Natural resources are the resources that are available on the planet independent of human actions. These are the resources that are discovered in the environment and are developed without the involvement of humans.
Air, water, sunlight, soil, stone, plants, animals and fossil fuels are examples of natural resources. Humans and animals use natural resources for their survival. Therefore, it becomes essential to conserve them.
Some of the vital natural resources
- Air: Clean air is appropriate for all plants, animals, and humans to survive and helps in efforts to lower pollution levels.
- Water: 70% of the earth is surrounded by water, and of that, 2% is freshwater. One should start initiatives for awareness regarding the proper use of water at their places.
- Soil: It is made of numerous particles and nutrients. It assists plants to grow.
- Forests: The demand for housing and construction projects rises as the population increases too. Forests offer clean air and preserve the ecology of the countries across the globe.
- Iron: It is composed of silica and used to make potent weapons, buildings, and transportation purposes.
Following are the types of natural resources:
- Renewable: Renewable resources are available in unlimited quantities and can be used several times. Examples: Forest, freshwater, timber, solar energy and others.
- Non-Renewable: These are the resources that are limited in abundance due to their nature and whose availability may not be there in the future or can not be replaced in a lifetime. It is exhaustible—for example, earth minerals, fossil fuels and others.
The overuse of any natural resource has a huge and devastating impact on the environment and eventually reduces the abundance and availability of those and other resources.
How to preserve natural resources?
- Conserve water: One should not keep the tap running while doing clothing, shaving, bathing and other related activities and should understand that various studies showcase the inadequacy of water in certain parts of the country in upcoming years. They should check for any leakage, which could be a great contributor to the wastage of water. Try to use drip irrigation and sprinkling irrigation to enhance irrigation efficiency and lower evaporation. One should also look forward to set-up a rainwater harvesting system in the house.
- Protect the soil: Avoid uprooting the trees while constructing a house and plant more trees with a rapidly growing native ground cover. Also, don’t over-irrigate the fields without proper drainage to prevent waterlogging, and one could make compost from kitchen waste and use it for kitchen gardens or flower pots.
- Conserve energy: When stepping out of your house or room, don’t forget to switch off lights, fans. Take a bicycle for some metres or distances instead of a car or a scooter. Use a solar cooker for making food on sunny days, which will help cut down the LPG usage.
- Promote Sustainable Agriculture: People have a bad habit of wasting food that should not be there, especially at homes and functions. Fertilise the crop with organic fertiliser and consume local and seasonable vegetables, saving energy on transport, storage, and preservation.
