Why GoECO ?

It is o sort of professional studies, analysis & practices seeks to integrate the disciplines of Urban planning, Environmental planning and Natural resource management.

 ⚪ WHAT ARE NATURAL RESOURCES?

Natural resources are resources that exist without actions of humankind. This includes all valued characteristics such as magnetic, gravitational, electrical properties and forces, etc. 

On Earth it includes sunlight, atmosphere (Air) , water, land (includes all minerals) along with all vegetation, crops and animal life that naturally subsists upon or within the heretofore identified characteristics and substances. 

⚪ CLASSIFICATIONS

There are various methods of categorizing natural resources, these include source of origin, stage of development, and by their renewability. 

1- On the basis of origin, natural resources may be divided into two types:

• Biotic :  

Biotic resources are obtained from the biosphere (living and organic material), such as forests and animals, and the materials that can be obtained from them. Fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum are also included in this category because they are formed from decayed organic matter.

• Abiotic : 

Abiotic resources are those that come from non-living, non-organic material. Examples of abiotic resources include land, fresh water, air, rare earth metals and heavy metals including ores, such as, gold, iron, copper, silver, etc.

2- Considering their stage of development, natural resources may be referred to in the following ways:

• Potential resources :

 Are those that may be used in the future (for example, petroleum in sedimentary rocks that, until drilled out and put to use remains a potential resource).

• Actual resources  :  

Those resources that have been surveyed, quantified and qualified and, are currently used , such as wood, depends on technology and cost:

- Reserve resources : The part of an actual resource that can be developed profitably in the future.

- Stock resources : Those that have been surveyed, but cannot be used due to lack of technology (for example, hydrogen).

3- Many natural resources can be categorized as either renewable or non-renewable:

• Renewable resources : 

Renewable resources can be replenished naturally. Some of these resources, like sunlight, air, wind, water, etc. are continuously available and their quantities are not noticeably affected by human consumption. Though many renewable resources do not have such rapid recovery rate, these resources are susceptible to depletion by over-use. Resources from a human use perspective are classified as renewable so long as the rate of replenishment/recovery exceeds that of the rate of consumption. They replenish easily compared to Non-renewable resources.

• Non-renewable resources :  

Non-renewable resources either form slowly or do not naturally form in the environment. Minerals are the most common resource included in this category. From the human perspective, resources are non-renewable when their rate of consumption exceeds the rate of replenishment/recovery; a good example of this are fossil fuels, which are in this category because their rate of formation is extremely slow (potentially millions of years), meaning they are considered non-renewable. Some resources actually naturally deplete in amount without human interference, the most notable of these being radio-active elements such as uranium, which naturally decay into heavy metals. Of these, the metallic minerals can be re-used by recycling them, but coal and petroleum cannot be recycled.Once they are completely used they take millions of years to replenish.

⚪ WHY DO WE NEED ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING ?

Planning for natural resources means planning for natural resource protection, including conservation, quality protection measures and improved development practices.

⚠ Depletion of resources:

In regards to natural resources, depletion is of concern for sustainable development as it has the ability to degrade current environments and potential to impact the needs of future generations. 

Depletion of natural resources is associated with social inequity. Considering most biodiversity are located in developing countries,depletion of this resource could result in losses of ecosystem services for these countries. Some view this depletion as a major source of social unrest and conflicts in developing nations.⚠ 

⚠ Protection:

Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair damage and reverse trends. 

Due to the pressures of overconsumption, population growth and technology, the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently. This has been recognized, and governments have begun placing restraints on activities that cause environmental degradation. Since the 1960s, environmental movements have created more awareness of the various environmental problems. There is disagreement on the extent of the environmental impact of human activity and even scientific dishonesty occurs, so protection measures are occasionally debated.

An Ecosystems approach to resource management and environmental protection aims to consider the complex interrelationships of an entire ecosystem in decision making rather than simply responding to specific issues and challenges. Ideally the decision-making processes under such an approach would be a collaborative approach to planning and decision making that involves a broad range of stakeholders across all relevant governmental departments, as well as representatives of industry, environmental groups and community. This approach ideally supports a better exchange of information, development of conflict-resolution strategies and improved regional conservation. Religions also play an important role in the conservation of the environment.

⚠ Management:

Natural resource management is a discipline in the management of natural resources such as land, water, soil, plants, and animals; with a particular focus on how management affects quality of life for present and future generations.

Hence, sustainable development is followed according to judicial use of resources to supply both the present generation and future generations.

Management of natural resources involves identifying who has the right to use the resources, and who does not, for defining the boundaries of the resource. The resources are managed by the users according to the rules governing of when and how the resource is used depending on local condition.

A "...successful management of natural resources depends on freedom of speech, a dynamic and wide-ranging public debate through multiple independent media channels and an active civil society engaged in natural resource issues...", because of the nature of the shared resources the individuals who are affected by the rules can participate in setting or changing them. The users have rights to devise their own management institutions and plans under the recognition by the government. The right to resources includes land, water, fisheries and pastoral rights. The users or parties accountable to the users have to actively monitor and ensure the utilisation of the resource compliance with the rules and to impose penalty on those peoples who violates the rules. 

These conflicts are resolved in a quick and low cost manner by the local institution according to the seriousness and context of the offence. The global science-based platform to discuss natural resources management is the World Resources Forum, based in Switzerland.