Concept

Natural Resources
1. There is a strong tendency to identify resources
with substances or tangible things, e.g. coal,
petroleum, iron, copper, etc. which are no doubt
easily recognized and are important resources,
but at the same time invisible and intangible
aspects such as knowledge, social harmony,
freedom and health, which are possibly more
important are ignored. In fact, resources evolve
out of the dynamic interaction of all these
factors.
2. It is generally believed that resources are natural
gifts. It is, however, half-truth only. In the modern
world most of the resources are man-man
(cultural). “The significance of cultural factors in
relation to resources is perhaps most clearly
discerned during periods of rapid change.
Cultural change is a complex, but not a haphazard
phenomenon”. The pre occupation with so-called
natural resources at the expense of human and
cultural resources precludes a clear
comprehension of the true nature of resources and
a full grasp of their extent.
3. There has been an unfortunate tendency to think
of resources in term of a single asset or tangible
phenomenon in nature which creates a false
impression of resources as things static fixed,
whereas actually they are as dynamic as
civilization itself. This static concept of
resources is advocated by one school which
observes. “Resources are what you make of
them”. Man discovered to learn how to use the
natural environment to further their purposes.
“Resources are not they become” is the statement
of the dynamic, functional, operational school
who insist against the exponents of the school.
According to them, “Resources are living
phenomena, expanding and contracting in
response to human effort and behavior. Toa large
extent, they are main’s creation.” Zimmermann’s
view is that the physical environment or nature is
“neutral staff”, and it is the human culture which
determines which elements are considered to be
“Resources” and “Resistances.”
“Resources are not they become” is the statement of
the dynamic, functional, operational school who
insist against the exponents of the school. According
to them, “Resources are living phenomena,
expanding and contracting in response to human
effort and behaviour. To a large extent, they are man’s
won creation.”

Zimmermann’s view is that the physical environment

or nature is “neutral stuff”, and it is the human
culture which determines which elements are
considered to be “Resources” and “Resistance.”
Resources, Resistances, and Neutral Stuffs
Resources and resistances exist together.
Nature provides materials for men which act as
resources.
For example, land for growing crops, coal for power
generation, rain water for irrigation purposes, etc. are
the various natural resources.

Nature also present certain resistances e.g. barren

and unproductive wastelands, floods, diseases,
poisons, storms, earthquakes, etc. which hinder
human progress and development.
Resources and resistances co-exist not only in
nature, but also in human field. Whereas elements
like education, training, good health, national and
social morality, optimum population are resources,
racial conflicts, ignorance, greed, war etc. are
resistances that hamper progress.

In the field of culture, machines, tools, implement

commercial and financial facilities, scientific
management, good government, etc. are resources
while conservative attitudes, vested interests,
economic depression, and abortive policies etc. are
resistances.
There is a third type of things, particularly in the
field of nature which affects man neither
favourably nor unfavourably. Such things are
called neutral stuffs.
The pre-historic man did not know coal and its use.
For him the coal lying underground was neither
resource, nor resistance. It did not affect them in
any way. It was only a neutral stuff.
Enormous energy is stored in the movement of
tides and sea waves until man learnt to harness
them, they continued to be neutral stuffs.
 Functional Theory of Resources:

“Resources were defined as means of attaining

given ends, i.e., individual wants and social
objectives. Means take their meaning from the
ends which they serve. As ends change, means
must change also”.
This statement of Zimmermann clearly states that
resource creation is a function of space and time.
With increasing knowledge, function of resource
may enhance.
A primitive man may not be able to harness
resource from a substance but a supra-animal
modern man may, by his scientific Midas touch,
transform such simple substance into a precious
resource.
To a man of animal level resistance plays a very
dominant role—where nature poses obstacle for
resource creation—but, to a modern Man,
knowledge plays a key role to convert neutral stuff
into resource.
The tropical Africa is well endowed with huge
water resources. Due to backward economy and
technological drawbacks, inhabitants of that region
cannot convert it into energy.
On the contrary, the Japanese were able to produce
huge energy from far less water resources. This is
because of scientific knowledge, expertise and
greater economic development.
The advancement of civilization is the product of
expansion of human information base. Information
about minerals—coal, petroleum, iron ore, copper
etc., about agriculture — HYV seeds, pesticides,
insecticides etc., about manufacturing industry—the
invention of steam engines, boilers, turbines,
converters etc., were possible with the increasing
scientific knowledge.

This increasing knowledge reduced the resistances

of the natural things or substances and converted
them to resources.
So, with the efforts of man, through the functional or
operational process, resource is dynamically created.
Without human effort resource cannot be created
because man is the ultimate consumer of resource.
Without any operational process, a thing or
substance remains neutral, resource cannot be
created and what is created now may be enhanced or
increased with increasing knowledge. So, resource
creation process is highly dynamic in nature.
 Dynamic Concept of Resource:

Prof. Hamilton said:

“It is technology which gives value to the neutral

stuffs which it processes; and as the useful arts
advance the gifts of nature are remade.
With technology on the march, the emphasis of
value shifts from the natural to the processed
good”.
So, resource creation process is not static, it is
dynamic in nature. The thing or substance
considered as neutral stuff today may be converted
into precious resource tomorrow.
Since the beginning of civilization, Paleolithic man
started devoting his limited knowledge to convert
neutral stuff into resource for his own requirement.

With the passage of time, with increasing knowledge,

man was able to harness more resource from same
amount of stuff. Bowman has rightly remarked: “The
moment we give them human association they are as
changeful as humanity itself”.
With the increasing need, man frantically explored
all possibilities or avenues to expand resource base
from his existing stock. So, resource creation is a
continuous and need-based operation.
At the present era, when the world is passing
through acute energy crisis, man is exploring
possibilities to produce energy from all sources —
solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy etc.

