Introduction

No doubt, all living things need air, water, food, shelter, clean environment and other basic life
supporting requirements for carrying out activities such as physiological, socioeconomic,
cultural and other activities. All these requirements can only be provided by nature. Land is
the proper place for all elements to maintain and sustain a living relationship in the universe.
Also, present in the earth’s bed are coal, oil and other useful minerals. Human beings get
their food from plants and animals on land or in water bodies. Apart from serving as habitats
for wildlife, forests contribute to commercial activities and also help to balance the
ecosystem. Though these resources are essential for the development of life on earth, they
should be properly utilized for our comfort. Overexploitation (when consumption exceeds
regeneration) may lead to the collapse of the entire living system. Also, uneven distribution of
resources, limited quantities as well as pollution of the resources may collapse the living
system. Man’s activities such as industrialization, commercialization, overexploitation,
expansion of agricultural operations, use of coal, petroleum products, metals and various
chemicals for their comfort are the major reasons for the rapid depletion and degradation of
the natural resources. There is therefore an urgent need to conserve these natural resources.
2.0 Objectives
Considering the various benefits of natural resources to mankind, there is the need to
conserve them to prevent them from depletion. It is against this background that this chapter
examines the various kinds of natural resources with particular reference to the renewable
resources, the challenges of using them, their contribution to the growth of Nigeria and how
they can be conserved.
3.0 Main Content
3.1 What are natural resources?
Natural resources are resources that exist without the actions of man. They are features of
the environment that are of importance and value to humans in one form or the other. On
earth, they include sunlight, atmosphere, water, land (including all minerals) along with all
vegetation and animal life that naturally subsists upon or within the aforementioned
characteristics. Natural resources are also called raw materials. Many of the natural resources
are essential for our survival while others are used for satisfying our wants.
3.2 Types of natural resources
Natural resources may be classified based on their origin and renewability. Based on
origin, natural resources may be classified as biotic and abiotic resources. Biotic
resources are those obtained from the biosphere. They include forests and their
products, animals, birds and their products, fish and other marine organisms. Minerals
fuels (coal, oil/petroleum) are also included in this category because they are formed
from decayed organic matter. Abiotic resources are the non-living things e.g. land,
water, air and ores. Based on renewability, natural resources may be divided into
 renewable and non-renewable resources. Renewable resources are those resources
that can be replenished or reproduced easily at a rate comparable or faster than its
rate of consumption by human beings. Some of them such as sunlight, air, wind, tides
and hydroelectricity are constantly available and their quantity is not affected by
human consumption. They may also be referred to as perpetual resources. It is worthy
of note that many renewable resources can be depleted by human use but may also be
replenished. Non-renewable resources are those that cannot be replaced once they are
exhausted or depleted. They are available in limited quantities. It is not easy to increase
the quantity or to regenerate in a reasonable time interval. They are formed over long
geological periods. Their rate of formation is extremely slow. They include fossil fuels,
minerals and metals from geological origin.
3.3 Kinds of renewable resources
(i) Land resources
Land is a habitat for living beings. It provides the required nutrients for the growth of
plants. Also present in the land as deposits are a number of metallic and non-metallic
substances. Water is also stored in ground layers. Topsoil is important for agricultural
activities as it contains humus. Soil generally refers to the upper fertile layer of the
earth’s surface that can be ploughed for the growth of plants. It is usually formed by a
process known as weathering. Weathering refers to the process by which rocks and
minerals are disintegrated or decomposed into smaller particles through physical
(mechanical) or chemical actions. Physical weathering may be as a result of changes in
temperature, pressure, abrasion, erosion or transportation of finer materials and
spreading of plant roots in the soil. The chemical composition of soil and their parent
rocks are the same. Products of physical weathering are coarse soil such as gravel and
sand. However, in chemical weathering, there is a reaction between the rock surfaces
and atmospheric gases and moisture, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen in
the presence of moisture and the product has a different chemical composition and a
poor physical constitution as compared to the original rock. Some of the processes
involved in chemical weathering include solution, hydration and hydrolysis, oxidation
and reduction and carbonation. The fertility of soils depends upon its structure, organic
content, moisture content as well as porosity and permeability.
(ii) Food resources
One cannot overemphasize the importance of food to human beings. Human beings
require food for growth, reproduction and maintenance of good health. Food is
necessary for the generation of energy needed for body activities, keeping the body
warm, building or repairing worn out tissues and also maintaining heart beat. Eating
balanced diet helps to prevent certain diseases or recover faster when illnesses occur.
Herbivores live on plants, grains and other agricultural products. Carnivores eat meat,
 fish and other poultry products. Though there might be sufficient quantity of food
worldwide, hunger, malnutrition and disease are common in developing countries. This
may be due to the purchasing capacity by the poor people. Despite this, population
keeps on increasing. Hence, the need for green revolution which started with high
yield, fast growing crop varieties, cultivation of more lands, increased use of fertilizers,
construction of irrigation projects etc. However, it is evident that population is still
increasing at a higher rate than agricultural production particularly in the developing
countries.
