The importance of natural resources in the life of society. Concept of resources

Natural resources, their meaning and classification

Natural resources (natural resources) are elements of nature, part of the totality of natural conditions and the most important components of the natural environment that are used (or can be used) at a given level of development of productive forces to satisfy the various needs of society and social production.

Natural resources are the main object of environmental management, during which they are subject to exploitation and subsequent processing. The main types of natural resources - solar energy, intraterrestrial heat, water, land and mineral resources - are means of labor. Plant resources, fauna, drinking water, wild plants are consumer goods.

Due to the huge volume of natural substances and energy used, the problem of providing humanity with natural resources is global. To prevent the depletion of natural resources, it is necessary to rationally and comprehensively use natural resources and search for new sources of raw materials, fuel and energy.

The classification of natural resources refers to the division of a set of objects, objects and phenomena of the natural environment into groups according to functionally significant characteristics. Taking into account the natural origin of resources, as well as their enormous economic importance, the following classifications of natural resources have been developed.

1. Natural (genetic) classification - classification of natural resources by natural groups: mineral (mineral resources), water, land (including soil), plant, (including forest), animal world, climatic, resources energy of natural processes (solar radiation, internal heat of the Earth, wind energy, etc.). Often the resources of flora and fauna are combined into the concept of biological resources.

2. The environmental classification of natural resources is based on the signs of exhaustibility and renewability of resource reserves. The concept of exhaustibility is used when taking into account reserves of natural resources and the volume of their possible economic withdrawal. Resources are allocated based on this characteristic

o inexhaustible - the use of which by humans does not lead to a visible depletion of their reserves now or in the foreseeable future (solar energy, intraterrestrial heat, water, air energy);

o non-renewable - the continuous use of which can reduce them to a level at which further exploitation becomes economically unfeasible, while they are unable to self-heal within a time frame commensurate with the time of consumption (for example, mineral resources);

o renewable - resources that are characterized by the ability to recover (through reproduction or other natural cycles), for example, flora, fauna, water resources. This subgroup includes resources with extremely slow rates of renewal (fertile lands, forest resources with high quality wood).

3. Economic, when natural resources are classified into various groups in terms of possibilities for economic use˸

o according to the technical capabilities of exploitation, natural resources are identified - real - used at a given level of development of productive forces; potential - established on the basis of theoretical calculations and preliminary work and including, in addition to precisely established technically accessible reserves, also that part that currently cannot be mastered due to technical capabilities;

Natural resources, their meaning and classification - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Natural resources, their significance and classification" 2015, 2017-2018.

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4. Natural resources and what is their role in human life and activity?

Natural resources are components of nature used by humans in the process of their economic activities.

Natural resources play an extremely important role in human life, and changes in their condition during use directly or indirectly affect the interests of both current and future generations of people. Main types of natural resources: water, atmosphere, forests, land, natural raw materials, fossil fuels.

According to their physical, chemical and biological properties, natural resources are divided into forest, water, mineral, land, fish, plant, etc. The same combination of natural conditions and resources had different meanings at different stages of human development. Some resources were not used because... there was no need for them; others presented an insurmountable obstacle, such as the sea before the development of maritime navigation.

There are types of resources based on their exhaustibility:

1. Exhaustible: non-renewable (mineral, land resources); renewable (resources of flora and fauna); not entirely renewable - the recovery rate is lower than the degree of economic consumption (arable soils, mature forests, regional water resources).

2. Inexhaustible resources (water, climate).

Man uses natural resources as sources of energy, consumer goods, methods and objects of labor, etc.

Natural resources are distributed unevenly across the planet. As a result, different continents, regions, countries have different resource availability - this is the relationship between the amount of natural resources and the extent of their use. Resource availability is expressed by the number of years for which a given resource should last, or by its reserves per capita. In other words, this indicator is influenced by the wealth or poverty of the territory with one or another type of resource. However, the volume of consumption of this resource is also important. For example, proven oil reserves are estimated at 140-150 billion tons, while annual consumption is about 3 billion tons. It is easy to calculate that at the current level of production, the planet is provided with this type of resource for a period of approximately 50 years. But production volumes may change, as well as estimates of proven reserves. For example, in the early 1980s. The developed coal reserves were estimated at 1.2 trillion tons, and already in the late 1990s. rose to 1.75 trillion tons. Per capita calculations are usually made for land, water and forest resources. For example, the availability of land resources in the United States is 3.4 hectares per capita.

Against the backdrop of an increase in the scale of production, the question of the limitations of natural resources needed to meet the needs of civilization and the methods of their appropriate use comes to the fore. Humanity cannot exist without using natural resources, without influencing their volume and quality, and in connection with this, without making changes to its natural environment.

