Resources that exist without actions of humankind.
"Primary resource" redirects here. For original sources used in research, see Primary source.
The rainforest in Amazon, in the Marquesas Islands, is an example of an undisturbed natural resource. Forest provides timber for humans, food, water and shelter for the flora and fauna tribes and animals. The nutrient cycle between organisms forms food chains and fosters a biodiversity of species.The Carson Fall in Mount Kinabalu, Malaysia is an example of undisturbed natural resources. Waterfalls provide spring water for humans, animals and plants for survival and also habitat for marine organisms. The water current can be used to turn turbines for hydroelectric generation.The ocean is an example of a natural resource. Ocean waves can be used to generate wave power, a renewable energy source. Ocean water is important for salt production, desalination, and providing habitat for deep-water fishes. There is biodiversity of marine species in the sea where nutrient cycles are common.A picture of the Udachnaya pipe, an open-pit diamond mine in Siberia. An example of a non-renewable natural resource.
Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. On Earth, it includes sunlight, atmosphere, water, land, all minerals along with all vegetation, and wildlife.[1][2][3][4]
Natural resources are part of humanity's natural heritage or protected in nature reserves. Particular areas (such as the rainforest in Fatu-Hiva) often feature biodiversity and geodiversity in their ecosystems. Natural resources may be classified in different ways. Natural resources are materials and components (something that can be used) that can be found within the environment. Every man-made product is composed of natural resources (at its fundamental level).
A natural resource may exist as a separate entity such as fresh water, air, or any living organism such as a fish, or it may be transformed by extractivist industries into an economically useful form that must be processed to obtain the resource such as metal ores, rare-earth elements, petroleum, timber and most forms of energy. Some resources are renewable, which means that they can be used at a certain rate and natural processes will restore them, whereas many extractive industries rely heavily on non-renewable resources that can only be extracted once.
Natural-resource allocations can be at the center of many economic and political confrontations both within and between countries. This is particularly true during periods of increasing scarcity and shortages (depletion and overconsumption of resources). Resource extraction is also a major source of human rights violations and environmental damage. The Sustainable Development Goals and other international development agendas frequently focus on creating more sustainable resource extraction, with some scholars and researchers focused on creating economic models, such as circular economy, that rely less on resource extraction, and more on reuse, recycling and renewable resources that can be sustainably managed.
^"natural resources - definition of natural resources in English". Oxford Dictionaries. 2014-04-20. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
^"Definition of natural resource - Student Dictionary". Wordcentral.com. 2012-09-20. Archived from the original on 2017-08-03. Retrieved 2016-12-12. natural resource [...] : something (as a mineral, waterpower source, forest, or kind of animal) that is found in nature and is valuable to humans (as in providing a source of energy, recreation, or scenic beauty[.]
^"What is Natural Resources? definition and meaning". Investorwords.com. Archived from the original on 2019-11-02. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
^"Natural resource dictionary definition | natural resource defined". Yourdictionary.com. Archived from the original on 2019-10-22. Retrieved 2016-12-12. Natural-resource meaning [:] An actual or potential form of wealth supplied by nature, as coal, oil, water power, timber, arable land, etc. A material source of wealth, such as timber, fresh water, or a mineral deposit, that occurs in a natural state and has economic value. Something, such as a forest, a mineral deposit, or fresh water, that is found in nature and is necessary or useful to humans. Any source of wealth that occurs naturally, especially minerals, fossil fuels, timber, etc.
environment. Every man-made product is composed of natural resources (at its fundamental level). A naturalresource may exist as a separate entity such as fresh...
Naturalresource management (NRM) is the management of natural resources such as land, water, soil, plants and animals, with a particular focus on how...
whereas biological systems are based on natural processes of growth, maintenance, and reproduction. A computer resource is any physical or virtual component...
The resource curse, also known as the paradox of plenty or the poverty paradox, is the phenomenon of countries with an abundance of natural resources...
Naturalresource economics deals with the supply, demand, and allocation of the Earth's natural resources. One main objective of naturalresource economics...
Resource depletion is the consumption of a resource faster than it can be replenished. Natural resources are commonly divided between renewable resources...
and social conflict frequently accompany naturalresource exploitation. The impacts of the depletion of natural resources include the decline of economic...
Naturalresource valuation is a process of providing of benefits, costs, damage of or to natural and environmental resources. It has a fundamental role...
A renewable resource (also known as a flow resource) is a naturalresource which will replenish to replace the portion depleted by usage and consumption...
conservation of natural resources on their land, and lastly, landscape planning has a goal to solve problems dealing with naturalresource conservation with...
Pioneer Natural Resources Company, headquartered in Irving, Texas, is engaged in hydrocarbon exploration. It operates in the Cline Shale, which is part...
resource war is a type of war caused by conflict over resources. In a resource war, there is typically a nation or group that controls the resource and...
NaturalResource Governance Institute (NRGI) is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to improving countries' governance over their natural...
organization in order to function effectively, with minimum wasted (natural) resource expenses. It means using the Earth's limited resources in a sustainable...
wildlife management and water resource management. The broad term for this type of resource management is naturalresource management (NRM). Environmental...
nic.in. "Technical Education - Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development". mhrd.gov.in. "NFSU (National Forensic Sciences University)...
consumption natural gas consumption/gas depletion oil consumption/oil depletion logging/deforestation fishing/overfishing land use/land loss or resource depletion...
California's Wine Country. great plains region Natural resources often occur in distinct regions. Naturalresource regions can be a topic of physical geography...
The NaturalResource Charter is a global initiative to assist governments and societies of countries rich in non-renewable natural resources to effectively...
is an interdisciplinary subject drawing on natural and social sciences, and the practice of naturalresource management.: 478 The conservation ethic is...
and development, food and nutrition economics, and environmental and naturalresource economics. Since the 1970s, agricultural economics has primarily focused...
Headquarters Services (Civil Service) Botanical Survey of India, Group 'B' (NaturalResource) Central Electrical Engineering Service, Group 'B' (Engineering) Central...
renewable energy, land, soils, and water. Naturalresource engineering also involves researching and evaluating natural and societal forces. The hydrological...
rendering those sectors less competitive. While it most often refers to naturalresource discovery, it can also refer to "any development that results in a...
Environmentalism Industrial metabolism National accounts Natural capital Renewable resource Social metabolism Total economic value Urban metabolism Sjak...
the naturalresource wealth in some countries as a blessing, while others have referred to it as a naturalresource curse. A vast body of resource curse...
"Resist-Accept-Direct (RAD): A Framework for the 21st-century NaturalResource Manager." This "NaturalResource Report" has ten authors. Among them are four associated...
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