Anything that can be a source for human activity to satisfy human wants is a resource. The source can be nature itself in its waters, land and soils, forests, grasslands, wild-animal life and minerals.
Manipulated by human powers, these natural sources provide all the necessaries and amenities of life. The term “natural resources” denotes all sources provided by nature. Natural resources are tangible and these lend themselves to further uses.
Though natural resources are tangible they are not often seen; they need to be explored and developed. Natural resources become “resources” when men can use them to produce things they need. Nature has provided vast range of resources. in varying degrees in different regions and their exploitation for human use depends on the quality of human powers.
Generally, resources may be of three kinds:
1. Natural Resources:
(a) Inexhaustible -the atmosphere -water in its cycle
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(b) Replaceable and maintainable -waters in a place -soils lands in its spatial sense -forests forage and other cover plants -wild animal life
(c) Irreplaceable -minerals land in natural condition.
Natural resources in their true form are not immediately usable in all cases. In general, most of them need some changes or treatment before use. They also require proper ‘ management for conservation and rational exploitation, more so when these are irreplaceable. The mere presence of natural resources in any region does not suggest that such resources are used by men there.
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But, their presence also gives a challenge to men to use them now or in future ‘according to the capabilities of men. If men in the region cannot use those people from other regions why such capabilities have are often attracted to get possession of such latent resources.
In fact the latent resources of many countries inspired the more enterprising people of Europe where, such resources were not easily available to get possession of land. Natural resources of a backward region always invited occupation by migrants from developed countries.
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2. Human Resources:
Human beings are also resources as they can reproduce and are replaceable and maintainable. They have also the strength, dexterity and physical skills. When these are strength, dexterity and physical skills. When these are added to their talents to think, create and innovate, they become human powers.
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Human beings are capable of becoming powers through education training, contacts with other human powers, and values towards fellow beings for peace, growth and deplete human powers such as diseases, vices and crimes, disasters, war and over-population. A continuing flow into the world’s reservoir of human power is bound to bring many human beings as ill-fed and productive.
“Increase in numbers of people therefore, does not necessarily mean increase in the total resources of human powers”. The problem of human resources is a problem of its control in proportion to growth of other resources that are required to sustain human powers with higher living standards.
3. Cultural Resource:
Natural and human resources in any particular region can interact better when the cultural environment is sufficiently favourable in terms of technological development and a social order that ensures equal opportunities for all to grow and develop them. This cultural environment is a by-product of human resources.
It reflects what human powers have done in respect of physical and intellectual growth of human beings of a region and how their legacies continue to provide a strong base for the future generations for further development of arts, literature, science and technology. Viewed thus, cultural environment is also a resource.
In fact, the cultural differences between nations can explain many reasons for slow or quick economic growth. The two main factors that constitute cultural resource are the government and population.
It is, however, possible for a country to import “technical know-how” from other countries and build its own technological standard according to the capacities of its people.
Great progress has been made in many countries in respect of exploitation of natural resources with imported technical know-how and technologists. The glowing example is the exploration and exploitation of oil-fields in the Middle East, which have brought about simultaneously for its people great changes in living standards.
There are also examples of superior technology which alone has enabled countries to depend on imported raw materials and to process them into highly competitive products as in Japan, U.K. and West Germany. Then again, progress in technology has made it clear that even natural resources in many cases cannot stand competition with synthetics.