INTRODUCTION

The earth has plenty of resources that people can use to meet their needs. The
earth is a great place where both living and non living things can be found. Plants and
animals are living things. Land, water and air are non living things. People use both
living and non living things on earth to satisfy their needs. The materials on earth that
people use are called natural resources. There are two types of natural resources on
earth which is renewable and nonrenewable resources.
RENEWABLE RESOURCES
Man needs both plants and animals to survive. All the food people eat come
from plants and animals. The plants which people eat are replaced by new ones after
each harvest. Farmers often take this task in order for us to survive. People also eat
animals. Animals have

the

capacity

to

reproduce

and

are

replaced

when

young animals are born. Plants and animals are resources that can be replaced. Water
in a river or in a well may dry up. But when the rain comes the water is replaced.
Water is a resource that can be replaced. They are called renewable resources.
Renewable resources are those that can be replaced such as plants, animals and
water. Plants and animals in their natural homes are called wildlife. Given enough time
to reproduce, they are renewable resources. But if collected or hunted faster than they
can reproduce, they will be completely wiped out on earth. In other words, they will
become extinct.
NONRENEWABLE RESOURCES
Most plants grow in top soil. Soil comes from rocks and materials from dead
plants and animals. It takes thousand of years for soil to form. Therefore, soil cannot
be replaced easily. It is a nonrenewable resource. There are rich supplies of iron and
aluminum in the earth. But people are using them up fast. They have to dig deeper
into the earth to get what they need. Coil, oil and natural gas are called fossil fuels.
They were formed from plants and animals that lived on earth millions of years ago.
They are buried deep in the earth and are harvested by man through oil rigs and
mining. These fuels are used to produce electricity, machine fuels and other things to
meet their needs. People use much of fuel and so more fossil fuels are being used up.
It takes millions of years for dead plants and animals to turn into fossil fuels. When
these fuels are used up, they cannot be replaced. They are called nonrenewable
resources. Nonrenewable resources are those that cannot be replaced easily such as
soil, coal, oil and natural gas.

HOW HUMAN DESTROY OUR NATURAL RESOURCES

Some people activities are harmful to both our renewable and nonrenewable
resources. To build new roads, people blast off mountains killing both plants
and animals. It also creates destruction to their natural habitat. Rice fields are turned
into residential or commercial centers. People cut too many trees for lumber. When all
the trees are gone, rains wash away the soil. Industrialization brings people to build
many factories. If not properly planned and maintain, this factories emits harmful
waste materials that pollutes the soil, air and water. Too much mining and quarrying
for the purpose of getting those precious metals and stones eventually erodes the
soil. In farming, some farmers use too much chemical fertilizers. Too much fertilizer
destroys the quality of the soil and is harmful to both human and animals. Burning
plastics and garbage, and smoke belching cars also pollutes the air and contributes to
global warming.
CLASSIFICATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES
As the human population is continuously growing the consumption of natural
resources is also increasing. With the increasing industrialisation and urbanisation of
the modern human society, the use of all the resources is rising. If they are not
properly used and well managed, a serious scarcity will result. Therefore we need to
conserve the natural resources. This will also upset the ecological balance.
Conservation is the proper management of a natural resource to prevent its
exploitation, destruction or degradation. Conservation is the sum total of activities,
which can derive benefits from natural resources but at the same time prevent
excessive use leading to destruction or degradation.
NEED FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES
We know that nature provides us all our basic needs but we tend to overexploit it. If
we go on exploiting the nature, there will be no more resources available in future.
There is an urgent need to conserve the nature. Some of the needs are :

SOIL

to
to
to
to

maintain ecological balance for supporting life.

preserve different kinds of species (biodiversity).
make the resources available for present and future generation.
ensure the survival of human race.