The process of exploiting natural resources in order to satisfy the material and cultural needs of society is called environmental management. It can be rational (reasonable) and irrational. The very concept of rationality presupposes reliance on reason and knowledge. Rational and integrated use of natural resources occupies a central place in the system of effective environmental management.

Nature management should be based on the laws of interaction of various natural systems. Rational environmental management should include a system of practical measures for the study of natural resources, their careful exploitation, protection and reproduction, taking into account not only the present, but also the future interests of industrial development and the preservation of human health. Not only the state of the environment and the pace of economic development, but also the well-being and well-being of humanity as a whole depend on how carefully and economically water, air, minerals, etc. are used.

Adaptation of organisms to environmental factors. Functions of living matter in the biosphere. Formation of environmental consciousness

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Anthropogenic impact on the hydrosphere. Self-purification of the aquatic environment

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Water and health: various aspects

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Environmental protection

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Wildlife protection

The diversity of animals is extremely important, first of all, for the main process - the biotic cycle of substances and energy. One species is not capable of breaking down the organic matter of plants into final products in any biogeocenosis...

Animal protection

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The nature of Samara as a reflection of the global environmental crisis

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Problems of water use

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Problems of ecology and living environment

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Destruction of the ozone layer. Fighting methods

Air ions can be positive or negative. The process of forming a charge on a molecule is called ionization, and a charged molecule is called an ion or air ion. If an ionized molecule settles on a particle or speck of dust...

Relief as an environmental factor

For relief forms smaller than mountains - dissected hills - the change in landscapes and, in particular, vegetation cover with height is very weakly expressed. In the forest zone, admixtures of oak and ash in tree stands are confined to elevated areas...

Resources of flora and fauna and their changes under the influence of economic activities

The life of many animals in the last period has been influenced by anthropogenic factors. Human intervention in nature is so great that the fauna of vast areas of the earth can practically no longer exist without special protection measures...

Light, temperature and humidity as environmental factors

Light is one of the forms of energy. According to the first law of thermodynamics, or the law of conservation of energy, energy can change from one form to another. According to this law...

Ecology and biosocial nature of man

In its most general form, as applied to humans, “resources are something extracted from the natural environment of the Earth to satisfy their needs and desires” (Miller, vol. 1, 1993). Human needs can be divided into material and spiritual...

Ecology of modern production

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The classification of natural resources refers to the division of a set of objects, objects and phenomena of the natural environment into groups according to functionally significant characteristics.

On this basis, there are many classifications of natural resources. Let's look at some of them.

Classification of natural resources based on genesis involves the allocation of resources:

a) lithosphere (minerals, land and soil resources);

b) hydrosphere (glaciers, waters of land and the World Ocean, energy of flowing waters, sea tides);

c) atmospheres (climatic, recreational, wind energy);

d) biosphere (biological resources).

Classification based on the principle of exhaustibility divides natural resources into exhaustible and inexhaustible. The latter include, for example, climatic resources, the energy of the Sun, wind, flowing waters, as well as sea tides. Almost all other natural resources are exhaustible.

Exhaustible resources are formed in the earth's crust or landscape, but the volumes and rates of their formation are measured on a geological time scale. At the same time, the need for such resources from production or for organizing favorable living conditions for human society significantly exceeds the volumes and rates of natural replenishment. As a result, depletion of natural resources inevitably occurs.

The group of exhaustible resources includes resources with unequal rates and volumes of formation. Based on the intensity and speed of natural formation, resources are divided into subgroups:

a) exhaustible non-renewable - the continuous use of which can reduce them to a level at which further exploitation becomes economically unfeasible, while they are incapable of self-recovery within a time frame commensurate with the time of consumption (for example, mineral resources);

b) exhaustible, but renewable (naturally or with human participation) - resources that are characterized by the ability to be restored (through reproduction or other natural cycles), for example, flora, fauna, water resources. This subgroup includes resources with an extremely slow rate of renewal (fertile lands, forest resources with high quality wood).

Inexhaustible natural resources, the use of which by man does not lead to visible depletion of their reserves now or in the foreseeable future (solar energy, intraterrestrial heat, water, air energy); Classification by recovery method divides natural resources into:

naturally renewable, i.e. those that can be restored after their use to their original state using natural processes: these are food and non-food biomass, water, air, the restoration of which (including purification) is ensured by biological, climatic and hydrological processes. It should be remembered that the productivity of these processes has a limit, and a person can, by investing certain funds, increase their activity;
non-renewable, which in principle cannot be recovered for reuse (these are, first of all, energy resources such as coal, oil, natural gas).

