Assignment

On
Natural Resources Identification and Management

COURSE : Agron 609

Integrated Farming System

Submitted to
Dr. K. B. Ashodariya
Assistant Research Sci.
Vegetable Research Station
Junagadh Agricultural University
Junagadh

Submitted by:
Soumi Mukhopadhyay
Ph.D. (Soil Science)
Reg.No: 1010115019
Junagadh Agricultural University
Junagadh

RESOURCES
A resource is a source or supply from which benefit is produced. Typically resources are
materials, energy, services, staff, knowledge, or other assets that are transformed to produce
benefit and in the process may be consumed or made unavailable. Benefits of resource utilization
may include increased wealth, meeting needs or wants, proper functioning of a system, or
enhanced well being.
Types of Resources:

NATURAL RESOURCES:

Natural Resources are all that exists without the actions of humankind. This includes all natural
characteristics such as magnetic, gravitational, and electrical properties and forces. On earth we
include sunlight, atmosphere, water, land (includes all minerals) along with all vegetation and
animal life that naturally subsists upon or within the heretofore identified characteristics and
substances.

What are Natural Resources?

 Air, water and soil

 Biological resources - plants and animals
 Raw materials (like minerals)
  Space and land
 Wind, geothermal, tidal and solar energy

Classification of Natural Resources:

There are various methods of categorizing natural resources, these include source of origin,
stage of development, and by their renewability. These classifications are described below.
 On the basis of origin, natural resources may be divided into:
 Biotic – Biotic resources are obtained from the biosphere (living and organic
material), such as forests and animals, and the materials that can be obtained from
them. Fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum are also included in this category
because they are formed from decayed organic matter.
 Abiotic – Abiotic resources are those that come from non-living, non-organic
material. Examples of abiotic resources include land, fresh water, air and heavy
metals including ores such as gold, iron, copper, silver, etc.

 Considering their stage of development, natural resources may be referred to in the

following ways:
 Potential resources – Potential resources are those that exist in a region and may be
used in the future. For example, petroleumvoccurs with sedimentary rocks in various
 regions, but until the time it is actually drilled out and put into use, it remains a
potential resource.
 Actual resources – Actual resources are those that have been surveyed, their quantity
and quality determined and are being used in present times. The development of an
actual resource, such as wood processing depends upon the technology available and
the cost involved.
 Reserve resources – The part of an actual resource which can be developed
profitably in the future is called a reserve resource.
 Stock resources – Stock resources are those that have been surveyed but cannot be
used by organisms due to lack of technology. For example: hydrogen.
 Renewability is a very popular topic and many natural resources can be categorized as
either renewable or non-renewable:
 Renewable resources – Renewable resources can be replenished naturally. Some of
these resources, like sunlight, air, wind, etc., are continuously available and their
quantity is not noticeably affected by human consumption. Though many renewable
resources do not have such a rapid recovery rate, these resources are susceptible to
depletion by over-use. Resources from a human use perspective are classified as
renewable only so long as the rate of replenishment/recovery exceeds that of the rate
of consumption.
The tides, solar power and the wind can be classed as flow renewable resources.
They are all renewable but they do not need regeneration or re-growth.
 Non-renewable resources – Non-renewable resources either form slowly or do not
naturally form in the environment. Minerals are the most common resource included
in this category. By the human perspective, resources are non-renewable when their
rate of consumption exceeds the rate of replenishment/recovery; a good example of
this are fossil fuels, which are in this category because their rate of formation is
extremely slow (potentially millions of years), meaning they are considered non-
renewable. Some resources actually naturally deplete in amount without human
interference, the most notable of these being radio-active elements such as uranium,
which naturally decay into heavy metals. Of these, the metallic minerals can be re-
used by recycling them, but coal and petroleum cannot be recycled.
 On the basis of availability, natural resources can be categorized as follows:
 Inexhaustible Natural Resources - Those resources which are present in unlimited
quantity in nature and are not likely to be exhausted easily by human activity are
inexhaustible natural resources. e.g. – sunlight, air etc.

 Exhaustible Natural Resources - The amount of these resources is limited. They can be
exhausted by human activity in the long run. E.g. coal, petroleum, natural gas etc.

Management of natural resources:

