The term 'natural resources' refers to all the natural things on our earth

that are available and that are not creatable by any human activity.
They are specifically Substances found in nature on earth that can be
used by man directly or indirectly for his welfare. Natural resources
(economically referred to as land or raw materials) occur naturally
within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by mankind, in a
natural form. A natural resource is often characterized by amounts of
biodiversity existent in various ecosystems.
Human being and his anthropological history indicate that natural
resources have been the heart of human existence. Many of them are
essential for our survival while others are used for satisfying our wants
. They have remained as core of artificial human activities. In the last 2
- 3 centuries, human society has created many unnatural resources
along with natural resources - at such a fast rate that artificial man-
made resources have been yardstick of development. For e.g., creation
of telecommunication facilities, development of aviation.
Despite creation of many artificial resources, the dependence on
natural resources is inevitable because,
Most human activities still use natural resource as inputs for their
growth.
Examples: Steel industry, cement industry, agriculture etc.
The very existence of human life is a part of nature itself. Natural
resource and human society are inseparable.
Examples: Water and air
Most artificial resources created by man draw support directly
and indirectly from one or more natural resources.
With this, human society is developing with man - made resources on
one hand and natural resources on the other. Science and technology
link them for human development. Man made resources like computer,
telecommunication, aviation, transportation, industries, etc form a
group of resource - on which human development depends. All these
resources are created in one way or other to improve the living of
human beings and to offer more and more facilities / products for
improvement of quality of life. Similarly, natural resources like air,
water, land, and biosphere are the resources - of which human life is
inseparable. Most human activities draw support directly or indirectly
from natural resources. The life processes of all animals/human beings
like breathing, digestion, excretion, energy formation and use - are
completely dependent on natural resources.

The course of human development to improve the quality of life has
shown that both natural and man-made resources have made
profound impact on human society, although most man-made
resources are partially or fully dependent on one or other natural
resources.
Classification of natural resources
Resources are commonly classified with respect to their exhaustibility.
However, the differentiation between exhaustible and inexhaustible
resources only focuses on their quantitative availability and not on
their potential for natural growth and recycling. Therefore, it is
preferable to classify the resources on a somewhat different basis with
two main classes: Renewable and non renewable resources.
This differentiation is by no means identical to the exhaustibility
classes. Many renewable resources are exhaustible and non renewable
resources are, economically speaking, inexhaustible.
Renewable resources are those that have the potential to be renewed
through natural processes and/or human processes. Renewable
resources are ones that can be replenished or reproduced easily. The
renewable resources are by definition resources that have a continuing
process of renewal and supply in nature. The renewal of some of these
resources may be affected by man, while others are principally not
influenced by human activities. The renewable resources are also
called as flow resources, as it is possible to maintain use indefinitely,
provided the production continues.
Nonrenewable resources are exhaustible and can be depleted. The non
renewable resources are those types of resources whose physical
quantity does not increase significantly with time. That means the rate
of renewal is so slow as to be negligible. Since their rate of formation is
extremely slow, they cannot be replenished once they get depleted. The
non renewable resources are often defined as stock resources. The total
supply of the resource is limited in quantity, and each rate of use
diminishes some future rate of use. Of these, the metallic minerals can
be re-used by recycling them. But coal and petroleum cannot be
recycled. On this basis the non renewable resources are further sub
divided into reusable and non reusable resources. Managing these
natural resources and using conservation technologies can help society
maintain and extend the time these resources can be used to meet
human needs and wants.


Status of natural resources
Beginning with the Stone Age, humans have developed the art of
harnessing natural resources for domestic, industrial and technological
activities. During the past two centuries the world population has
increased many folds. Expanding human population resulted into an
increasing demand for resources which leads to unlimited exploitation
of nature. The result is, our natural resources like air, water, land,
forest, plant and animal life are seriously affected. Depletion of
resources, in other words, means depletion of natural wealth which
ultimately leads to scarcity of resources at a very rapid rate.
Depletion
The term Resource depletion is an economic term which refers to the
exhaustion of raw material. Use of these renewable and non-renewable
sources beyond the rate of replacement is considered as resource
depletion.

