Sustainable Use of Natural Resources

Lesson Objective:
1. Enumerate ways on how natural resources can be used sustainably.

Sustainable Development is to provide resources for present generations without

compromising the needs of future generations.

Sustainable Use of Natural Resources means using Natural Resources in a way that does’nt
deplete them.
1. Plant a tree for every one cut down.
2. Use of Biofuels
3. Alternative energies

Conservation The use of natural resources in a responsible and efficient way

Sustainability of Natural Resources

Natural resources exist naturally without any human intervention. It can be renewed,
replenished easily, and some non-renewable ones, which cannot be replenished.

Resources determine the economy of an area. With judicious utilization of these resources, a
country can sustain the resources for future generations. However, looking at the current
situations, the indiscriminate use of our modern resources are such that the possibilities of
succeeding generations and the developing countries to have access to their fair share is very
rare. Furthermore, the consequences are dreadful and the result on the environment will induce
severe damages which go beyond the carrying capacity of the environment. which we call
Depletion it is the reduction in the availability of a natural resource until it is used up.

We all have heard numerous tales about the world’s natural ecosystems being under increasing
pressure to provide an expanding population with a sustainable supply of food, fibre, fuel, etc.
Preservation or management of natural resources is essential for maintaining community
sustainability.

Let’s have a closer look at the sustainability of natural resources.

Natural Resources

Air and Climate

The human health and ecosystem can be

dramatically affected by the declining air quality
and change in the climate. The communities
can contribute to controlling the sources of air
pollution by limiting the use of harmful
chemicals in the air.
 Energy
Energy happens to be a non-renewable source
for power generation which is mainly used for
home, workplace, and transportation, causing
pollution. The need for energy conservation and
the use of renewable fuels providing cost-
effective and more sustainable alternatives are
the need of the hour.

Types of Natural Resources

Renewable

Resources that can replace themselves even if they have been used, as long as they are not
overused.
Examples
 Trees in forests
 Crops that are produced by agriculture
 Natural fish stocks

Explanation
These resources are capable of regrowing or renewing themselves over a period of time.

Non-Renewable Resources
Definition:
Resources that are gone once they are used
Examples
 Minerals such as gold, iron, and nickel
 Fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum
Explanation
These resources can be created only under quite specific conditions.
Water
Water is an important resource which we use for every daily activity like drinking, cooking,
cleaning, washing, etc. It is a precious natural resource that is largely getting wasted. To avoid
the scarcity of Water both government and people must work together to assure that water is
used judiciously and there is adequate water supply to meet future needs.

Biodiversity
Biodiversity plays a vital role in satisfying our need for different types of food, raw materials,
fuel, etc. Over 4 billion years ago, the earth was crowded with a variety of species and every
single species played a specialized role in
maintaining ecological balance. As time passed,
more than 80% of the species got extinct.
Communities are involved in their preservation by
supporting, managing, promoting, protecting and
enhancing healthy wildlife by establishing areas
like the zoo, sanctuaries, national parks,
biosphere reserves, wildlife safaris.

Land, Forests, and Ecosystems

An ecosystem consists of both living things
and non-living things which interact with
each other. Light, air, soil, energy,
atmosphere, forests are renewable sources
which need to be protected. Communities
have to develop judicious land-use practices
for both conserving ecosystems and
enhance local economies as they maintain
the equilibrium in the environment.

What is ecosystem in simple words?

An ecosystem is a geographic area where
plants, animals, and other organisms, as
well as weather and landscape, work together to form a bubble of life. Ecosystems contain biotic
or living, parts, as well as abiotic factors, or nonliving parts. Biotic factors include plants,
animals, and other organisms.

Land is an area of ground, especially one that is used for a particular purpose such as farming
or building. Good agricultural land is in short supply.

Forest
Forest includes natural forests and forest plantations. It is used to refer to land with a tree
canopy cover of more than 10 percent and area of more than 0.5 ha. Forests are determined
both by the presence of trees and the absence of other predominant land uses.

Sustainable Resource Management

can help ensure that the use of resources does not cause an imbalance in the environment
- Increasingly, sustainable practices are being encouraged to preserve animal and plant life for
the benefit of future generations
 Ecotourism
 Recycling
 Limiting carbon emissions
 Resource substitution

Environmental degradation-The damage caused to the condition of the physical environment,

often as a result of human actions

Exploring the three Rs of Waste Management

In order to keep as much material out of the landfill as possible, it’s important for each of us to
do our part. One of the ways to put that plan into action is through the 3 Rs of waste
management — Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

 Reduce means to cut back on the amount of trash we generate.

 Reuse means to find new ways to use things that otherwise would have been thrown
out.
 Recycle means to turn something old and useless (like plastic milk jugs) into something
new and useful (like picnic benches, playground equipment and recycling bins).

Learn to Reduce

Reducing is simply creating less waste. It’s the best method for keeping the environmentclean,
so it’s the first of the 3 Rs. By reducing, you stop the problem at the source. Making less waste
to begin with means there’s less waste to clean up. Here are some easy ways you can reduce
the amount of waste you make:

 Pack your lunch in a lunchbox.

 Bring reusable bags to the grocery store.
 Say no to bottled water. Instead of buying bottled water, use a reusable water bottle.
 Watch what you buy.
Learn to reuse
Reusing is taking old or unwanted items you might otherwise throw away and finding a new use
for them. There are all sorts of ways you can reuse items to help reduce your trash footprint:

 Clean out your closet.

 Share your toys.
 Find a new use for an old item.
 Have a garage sale.

Recycling is the last — convert (waste) into reusable material and most commonly used — of
the 3 Rs. Recycling is changing discarded materials into new products in order to avoid using
more virgin resources. convert (waste) into reusable material.

There are a wide range of materials that can be recycled through your curbside recycling
program. These consist of materials, including paper and glass, as well as less obvious
materials, including most forms of metal, and even food:

 Paper including newspapers, magazines,and mixed paper

 Cardboard (OCC)
 Glass bottles and jars
 Rigid plastic products
 Metal containers, including tin, aluminum, and steel cans
 Food waste, if your city has an organics collection program.

Sustainable Utilization of Natural Resources

Sustainable utilization of natural resources is the proper management of natural resources for
the benefit of the entire human community. The main aim of Sustainable Development is to
provide resources for present generations without compromising the needs of future
generations.

The economy cannot be based on the use of non-renewable resources such as coal, petroleum,
because these resources cannot be replenished. A truly sustainable resource does not degrade
environmental quality.

Over-exploitation of natural resources leads to the exhaustion of the resources. Therefore, the
current resources cannot be used at the same pace as nothing will be left for future generations.

To God be the Glory