Natural resource management refers to the management of natural
resources such as land, water, soil, plants and animals, with a particular focus on how
management affects the quality of life for both present and future generations.
Natural resource management deals with managing the way in which people and
natural landscapes interact. It brings together land use planning, water
management, biodiversity conservation, and the future sustainability of industries like
agriculture, mining, tourism, fisheries and forestry. It recognises that people and their
livelihoods rely on the health and productivity of our landscapes, and their actions as
stewards of the land play a critical role in maintaining this health and productivity.
Natural resource management specifically focuses on a scientific and technical
understanding of resources and ecology and the life-supporting capacity of those
resources. Environmental management is also similar to natural resource management. In
academic contexts, the sociology of natural resources is closely related to, but distinct from,
natural resource management.
Management Approaches
Natural resource management issues are inherently complex as they involve the
ecological cycles, hydrological cycles, climate, animals, plants and geography etc. All these
are dynamic and inter-related. A change in one of them may have far reaching and/or long
term impacts which may even be irreversible. In addition to the natural systems, natural
resource management also has to manage various stakeholders and their interests, policies,
politics, geographical boundaries, economic implications and the list goes on. It is very
difficult to satisfy all aspects at the same time. This results in conflicting situations.
The various approaches applied to natural resource management include:
1. Top-down (command and control)
2. Community-based natural resource management
 3. Adaptive management
4. Precautionary approach
5. Integrated natural resource management
1. Community-based natural resource management
The community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) approach
combines conservation objectives with the generation of economic benefits for rural
communities. The three key assumptions being that: locals are better placed to conserve
natural resources, people will conserve a resource only if benefits exceed the costs of
conservation, and people will conserve a resource that is linked directly to their quality of
life. When a local people’s quality of life is enhanced, their efforts and commitment to ensure
the future well-being of the resource are also enhanced. Regional and community based
natural resource management is also based on the principle of subsidiarity.
2. Adaptive management
The primary methodological approach adopted by catchment management
authorities (CMAs) for regional natural resource management in Australia is adaptive
management.
This approach includes recognition that adaption occurs through a process of
‘plan-do-review-act’. It also recognises seven key components that should be considered for
quality natural resource management practice:
 Determination of scale
 Collection and use of knowledge
 Information management
 Monitoring and evaluation
 Risk management
 Community engagement
 Opportunities for collaboration
3. Precautionary Management
The "threats" wreaking havoc on biodiversity include; habitat fragmentation,
putting a strain on the already stretched biological resources; forest deterioration and
deforestation; the invasion of "alien species" and "climate change". Since these threats have
received increasing attention from environmentalists and the public, the precautionary
management of biodiversity becomes an important part of natural resources management.
According to Cooney, there are material measures to carry out precautionary management of
biodiversity in natural resource management.
 4. Integrated Natural Resource Management
Integrated natural resource management (INRM) is a process of managing natural
resources in a systematic way, which includes multiple aspects of natural resource use
(biophysical, socio-political, and economic) meet production goals of producers and other
direct users (e.g., food security, profitability, risk aversion) as well as goals of the wider
community (e.g., poverty alleviation, welfare of future generations, environmental
conservation). It focuses on sustainability and at the same time tries to incorporate all
possible stakeholders from the planning level itself, reducing possible future conflicts. The
conceptual basis of INRM has evolved in recent years through the convergence of research in
diverse areas such as sustainable land use, participatory planning, integrated watershed
management, and adaptive management. INRM is being used extensively and been
successful in regional and community based natural management.

 Sustainable Natural Resource Management

Sustainable management takes the concepts from sustainability and synthesizes

them with the concepts of management. Sustainability has three branches: the environment,
the needs of present and future generations, and the economy. Using these branches, it creates
the ability to keep a system running indefinitely without depleting resources, maintaining
economic viability, and also nourishing the needs of the present and future generations. From
this definition, sustainable management has been created to be defined as the application of
sustainable practices in the categories of businesses, agriculture, society, environment, and
personal life by managing them in a way that will benefit current generations and future
generations.
Sustainable management is needed because it is an important part of the ability to
successfully maintain the quality of life on our planet. Sustainable management can be
applied to all aspects of our lives. Forest and natural resources need to have sustainable
management if they are to be able to be continually used by our generation and future
generations. The world's natural ecosystems are under increasing pressure to provide an
expanding population with a sustainable supply of food, fiber, fuel, and other commodities
while still providing services related to biodiversity and clean water and air. Our economists
develop analytical tools that help individuals in the public and private sectors to develop
reasoned policies for managing forests and other natural resources.
Focus areas:
 Ecological and economic interrelationships in the management of ecosystems
 Valuation of ecosystem services
 Optimal management of multi-use natural resources, such as national parks and forests
 Motivation and behavior of resource managers
 Carbon sequestration, bio-energy, and climate change

 Location specific management of natural resources

The following need-based treatments, outside of watersheds, are priority actions:
 Reclamation of problem soils (saline, alkaline, acidic etc.); greater attention is called
for acidic soils as the acidification is spreading fast.
 Comprehensive development of degraded lands assigned to resource poor families
under land distribution programmes.
 Development of common land with revenue department through adequate investment.
 Revival of small size indigenous water harvesting structures.
 Investment on community bore wells to retain ground water as a common property
resource.
 Farming systems based management of natural resources
 Development of farming systems through new paradigm consisting of
(i) sustainable management of natural resources through social regulations,
(ii) diversification of farming systems,
(iii) major emphasis on improving soil health and use of inputs based on
internal raw materials,
(iv) emphasis on protective irrigation,
 (v) extension system managed by CBOs,
(vi) financial support through revolving funds and
(vii) Adequate facilitation through experienced resource organizations.
 Convergence of different production related programmes, namely, agriculture,
horticulture, livestock, fisheries etc as per the new paradigm.
 Labour incentives for preparation of organic inputs from internal raw materials (to cut
down the costs as being done for chemical inputs from external raw materials).
Conclusion
Natural resources are basic and essential for the survival of people. Natural are referred to
as land or raw materials in economic point of view, which occur naturally in environment
without human intervention. However, since the environment is a complex, variable and
extensive system, protecting the environment is a hard and enduring task. It is impossible that
all the existing pollution problems in the environmental can completely be resolved in the
next decade. A wonderful and quality environment must be achieved by continuous planning,
governmental policies, efforts of the enterprises and public participation.

It is the responsibility of everyone to protect our environment. . It is our duty to protect

the natural resources by it using it judiciously and in a proper manner. Let us fulfill our
responsibilities in environmental protection , creating a quality ecological environment and
sharing wonderful green living together.