Causes of depletion
Over use and irrational use

Unrestricted use of natural resources is the primary reason for
depletion of natural resources. When techniques where developed to
extract minerals and fossil fuels from the earth, more and more
materials were extracted. No thought was given for how much
material to be extracted. When the store in the upper strata of the
earths crust was exhausted, machinery was developed to penetrate
deeper in the earths crust in search of minerals. As newer and more
effective techniques have been developed for extracting minerals and
the demand for minerals, coal, petroleum, etc. has remained ever
increasing more and more reserves are being used up. Mining and
Processing involve major environmental concerns. It includes changes
in the use of land, air pollution from the dust in the form of smelter
emissions and water pollution. In spite of the governing regulations
and laws, much more minerals are being extracted. Similar in the case
of forests. In many countries ever-increasing demand for forest
products and agricultural land, fueled by rapid population growth and
development, is putting environmental resources and the water supply
itself increasingly in jeopardy. Forests are important water regulators.
Their root structures act as nature's sponges, soaking up water and
releasing it slowly throughout the year, thus contributing to reliable
river flow, replenishing groundwater supplies, reducing soil erosion,
and releasing moisture into the atmosphere. Take away forests, and
croplands erode, waterways silt up, floods become more frequent,
groundwater reserves disappear, and the climate changes. Overuse and
pollution of the world's freshwater resources are a recent development.
Their long-term consequences are unknown. Already, however, they
have taken a heavy toll on the environment, and they pose increasing
risks for many species. Polluted water and lack of sanitation also are
fostering a human health tragedy. Moreover, the sad state of
freshwater resources contributes to the deterioration of coastal waters
and seas. In 1996 the world's human population was using an
estimated 54% of all the accessible freshwater contained in rivers,
lakes, and underground aquifers. This percentage is conservatively
projected to climb to at least 70% by 2025, reflecting population
growth alone, and by much more if per capita consumption continues
to rise at its current pace. As humankind withdraws a growing share of
all water, less remains to maintain the vital ecosystems on which we
also depend. In virtually all regions of the world, careless use of water
resources is harming the natural environment. Globally, over 20% of
all freshwater fish species are either endangered or vulnerable or
recently have been made extinct.
Unequal distribution of resources
Natural and economic resources are distributed differently in different
societies, depending upon several different factors, including the
culture of the society, location of its resources, type of government, and
the population density and distribution. The amount of control the
government exerts over a region affects the distribution of resources
and wealth. Since raw materials are not equally distributed in all the
countries on the earth, the process of transporting them to the
industries uses up fossil fuels. Finished goods have a market away from
the manufacturing site. Wool from New Zealand and apples from
South Africa find their way into the Indian market whereas goods from
India and china fetch good prices in the American markets. However,
transportation of goods over a long distance requires a great amount of
fuel. The gulf countries are wealthy because of the rich fuel oil
reserves. Due to industrial development the demand for the oil is
increasing all over the world. Various countries import large quantities
of oil. Since oil fetches good price, unlimited extraction of the resource
is being done.
Water as a resource is not being equitably distributed our earth.
Therefore providing drinking water tom the people has become a
crucial problem. Traditional societies have to some extent, limited
consumption level compared to the availability of the resources. They
have evolved techniques to harvest and use them sustainably. However
as traditional communities disperse, they change their lifestyle and lose
their direct dependence on local natural resources. The techniques of
harvesting and storing water are also slowly being lost. On the other
hand consumption levels of water are rising , with city communities.
Urban people are often not directly dependent on local natural
resources for livelihood. They may not be aware of traditional water
harvesting conservation and are using water resources unsustainably.

