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Conservation of Natural Resources

Subject: Enviroment Population and Health

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Overview

Conservation of natural resources needs to be viewed with the conservation and utilization of natural resources. This note provides an information about conservation of natural resources with major activities for natural resources conservation.
Conservation of Natural Resources

Human beings maintain their life by using natural resources. These sources are to be mobilized properly and rationally. Conservation of natural resources is to be done by mankind realizing the dependence on the natural resources and living beings and their interrelationship with environment.

Principles of Natural Resource Conservation

Natural resources maintains a balanced environment on the earth by their natural process of regeneration. Micro-organisms, plants and animals create a favorable environment for their survival and continue their race for an infinite period of time. There are two principles of conservation of natural resources.

Absolute conservation

Conservation of natural resources needs to be viewed with the conservation and utilization of natural resources. Absolute conservation encompasses the quantity and quality of natural resources such as air, water, land, forest, animal, minerals, without their declination. Absolute conservation is the thinking that natural resources should be used without their utilization. Human beings including other living-beings use natural resources, which cannot be stopped. Absolute conservation is the concept that natural resources should be maintained without any disturbance in the condition in which they exist in nature.

Major objectives of absolute conservation of natural resources are:

  1. To work with nature
  2. To stop work against nature
  3. To interfere with non-human species only to meet basic needs
  4. To stop wasting the resources
  5. To protect environment from degradation while using the nature
Relative conservation

This approach of natural resources conservation emphasizes on the need of integration of conservation program while using the resources. Re-use, recycling and minimum use of the non-renewable resources like fuel, coal and minerals help in their conservation. Plant resources can conserve by making a certain provision of their utilization in limited quantity.

Conversational Use of Natural Resources

Natural resources are essential in every step of our life. We can not imagine even a second of life in the absence of these resources. The way that we exploit these resources along with conservation is its proper utilization. Conversational use of natural resources refers to the utilization of natural resources refers to the utilization of natural resources in such a way that includes the consumption as well as conservation, with the purpose of achieving the principle of sustainability. We should clearly understand the type, status and nature of the resources. On the other hand, the renewable natural resources are available in limited amount; therefore, we should reduce their use and seek their alternatives. The concept of conversational use incorporates the following principles:

  1. Maximum use of perpetual resources.
  2. Maximum production of renewable resources.
  3. Minimum utilization of non-renewable resources.
  4. Re-use and Recycle of non-renewable resources.
This concept is based on the principle of sustainable development which means to prolong the effects of development to the distant future. It helps preserve the flora and fauna.

Re-use

Re-use means using use the things for the next time. In re-use, the form of the resources is not changed. These are again to supply the drinks. Re-use helps conserve the natural resources in two ways. On the one hand it helps reduce the use of raw materials and on the other hand, it helps one reduce environmental pollution.

Re-cycling

Recycling is the process of making the resources able to be used after some alteration in the structure of the resources. Re-cycling includes re-melting, recollecting and reprocessing as well. The metallic utensils and plastics are re-cycled.

Impact of Human Activities on Natural Resources

Human beings depend upon the natural resources of the universe for their development activities. If they use the natural resources without their development activities. If they use the natural resources without considering their conservation, they can create a situation of imbalance in environment. Some of the important points of impact made on natural resources by human activities are explained below:

1. Scarcity of Water

Water is a renewable nature resource. water is needed for various activities of human beings, like drinking, irrigation, industry, navigation, electricity production, etc. Water scarcity leads to the degradation of vegetation which in turn increases natural disasters like soil erosion, landslides and flood.

2. Environmental pollution

The major resources of the earth like air, water and land get polluted due to human activities. Industries are established mainly to produce valuable goods like cloths, food items, beverages, cement, bricks, etc. But, these industries are also major sources of pollution for air water and land resources and the environmental pollution is caused.

3. Depletion of wildlife

People are destroying forest for the purpose of timber, firewood and agriculture. Beside, forest is also used for the house settlement zone. The habitat of valuable animals like rhinoceros, tiger, bear, leopard, wild cow, yak, etc. is endangered.