The most common classification of natural resources is based on their origin. With its help, they distinguish: resources of natural components and resources of natural-territorial complexes. Natural component resources include:

mineral resources (a set of specific forms of mineral substances in the earth’s crust that are a source of energy, various materials, chemical compounds and elements);
climate resources (inexhaustible natural resources including solar energy, moisture and wind energy);
water resources (hydrosphere resources - the World Ocean and land waters);
plant resources (forests, crops, etc.);
land and soil resources (lands that are systematically used or suitable for use for economic purposes and differ in natural and historical characteristics);
animal resources.

Resources of natural-territorial complexes are forestry, recreational, mining and other resources.

By the nature of trade, all natural resources can be divided into groups such as:

resources of strategic importance, the trade of which should be limited, since it leads to undermining the defense power of the state (uranium ore and other radioactive substances);
resources that have wide export value and provide the main influx of foreign exchange earnings (oil, diamonds, gold, etc.);
resources of the domestic market, which, as a rule, are widespread, for example, mineral raw materials, etc.

According to their economic significance, minerals are divided into balance resources, the exploitation of which is advisable at the moment, and off-balance resources, the exploitation of which is impractical due to the low content of useful substances, great depth of occurrence, peculiarities of working conditions, etc., but which can be developed in the future.

The last classification that needs to be distinguished among many others is the classification of natural resources depending on economic use. It divides natural resources into the following groups:

energy, which include various types of resources used at the present stage of development of science and technology for energy production, for example, fossil fuels;
non-energy, including a subgroup of natural resources that supply raw materials for various industries or participate in production due to technological necessity, for example forest resources; agricultural production resources (soil, plant and other resources)

Distribution of natural world resources between countries. The role of natural resources in the global economy.

Natural resources in their totality constitute an important factor of social production, which in economic theory is defined by the general concept of land. Without natural resources, the production process is unthinkable.

For example, mineral resources form the basis for the production of industrial products in the world economy. It is worth noting here that changes in the production and consumption of raw materials in international trade affect not only the economic situation in individual countries and regions, but also have a global nature.

Most countries with developed market economies consume more natural resources (especially minerals) than they have. The missing resources are imported mainly from developing countries. Because of this, huge flows of raw materials move to three main processing centers: North America, Western Europe, East and Southeast Asia. This state of affairs gives rise to two problems: the dependence of developed countries on the supply of raw materials and the raw material orientation of the exports of many developing countries. Thus, the uneven distribution of mineral resources in the bowels of the Earth, as well as the different provision of countries with land and forest resources contribute to the development of the international division of labor and, on this basis, international economic relations.

The use of all natural resources is closely intertwined. Thus, land resources (agricultural land) usually produce a larger volume of production if they are cultivated with equipment driven by fuel (mineral resources), as well as with the use of artificial fertilizers (also made on the basis of mineral resources).

The importance of the resource factor in the economic development of territories is constantly changing. This indicator depends on the quality, quantity, location and a number of other various indicators of the natural resources available.

One of these indicators is the economic valuation of natural resources - i.e. establishing the possibility and feasibility of their involvement in production at the current level of development of science and technology. In this case, it is necessary to determine and evaluate:

The size of reserves (volumes of resources) in general and their concentration per unit area.
Their qualitative composition (composition of forest species, quality of wood, composition and fertility of the soil; for oil, for example, qualitative composition, degree of viscosity, etc.).
Operating conditions (for minerals: size of layers, depth of their occurrence, difficulties of exploration, development of deposits and development, as well as the possibility and feasibility of exploiting any natural resources: land, water, forest).
The degree of development and population of the territory in which there is a mineral deposit or other resources (including the level of population and provision of labor resources in the region in given natural and climatic conditions).
Conditions of transportation, including to places of sale and use (availability of the necessary transport and other infrastructure).
Production costs per unit of production (cost).
The combination of natural resources and minerals in a given territory, the possibility of their integrated use.
Requirements for environmental protection and site reclamation.

Another equally important characteristic of natural resources is the indicator of resource availability of a particular territory, i.e. the relationship between the size of proven reserves of resources and the scale of their use.

The size of proven reserves may increase in the process of geological development, and the volume of annual production may change, so resource availability has an approximate value.

The provision of mineral resources is expressed by the number of years for which proven reserves will suffice with their modern use. And the provision of forest, land, and water resources is determined by the volume of their reserves per capita.

Not all countries in the world have the same amount of natural resources. Only a few states possess almost all known natural resources - territorial, mineral, forest, water, land, etc. Among such countries are Russia, the USA, and China. Some states are inferior to them, but are also highly endowed with resources. These include Brazil, India, Australia.