Technological and Industrial growth

Industrialization is the process of social and economic change that
transforms a human group from a pre-industrial society into an
industrial one. Industrialization also introduces a form of philosophical
change where people obtain a different attitude towards their
perception of nature, and a sociological process of ubiquitous
rationalisation. During the past several hundred years, humans have
begun to industrialize rapidly. Tons of new technologies with all sorts
of capabilities have sprung up. Technological advancement has
essentially given us the can, and so now the question becomes
should. Should we do something because we can? To some people,
industrialization is one of the most important and most wonderful
things that has occurred in the past 400 years but today
Industrialization has become a major medical issue worldwide but
today Industrialization has spawned its own health problems. Because
they lead to the extensive deterioration of air and water. Not only they
spoil the quality but they also decrease the quantity of natural
resources Industries use a large amount of natural wealth as raw
materials and they also produce a large amount of wastes in the form
of solid, liquid and gas that pollute the earth. Industries consume 30%
of the worlds energy and emit 50% of the worlds carbon dioxide and
90% of the worlds sulphur oxides. Every year industries produce 2100
million tones of solid wastes and 340 million tones of hazardous
wastes. As our requirements keep growing the usage of resources in
industries keeps growing
Deforestation
Trees are one of the most important aspects of the planet we live in.
Trees are vitally important to the environment, animals, and of course
for us humans. They are important for the climate of the Earth, they act
as filters of carbon dioxide, they are habitats and shelters to millions of
species, and they are also important for their aesthetic appeal.
However, the trees on our planet are being depleted at a very fast rate.
According to some estimates, more than 50 percent of the tree cover
has disappeared due to human activity. Although humans have been
practicing deforestation since ages, it was in the mid-1800s that forests
began to be destroyed at an unprecedented rate. Deforestation is the
permanent destruction of indigenous forests and woodlands. The term
does not include the removal of industrial forests such as plantations of
gums or pines. Deforestation has resulted in the reduction of
indigenous forests to four-fifths of their pre-agricultural area.
Indigenous forests now cover 21% of the earth's land surface. Of great
concern is the rate at which deforestation is occurring. Currently, 12
million hectares of forests are cleared annually which has become a
most worrying factor today and is affecting the biodiversity adversely,
as well as being one of the major contributory factors of the Holocene
mass extinction that is ongoing.

Causes of Deforestation
The destruction of the forests is occurring due to various reasons, one
of the main reasons being the short term economic benefits. Given
below are some more common causes of deforestation:
The cutting down of trees for lumber that is used for building
materials, furniture, and paper products. Forests are also cleared in
order to accommodate expanding urban areas. Forests are also cut
down in order to clear land for growing crops. Forests are cut down in
order create land for grazing cattle. Trees are cut down in developing
countries to be used as firewood or turned into charcoal, which are
used for cooking and heating purposes. Some of the other causes of
deforestation are: clearing forests for oil and mining exploitation; to
make highways and roads; slash and burn farming techniques;
wildfires; and acid rain.
Deforestation is the process of converting forested lands into non-
forest sites that are ideal for crop raising, urbanization and
industrialization. Because deforestation basically involves killing trees
in forests, there are so many effects that can be enumerated as results
of the activity.
Effects of Deforestation

There are a number of adverse effects of deforestation, such as:
Erosion of Soil: When forest areas are cleared, it results in exposing the
soil to the sun, making it very dry and eventually, infertile, due to
volatile nutrients such as nitrogen being lost. In addition, when there is
rainfall, it washes away the rest of the nutrients, which flow with the
rainwater into waterways. Because of this, merely replanting trees may
not help in solving the problems caused by deforestation, for by the
time the trees mature, the soil will be totally devoid of essential
nutrients. Ultimately, cultivation in this land will also become
impossible, resulting in the land becoming useless. Large tracts of land
will be rendered permanently impoverished due to soil erosion.
Disruption of the Water Cycle: Trees contribute in a large way in
maintaining the water cycle. They draw up water via their roots, which
is then released into the atmosphere. A large part of the water that
circulates in the ecosystem of rainforests, for instance, remains inside
the plants. When these trees are cut down it results in the climate
getting drier in that area.
Loss of Biodiversity: The unique biodiversity of various geographical
areas is being lost on a scale that is quite unprecedented. Even though
tropical rainforests make up just 6 percent of the surface area of the
Earth, about 80-90 percent of the entire species of the world exist here.
Due to massive deforestation, about 50 to 100 species of animals are
being lost each day. The outcome of which is the extinction of animals
and plants on a massive scale.
Flooding and Drought: One of the vital functions of forests is to absorb
and store great amounts of water quickly when there are heavy rains.
When forests are cut down, this regulation of the flow of water is
disrupted, which leads to alternating periods of flood and then drought
in the affected area.
Climate Change: It is well known that global warming is being caused
largely due to emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide into
the atmosphere. However, what is not known quite as well is that
deforestation has a direction association with carbon dioxide emissions
into the atmosphere. Trees act as a major storage depot for carbon,
since they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which is then
used to produce carbohydrates, fats, and proteins that make up trees.
When deforestation occurs, many of the trees are burnt or they are
allowed to rot, which results in releasing the carbon that is stored in
them as carbon dioxide. This, in turn, leads to greater concentrations of
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Social effects : Deforestation is hardly hitting the living conditions of
indigenous people who consider forests as their primary habitats.
Imagine how they are rendered homeless when forests are depleted.
These natives would be forced to live elsewhere, and are usually left to
becoming mendicants in rural and urban areas.