Previously ocean current was never considered as

resource but, now, man is able to convert this force
into energy. So, the concept of resource is dynamic
and resource study is a dynamic science.
CLASSIFICATION OF
RESOURCES
I. Classification based on the availability of
resources

According to G.T. Renner (1950), natural resources fall into

two major categories:
1. Inexhaustible
2. Exhaustible
Further classified as under:
I. Inexhaustible: (i) Immutable (ii) misusable
II. Exhaustible: (i) Maintainable: (a) renewable (b) non-
renewable
(ii) Non-maintainable: (a) reusable
(b) non-reusable.
Thus, it is clear that there are six distinct classes of resources:
1) Inexhaustible and immutable resources: These include
the ocean, waters, solar energy, wind power, climate,
gravitation.
2) Inexhaustible but misusable resources: These include
water, power, surface water bodies, area and space etc.
3) Maintainable and renewable resources: These include
timber, human numbers, land fertility, ground water etc.
4) Maintainable but non-renewable resources: These
include physical soil materials, human talents and genius
fish, wild animals, trees etc.
5) Exhaustible but reusable resources: they include
gems, some non-metallic minerals, most metals, e.g.
iron, tin, copper, gold and silver.

6) Exhaustible, non-reusable resources: They include

coal, petroleum, natural gas, most non-metallic, and
certain metals.
II. Classification based on distribution and
frequency of occurrence of resources

Zimmermann has classified the resources on the basis of

distribution, amount and frequency of occurrence as under:

1. Ubiquities: Occurring everywhere, for example, oxygen

in the air.
2. Commonalities: Occurring in many places, such as
tillable soil
3. Rarities: Occurring in few places, for example, tin

4. Iniquities: Occurring in one place, for example,

commercial cryolite.
Zimmermann has presented another classification of
resources. This classification is based on his observation that
because of their different attitudes, the individual and the
group are interested in the development of different resources
and such resources may be sub-divided as under:

i. Resources that are exploited or utilized for individual

benefit only; there is no conflict between the social and
private viewpoint.

ii. Resources which are used only for social ends, there is
no conflict.
iii. Resources in the utilization of which both
individuals and society at large are interested.
These resources may be sub-divided as under:

a) Resources with an abundant supply, hence conflict

may be avoided, (e.g. building stone)

b) Resources with a limited supply, involving a

permanent conflict (e.g. helium) and confined to
wartime (e.g. nylon).
III. Classification according to use of resources

1. Unused resources: The resources of an ore lying unused

fall in this category. For example, the forests and mineral
resources of North America remained unused for
thousands of years until the continent was colonized by
the Europeans.

2. Unusable resources: Resources which cannot be used

further even with the present day techniques, become
unusable. For example, deep mines which cannot be
worked out at further depth become unusable.
3. Potential resources: Those resources which can be
developed or used in near future are called potential
resources. For example, the water available in rivers of
India is at present not being fully utilized for power-
generation. In Africa less than 1% of the potential
hydro-electric power has been developed so far. Thus,
hydro-electric power is a potential resource awaiting its
utilization (development) in future.
4. Latent resources: There are many resources which have
been unknown to man. Such resources are termed as latent
resources. For example, the rubber tree of the Amazonia
was known to the inhabitants of the region, but its use
remained unknown to the Europeans until vulcanization
process made it possible to use it (rubber) for making tubes
and tyres of motor vehicles.
• Similarly petroleum was lying unused until the eighteenth century
when combustion engine was invented and distillation process was
developed. Later the development of the science of geology helped
in prospecting, exploration and source.
• Another example of latent resources is uranium which existed for
centuries, but was unknown to man. The development of the
technology and process of disintegrating it made it the most
powerful source (atomic or nuclear) energy. Copper and iron
remained as latent until used by the early people of early
civilization.
In general, resources are classified into two
groups:
(a) Material resources, and
(b) Non-material resources.

Material resources are tangible substances, e.g., petroleum,

iron ore, copper, water etc.
Non-material resources are intangible substances like health
condition, culture, ethics, freedom, environmental harmony
etc.
Material or tangible resources are direct, i.e., freely bestowed
by nature.
Non-material or intangible resources are cultivated by human
beings with the help of increasing knowledge.
Material resources may, again, be sub-divided
into two groups:

(i) Organic resources like forest, fish, livestock etc.

(ii) Inorganic resources like iron ore, manganese,

mica etc.
On the basis of durability, resources may
be classified into two groups:

1. Fund or exhaustible resources, that is, not

everlasting, destroyed for ever after use, e.g.,
coal, petroleum, uranium etc.

2. Flow or inexhaustible resources — supply of

resource remains unchanged even after renewed
use, e.g., river water, sea-wave, sunshine, airflow
etc.
On the basis of ownership resource may be
divided into following groups:

a) International or world resource: Owned by global

population, i.e., the total resources owned by all
individuals and nations put together. The sum total of all
material and non-material resources comes under this
category.
b) National resources: The sum total of resources of the
inhabitants of the nation and resources of the nation
itself.
c) Individual resources: Both tangible resources, i.e.,
property, money, wealth, and intangible resources, i.e.,
knowledge, wisdom, health etc. owned by any individual
is known as individual resources.
On the basis of availability of resources, it can
be classified into two groups:

(a) Ubiquitous
(b) Localized.

Ubiquitous type of raw materials are found

everywhere, e.g., sunshine, air etc. while localized
raw materials are available only in some places,
e.g., petroleum, uranium, iron ore etc.