4. Deforestation

Forest is not only important to get valuable forest products but also important to maintain ecological balance. Due to extreme poverty most of the people depend on forest resources for their survival. People collect firewood, timbers, folder, etc from the forest which depletes the forest resources. Landslides, floods, climatic variations such as excessive rainfall, drought, etc are also the consequences of deforestation.

5. Degradation in Eco-system

Problems like depletion of forests, floods, landslides, extreme utilization of land are started to be observed due to various activities of people. Pollution caused by industrial works degrades the status of land, water and vegetation. Natural status of the earth has started to destroy due to these reasons.

6. Depletion of pasture land

The pasture land for animals has been depleting due to various types of development activities. Overgrazing of pasture land results in the problems like soil, landslides, deforestation etc.

7. Floods, Landslides and Soil Erosion

The activities of man cause floods, landslides and soil erosion. Destruction of forest, excess use of land, cultivation of sloppy land, excess grazing, etc. have supported flood, landslides and soil erosion. Destruction of forest, excess use of land, landslides and soil erosion. It causes imbalance in the environment of hills and Terai.

8. Declining of ecosystem

A functional system operating in the environment by the interaction of living beings with their non-living environment is called ecosystem. When the resources like air, water and land get polluted then it affects the survival of plants and animals.

Conservation of Natural Resources

Human beings are the most prominent utilize and destroyer of natural resources. At the same time, he is the most thoughtful among the living beings. Therefore, it is their duty and responsibility to manage and conserve natural resources.

Conservation programmers

Forest conservation soil conservation, wildlife conservation, watershed conservation and solid waste management are the examples of natural resource conservation. Various national and international agencies have involved in such activities

1. Government agency

Different ministries of the Government of Nepal like, the ministry of forest and soil conservation, ministry of science and environment, ministry of Water resource, ministry of education and sports and the program under-taken by different agencies under it, have helped in the conservation, community forest program, reserve protected area, etc. are established under the ministry of forest and soil conservation, which also helps in the conservation of natural resources.

2. National and International Agencies

Different national and international agencies have been working for the conservation of natural resources. Nepal Nature Conservation Fund has conducted various programmes like environment education, sustainable development program, resource conservation etc in the Annapurna conservation area.

3. Non-government agencies

Various programmes for conservation and protection of natural resources and environment on national and local level are carried out by the non-government agencies.

4. Educational Institutions

Various aspects of natural resource conservation and environmental management have been included in the curricula of school education. Environment education is imparted through informal educational programmes.

5.Inclusion in world heritage list

Chitwan National Park and Sagarmatha National Park are including in the list of World Heritage. National Parks are making effort for protection and promotion especially.

6. Legal Provision

Various acts, directives and guidelines have been effective in the conservation and management of natural resources. The forest act 2049 B.S National Park and Wildlife Conservation Act 2029 B.S, land and Watershed conservation Act 2053 B.S., has been highly effective to control pollution and integrate environment conservation programme in development activities.

Things to remember
  • Conservation of natural resources needs to be viewed with the conservation and utilization of natural resources.
  • Re-use, recycling and minimum use of the non-renewable resources like fuel, coal and minerals help in conservation of natural resources.
  • Natural resources are essential in every step of our life.
  • Forest conservation soil conservation, wildlife conservation, watershed conservation and solid waste management are the examples of natural resource conservation.
  • It includes every relationship which established among the people.
  • There can be more than one community in a society. Community smaller than society.
  • It is a network of social relationships which cannot see or touched.
  • common interests and common objectives are not necessary for society.
Videos for Conservation of Natural Resources
Conservation of Natural Resource Elearning Science
Environmental Conservation, The 4 R
Himalayan Mountain Conservation project in Nepal with Projects Abroad
How to Save Natural Resources
REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE (The Documentary)
Soil Erosion Causes & Soil Conservation
Questions and Answers
The two solid wastes which can be recycled are paper and metals.

