Natural resources their concept, importance and classification
Lecturer- Eyid Abbas Abdalltef
Department of Agricultural Economics
For most of the ancient economists, natural resources meant (the surface of the earth), and therefore they focused on that they are authentic and do not perish. However, contemporary economic thought looks at natural resources in a more general and comprehensive view, defining them as material things that have an economic value that humans have no direct income in creating. Minerals and the availability of forests, as well as the climate, terrain, waterfalls, and geographical location are all things that have an impact on the national wealth, without the human being directly involved in creating them.
The concept of natural resources is that they are a gift from God Almighty that He created and harnessed to him to turn them into economic resources that he uses to produce the goods and services he needs to satisfy his desires. It includes land, water, forests, pastures, animals, sun, air, climate and location, and they are closely related to each other “on the earth various dwellings and facilities are built, forests and pastures grow, animals live and they need sunlight, water and air, and in the ground there are minerals and fuels of all kinds... Natural resources are of paramount importance For humans they are the source of materials.
A resource does not become a resource “in the correct sense until after a person exploits it for his benefit, and its benefit may exceed the immediate benefit of the present person and extend to the person of the future. A benefit or to satisfy a certain desire in a certain way and a certain value, directly or indirectly, and the economic resource is linked to a certain cost. Natural resources that have not been used yet are not considered economic resources. Hence, the science of economics of natural resources is one of the branches that specialize in the applications of economic foundations and theories to natural resources, and it is included as one of the fields of applied economics.
The importance of the reasons for studying the economics of natural resources and the environment stems from economic and social considerations, including: -
(1) The need to preserve the available community resources and make optimal use of them to achieve the maximum possible output from their exploitation or reduce the cost of alternative opportunities. The non-optimal use of natural resources leads to waste and reduces the gross domestic product, which negatively affects economic growth.
(2) Discovering the link between man and nature around him, which spreads in all the earth's coverings such as water and earth covers, and identifying the benefits available through natural resources.
(3) The consumption or exploitation of natural and environmental resources often leads to associated outputs called external effects or infringements, and they are called so because they are not generally intended, but are produced accompanying the use of resources, and they have negative effects that affect the economic well-being of society, whose effects should be corrected. with the right economic policies.
(4) The population problem and the rapid increase in population numbers in the countries of the world, especially the developing countries, and the need for human expansion at the expense of natural resources and wildlife, with the limitations of these resources, prompts a study of the status of natural resources and rationalization of their use to preserve the welfare of future generations.
(5) The emergence of global crises (the energy and food crisis, indebtedness, environmental pollution, desertification and famine), all of which are an extension of the failure to exploit the available natural resources in an optimal and rational manner.
(6) Preserving the future of prosperity for any society depends on the efficiency of its exploitation of its available resources and the distribution of its use in time, place and sector, and this requires knowledge of the possible scientific and applied bases for that.
(7) The state of uncertainty associated with the issues and problems of resources and the environment necessitates studying it in order to exploit it optimally.
(8) The importance of avoiding economic crises and providing the right basis for long-term economic and environmental planning.
(9) The expected huge losses from global climate change expected to occur as a result of the increased use of burning fuels or gases emitted by various industries.
(10) The geographical study of natural resources aims to define them in terms of their types, characteristics, geographical distribution, and determine their value to meet the needs and satisfy human desires and to identify their problems in order to develop appropriate solutions for them. Geographical research, in addition to addressing and studying problems related to human interest, such as the problem of food, energy, pollution and population explosion.
Natural resources are the base on which the progress and well-being of human society depends, as the abundance or scarcity of these resources has significant impacts on the position of this or that country among the countries of the world. In addition to the above, its importance is as follows: -
a- Natural resources are the cornerstone from which emerged the importance of other aspects of resources (human and civilized). Natural resources were and still serve as the first catalyst for human resources and human energy to work for their benefit and building human civilization, which in turn was formed as a “special” resource Wealth (Cultural Resources).
b- No economic planning can achieve its objectives without assimilation and full knowledge of the resources, location and quantity.
c- The progress and development of man depends mainly “on the natural resources that meet his requirements and satisfy many of his desires and needs since the appearance of the human race on earth.
d- The average per capita income and standard of living in countries and regions depend to a large extent on the quantity and quality of natural resources that countries and regions possess.
Nations that control the greatest amount of natural resources can harness these resources for the well-being of their people, and they may harness a significant portion of those resources to build a deterrent force against other nations.
Rare resources and non-rare resources
A distinction must be made between rare and non-rare resources. Non-rare natural resources, if they are available so that they can be obtained for free, "meaning that the purchase price of the resource is zero (p=zero ), which means that the supply of the resource is not affected by the demand from it, and these resources are not included in the resources Economic, but resources whose demand exceeds their supply as a result of economic or technical changes, their purchase price is greater than zero (p > zero) and accordingly these resources become economic because they are characterized by scarcity, and scarcity is the most important characteristic that distinguishes resources and makes them economic.
Geological depletion and economic depletion of natural resources
Geological depletion The entire stock of the resource has run out as a result of continuing to exploit it or extract it, so that no stock remains technically extractable, which also means “the occurrence of economic depletion of the resource, while the economic depletion of the resource can also occur” without the occurrence of geological depletion, when it leads Continuing to extract the resource causes the costs of extracting it to rise so that the marginal costs of extracting the resource MC are higher than the resource price P, which is equal to (P=MC+OC ), the extraction of the resource becomes unprofitable, i.e. (P(( mean all of…………… ((p)) resource price, ((MC)) marginal cost, (( OC)) opportunity cost)).
Classification of natural resources
The progress and civilized development witnessed by mankind and the complexity of man’s material demands have increased the quantity and types of resources he uses much more than they were at the beginning of his existence, which prompted researchers to disagree about the classification of natural resources.. Most of the classifications include the following: -
First: - The division of resources on the basis of spatial distribution or spatial presence.
Second: - The resources are divided on the basis of their origin and composition.
Third: - The resources are divided according to their appearance.
Fourth: - The resources are divided on the basis of the lifetime of the resource.
Fifth: The resources are divided on the basis of the objective of their maintenance and preservation.
Economic controls over the exploitation of natural resources
A person’s knowledge of the existence of a particular natural resource is not sufficient to indicate the possibility of investing in it economically, but there are economic factors that should be taken into consideration when trying to invest, and these factors include: -
(1) Price... which is one of the main controls in the exploitation of resources, especially if that resource has a competitor in the market. The good price of the resource pushes the direction of its exploitation and production, and vice versa.
(2) It is self-evident that a person tries to exploit resources that are characterized by their relative abundance and ease of access, so he begins to invest them. However, the increase in demand for a particular resource due to, for example, the increase in the population and the progress of civilization makes it try to exploit this resource more economically than before, and so the greater the demand for the resource was an important factor for its investment.
(3) The location of the resource in relation to the areas of consumption ... The site has a general impact on the exploitation of resources, as it is noted that their exploitation depends on the degree of their connection to markets and sources of employment and energy. The lack of means of transportation between the location of the resource and the aforementioned sources is difficult to exploit.
(4) The relative costs of production... If the costs of producing a particular mineral exceed the costs of obtaining it from other sources, then its production is uneconomic.
(5) The type of resource and the degree of its quality in relation to other similar resources.... The more the resource is good and exceeds other similar resources in quality, the more it is encouraged to invest.
:- (6) Other economic factors.. Among these factors
(a) An abundance of manpower.
(b) Abundance of capita. l
(c) The economic importance of the resource.
(d) the country's economic policy.