Many countries in the world have reserves of global importance of one or more types of resources. For example, the countries of the Near and Middle East are distinguished by significant oil and gas reserves; Chile, Zaire, Zambia have copper reserves, Morocco and Nauru are famous for their phosphorites, etc.

In fact, no country has reserves of all types of mineral raw materials necessary for a modern economy and cannot do without importing them. Russia, with all the variety of mineral resources and their significant volume, is forced to import bauxite, tin, and manganese. The United States fully meets its needs with its own mineral raw materials for only 22 types, namely uranium, tungsten, chromium, manganese, and depends on imports.

In the modern world, there are significant differences between the natural resources available in individual countries and the volumes of their consumption in different countries. For example, the United States, which has 4.5% of the world's population and approximately 20% of the planet's mineral resources, consumes up to 40% of the world's natural resources. First of all, fuel and raw materials. At the same time, developing countries including China and Vietnam), where about 60% of the world's population lives and up to 35% of mineral resources are concentrated, consume approximately 16% of these resources.

In all countries with a developed mining industry, including Russia, the largest and most cost-effective deposits are being depleted. In modern conditions, the problem of providing raw materials should be solved not on the basis of an accelerated increase in the volume of geological exploration, but on the basis of material and energy conservation.

Ways to counteract the depletion of natural resources include recycling many types of raw materials, such as metals, as well as the possibility of replacing them with other materials.

Russia's provision with natural resources.

Russia has four winning positions: natural gas, timber, coal (despite the fact that there is little demand for it in the world) and fresh water. Russia accounts for more than 25% of the world's reserves of these resources. For the rest - no more than a few percent.

Russia is not a monopolist on the mineral raw materials market. Russia is currently the main supplier of oil and gas to European countries.

At present, Russia has already taken its place in the system of world economic integration as a drying-up raw material appendage of the West. Russia's reliance on traditional industrial sectors (primarily raw materials) as an object of attracting investment, combined with complete openness to the world market, only leads to aggravation of the situation. The collapse of traditional industries and the “brain drain” and technical achievements to the West will very quickly eliminate our last advantage over the countries of the Third World - intelligence and technology, which simply cannot be received in Russia in the conditions of capital drain due to the material supply.

Recklessly “pumping out” non-renewable mineral raw materials - oil, gas, metals - simply means robbing one’s own children and grandchildren. At the same time, we have resources that are capable of restoration, and in terms of their quantity we occupy an almost monopoly position on the Eurasian continent - these are forests, hydro and hydropower resources.

Given the vast forest areas in Russia, it is not difficult to maintain and develop a powerful forestry and wood processing industry, with a product that is in good demand on the foreign market. At the same time, we can simultaneously ensure the restoration of forests. At the same time, it is possible to significantly rationalize forestry by producing on an industrial scale not only wood, but, in parallel, “gifts of the forest” - mushrooms, berries, honey, meat of forest animals. This requires the creation of special farms. We should not forget that the latter is a unique product that can be sold at a high price.

Of course, we should not forget about Russia’s forests in terms of creating nature reserves, wildlife sanctuaries, and national parks as a means of attracting both tourists and research organizations.

The same can be said about water resources. Currently there is a shortage of fresh food, incl. drinking water in the world is becoming an increasingly pressing problem. In particular, this applies to the vast regions of Western China, Central Asia, and the Middle East adjacent to Russia to the south.

As for hydropower resources, at the moment they will not be in great demand on the foreign market due to the oil wealth of the regions south of Russia, but with the inevitable depletion of oil reserves, the situation may change dramatically. In addition, the management of water resources can also be rationalized if, for example, one simultaneously engages in fish farming and the creation of a network of fish processing enterprises. Given our vast expanses of water, this industry has truly brilliant prospects.

The vast lands of Russia are a good base for the development of agriculture. We should not forget that until 1917 Russia exported agricultural products. The low natural productivity of most of Russia's agricultural lands is compensated by their size, and with the proper level of technical equipment, Russia can regain its lost position as a food exporter. In addition, Russia's vast land holdings will allow it to produce large quantities of “environmentally friendly” agricultural products, the production of which does not involve pesticides, chemical fertilizers, etc.

Conclusion

The development of the world economy has naturally led to the formulation of a global problem of environmental protection of the world, rational use of natural resources, as a result, it is necessary to search for ways to solve these problems. The worsening problems associated with modern consumption of natural resources can lead to the disappearance of flora and fauna and climate change. Finding ways to solve these problems is becoming one of the most important tasks for the further development of the world economy. Everything that is happening in the world today in the field of environmental management testifies to the deep crisis of modern civilization. It faces an alternative: either the technological model of production in most countries will change, or irreversible negative changes will occur in the biosphere.

