IMPOVERISHMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

What is a natural resources and its classification?

Resources that are derived from nature and utilised mostly unaltered are known as natural resources. This comprises the origins of desirable traits, such as their use for commerce and industry, aesthetic worth, scientific curiosity, and cultural significance. On Earth, it consists of the sun, the atmosphere, the water, the land, all the minerals, all the plants, and all the animals.

Natural resources are categorised according to a number of factors. These include: -

1) origin: - Biotic and abiotic resources.

2) stages of development: -

3) renewability: - Renewable resources and non-renewable resources

4) ownership: - individual, community, national and international resources.

RESOURCE DEPLETION

Resource depletion happens when natural resources, both renewable and non-renewable, become limited because they are used up more quickly than they can replenish. Example: - excess usage of water, burning fossil fuels, cutting down forests, and fishing. These resources have all been exhausted mostly as a result of human activity.

CAUSES OF RESOURCE DEPLETION

Air Pollution, water pollution, solid wastes, agrochemicals, deforestation, radioactive wastes, greenhouse effect and global warming, ozone depletion, improper resource utilisation and deforestation are some of the main causes of depletion of natural resources. Some of its explanation are: -

1. Overpopulation

More than 7 billion people live on the planet as a whole. Nevertheless, the population of the planet as a whole has been steadily growing, and this has played a significant role in hastening the depletion of natural resources. A growing population raises the demand on the resources and environments needed to support it.With a population that is rapidly nearing eight billion people, it wouldn't matter if everyone sought to adopt an equally low material quality of living—natural resources would still be depleted.

2. Poor farming Practices

Due to our excessive dependence on food production to meet our daily nutritional needs, we are placing a great deal of strain on land resources. Poor irrigation techniques, for instance, are a major cause of the soils' salinization and alkalinization, which support plant development.

3. Logging

One percent of tropical forests are thought to be lost each year, primarily in parts of Latin America. Due to the pressure from the growing population, people are cutting down forests mostly for agricultural purposes.Additionally, people are down trees to make room for apartment buildings and multiplexes. Due to the destruction of their natural habitats, deforestation causes the loss of not just trees but also of thousands of animals and a significant amount of plant species.

4. Overconsumption of natural resources

The exploitation of minerals has grown simpler, and people are digging deeper to reach diverse ores as a result of the technological, developmental, and research breakthroughs in the modern period. Some minerals have experienced a reduction in output as a result of greater extraction.For instance, it is predicted that output of minerals like zinc, copper, and gasoline would decrease during the next 20 years. Additionally, the number of engines on the road is increasing, which contributes to an increase in oil mining and the depletion of oil.

5. Pollution

The value of the natural environment is progressively exposed to degradation as a result of rising population and modern human activities, which are key contributors to the discharge of pollutants into the natural environment.Sewage, radioactive materials, hazardous chemicals, and other pollutants are contaminating the soil, air, lakes, and oceans. Natural resource depletion can result from pollution since it directly kills plants and animals, ruins the ecosystem, and creates further problems.Uncontrolled emissions of gases like carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide, sulphur oxide, and carbon dioxide, for instance, have led to environmental changes including the thinning of the ozone layer and global warming, which have negative effects on a variety of natural ecosystems.

EFFECTS OF RESOURCE DEPLETION

1. Climate Change

Ecosystems and animals are anticipated to move from lower to higher latitudes and altitudes as a result of rising global temperatures. The pace at which the temperature drops with altitude over the world's mountains ranges from 5 to 10 degrees Celsius per kilometre. Animal species must go higher to live. The current state of climate change may result in the replacement of dominant species by more heat-tolerant species.

2. Oil and Mineral Depletion

Oil is a nonrenewable resource that supplies around 40% of the world's overall energy needs. With the development of technology, oil is utilised for a wide variety of applications and more often than before.Oil is a necessary resource for numerous activities, including industry, farming, mining, and transportation, and its depletion would be catastrophic.

3. Instability in the ecosystem

The ecology becomes unstable as a result of the depletion of natural resources. Forest ecosystems are lost as a result of deforestation; this results in food chains and food waves being unstable; as a result, problems with species fragmentation and extinction like situations ensue.

4. Scarcity of drinking water

The lack of drinking water is a major impact of the depletion of natural resources. There won't be a pure supply of drinking water when water contamination rates rise. Again, logging and soil degradation are causing a decline in groundwater supplies. This is because fast cultivation on a single piece of land removes the topsoil. Additionally, trees facilitate deeper soil soaking up of precipitation. There are currently a lot of places where potable water is inaccessible, and if this trend keeps up, both emerging and industrialised nations will soon experience water scarcity.

5. Extinction of Species

6. Loss of forest cover

7. Decrease in the percentage of oxygen

SOLUTION OF RESOURCE DEPLETION OR HOW TO CONSERVE 

1. Controlling Deforestation

Initiatives that try to stop deforestation, like REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation), which was developed by the World Bank, the New York Declaration on Forests, and the United Nations, might help stop the loss of natural resources.

2. Reducing consumption of oil, mineral and various fuels

Oil-rich nations should work with the World Bank, governments, and organisations in charge of overseeing the use of goods to consider how to cut back on oil and mineral exploitation and consumption.

3. Use of renewable resources

To lessen reliance on fossil fuels, which are a major contributor to environmental degradation, climate change, global warming, and the loss of natural ecosystems, renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, can be investigated and used more.

4. Protecting wetlands and coastal ecosystems

5. Use sustainable agricultural practices

Agriculture uses a lot of resources yet is still vital. Farming can be done more sustainably, though. Planting cover crops and rotating your crops are two ways to maintain good soil. Lessening the use of pesticides while including biological pest management and organic fertilisers can also be beneficial. Utilizing technology to maximise resource utilisation through precision agriculture, farmers may use less water, pesticides, fertiliser, and other inputs.

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