Ge 305 Lecture 6 2019 PDF

GE 305
NATURAL RESOURCES
MANAGEMENT
LECTURE 6
3.Natural Resources Management Issues and strategies
cont….
Resource depletion
Resource depletion is an economic term
referring to the exhaustion of raw materials
within a region
•Humans are depleting the earth’s resources at an
ever-increasing rate
• This is the sum of an ever-increasing global
population multiplied by an ever-increasing level of
consumption per person
cont….
• More people on the planet leads to more:
Sewerage and stock effluent
Fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides
Fossil fuels extracted and burned
Oil leaked and spilled
Land deforested and developed
Soil eroded and degraded
Minerals mined
Waste and toxic byproducts of
manufacturing
cont….
Causes of natural resource depletion
– Over-consumption/excessive or
unnecessary use of resources
– Non-equitable distribution of resources
– Overpopulation
– Slash and burn agricultural practices,
currently occurring in many developing
countries
– Technological and industrial development
cont….
– Erosion
– Irrigation
– Mining for oil and minerals
– Aquifer depletion
– Forestry
– Pollution or contamination of resources
cont….
The top 3 natural resources being depleted and
Their consequences:
1.Water
• Only 2.5% of the world’s total water volume is
fresh water, of that 2.5%, 70% is frozen
• Water resource depletion is more serious than
the current oil depletion
• No substitution for water
cont….
• 70% of the available fresh water that remains is
used in agriculture, 20% in industry and only 10% is
being used for human consumption
Causes:
Increased irrigation, increased use in agriculture,
roads and infrastructure prevent water seepage in
the soil, rising temperatures
Consequences:
• Drinking water shortage.
• Food Shortage.
• Famine.
cont….
2. Oil
•Nothing can be moved, manufactured, transported,
built, planted, mined or harvested without the liquid
fuels that we get from petroleum
•Oil reserves are a non-renewable resource
•Oil accounts for 40% of all energy we use
•EIA's International Energy Outlook 2013 shows
that we have enough Oil to last for 25 years
cont….
•Efforts are underway to develop cheaper and more
sustainable energy such as solar power, wind power
and other forms of renewable energy that can replace
oil and fossil fuel
Causes:
Industrial boom, Increased population, Wastage
Consequences:
Less Transportation, Smaller economies, Higher
prices, Possibly help push the transition to green
energy with reduced carbon dioxide emissions and
pollution
cont….
3. Forests
•An estimated 18 million acres of forests are
destroyed each year.
•Half of the world’s forest has been cleared.
•Deforestation contributes 12 to 17% of global
greenhouse gas emissions annually
•Trees absorb greenhouse gases and carbon
dioxide.
•They produce the oxygen we breathe.
•Forests are the habitats of millions of species.
cont….
Causes:
Urbanization, Illegal logging, Agriculture,
Subsistence Farming
Consequences:
• Soil erosion
• Global Warming caused by the rise of
greenhouse gases
• Extinction of species and loss of biodiversity
•Flooding and drought
cont….
Effect of natural resources depletion
• Food shortage
• Affect world GDP
• Global warming
• Scarcity of resources
Human population increase is often considered
the major problem that will impact on both
resource depletion and global warming but
consumerism by the wealthy is presently of major
concern
Land resources depletion through establishment of
human settlement
cont….
Conservation of natural resources
Is the management of human use of the biosphere so that
it may yield the greatest sustainable benefit to present
generation while maintaining its potential to meet the
needs and aspirations of future generation.
Conservation is positive, it embracing the following;
 Preservation
 Maintenance
 Sustainable utilization
 Restoration
 Enhancement of the natural environment
cont….
• Conservation like development is for people, the
aims of development is to achieve human goals
largely through use of the biosphere while that of
conservation is by ensuring such use can
continue
• The object of development is to provide social
and economic welfare, that of conservation is to
ensure earth’s capacity to sustain development
and support all life
cont….
• Environmental conservation message,
“Human beings, in their guest for economic
development and enjoyment of the riches of
nature, must come to terms with the reality
of resources limitation and carrying
capacity of ecosystem, and must take
account of the needs of future generation”.
cont….
Conservation strategies
Priority for national action
1.The development framework for national and sub
national conservation strategies
2.The integration of conservation and development
3.Environmental planning and rational use
allocation
4.Legislation and organization to improve the
capacity to manage
cont….
5. Training and research to improve the capacity to
manage
6. Building support for conservation through
participation and education
7. Develop a frame work for conservation-based
rural development
cont….
Priority for international action
1. Development of laws and assistance for
international action
2. An emphasis on tropical forests and grasslands
3. A global program for the protection of genetic
resources areas
4. Effective management of the global common
5. Regional strategies for international river basins
and seas
6. Development of strategies for achieving
sustainable development
3.Natural Resources Management- Issues and Strategies
cont……..
3.2 Economics of Natural Resources Management

