Natural Resources — Definition

Definition

Natural resources are materials, organisms and environmental flows that people draw upon for livelihoods, production and other needs. They include water, soils, forests, minerals and energy flows, but their usefulness depends on ecological conditions, access and technology.

A renewable resource can be replenished yet still be depleted locally if use exceeds renewal or damages the system supporting it. A non-renewable resource is not replenished on the relevant human timescale.

Resource management therefore concerns more than extracting the largest possible amount: it must consider renewal, quality, distribution, competing uses and the environmental effects of obtaining and using the resource.