Scientific and technological development has a powerful impact on all aspects of modern production, on the entire system of social relations, on man himself and his environment. The world economy has become a single organism, outside of which no state can develop normally, no matter what social system it belongs to and no matter what economic level it is at.

Since the 70s, the tendency towards a deep restructuring of economic proportions in the world economy and the structure of the world economy has sharply intensified.

The development of the world economy occurs not so much through quantitative increases in product or number of employees, but through the quality of products and increased production efficiency.

The land and its natural resources are, as we know, not only one of the factors of production and economic growth, but also the basis of life, its habitat.
Generalized definitions of natural resources as components of nature used by humans, and nature management as a sphere of social and production activity aimed at meeting the needs of mankind with the help of natural resources, are insufficient to understand their significance in the modern economy and in the existence of mankind.

Pollution and waste

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Labor Investment
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Natural resources
Rice. 4.1. The ratio of the main categories of environmental management (according to M. Commom, 1988)
Ha fig. 4.1. The relationship between the basic concepts of environmental management is shown.
The essence of any economy lies in the life support of an individual, family, and society. This is the goal of the economic system or economic basis, i.e. a set of branches of production and the intangible sphere and relations of people in the process of transforming natural resources into benefits suitable for the life support of society.
The economy can be thought of as a regulator of the “nature-society” flow. Its “input” is natural and labor resources, and its “output” is products that meet social needs. The primary sale of natural resources “included” in the economy - land, fuel and energy, mineral raw materials and others - is carried out by environmental management sectors (agriculture and forestry, etc.).
The development of the economy and, above all, the productive forces is characterized, generally speaking, by the widespread and increasingly complex use of natural resources for the production of material goods and more and more complete satisfaction of the increasing variety of human life needs.