Introduction
• The application of natural resources
economies has been increased in the low-
income(LIC) and middle-income countries
(MIC) (Africa, Asia and Latin America)
now environment has not been recognized
as “Luxury” for economic development but
contain natural “capital” fundamental to
growth and development in poorer economics
cont……..
• The environmental problems faced by

developing countries are quite different from
those occurring in industrialized countries
• In LIC and MIC majority of the rural
population depend on the direct exploitation
of natural resources for;
» Farming
» Livestock raising
» Fishing
cont……..
» Basic materials and fuel, both to meet
their own subsistence requirements as
well as to sell in market for cash income
» They lack basic water supply, sanitation
and other infrastructure services
» Rapid land use change lead to quickly
disappearance of natural environment and
habitat
cont……..
• Growing population have increased the

demand of natural resources and conversion
• Resource-based development and primary
commodity exports are the main engine for
growth and long-term development
cont……..
Natural resource economy
• Natural resource economics focuses on the supply,
demand, and allocation of the Earth's natural
resources
• It's goal is to gain a better understanding of the
role of natural resources in the economy in order
to prevent depletion
• Learning about the role of natural resources
allows for the development of more sustainable
methods to manage resources and make sure that
they are maintained for future generations
cont……..
Based on the stage of development natural
resources are categorized as follow:
•Potential resources:
These are resources that exist in a region and
may be used in the future
•Actual resources:
These are resources that have been surveyed,
their quantity and quality has been determined,
and they are currently being used
-The development of actual resources is
dependent on technology
cont……..
• Reserve resource:
This is the part of an actual resource that can
be developed profitably in the future
• Stock resources:
These are resources that have been surveyed,
but cannot be used due to the lack of
technology
cont……..
Externalities and Impacts on Resource allocation
Production and use of resources can have a
positive or negative effect on the allocation of
the natural resources
• Externalities
An externality is a cost or benefit that affects a
party who did not choose to incur the cost or
benefit in production and use of resources
cont……..
•Resource Allocation
–Is the division of goods for the use of
production within the economy
–In natural resources, production and use of
resources can have a positive or negative effect
on the allocation of the resources
–It must be determined whether the production,
as well as the process of production, creates
more benefits that costs for the producers,
consumers, and society as a whole
cont……..
• External Costs
External cost/negative externality imposes a
negative effect on a third party to an economic
transaction
Many negative externalities impact natural
resources negatively because of the
environmental consequences of production
and use
E.g. Air pollution from factories and water
pollution has a negative impact of plants and
animals
cont……..
• External Benefits
External benefits/positive externalities impose a
positive effect on a third party
E.g. When crops are pollinated by bees from a
neighboring bee farm.
If natural resources are used and sustained,
the external benefits of goods produced by
natural resources impacts the majority of the
public in a positive way
cont……..
• The goal of natural resource economics is to

develop an efficient economy that is sustainable in
the long-run .
• The diagram below illustrates how society and the
economy are subsets of the environment.
• It is not possible for societal and economic systems
to exist independently from the environment.
• For this reason, natural resource economics focuses
on understanding the role of natural resources in the
economy in order to develop a sufficient and
sustainable economy that protects natural resources.
ECONOMY
SOCIETY
ENVIRONMENT
Environment, society and economy

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GE 305

3.2 Economics of Natural Resources Management

• The environmental problems faced by

• Growing population have increased the

• The goal of natural resource economics is to

Environment, society and economy

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