7.1 Natural resources: Uses and management

Natural Resources

The raw materials and sources of energy used and consumed by society, including sunlight, air, water, land, rocks, ecosystems, and living things.

Natural Capital

The stock of natural resources available on Earth, representing all storages of energy and matter in ecosystems.

Natural Income

The outflow of resources, or yield, from Earth's storages when extracted for human benefit (e.g., timber, fish, climate regulation).

Ecosystem Services

Life-supporting services provided by ecosystems, categorized into provisioning, regulating and supporting, and cultural services.

Renewable Resources

Resources that can be regenerated and/or replaced as fast as they are being used, through natural growth, reproduction, or recurring processes.

Non-renewable Resources

Resources that cannot be replenished within a timeframe relative to the one during which they are taken from the environment and used (e.g., coal, lithium).

Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY)

The highest rate of extraction of a renewable resource (or fish catch) that allows the population or stock to reproduce itself, equivalent to net productivity.

Instrumental Value

The usefulness or value an entity has for humans, categorized into aesthetic, cultural/spiritual, economic, environmental, health, social, and technological values.

Intrinsic Value

Valuing something for its own sake, recognizing that living and non-living entities have a fundamental right to exist and should be protected, not exploited.

Resource Security

The ability of societies to ensure the long-term availability of sufficient, reliable, and affordable natural resources (primarily food, water, and energy) to meet demand.

Biocapacity

The capacity of a biologically productive area to generate an ongoing supply of renewable resources and to absorb its resulting wastes.

Biocapacity Deficit

Occurs when a population's ecological footprint is larger than the available biocapacity, meaning demand exceeds supply.

Eco-economic Decoupling

The process where an economy's GDP increases while environmental impacts and degradation decrease (green growth).

Jevons' Paradox

The phenomenon where efficiency gains in resource use lead to increased overall consumption and production rather than reduced environmental impact.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

An assessment of the environmental, social, and economic impacts and sustainability of a proposed development project through independent surveys, audits, and monitoring.