Our life depends largely on natural resources. Everything we have around us is made of materials that, in one way or another, have been extracted from nature. Thus, the conservation of natural resources, or also focused as the Environmental conservationIt is an essential task to move towards a more sustainable economy that takes into account their availability, also for future generations. If you want to learn more about the conservation of natural resources Continue reading this Ecology Verde.
What are natural resources and their importance
“Natural resource” is defined like any usable element of nature. There are very different Types of natural resourcessuch as water, soil, minerals, oxygen, organic matter, animal organisms, vegetables and fungi …
Each of these elements has characteristics that allow us different use and, in addition, they are threatened by different factors, which will make the management different in each case. In this other post we talk more about the use or exploitation of natural resources, their definition, types and examples.
Especially important is the generation rate (or regeneration) of the resource in question. All resources are generated at a certain speed; Some are generated so slowly that we consider them “non -renewable.” This would be the case of derived products (or types) of oil or coal, such as diesel, kerosene, oil coke, coal or anthracite. Natural gas is methane gas accumulated in the upper part of oil deposits; However, methane gas also occurs in the decomposition of organic matter, then calling “biogas.” Many waste and water purification plants have biomethanizers, so its production has increased. In the category of Non -renewable natural resources We also find minerals.
Other natural resources occur in such a large amount that we consider them infinite or Renewable natural resources. They are for example sunlight, wind … These resources exceed our consumption capacity and are generated regardless of our management.
On horseback between them are the resources that are not infinite, but that do have a Great capacity for renewalsuch as wood produced by forests, fishing, fresh water (except in cases of groundwater reserves without renewal), etc. These require one planned and careful managementsince if you cannot incur overexploitation.
If you want to learn more about the definition of natural resources and their types, enter here.
What is the overexploitation of natural resources
If we consume the faster resource than it is generated, we will be overexploitation of the resource. In cases where it is persisted in this overexploitation, either with a very intense activity in small periods of time (for example oil), or with a moderate but continuous activity (for example the use of soil), It can be reached to the total exhaustion of the resourcewith serious damages for both the environment and for the economy.
Let’s see a couple of examples of overexploitation:
Agriculture
Monoculture agriculture is one of the factors that most impoverish the soil. The soil has a varied composition in which there are many minerals that plants require for growth. But not all plants require the same mineral in the same proportion. Thus, a certain plant, over time, will use a specific mineral until it exhausts it from the ground, leading to the exhaustion of this resource. Although other plants need it to a lesser proportion, they can no longer grow there. Therefore, the best is polyculture agriculture, in which the ground is allowed to rest and crops are being rotated so as not to exhaust any of its resources.
Fishing and hunting
The species reproduce at a rate higher than their environment is capable of keeping in normal conditions. Therefore, there is always a certain mortality rate, let’s say a “surplus” of which we can dispose. Intensive fishing and hunting, especially if they do not take into account the size of the young or youth, they become unsustainable when this surplus or replacement rate is exceeded.
Here we tell you everything about the overexploitation of natural resources: causes and consequences.
Conservation of natural resources – actions and measures
As we have already seen, the environmental conservation or environment preservation And, specifically the conservation of the natural resources that we use (or if not all, the preservation of many of them) depends largely on how we manage them. Both minerals and fuels and living resources should be subject to scrutiny, not only to avoid their exhaustion, but also to prevent environmental impacts derived from their extraction, which are often serious. Know more about what is negative and positive environmental impact with examples.
We leave you below some actions and measures for the conservation of natural resources:
- Environmental Management: Any type of organization must be subject to environmental management that not only compliance with current regulations (when this regulation is more restrictive, better), but pursues excellence in environmental management. Here we explain more about what environmental management is.
- Territory Management: Good territory management is essential for the proper use of certain resources, such as the management of hydrographic basins for water consumption.
- Circular economy: The circular economy, as opposed to the current linear economy, postulates the reintroduction of materials in the productive cycle, going from being waste to become resources, which limits the extraction of resources, especially non -renewable.
- Decrease: Reduction of economic growth based on the consumption of materials, until reaching a balance point.
If you want to read more articles similar to Conservation of natural resourceswe recommend that you enter our category of other environment.
