Contents
Important Notes
Human Resource Development : This refers to making improvement in human skills so that they can become more useful and productive and thus, become a better resource.
Patent : An exclusive right over an idea, product or invention.
Resources : Anything that can be used to satisfy our need is a resource.
Resource Conservation : This refers to the concept of using resources in a sensible way ensuring that they do not get diminished or Using resources carefully and giving them time to get renewed.
Sustainable Development : The concept of using resources in a balanced form so that our needs are fulfilled and they also remain conserved for the use by future generations.
Stock of Resource : The quantity or amount of resource available for mankind is known as its stock.
Technology : The application of latest know how and skills in making or doing things.
Utility : A substance is said to have utility if it can be used in any way to satisfy human needs.
Value : Worth of a substance assessed on the basis of its utility.
Important Notes
Resources are classified into three groups: Natural, Human-made and Human resources.
(i) The resources which are obtained from nature and used without making much change or modification are called as Natural Resources. For example, air, water, soil, etc.
(ii) When the original form of natural substances is changed to make them more useful, then they are known as Human-made Resources. For example, buildings, vehicles, roads, etc.
(iii) The people who serve us in various ways is known as Human Resource. They make the best use of nature. They change the natural resources into more useful form using their technical skills. For example, doctor, engineer, teacher, carpenter, etc.
| Natural Resources | Human-made Resources |
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Natural resources are drawn from nature and are used without much modification.
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Human-made resources are those which are made by people by changing the original form of the natural resources. |
| The air we breathe, water in rivers and lakes, soil, etc. | Buildings, machinery, bridges, etc. |
Classification of Natural Resources
Natural resources are classified into different groups on different basis.
(i) On the basis of their level of development and use:
(a) Actual Resources
(b) Potential Resources
(ii) On the basis of their origin :
(a) Abiotic Resources
(b) Biotic Resources
(iii) On the basis of their distribution :(a) Ubiquitous Resources
(b) Localised Resources(iv) On the basis of stock :(a) Renewable Resources and
(b) Non-renewable ResourcesNatural resources are categorised into renewable and non-renewable resources.(a) The resources which get renewed or replenished quickly are called renewable resources. Some of them are unlimited and are not affected by human activities.
For example: solar and wind energy.
(b) Resources which have limited stock and take millions of years to get renewed are known as non-renewable resources.
For example: coal, petroleum and natural gas.
Classification of natural resources on the basis of development and use :
Actual Resources : Actual resources are those resources whose quantity is known. Rich deposits of coal in Ruhr region of Germany, dark soils of Deccan Plateau in Maharashtra.
Potential Resources : Those resources whose entire quantity may not be known and which are not being used at present time are known as potential resources, e.g. Uranium found in Ladakh may be used as potential resource.
Origin of Natural Resources
On the basis of their origin, natural resources are classified as :
(a) Abiotic Resources (b) Biotic Resources.
Non-living resources such as soils, rocks and win minerals are known as Abiotic Resources.
The living objects or substances such as plants and animals are known as Biotic Resources.
Human-made Resources
(i) When the original form of a natural substance is changed to make it more useful, then it is known as Human-made Resource.
(ii) Many natural resources are used by human beings after making some changes in them in order to make them more useful, e.g ., buildings, roads, machines, vehicles, etc.
(iii) Iron ore is a natural resource, but it was of no use till the human being learnt to extract iron from it.
The six basic principles of sustainable development are :
(1) To respect and care all forms of life.
(2) To improve the quality of human life.
(3) To conserve the earth’s vitality and diversity.
(4) To minimise the depletion of natural resources.
(5) To change the personal attitude and malpractices towards the environment.
(6) To encourage communities to care for their own environment.
The significance of time and technology in making a substance a resource : Time and technology are important factors that make any substance an important resource. With time, technology develops. When technology develops, we begin to discover new ways to make our life more better. This makes those substances more useful, which were useless earlier. In this way, invention and discovery provide us new resources. For example, with the help of technology, we made water a source of electricity. This is known as Hydroelectricity.
The distribution of natural resources depends upon a number of physical factors like terrain, climate and altitude, which is varied, so the distribution of resources is unequal all over the earth.
The classification of resources on the basis of their distribution.
On the basis of their distribution, resources are classified as :
(i) Ubiquitous Resources are those resources that are found everywhere in the biosphere.
For example, air.
(ii) Localised Resources are those resources that are found only in certain places.
For example, iron ore, copper, petroleum, etc.
Resource distribution depends on a number of factors such as :
(1) Terrain : The terrain of a region largely determines its suitability for human settlement. Flat, alluvial plains have better farming soils than steeper and rockier uplands.
(2) Plateaus : Plateaus are the important areas for minerals. In these places, lots of minerals are present.
(3) Climate : Some mineral deposits are formed, improved or preserved by geological processes, that occur in arid lands as a consequence of climate.
(4) Altitude : Variations in the temperature at different altitudes result in the distribution of earth’s vegetation into different zones, such as tropical rain forests, desert or grasslands, deciduous forests, coniferous forests, tundra regions, ice and snow at poles.
There are many reasons for treating humans as a resource.
(i) Human resource refers to the number (quantity) and abilities (mental and physical) of the people.
(ii) It is the human ability which transfers physical materials into valuable resources.
(iii) People can make full use of nature if they have skills and knowledge.
(iv) Education and health are two important factors that make man a precious resource.
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