Soil is the uppermost layer of earths crust, which supports growth of plants. It is
a complex mixture of mineral particles (formed from rocks), humus (organic material
formed from decaying plant remains), mineral salts, water, air, and living organisms.
Soil is renewable because its productivity can be maintained with fertilizers and
manures rich in humus. If the soil has been removed from a certain place by erosion,
it is practically non-renewable because formation of new soil may take hundreds and
thousands of years.
The removal of top layers of soil by wind and water is called soil erosion. top
layers of soil contain humus and mineral salts, which are vital for the growth of plants.
Thus, erosion causes a significant loss of humus and nutrients, and decreases the
fertility of soil. Erosion of soil takes places due to the effect of natural agents like wind
and water. High velocity winds over lands, which have no vegetation, carry away the
loose top soil. Similarly in areas with no or very little vegetation, the pouring raindrops
carry away the soil. Besides the natural agents, there are some human activities,
which cause soil erosion. If the forests are cut down for timber, or for farming
purposes, then the soil is no longer protected from the effect of falling rains.
Consequently, the top soil is washed away into the rivers and oceans. Stubble , The
short, stiff stalks of grain or hay remaining on a field after harvesting. Poor farming
methods which is improper tillage and failure to replace humus after successive crops
and burning the stubble of weeds reduce the water-holding capacity of the soil. So the
soil becomes dry and can be blown away as dust. Overgrazing by flocks of cattle,
buffaloes, goats and sheep leave very little plant-cover on the soil. Their hooves make
the soil dry and soil can be blown away easily.
CONSERVATION OF SOIL
Soil loses its fertility due to erosion. Soil conservation means checking soil erosion
and improving soil fertility by adopting various methods.

Maintenance of soil fertility: The fertility can be maintained by adding manure

and fertilizers regularly as well as by rotation of crop.

Control on grazing: Grazing should be allowed only on the areas meant for it and

not on agricultural land.

Reforestation: Planting of trees and vegetation reduces soil erosion by both

water and wind.

Terracing: Dividing a slope into several flat fields to control rapid run of water. It

is practised mostly in hilly areas.

Contour ploughing: Ploughing at right angles to the slope allows the furrows to
trap water and check soil erosion by rain water.

WATER
water is essential for survival of all living organisms. It is the most important
component of all life forms and necessary for sustaining life. It regulates climate,
generates electricity and is also useful in agriculture and industries. About 97% of the
water on earth is saline in nature, which is found in seas and oceans. The remaining
3% is fresh water, and most of which is stored in ice caps and glaciers, and just about
0.36% is distributed in lakes, rivers, ponds, etc. Sea water supports marine life and
contributes to the production of fish and sea foods and several other commercial
products (iodine, agar, coral, pearls, etc.). Fresh water is needed by humans for their
personal use, It is also used by other animals, in agricultural, and for industrial
purposes. Fresh water is a renewable resource as it is continuously being produced
through hydrological cycle (evaporation, condensation and precipitation)

Degradation of water is the decrease in quality and quantity of water on the earth
surface. With increase in population and industrial growth, water is being degraded
day by day. The main reasons for the degradation of water are:

to meet the need of increasing population, surface water (water from ponds,

lakes, rivers, etc) and ground water are overdrawn.

sewage, such as waste water from domestic and municipal use makes fresh

water unfit for use by human beings and animals.

waste water, from all industries flow down the surface water bodies and ground

water bodies and they get polluted.

agricultural wastes containing manures, fertilizers and pesticides enter the

water bodies and degrade the quality of water.

the continuous decrease of ground water level along coastal regions often cause
movement of saline sea water into freshwater wells, thus, spoiling their water
quality.

CONSERVATION OF WATER
Conservation and management of water are essential for the survival of mankind,
plants and animals. This can be achieved adopting the following methods:

Growing vegetation in the catchment areas, which will hold water in the soil and
allow it to percolate into deeper layers and contribute to formation of ground
water.

Constructing dams and reservoirs to regulate supply of water to the fields, as

well as to enable generating hydroelectricity.

Sewage should be treated and only the clear water should be released into the

rivers.
Industrial wastes (effluents) should be treated to prevent chemical and thermal

pollution of fresh water.

Judicious use of water in our day-to-day life.
Rainwater harvesting should be done by storing rainwater and recharging
groundwater.

OTHER METHODS OF CONSERVING NATURAL RESOURCES

Resources are features of environment that are important and value of to human in
one form or the other. However, the advancement of modern civilization has had a
great impact on our planet's natural resources. So, conserving natural resources is
very essential today. There are many ways that one can conserve natural resources.
Most of the people use natural gas to heat their water and their homeFor conservation
of natural resources like natural gas, one can get tank less water heater as it reduces
the usage of natural gas. The other way to save natural gas is the use of another
energy source for instance hydro, solar or wind power are all healthy and great
alternatives to conserving natural resources. In fact these energy sources are clean
and healthy for environment. Moreover, these energy sources do not emit or produced
harmful gases or toxin into our environment like that of the burning fossil fuels at the
same time they are renewable as well as are not easy to deplete.
Today, most of the people are finding many ways for conserving natural resources.
One of the great option before is Hydro-power and solar power. Power can be
generated from these sources and these are the best ways for natural resources
conservation like fossil fuels. There is also way to conserve natural resource like trees.
It can be conserve through recycling process. Many products come from the trees like
papers, cups, cardboards and envelopes. By recycling these products you can reduce
the number of trees cut down a year. One should make the most use of these paper
products without being wasteful and then recycle them. This is one great way for
conserving natural resources.
Fossil fuels on Earth will not last forever; we need to conserve these fossil fuels. To
conserve fossil fuels one can choose to buy a hybrid car. Some of these cars will run
on electricity combined with using small amounts of gas. Some hybrid cars just run on
electricity. Either way it is a great way for conserving natural resources when it is
concern with fossil fuels.

