RESOURCES Class VIII
Anything that can be used to satisfy a need or has value can be called a resource. Water, electricity, rickshaw, vegetable and textbook all have utility and hence are considered as resources. All the resources have value or worth. Some resources have economic value, some do not. Some may become valuable only over a period of time. For example, your grandmom’s home remedies may not have commercial value at present but if they are patented and sold, they could also become economically valuable. Meanwhile, the two factors that change substances to resources include time and technology.
CLASSIFICATION OF RESOURCES
(a) Natural
(b) Human
(c) Human Made resources.
NATURAL RESOURCES
Resources that we find in nature and are used without much modification are called "Natural Resources". For e.g. Air, Water, Soil, Sunlight, Minerals, Flora & Fauna, etc. All these are free gifts of nature and can be used directly.
Classification of Natural Resources
(a) Biotic (b) Abiotic
(a) Biotic Resource: All living things are known as Biotic Resources.
These resources are obtained from the Biosphere and they have life,
such as – Human Beings, Flora, Fauna, fisheries, etc.
(b) Abiotic Resource: All non-living things are known as Abiotic Resources,
such as Wind, Water, Air, Rocks, Metals, etc.
2. On the basis of Exhaustibility or Utility of Resources:
(a) Renewable (b) Non-Renewable
(a) Renewable Resource: Resources which can be renewed or reproduced are known as Renewable Resource.
E.g. Solar & Wind energy, Water, etc.
Resources like Wind, Sunlight, are present in such huge quantities that human consumption does not effect them.
Many resources are replenishable which means these resources are recycled within the environment by natural process and their quantities remain constant. E.g. Oxygen Cycle and Water Cycle take place rapidly, whereas e.g. like Rock Cycle is very slow.
(b) Non-Renewable Resource: Resources get exhausted when used.
These resources cannot be renewed or reproduced.
Fossil Fuels like, coal, petroleum, natural gas are the best examples of non-renewable resource.
These resources are limited in supply and it takes millions of years in their formation.
Metals like Gold, Silver, Copper and Iron are recyclable.
3. On the basis of Stage of Development of Resources:
(a) Actual Resource
(b) Potential Resource
(c) Reserves
(d) Stock
(a) Actual Resource - Resources whose existence has been proved and whose quality, quantity and location has been determined for utilization with the available technology.
E.g. Assam oil fields, Damodar coal fields, etc.
(b) Potential Resource – Resources which are found in a region but have not been utilized, might be because of the lack of technology. They can be used in future.
E.g. Solar and Wind are potential resource. Rajasthan and Gujarat have great potential for the development of these two resources.
- Largest Solar Plant in India - Madhapur, Bhuj (Kutch, Gujarat)
- Largest Wind farm cluster in India – Nagercoil (Tamil Nadu)
(c) Reserves – Resources which can be put into use with the help of the existing technology but their use has not been started. They can be used in future.
E.g. more rivers can be used for generating electricity.
(d) Stocks – Reserves which have the potential to satisfy the human needs but we don't have the technology to access it.
Apart from these the resources can be divided into further more categories.
4. On the basis of Distribution of Resources:
(a) Ubiquitous
(b) Localised
(a) Ubiquitous Resource: Resources which are found everywhere are called ubiquitous resource. E.g. air, land, water, etc.
(b) Localised Resource: Resources which are found only in certain places are localised resources, Like coal, petrol, iron, etc.
5. On the basis of Ownership of Resources:
(a) Individual (b) Community (c) National (d) International
(a) Individual Resource: Resources which are owned by an individual.
E.g. plot, car, house, etc.
(b) Community Resource: Resources which belongs to a community of people.
E.g. parks, community halls, picnic spots, etc.
(c) National Resource: Resources which belongs to a nation. These resources are found within the political boundaries and territorial waters of a country.
E.g. rivers, forests, minerals, etc.
(d) International Resource: Resources which are found beyond the territorial boundaries of a country. These resources are managed by the international institutes.
No single country can use these resources without the permission of the international authorities.
E.g. Minerals, fisheries, etc.
HUMAN RESOURCES
- Human Resources refer to the number and ability of the people. E.g. knowledge, health, skill, etc.
- People can make the best use of nature to create more resources when they have the knowledge, skill and the technology to do so. That is why human beings are a special resource.
- People are human resources.
- Education and health help in making people a valuable resource.
- Improving the quality of people's skills so that they are able to create more resources is known as human resource development.
HUMAN MADE RESOURCES
- Resources created by human beings are called Man-Made Resources. E.g. Buildings, Roads, etc.
- Sometimes, natural substances become resources only when their original form has been changed. Iron ore was not a resource until people learnt to extract iron from it.
- People use natural resources to make buildings, bridges, roads, machinery and vehicles, which are known as human made resources.
- Technology is also a human made resource.
Resource Conservation:
Ways to conserve natural resources: -
- Preventing wastage.
- Saving every drop of water.
- Planting trees (afforestation).
- Using alternative fuels to reduce pollution, e.g. CNG.
- Not disturbing animal habitats.
- Controlling deforestation
FACTORS WHICH HELPS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF RESOURCES
- Human Resource.
- Technology.
- International Competition.
- Better working condition for worker's.
- Contribution from non-governmental organizations
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF RESOURCES
Balancing the need to use resources and also conserve them for the future is called sustainable development.
Development of the resources should be done without damaging the environment and the needs of present generation should not be compromised with those of the future generations, this is known as sustainable development.
Some Principles of Sustainable Development: -
1. Respect and care for all forms of life.
2. Improve the quality of human life.
3. Conserve the earth's vitality and diversity.
4. Minimise the depletion of natural resources.
5. Change personal attitude and practices toward the environment.
6. Enable communities to care for their own environment.
Important term to remember:
The earth has an environment that sustains different forms of life.
1. Resource: Anything that can be used to satisfy human needs is a resource. OR All the objects in the environment, which are useful to man and have a value, are called "Resources".
2. Utility: A thing becomes a resource when its utility has been identified. For e.g. Existence of "OIL" on Earth – millions of years, but it became a resource only when man learnt how to use it.
3. Value: Value means worth. The use of a resource depends on its value.
(a) Economic Value: Some resources can be bought or sold, or can be used to make things that can be bought or sold. For e.g. Minerals.
(b) Aesthetic Value: We enjoy the beauty of mountains, waterfalls, sea, landscapes. Thus, they are resources which have "Aesthetic Value".
(c) Legal Value: Resources like, Air, Water, Land, etc.. Are essential part of life, thus, it become our responsibility to protect them from pollution. These are "Legal Values" of the resources.
(d) Ethical Value: "Ethical Values" of the resources indicates us that we should protect our flora and fauna from intensive cutting of trees and killing of wildlife.
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