Two impacts of human activities on natural resources are:

  1. Pollution
  2. Deforestation
Environment protection act was implemented on 2053 B.S.
The national parks that have been included in world heritage list are:
  • Chitwan National Park
  • Sagarmatha National Park.
The process of using products again and again is known as re-use.
People should use natural resources in an appropriate way and wisely. Conservational use is the use of natural resources, maintaining their quality and quantity. The aim of this is to consume and keep natural resources for future generations. Natural resources are less consumed and more conserved. The wise and rational uses of natural resources make sustain them for long period of time in nature. It is very essential to balance resources and men exist and we can use them properly in our future. The conservation and utilization of natural resources satisfy the principles of sustainable development. It helps to develop the behavior of conservation of the available natural resources.
Conservational use is the use of natural resources, maintaining their quality and quantity. Methods of conservational use of natural resources are:
  • Reuse: The process of using waste products again and again is known as reuse. It conserves the natural resources because we do not need to make again same things and natural resources will not be used. For example: use of bottles, plastic, iron, metallic, utensils, etc. after utilizing once.
  • Recycle: The process of using things after some alternative process is known as recycle. There is some process which brings the things in use by changing some process. The paper, silvery metals etc. are recycling things.
  • Reduce: the principle of reducing waste materials which pollutes the environment is called reduce. We should try to fulfill our requirements by reducing amount of resources.
There are two methods of conversation of natural resources:
  • Absolute conservation: it is the 'conservation without consumption' approach for protection of the environment. The natural resources should be kept in the existing state without any disturbance on their quality and quantity. It is difficult practically because conservation and utilization are related to each other, also we cannot live and survive without using natural resources. This approach is only suitable for those resources which are being rare due to human interface and natural causes.
  • Relative conservation: Relative conservation is the concept that consumption and conservation should be conducted together in on integrates way. In order to bring this concept into practice, people should follow the ways of protecting and regenerating the natural resources along with the consumption. The consumption of renewable resources like forest, animals, birds, plants on the basis of their condition of production and re-production help in the consumption.
No, it is not possible to conserve natural resources only by the efforts of agencies. People should play active role for the management and conservation of natural resources while consuming natural resources. It is essential to have conservational attitudes in human beings. This attitude helps in conservational activities from less and appropriate use of natural resources. Natural resources are the integral parts of human life. If consumed without care, it will adversely affect human beings. Man is the consumer and conserver of the resources. Therefore, it is their duty and responsibility to manage and use the resources appropriately. The government has to set an objective to conserve and manage the natural resources by using them in a sustainable way. They should adopt the policy to integrate environmental conservation with development activities. Thus, for conservation of natural resources efforts from people and government is necessary.
Legal provision is the strict rule and regulation for the conservation of natural resources. Various laws, directives, guidelines have been made and enacted for the protection and promotion of natural resources like Forest protection ACT, 2029 B.S., National parks and wildlife protection ACT, 2029 BS. Land and water resources conservation ACT, 2049BS, etc. have helped in the protection of various types of natural resources. Similarly, environment conservation ACT, 2053 BS has helped to integrate environment in development activities and to control pollution. International communities also rendered these sincere efforts for the protection of natural resources. Thus, the implementation of strict legal provisions is one of the important activities for the conservation of natural resources.
Natural resource like air, water, forest, land, animals and birds etc. are in nature. The automatic processes of nature help to keep them balanced. These processes protect them from declining and decreasing. Natural resources conservation and utilization are related to each other. Human beings need to depend on resources. We cannot live and survive without using natural resources. When we use them in our daily life, the quantity and quality of the resources decline from nature, conservation without consumption is not practical. Therefore, conservation along with consumption approach should be followed. If there is only consumption and no conservation, there will be no resources for future generations also. It will cost loss of life and property through different natural calamities like flood, landslide, deforestation etc. Thus, utilization is integrated with conservation such as afforestation, agriculture farming, hydroelectricity generation etc.
Conservational activities have been carried out by various agencies such as:
  • Government agency: Different ministries of government of Nepal have conducted different programmes like soil conservation, community forest programmes.
  • National and international agency: Agencies like Nepal Trust for Nature conservation, world conservation Union, world nature conservation trust has run different programmes like environment education, sustainable development programmes, resources conservation etc.
  • Non-government agencies: Several non-governmental agencies are conducting various programmes on land, plantation, biodiversity conservation, eater resources conservation, public health programmes and development of small and cottage based industries.
  • Educational institution: Various aspects related to conservation of natural resources and environments have been included in the curriculum of school education and also in the university level.
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