Natural (natural) resources are used or can be used to satisfy the various physical and spiritual needs of society as objects and means of labor, food, sanitary treatment and recreation facilities, environmental protection units, etc.
Land and natural resources are one of the factors of production, the elements of which are converted into goods entering the sphere of production and consumption. This determines both the value of natural resources and their ability to generate income. Natural resources, as a rule, have an owner or user whose rights are legally established.
Pollution storage reservoirs are elements of the environment in which by-products of production and consumption - pollution, industrial and household waste - are located. Property rights here do not always have legal status, income generation is possible but problematic, and costs are often imposed on those “receiving” pollution without their consent.
Universal natural benefits are components of the environment that represent the property of humanity or a nation. They do not belong to anyone individually, but to everyone together. They can be used by everyone, and the costs, if required, are borne by society, i.e. this concept is analogous to economic “public goods”.
Such public natural benefits are landscapes and natural complexes, especially large and unique ones, used by the population of a region, country or the world as a whole. They are necessary for a person to feel the fullness and emotional coloring of life, to restore ability to work, and to maintain biodiversity in nature.
Thus, environmental management as a set of all forms of exploitation of natural resource potential and measures for its conservation includes: a) extraction and processing of natural resources, their renewal or reproduction; b) use and protection of natural conditions of the living environment; c) preservation, reproduction and rational change of the ecological balance, or equilibrium, of natural systems, which serves as the basis for preserving the natural resource potential of society's development (N. F. Reimers, 1990).
It is obvious that nature, both as a source of raw materials, water, air, and as a function of receiving, placing and storing waste from resource processing, turns out to be an integral part of the process of creating products of labor and production. Therefore, the subjects of environmental management are not only enterprises of the extractive industries, but also manufacturing ones. Rational environmental management is the purposeful conscious activity of human society for the exploitation of natural potential, ensuring the biological vital activity of people and the economic life of human society, during which natural resources are used most rationally and fully and are reproduced to the maximum achievable completeness, and the human environment is preserved in a suitable condition for life. condition, and its inevitable changes do not irreversibly disrupt the dynamic equilibrium of the ecosystem.
The change in attitude towards natural resources and environmental management in historical retrospect is interesting. The classics of economics (D. Ricardo, T. R. Malthus) assigned land a decisive role in the economic processes of production and income distribution. The rapid development of capitalism has changed attitudes towards natural resources. Despite the fact that wars for the possession of resources continued, in economic science, in its theoretical works, the resource problem was almost not touched upon. This can be explained by the sufficiency of their own resources in developed countries or free access to the resources of colonial and dependent countries. In the second half of the 20th century. the situation has changed. Interest in environmental management was stimulated by the work of J.R. Forrester and others, who in the 1960s created the impression that the world's natural resources would be completely depleted within two to three decades. However, these forecasts were not confirmed, since the factors of market pricing, which contributed to the replacement of retired reserves of natural resources, technical progress and the accumulation of capital aimed at implementing alternative options, were not taken into account.
Problems of natural resources and the environment were identified simultaneously with the awareness of the economic, and then the ecological and moral essence of the relationship to nature and environmental management. In the time that has passed since the first UN Conference on the Human Environment (1972, Helsinki-Stockholm), the problems of natural resources and the environment have gone through two stages of development.
At the first stage (1970s), the main problem was the depletion of non-renewable resources (such as fuel and energy) and the increasing volumes of pollution associated with economic activities. These fears were supported by the oil crisis of 1973 and the pessimistic global forecasts of the Club of Rome, D. and D. Meadows and others (1972), J. R. Forrester (1976), about the depletion of all the world's major mineral resources in just 50 years and the need to reduce or economic growth stops.
The second stage began in the 1980s and continues today. It is characterized by a predominant interest in preserving the biosphere and maintaining biological diversity. The beginning of the stage is marked by the development of such a document as the World Conservation Strategy by the International Fund for Conservation of Nature (JUCN) in 1980. From this moment on, “ecological economics” occupies a central place as a means of analyzing and solving environmental and economic problems of society. Many researchers believe that the methodology of environmental economics stands outside traditional scientific paradigms (JI. I. Abalkin, 1974; Tisdell, 1993). This branch of economics attempts to understand a highly complex system that exceeds both the economic and ecological systems in volume, therefore requiring a huge variety of methodological approaches, characteristic of the interface areas of scientific knowledge (Tisdell, 1993; Soderbaum, 1990; Nordaard, 1989; Constanza, 1989 ).
The importance of natural resources and rational environmental management is evidenced by a large number of prognostic studies of the development of civilization. Potential difficulties and threats include, first of all, overpopulation in certain regions, slowdown in economic growth, energy crises, shortage of minerals, famine in some areas, and intense environmental pollution. And despite the optimistic forecasts expressed regarding the provision of fuel and energy resources and other minerals, it is a well-known fact that it is impossible for all inhabitants of the planet to achieve the level of consumption of developed countries.
Despite unprecedented economic growth in the second half of the 20th century, significant inequality arose, a gap in the pace of progress in different countries and regions of the world. More than 3/4 of the world's population lives in developing countries and has only 16% of the world's wealth. The population of all developed countries, accounting for 20% of the planet's population, pollutes the environment by 2/3 of the total pollution, consuming almost the same amount of world resources (2/3 of world consumption of metals, 3/4 of world energy consumption, etc.).
The uneven consumption of natural resources and environmental pollution depends on many factors, but least of all on the availability of resources and the cleanliness of the environment in a particular country. This is the result of civilized historical development. The industrialization of society as a whole and the unevenness of economic development are reflected by changes in energy consumption indicators (Table 4.1). The problem is that energy consumption levels for some groups of the population remain low at the beginning of the 21st century.
Solutions to the problems of providing resources and reducing the intensity of anthropogenic pressure on the environment are closely related. On the one hand, the struggle for resources is inevitable (and it has not stopped), on the other hand, the processes of globalization have led to the understanding by the world community of the need to develop a strategy for the survival of humanity in the conditions of the already occurring environmental crisis. This strategy is reflected in the concept of sustainable development, the goal of which is

Table 4. I
Average (direct and indirect) daily energy consumption per capita at different stages of civilization development
(according to T. Miller1)
There is a solution to the problem of the relationship between economic growth and social and environmental balance in the development of society.
To achieve this goal, economics in general and environmental economics must change their principles and approaches to the use and appropriation of natural resources. Humans, although an integral part of nature, are usually not considered in definitions of natural resources and environmental management. He seems to stand above nature. Industrialization has increased his power over nature, and to this day the conviction has not yet been eradicated that the purpose of man is to conquer nature.
At the same time, it is already generally accepted that if such a mentality persists, then the Earth’s life support systems will continue to collapse. And this destruction will have the greatest impact on man, who, as is known, is the main economic resource and productive force and, most importantly, the carrier and producer of the most important resources in the modern world - information.
1 Miller T. Life in the environment. M., 1993.
Therefore, many scientists consider the concept of sustainable development not economic, but broader. N. N. Moiseev believed that the concept of “sustainable development” (or “sustainable development”) should have a different meaning, different from what politicians and economists offer. In fact, we should not talk about sustainable development, but about the strategy of humanity, its collective actions that can one day ensure the co-evolution of man and the environment. Its development seems to be the most fundamental problem of science in the entire history of mankind. Perhaps the entire history of human knowledge and general culture is just a preparatory stage for solving this problem, on the success of which the very fact of preserving our species in the biosphere depends.

