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Natural Resources

              The resources that exist without any intervention of humans and are present in abundance in our surroundings
              are called natural resources. These are air, water, land, plants, trees, sunlight, etc. Living organisms are dependent
              on these resources for their existence. The resources which are developed by human beings during the growth of
              civilisation are called artificial resources. For example, biogas, thermal efficiency, plastics etc. There are four types
              of natural resources:

                                                             Natural Resources









                         Renewable              Non-Renewable              Exhaustible           Inexhaustible






                    Water       Sunlight       LPG        Mineral      Petrol       Coal        Air       Sunlight

                 • Renewable: Resources which occur in abundance and are renewed on their own by our mother nature through
                the natural process of recycling, replacement, and reproduction are called renewable resources. For example,
                forest, wind, water, sunlight, geothermal (energy from the heat inside the earth).
                 • Non-Renewable: Resources that are limited and cannot be replaced at the same speed at which they are used
                up are called non-renewable resources. It takes millions of years to form inside the earth. For example, fossil
                fuels, minerals, natural gases, nuclear energy, etc. Non-renewable resources can be called inorganic resources if
                they come from non living things. For example, minerals, LPG and rocks.
                 • Exhaustible: Resources which are present in limited quantity and will deplete after a few hundred years due to
                their over consumption by human activities. For example, coal, petrol, natural gas, water, etc.
                 • Inexhaustible: Resources which are present in abundance and cannot be exhausted even by their over
                consumption are called inexhaustible resources. For example, wind, solar energy, etc.

              Natural resources come in many forms. It may be a solid, liquid, or gas. It may also be organic or inorganic. It may
              also be metallic or non-metallic.

                                                          Natural Resources






                     Forest Resources           Water Resources       Mineral Resources            Land Resources




                                   Energy Resources                                  Food Resources


                 • Land Resources: Human beings use land as a resource for production as well as residence and recreation. It
                is a finite resource subject to both agricultural and non-agricultural uses, such as infrastructure development.



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