BIODIVERSITY
Biodiversity is essential for maintenance of ecosystem. It maintains gaseous
composition of atmosphere, controls climate, helps in natural pest control, pollination
of plants by insects and birds, soil formation and conservation, water purification and
conservation, geo-chemical cycles etc. Though biodiversity is so important for our
survival, we are destroying it knowingly or unknowingly. It is under threat due to the
following reasons:

Destruction of habitat by cutting down trees, filling up the wetland, ploughing of

grassland or burning a forest.

Population explosion has increased demand for food and shelter. It has lead to

culture of single crop that will result in disappearance of some other crops.
Industrialisation and urbanisation has changed and destroyed the natural

habitat of plants and animals.

Pollution of soil, air and water changes the habitat quality and may reduce or

eliminate sensitive species.

Mining activities add to the pollution of air and water and threaten the survival

of the animals in the nearby areas.

Construction of dams, roads and railways destroys huge patches of forests,

grassland etc. thus, disturb the biodiversity.

Indiscriminate killing of animals for different purposes has resulted in their
reduction.

CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY
There are two basic strategies for conservation of biodiversity which is In-situ
conservation and Ex-situ conservation. In-situ (on site) conservation includes the
protection of plants and animals within their natural habitats or in protected areas.
Protected areas are areas of land or sea dedicated to protection and maintenance of
biodiversity. For example: National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Biosphere Reserves,
etc. Ex-situ (off site) conservation is the conservation of plants and animals outside
their natural habitats. These include Botanical Gardens, Zoo, Gene Banks, DNA Banks,
Seed Banks, Pollen Banks, Seedling and Tissue Culture etc.
WILDLIFE
Animals and plants living in their natural habitat constitute wildlife. The wildlife
forms an important resource as it plays a major role in maintaining ecological balance.
It is used in research as experimental material and also used for recreational

purposes. Like other resources it is also facing severe threat. So it should be

conserved and maintained for the use of future generation.
NEED FOR CONSERVATION OF WILDLIFE

maintaining ecological balance for supporting life.

preserving different kinds of species (biodiversity).
preserving economically important plants and animals.
conserving the endangered species.

METHODS OF CONSERVATION OF WILDLIFE

Establishing biosphere reserves, national parks and sanctuaries.

Afforestation (Tree planting programme).
Special schemes for preservation of threatened species.
Improvement of natural habitats of wildlife.
Educating people about the need and methods of conservation of wildlife.
Formulation of Acts and Regulations to prevent poaching (killing animals)
forsports and money.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Till now we discussed how we have manipulated the existing natural resources using
the advanced science and technology to create our own environment. Thus, in the
process of overexploitation of natural resources, we have not only changed the
natural environment but in some cases, destroyed it. The modern industries, factories,
cities, towns, roads, railways, dams etc. have replaced the natural habitats of plants
and animals. Thus, the natural resources are depleting gradually and a day will come
when most of these will not be available for our future generation. So it is high time to
think about maintaining a balance between environment and development so that
both present and future generations can derive proper benefits out of these resources.
This can only be achieved by the process of sustainable development. Sustainable
development is the development that meets the needs of the present generation and
conserves it for the future generation. So we should leave water, air, soil and other
natural resources as pure and unpolluted as when it came on earth.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT SHOULD INCLUDE :

reducing excessive use of resources and enhancing resource conservation.

recycling and reuse of waste materials.
scientific management of renewable resources, especially bio-resources.
plant more trees.
green grassy patches to be interspersed between concrete buildings.
use more environment friendly material or biodegradable material.

use of technologies, which are environmental friendly and based on efficient use
of resources.

CONCLUSION
Conservation is the sum total of activities, which can derive benefits from
natural resources but at the same time prevent excessive use leading to destruction
or neglect. Conservation and management of natural resources are essential for the
survival of mankind, plants and animals.
Therefore, the conservation of natural resources required cooperations from
many agencies in order to implement it. Governments policy, private agency, and
public participation at all levels also ensures conservation of pristine rural landscapes,
species survival and more importantly the genomes that could become templates for
the progress of biotechnology.