All living organisms on the planet, for normal existence and functioning, require certain natural resources, including: water (sea and fresh), territory, soil, mountains, forests (vegetation), animals (including fish), fossil fuels and minerals.

All the above mentioned resources are natural and they exist in nature. No man created them, but humanity uses them for its own benefit. It must be taken into account that all the natural resources of the world are interconnected, for example, if water disappears in a certain area, this will negatively affect the local flora, fauna, soil and even climate.

The Earth's natural resources can be used directly or indirectly. For example, people directly depend on forests for food and biomass, improved health, recreation, and increased living standards and comfort. Indirectly, forests act as climate controls, provide protection from floods and storms, and provide nutrient cycling.

Forest resources

Forest resources are extremely important natural resources that are used by people to meet the needs of life (food, shelter and building materials). Forests occupy about 1/3 of the land area or 4 billion hectares and are considered dominant, because they are distributed throughout the world. Forest resources contain about 80% of the Earth's plant biomass.

Land resources

Land resources include areas that are located on land and can be used for human needs. Their total area is about 14.9 billion hectares. This resource is limited in space and subject to anthropogenic influence. Land resources are an integral part of the planet, necessary for the existence and functioning of most living organisms.

Mineral resources

Mineral resources are non-renewable and include all minerals intended for further use; there are more than 200 types of them. All species are distributed unevenly and in different quantities across our planet. In this regard, the availability of mineral resources depends on the availability of certain species in a particular region of the world and their use.

Climate and space resources

Climate and space resources are inexhaustible and include: solar energy, wind energy, the energy of the earth's interior, the energy of sea tides and waves, water and air energy. When used, such resources do not decrease in quantity, but their quality characteristics may change due to anthropogenic impact.

Biological resources

Biological resources include all living organisms (, etc.). This resource is renewable if organisms are able to reproduce. A biological resource can be considered a natural source of obtaining necessary benefits (food, raw materials for industry, farm animals, etc.).

Importance of natural resources

The world's natural resources are essential to maintaining the highly complex interactions between living things and non-living things. All over the world, people consume resources directly and indirectly, gaining enormous benefits from these interactions. More developed countries consume resources in greater quantities than less developed countries.

The global economy uses about 60 billion tons of natural resources every year to produce the goods and services we consume. On average, one person in Europe uses about 36 kg of resources per day; in North America - 90 kg; in Asia - 14 kg and in Africa - 10 kg.

In what form do people consume natural resources? The three main forms include: food and drink, housing and infrastructure, and mobility. They account for more than 60% of the use of all natural resources.

Food and drink

This form includes agricultural products, natural products (such as meat, freshwater and saltwater fish), seeds, nuts, medicines, herbs and plants. This includes drinking water, as well as water for sanitary and domestic use. Just think, ceramics, silverware (spoons, forks and knives), jars, milk cartons, paper and plastic cups are all made from raw materials that come from the earth's natural resources.

Mobility

Mobility includes all types of transportation such as cars, trains, watercraft, and fueled aircraft. Where do you think the raw materials used in the production and operation of vehicles come from?

Housing and infrastructure

Imagine all the houses, public places, roads and other objects that are located in your locality. Think about where all the energy that heats and cools spaces comes from, as well as the origins of the metal, plastic, stone and other materials needed for construction.

Beyond these three main areas of consumption, we use many more resources from our environment on a daily basis. The role of natural resources in supporting life on Earth is extremely important, and we must ensure that the environment is protected and that it is easier to regenerate naturally.

Distribution of natural resources

Natural resources are distributed unevenly around the world. Some countries are richer in them than others (for example, some regions have many water resources and access to oceans and seas). Others have lots of minerals and forests, and still others have metal rocks, wildlife, fossil fuels, etc.

For example, the United States ranks first in the world in coal reserves, and Australia is the world's largest net exporter of coal. China remains the largest gold producer.
The United States, Russia, and Canada are the leading producers of wood and pulp. Annual exports of primary and secondary wood products from tropical forests have exceeded $20 billion in recent years, and are seeing further growth.

Many countries have developed their economies using existing natural resources. Some of them also receive a lot of income from tourism and recreation (for example, Brazil and Peru, make money from tourism in the Amazon forest, where there is a very diverse flora and fauna).

