Written by: Prasiddhi Dangol - 28009, Grade VI
Posted on: 01 June, 2021
Human life is unimaginable without natural resources, and it is precise because of these resources that any form of life is sustained on this planet with comfort. Natural resources are anything and everything obtained from nature and used by us, starting from elemental air, water, and sunlight to even organic elements like fossil fuels, minerals, timber, etc.
Natural resources that are obtained from living organisms or are eventually formed because of living organisms are called Biotic elements, like forests, birds, animals, fishes, or other marine organisms, fossil fuels (because they are formed because of the decay of organic materials), etc. Natural resources that refer to the non-living elements of nature are called Abiotic resources. Examples of abiotic resources are sunlight, wind, tide, soil, minerals, etc.
Natural elements are present everywhere around the world but not equally distributed. Humans have learned efficient ways in which they can use the natural resources present in their region for their benefit. Like in India, a variety of soil and humid weather has allowed the prosperous growth of agriculture. The areas of the country that are surrounded by sea eventually developed advanced skills in fishing.
Some examples of how we use our natural resources are, using water for drinking and production of hydro-electric power, sunlight is necessary for plant growth and also providing us heat and vitamins, plants are our primary source of oxygen and food, coal is used for electricity production and as a fuel for vehicles, etc.