ECOSYSTEM
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living
in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving, physical components of the
environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water, and
sunlight. It is all the organisms in a given area, along with the nonliving (abiotic)
factors with which they interact; a biological community and its physical environment.
The entire array of organisms inhabiting a particular ecosystem is called
a community. In a typical ecosystem, plants and other photosynthetic organisms are
the producers that provide the food. Ecosystems can be permanent or temporary.
Ecosystems usually form a number of food webs.
Ecosystems are functional units consisting of living things in a given area, non-living
chemical and physical factors of their environment, linked together through nutrient
cycle and energy flow.
Central to the ecosystem concept is the idea that living organisms interact with
every other element in their local environment. Eugene Odum, a founder of ecology,
stated: "Any unit that includes all of the organisms (ie: the "community") in a given
area interacting with the physical environment so that a flow of energy leads to

clearly defined trophic structure, biotic diversity, and material cycles (i.e.: exchange of
materials between living and nonliving parts) within the system is an ecosystem."

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
Ecosystem services are fundamental life-support services upon which human
civilization depends, and can be direct or indirect. Examples of direct ecosystem
services are pollination,wood and erosion prevention. Indirect services could be
considered climate moderation, nutrient cycles and detoxifying natural substances.
The services and goods an ecosystem provides are often undervalued as many of
them are without market value. Broad examples include:

regulating (climate, floods, nutrient balance, water filtration).

provisioning (food, medicine, fur).

cultural (science, spiritual, ceremonial, recreation, aesthetic).

supporting (nutrient cycling, photosynthesis, soil formation).

FUNCTION AND BIODIVERSITY

From an anthropocentric point of view, some people perceive ecosystems as
production units that produce goods and services, such as wood by forest ecosystems
and grass for cattle by natural grasslands. Meat from wild animals, often referred to as
bush meat in Africa, has proven to be extremely successful under well-controlled
management schemes in South Africa and Kenya. Much less successful has been the
discovery and commercialization of substances of wild organism for pharmaceutical
purposes. Services derived from ecosystems are referred to as ecosystem services.
They may include

facilitating the enjoyment of nature, which may generate many forms of income

and employment in the tourism sector, often referred to as eco-tourisms,

water retention, thus facilitating a more evenly distributed release of water,
soil protection, open-air laboratory for scientific research, etc.

A greater degree of species or biological diversity - commonly referred to

as Biodiversity - of an ecosystem may contribute to greater resilience of an
ecosystem, because there are more species present at a location to respond to
change and thus "absorb" or reduce its effects. This reduces the effect before the
ecosystem's structure is fundamentally changed to a different state. This is not
universally the case and there is no proven relationship between the species diversity

of an ecosystem and its ability to provide goods and services on a sustainable level:
Humid tropical forests produce very few goods and direct services and are extremely
vulnerable to change, while many temperate forests readily grow back to their
previous state of development within a lifetime after felling or a forest fire. Some
grasslands have been sustainably exploited for thousands of years (Mongolia, Africa,
European peat and mooreland communities).
THE STUDY OF ECOSYSTEM
Introduction of new elements, whether biotic or abiotic, into an ecosystem tend
to have a disruptive effect. In some cases, this can lead to ecological collapse or
"trophic cascading" and the death of many species within the ecosystem. Under this
deterministic vision, the abstract notion of ecological health attempts to measure the
robustness and recovery capacity for an ecosystem; i.e. how far the ecosystem is
away from its steady state.
Often, however, ecosystems have the ability to rebound from a disruptive agent. The
difference between collapse or a gentle rebound is determined by two factors
the toxicity of the introduced element and the resiliency of the original ecosystem.
Ecosystems are primarily governed by stochastic (chance) events, the reactions these
events provoke on non-living materials and the responses by organisms to the
conditions surrounding them. Thus, an ecosystem results from the sum of individual
responses of organisms to stimuli from elements in the environment.The presence or
absence of populations merely depends on reproductive and dispersal success, and
population levels fluctuate in response to stochastic events. As the number of species
in an ecosystem is higher, the number of stimuli is also higher. Since the beginning of
life organisms have survived continuous change through natural selection of
successful feeding, reproductive and dispersal behavior. Through natural selection the
planet's species have continuously adapted to change through variation in their
biological composition and distribution. Mathematically it can be demonstrated that
greater numbers of different interacting factors tend to dampen fluctuations in each of
the individual factors.
An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem located in a body of
water. Communitiesof organisms that are dependent on each other and on their
environment live in aquatic ecosystems. The two main types of aquatic ecosystems
are marine ecosystems and freshwater ecosystems