Crude oil is another important natural resource. From it we get many petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel and gas, which are used to power transport and provide comfortable conditions in our homes. But crude oil is not distributed evenly across the planet.

Regions where oil is available in sufficient quantities extract it and then sell it to regions where it is absent, and also buy natural resources from other regions, such as timber and precious metals (gold, diamonds and silver), which they have in their abundance.

Uneven distribution is also the root of power and greed in many countries. Some states use their resource wealth to control and manipulate regions with fewer resources, and even engage in military conflicts.

Threats of natural resource depletion

Overpopulation

This is probably the most significant threat facing natural resources. The world population is growing at a very fast pace. According to statistics, 365 thousand children are born every day in the world, which means that the planet’s large population negatively affects almost all natural resources. How?

Land use

With more people, more land must be cultivated for food and areas must be allocated for housing. Many forests and lands with rich vegetation will be converted into human settlements, roads and farms. This will lead to negative consequences for natural resources.

Deforestation

There will be greater demand for wood (timber), food and wood products. Therefore, people will use more forest resources than they can recover naturally.

Fishing

Fresh water and seafood, on which people directly depend, also face threats. Larger fishing companies go to the depths of the seas and catch fish in huge quantities. Some of the fishing methods they use are not sustainable and thus deplete fish resources.

Need more

A more comfortable human life means greater needs (for example, communication, transportation, education, entertainment and recreation). This means that more industrial processes need to be used and the demand for raw materials and natural resources increases.

Climate change

Climate change, resulting from excess carbon dioxide, is harming biodiversity and many of the world's other abiotic natural resources. Species that have become acclimated to their environment may die, while others will have to move to more suitable areas to survive.

Environmental pollution

Water, soil and air pollution have a negative impact on the environment. This affects the chemistry of soils, rocks, land, ocean waters, fresh groundwater and other natural resources.

Restoration of used natural resources

In recent years, waste has begun to be seen as a potential resource rather than something that should be in landfills. According to experts, something very useful can be made from paper, plastic, wood, metals and even waste water.

Natural resource recovery (waste recovery)- the use of sorted waste to extract secondary raw materials and use them again or transform them into new raw materials for the production of something.

It involves composting and recycling waste that is sent to landfill (for example, wet organic waste such as waste from food consumption or agricultural activities). Traditionally, we collect them and send them to landfill, but when recovering used resources, they need to be composted or processed through anaerobic digestion to produce biogas.

This concept can be applied at home. In many localities there are places where residents can throw out garbage that they have previously sorted at home. This simplifies the organization of waste disposal before further processing.

Waste recovery is not an easy task, it involves careful planning, people's culture, community participation as well as the use of technology. Despite these challenges, waste recovery has enormous environmental and economic benefits and should therefore be seriously considered.

Restoring the planet's natural resources benefits humanity because it reduces our need for new raw materials, thereby saving the environment (for example, by recycling used paper products, we can obtain new cellulose, which is found in wood. Plus, for recycling requires less energy than producing new raw materials).

Wastewater and stormwater can be used as another example. There is a way to significantly reduce the demand for fresh water if we start recycling all wastewater for reuse. This water can be used for gardening, agriculture, domestic needs and heating.

In Victoria, Australia, purified water is used to irrigate vineyards, tomatoes, potatoes and other crops.
In Mexico City, about 174 million liters per day of treated wastewater is used to irrigate green areas, fill recreational lakes, and also in agriculture.

Ways to protect natural resources

In order to have a sustainable future where we can continue to use the Earth's natural resources, we urgently need to change the way we produce and consume goods and services.

High levels of natural resource consumption are observed mainly in large cities around the world.

Globally, cities are responsible for 60-80% of energy consumption and 75% of carbon dioxide emissions, consuming more than 75% of natural resources.

In order to change your current lifestyle, you need to use:

Public

All stakeholders should strive to provide information and raise public awareness of existing resources and the need to ensure their protection. Although there is a lot of information freely available, campaigners should try to use less scientific and complex terms. Once people realize how useful our natural resources are, they will be more concerned about protecting them.

Individuals and organizations

People and organizations in developed countries with high levels of resource consumption need to be aware of resource protection issues. It is necessary to understand that using all the necessary resources for your own benefit is acceptable, but it is necessary to reduce the amount of waste and take care of proper disposal. We can achieve this in our homes and workplaces by reducing and recycling the waste we create.

Government

The government must enforce policies to protect natural resources. It is necessary to monitor the operation of enterprises and provide incentives to those who use recycled materials and introduce hefty fines for those who refuse to do so. Enterprises must return part of their profits to activities that are aimed at restoring previously used resources.