  many opinion about whether water is a renewable  

type of resource or not. So plant that means  crops and forests etc. and animal like milk  

and meat product- production replaces from  time to time because they have a life cycle  

and a continuous harvest is possible.  Some resources do not have life cycle but  

can be recycled. The resources like  water are also classified as renewable  

but the over exploitation of the water  may exceeds the life cycle capacity  

or renewable capacity. In that case, the same  water will behave like non-renewable resources  

so non-renewable resources are mineral deposits  formed very slowly over millions of years and  

once used cannot be regenerated. Mineral resources  for example, fossil fuels such as petrol and coal  

and it was deposited after millions of  years and those things cannot be regenerated  

for many million years. The formation of soil  takes thousands of years and is not renewable  

in the lifespan of many generations. It is  therefore, considered as non-renewable resources.  

So within our few generation we cannot expect the  soil to be formed. If we destroy the quality of  

soil because of the over exploitation or intensive  agriculture and other activities. So we cannot  

get the soil quality back. There is another  classification of resources that is exhaustible  

resource and inexhaustible resource. Exhaustible  resources are say resources like coal, petrol etc.  

are classified as exhaustible because  their deposits on this planet are finite.  

For example coal, petrol, mineral deposits. Their  deposit is finite and if we go on using these,  

one day it will uh.. the stock will  be finished and that is why these are  

classified as exhaustible resources. So another is  inexhaustible resources like which are not changed  

by men's activities and are abundantly available  and expected to be available for millions of years  

like solar energy, wind energy, atomic energy,  tidal energy - like this. So renewable sources can  

also be classified as inexhaustible because they  can be managed properly and renewed for example we  

have discussed the two things water is renewable.  But water is renewable and it is inexhaustible  

only when we manage properly and keep on  using water for millions of years. But if  

the management is not proper then water will be no  more inexhaustible because the fresh water or pure  

water will not be available for the population of  the earth. Conservation and resource management.

Natural resources are the basis of human life

Sustainable use of natural resource is the  key word when we target conservation and  

resource management. Renewable resources such  as plants and animals become extinct if not  

managed properly. They are maintainable but,  purely exhaustible resources like fossil fuel  

and some other minerals are not maintainable. The  behavior of a resource depends on how we use it  

or how we manage it. For example, if water, plants  animals, etc. are managed properly those resources  

will be available for many years to come. But over  use or abuse of these resources will make them  

exhaustible and some of them will be extinct from  the planet. Already many plants and animals have  

extinct. We use natural resources to satisfy our  needs and wants. Eating, drinking, growing food,  

making clothes, building, houses and transport  these are some areas in which we keep on using  

the natural resources. But natural resources  are not infinitely available for human use.  

So it is very important to conserve and manage the  natural resources so that our next generations -  

generations to come can enjoy the same natural  resources like us. So sustainable use of natural  

resources are very important. Management refers to  sustainable utilization of major natural resources  

such as land, water, air, mineral, forest,  fisheries and wild flora and fauna.

So, the advantages of this are that if we manage  the natural resources we can stop or decrease  

the rate of degradation or destruction of the  environment as well as the natural resources.

Solve the water balance problem - as we have  mentioned water may behave like renewable and  

non-renewable based on the use or management.  We are doing for conservation of the water  

so if we do not conserve or manage water resource  properly then it will become non-renewable  

due to the management and conservation.  The quality or condition of the resources  

will improve due to management and that will  ensure sustainable use of natural resources.  

So a sustainable management of natural  resource is needed for these three factors:  

avoid degradation, solve problems on water  resources like water and improve the conditions.

Conservation is like preservation.  Conservation is related to the protection of  

nature or natural resources. If  the resources are not used wisely,  

it would create an imbalance in the environment.  Sustainable use of natural resources ensure  

conservation. In other words, conservation is the  skillful management and preservation of resources.

For future generations we have to adopt the  conservation or management on the natural  

resources. So in short, the conservation can  be defined like this, conservation ensures  

a continuous yield of renewable materials and  protection of non-renewable resources from wastage  

and rapid depletion. So to target the wastage  and rapid depletion of the natural resources,  

the conservation measures are  required. So it's a wise principle  

of co-existence between man and nature. To ensure  continued use of nature or natural resources,  

men should coexist with nature so that both  can be benefited for longer period of time.  

The approaches are: for renewable resources  the extraction or harvesting the annual yield  

to ensure sustainable use and for non-renewable  resources proper management through protection  

and stop wastage or overuse of resources. So the  conservation and management of natural resources  

are extremely essential for sustainable use  of resources for sustainable development.  

This is a very common term nowadays - Sustainable  Development. We and also say long-term development  

very long-term development or sustainable use of  natural resources. "Sustainable development is  

the development to meet the needs of the present  generation without compromising with the ability  

to meet the needs of the future generations"  So, with this, today we conclude about natural  

resources. In the next videos, we will discuss  in details the conservation policies and Plans.