Shifting cultivation
Slash and burn consists of cutting and burning of forests or woodlands
to create fields for agriculture or pasture for livestock, or for a variety
of other purposes. It is sometimes part of shifting cultivation
agriculture, and of transhumance livestock herding. Historically, the
practice of slash and burn has been widely practised throughout most
of the world, in grasslands as well as woodlands, and known by many
names.
The first wave might be cutting of all trees for wood use. A few years
later, saplings are harvested to make charcoal, and within the next
year the plot is burned to create a quick flush of nutrients for grass to
feed the family zebu. If adjacent plots are treated in a similar fashion,
large scale erosion will usually ensue, since there are no roots or
temporary water storage in nearby canopies to arrest the surface
runoff. Thus, any small remaining amounts of nutrients are washed
away. The area is an example of desertification, and no further growth
of any type may arise for generations. Thus, due to these system many
forests are destroyed which leads to the extinction of biodiversity.

Over population and Over consumption
Population is an important source of development, yet it is a major
source of environmental degradation when it exceeds the threshhold
limits of the support systems. Overpopulation is a term that refers to a
condition by which the population density enlarges to a limit that
provokes the environmental deterioration, a remarkable decline in the
quality of life, or a population collapse. Population impacts on the
environment primarily through the use of natural resources and
production of wastes and is associated with environmental stresses like
loss of biodiversity, air and water pollution and increased pressure on
arable land. Some animal species have been extinguished or forced to
live in inhospitable regions by the advance of urban areas; pollution is
a problem that is increasing gradually because we are using more cars.
Emerging countries industrialization is not paying attention to
environmental issues because of the feeding demands of their ever-
growing populations. The human overpopulation has been credited to
diverse factors, as the increment in life-span, the absence of natural
enemies, the improvement in the quality of life, and the accessibility to
get better goods. Every year, more than 81 million people add the
world-wide population. Every 10 years almost one billion inhabitants
are added to the worlds population.
Due to the opening out of human settings, 16 million hectares of forest
are chopped down each year. The accelerated growth of the human
populations has propitiated the destruction of natural habitats of many
species. People are invading the habitats of those species, replacing
them to inhospitable places and condemning the native species to the
extinction. The speed of extinction of plants and animals attributable to
human activities is 10,000 times faster than the natural quotient. Too
dense human communities produce tons of solid wastes (organic and
inorganic waste) daily, consume large quantities of energy and emit
more pollutants to the environment. Water necessities will increase to
20% by 2025. Approximately, one half of wetlands around the world
have been lost since 1900. The Ozone layer has been gradually ruined
by the effect of the CFCs. The concentration of CFCs has been increased
as the human population has grown, and the thickness of the Ozone
layer has been lesser to the extent that a hole in the layer has been
formed. Scientists have found that there are other emissions derived
from human activities, which have contributed to the depletion of the
ozone layer.
Over-consumption is a situation where resource-use has outpaced the
sustainable capacity of the ecosystem. A prolonged pattern of
overconsumption leads to inevitable environmental degradation and
the eventual loss of resource bases. Generally the discussion of
overconsumption parallels that of overpopulation; that is the more
people, the more consumption of raw materials to sustain their lives. A
fundamental effect of over-consumption is a reduction in the planet's
carrying capacity. Excessive unsustainable consumption will exceed
the long term carrying capacity of its environment (ecological
overshoot) and subsequent resource depletion, environmental
degradation and reduced ecological health.