Natural resource 21675 223773220 2008-07-05T18:59:27Z EPM 675682 {{refimprove|date=March 2008}} [[Image:Rainforest Fatu Hiva.jpg|right|thumb|249px|Rainforest on Fatu-Hiva, [[Marquesas Islands]]]] '''Natural resources''' are naturally occurring substances that are considered valuable in their relatively unmodified ([[nature|natural]]) form. A natural resource's value rests in the amount of the material available and the [[demand]] for it.{{main|Natural capital}} There are 2 types of [[natural resources]]: #[[Renewable]] and #[[Non-renewable]] Natural resource are [[natural capital]] converted to commodity inputs to [[infrastructural capital]] processes.<ref>{{cite book|author=Quentin Grafton and Robert Hill ([[University of New South Wales]] and W. Adamowicz, Diane Dupont, S Renzetti and Harry Nelson ([[University of British Columbia]]|title=The Economics of the Environment and Natural Resources|edition= |publisher=Blackwell Punlishing|year=2004|id=ISBN 0631215646}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=A.Weintraub, C. Romero, T. Bjørndal, and R. Epstein (Editors)|title=Handbook of Operations Research in Natural Resources|edition= |publisher=Springer|year=2007|id= ISBN 0-387-71814-9}}</ref> They include soil, [[timber]], [[oil]], [[minerals]], and other goods taken more or less from the Earth. Both extraction of the basic resource and [[refining]] it into a purer, directly usable form, (e.g., [[metal]]s, refined oils) are generally considered natural-resource activities, even though the latter may not necessarily occur near the former. A nation's natural resources often determine its wealth in the world economic system, by determining its political influence. [[Developed nations]] are those which are less dependent on natural resources for wealth, due to their greater reliance on infrastructural capital for production. However, some see a [[resource curse]] whereby easily obtainable natural resources could actually hurt the prospects of a national economy by fostering political corruption. Political corruption can negatively impact the national economy because time is spent giving bribes or other economically unproductive acts instead of the generation of generative economic activity. There also tends to be concentrations of ownership over specific plots of land that have proven to yield natural resources. In recent years, the depletion of natural capital and attempts to move to [[sustainable development]] have been a major focus of [[development agencies]]. This is of particular concern in [[rainforest]] regions, which hold most of the Earth's natural [[biodiversity]] - irreplaceable genetic natural capital. [[energy conservation|Conservation]] of natural resources is the major focus of [[natural capitalism]], [[environmentalism]], the [[ecology movement]], and [[Green Parties]]. Some view this depletion as a major source of social unrest and conflicts in developing nations. ==Other information sources== * [http://www4.ncsu.edu/~leung/nrrips.html Natural Resources Research Information Pages (NRRIPS)] * [http://www.law.du.edu/naturalresources/weblinks/ Natural Resources Weblinks] ([[University of Denver]] website) * [http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/ Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS)] * [http://snre.ufl.edu/ School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE)] ==See also== *[[Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources]] ([[WSU]]) *[[Eco-sufficiency]] *[[Ecoregion]] *[[Exploitation of natural resources]] *[[Forest farming]] *[[Land (economics)]] *[[List of environment topics]] *[[List of minerals]] *[[List of natural gas fields]] *[[List of oil fields]] *[[Natural environment]] *[[Renewable energy development]] *[[Sustainable forest management]] ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== {{Wiktionary}} * [http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/statistics/factsheet.htm Statistics on Natural Resources in Canada] * [http://news.bbc.co.uk/nolpda/ukfs_news/hi/newsid_5205000/5205430.stm Wind power dilemma for Lewis] a BBC News article about an island in the [[Hebrides]] * [http://www.iied.org/NR/index.html Research on the fair and sustainable use of natural resources] [[Category:Resources]] [[Category:Geopolitics]] [[Category:Ecology]] [[Category:Environmental science]] [[Category:Natural resources|*]] [[ar:مادة خام]] [[ar:مورد طبيعي]] [[ca:Recursos naturals]] [[da:Naturlig ressource]] [[de:Rohstoff]] [[fr:Ressource naturelle]] [[id:Sumber daya alam]] [[he:משאבי טבע]] [[he:אוצרות טבע]] [[lt:Gamtos ištekliai]] [[hu:Környezeti erőforrás]] [[nl:Natuurlijke hulpbron]] [[pl:Zasoby naturalne]] [[pt:Recurso natural]] [[ru:Природные ресурсы]] [[vi:Tài nguyên thiên nhiên]] [[fi:Luonnonvarat]] [[sv:Naturresurs]] [[tr:Doğal kaynaklar]] [[zh:自然资源]]