MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

Management of natural resources refers to the responsible and sustainable use,

conservation, and preservation of Earth's natural assets, including land, water, air,
minerals, plants, and animals, to meet the present and future needs of humanity.
Effective management is essential to ensure that these resources are available for
future generations and to minimise the negative impact of resource exploitation on
the environment.

Here are some key principles and strategies for the management of natural
resources:

1. Sustainable Development: The primary goal is to achieve sustainable

development, where human activities meet the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

2. Conservation and Preservation: Protecting and preserving natural areas and

ecosystems, such as national parks and wildlife reserves, is essential to maintain
biodiversity and ecosystem services.

3. Resource Assessment: Regularly assess the availability, quality, and distribution

of natural resources to make informed decisions about their use and conservation.

4. Sustainable Harvesting: When renewable resources, such as forests and

fisheries, are exploited, management strategies should focus on sustainable
harvesting, which involves setting limits on the amount of resources that can be
extracted without depleting the resource.

5. Pollution Control: Implement measures to minimize pollution and degradation of

natural resources, such as air and water quality regulations.

6. Reforestation and Afforestation: Planting trees and restoring forests can help
offset deforestation and contribute to carbon sequestration and the conservation of
biodiversity.

7. Water Resource Management: Efficiently managing water resources includes

measures like water conservation, watershed management, and maintaining water
quality.

8. Soil Conservation: Implement practices to prevent soil erosion, degradation, and

nutrient depletion, such as contour farming and crop rotation.
9. Sustainable Agriculture: Promote agricultural practices that minimise
environmental impact, such as organic farming and the use of crop rotation and
integrated pest management.

10. Renewable Energy: Transition to renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind,
and hydropower, to reduce reliance on non-renewable fossil fuels.

11. Education and Awareness: Educate the public and policymakers about the
importance of natural resource management and the consequences of unsustainable
practices.

12. International Cooperation: Collaborate with other nations to address global

environmental challenges, such as climate change and biodiversity loss.

13. Legal Frameworks and Regulations: Enforce and update regulations and laws to
ensure that natural resource management is in line with sustainability principles.

14. Research and Technology: Invest in research and technology to develop more
efficient and sustainable resource management techniques.

15. Community Involvement: Involve local communities in decision-making

processes related to natural resource management, as they often have valuable
traditional knowledge and a stake in the resources.

Effective management of natural resources is essential for maintaining the health of

our planet and ensuring a high quality of life for current and future generations. It
requires a combination of science, policy, and individual and collective actions to
strike a balance between resource use and conservation.

The management of human and natural landscape interactions is referred to as

“natural resource management” (NRM). It combines land use planning, biodiversity
preservation, water management, and the long-term viability of many enterprises,
including mining, tourism, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. It also acknowledges
that people and their means of subsistence depend on the productivity and health of
our landscapes and that sustaining these qualities requires intensive land
management.

Introduction
Natural resources are substances obtained from the planet that is used to sustain life
and provide for human needs. A natural resource is something that comes from
nature that humans use. Natural resources include things like stone, sand, metals,
oil, coal, and natural gas. Air, sunlight, soil, and water are other natural resources.

The well-being of people depends on natural resources. We cannot survive without

the freshwater we drink, the plants we consume, or the pure air we breathe. To build
roofs over our heads and heat our homes, we require natural resources.

Pollution in Ganga

● The river Ganga is used as a sewage dump for more than 100 cities stretching across
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.
● Dumping of untreated sewage, excreta and chemicals from industries increase the
toxicity of the water.
● This makes it inhabitable for flora and fauna in the river system.
● In 1985 the GAP (Ganga Action Plan) project was initialised to curb the poor quality of
the water of the river Ganges.

Reduce, Recycle and Reuse

The 3 Rs to save the environment can be performed by each individual in our

society:

● Reduce: Reducing our usage and wasteful habits. E.g. not wasting food, turning off the
switches to save electricity, repairing leaky taps, reducing the amount of water used for
bathing, etc.
● Reuse: Using things again instead of discarding them. For example, reusing plastic
utensils and bottles. Many things cannot be recycled or require a lot of energy; instead,
we can utilize them for other purposes.
● Recycle: Collecting discarded paper, plastic, glass or metal objects to manufacture
different products rather than synthesizing them from scratch. It must have a mechanism
to segregate and dispose of each type of waste separately.

To know more about Saving the Environment from Pollution, visit here.

Why Do We Need to Manage Our Resources?

Need to Manage Natural Resources

● Due to the ever-increasing population and rising demands of changing lifestyles, natural
resources are being depleted at an alarming rate. To ensure sustainable, equal
distribution of resources and reduction of damage to the environment, management of
resources must be an integral part of our society.
 ● We must ensure judicious use of our natural resources as it is not unlimited, and
management of such requires long-term planning in order to last generations.

Increase in Demand for Natural Resources

● The increasing population is increasing the demand for more resources that are getting
depleted at an exponential rate.
● Changing lifestyles and advancements in technology are compelling industries to exploit
our natural reserves to meet the demands.

To know more about the Management of Natural Resources, visit here.

Forests and Wildlife

Forests and Wildlife

● Forests are termed biodiversity hotspots.

● Biodiversity is the variety and range of plant and animal life in a particular habitat.
● Loss of biodiversity may result in loss of ecological balance and damage to the
ecosystem.

To know more about the Conservation of Forests and Wildlife, visit here.

Stakeholders of Forests

When we consider the conservation of forests, we must consider the following

stakeholders:

● People who habituate around forests are dependent on forest produce.

● The Forest Department of Government owns the land and resources.
● Industrialists: who use the forest to produce certain products, e.g. leaves of Tendu for
bidis and paper mills.
● Conservationists and wildlife enthusiasts who want to conserve nature in its pristine form.

To know more about the Stakeholders of a forest, visit here.

Monoculture

● Monoculture is the cultivation of a single crop in a given area.

● Excessive monoculture destroys the biodiversity of the area.
● Various needs of the people local to forest areas are neglected, such as leaves for
fodder, herbs and fruits for consumption.

Industrialist’s Mentality and Influence

● Industrialists consider forests as a source of raw materials.

 ● Industries have more political power than the locals and only bother about meeting their
demands. They do not care about sustainability and will move on from one habitat to
another in search of raw materials.

People’s Intervention in Forests

● Human intervention is a necessity in the management of forest resources and

landscapes.
● Resources must be utilised to ensure development while preserving the environment.
● Benefits must go to the local people to ensure economic growth and conservation takes
place simultaneously.
● Examples: Bishnoi community in Rajasthan for saving Khejri trees in Jodhpur Rajasthan.

Damage to Forests and Wildlife

● Excessive and lawless utilisation of forests will deplete the resources quicker than they
can be restored.
● Destroys the ecological balance and may damage the habitats of various species of flora
and fauna.

Sustainable Development

● Sustainable development needs all stakeholders of forest resources to be satisfied.

● In reality, industries use forests at rates far below the market rates, which causes conflict
between local dwellers and industrialists.
● West Bengal’s Arabari forests are well-known for being protected areas. This forest
gained notoriety as a result of the participation of locals who established a community
and worked with village police and forest officials to ensure that there was no significant
deforestation, land poaching, or illegal wildlife hunting there.