(iii) Forest resources
Forests are naturally renewable if removal of trees is controlled. Today, deforestation is
being witnessed in many areas. Trees are cut for fuel, for the profit, for acquiring land
to plant crops or raise animals. Sometimes, deforestation is natural (large fire).The
nature of forest in a particular place is determined by two major factors: rainfall and
temperature. Dense forests are found in the equatorial latitudes. Tropical rainforests
are available in some parts of central America, Australia and Indonesia. Forests help in
maintaining the ecological balance and biogeochemical cycles in nature. They help to
prevent soil erosion, floods and drought; they help to clean up the atmosphere by
utilizing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen; they help to maintain heat balance on
earth by absorbing solar radiation and green house gases; they are a source of pulp,
resins, fibre, gum, honey, timber, fuel wood and other valuable products; they provide
habitat for wildlife and preserve biodiversity; they also serve as sources of knowledge,
recreation and tourism.
(iv) Water resources
Water is the most essential commodity for all organisms for their survival. It is required
for domestic and industrial needs, irrigation, navigation aquatic life, recreation and
generation of electricity. The major source of water is rainfall. When rainfall is unevenly
distributed, it may result into flood and drought at some places. Water can be
considered a renewable material in conditions of carefully controlled usage, treatment
and release. If not, it will become a non-renewable resource at that location. For
instance, Ground water could be removed from an aquifer at a rate greater than the
sustainable recharge. Removal of water from the pore spaces may cause permanent
compaction that cannot be renewed. Water bodies are being depleted and polluted due
to increase in population and standard of living. There are serious problems worldwide
that are associated with the non availability of quality water. About 20% of rain falls on
the land surface and flows as runoffs because the major part of the earth is covered by
sea. Out of these 22% reaches the surface sources such as rivers and lakes; 10%
percolates into the ground; 25% is retained as soil moisture in the topsoil and the rest
is evapotranspired from the land and other surfaces. A substantial part of the rain
 water gets infiltrated into the ground and gets further percolated into the deeper layers
for storage. Water that is held in the top layers of the soil under capillary forces is
known as subsurface water which is very important for crops.
(v) Solar energy
This is the energy derived directly from the sun and it is an extremely clean and
renewable form of energy. The sun is the most abundant source of energy on earth.
The main uses of solar energy are water heating, production of electricity and
desalination of sea water. Solar panels convert solar energy into DC electricity which
enters an inverter. The inverter turns DC into AC electricity needed by home
appliances. When more solar energy is produced than currently needed, it can be
stored in a battery as DC electricity. One major advantage of solar energy is that it is
available to everyone and can be harnessed by individuals everywhere.
(vi) Wind
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into more useful forms. Most modern
wind power is generated in the form of electricity by converting the rotation of turbine
blades into electric current by means of an electrical generator. In windmills, wind
energy is used mechanically by machines to do physical work such as pumping water.
3.4 The challenges of using natural resources
Prominent among the challenges of using land are soil erosion and land degradation. Soil
erosion is the removal of topsoil by transport agents such as wind and water. Loose soil
particles float and move along with the flowing water when rain falls on a sloping ground and
this results into the uniform skimming of the top layer. If this is not checked, patches or
gullies may occur on the land surface. Land degradation is a change in the soil characteristics
which affects its fertility. Water logging and salinity render soil conditions unfit for raising
crops due to poor drainage.
Continuous use of fertilizers and pesticides to boost agricultural production are not without
their challenges. They are expensive and most farmers lack the technical know how to apply
them. Fertilizers may join water sources, causing eutrophication and increase the growth of
aquatic plants. Also, pesticides enter food and water sources and reach human beings
through media such as water, crops or fish products and cause harmful effects. As such, food
poisoning may occur.
Deforestation leads to change in the climate because as rainfall reduces, temperature
increases and desertification starts. Food products, useful materials and even livelihood may
be lost as a result of continuous deforestation. It also results in the loss of biodiversity and
imbalance in the ecosystem. Global warming is also a consequence of deforestation.
Water logging and salinity affects the soil fertility. Storage of water may also lead to mosquito
breeding. Large dams are implicated to cause earthquakes in nearby regions and submerge
more areas. Intense rainfall may cause flooding in some areas and lives and properties may
 be lost in the process.
In general, the process of using natural resources usually leads to environmental pollution,
loss of biodiversity and ecological imbalance.
3.5 Conservation of natural resources
It is obvious that nature provides us with our basic needs but we tend to overexploit. If we go
on exploiting nature, there will be no more resources available in the future. Therefore, there
is an urgent need to conserve our natural resources for the following reasons:
i. To maintain ecological balance to support nature.
ii. To preserve biodiversity.
iii. To make resources available for present and future generation.
iv. To ensure survival of human race.
3.5.1 Conservation of soil
This involves the use of various methods to check soil erosion and improve soil fertility.
These include various agricultural practices such as crop rotation (growing different
crops in the same area following a rotation system); ridge and furrow type of irrigation
which reduces water run off and soil erosion; cultivation of grass land which improves
soil structure within the field crops; mulching which keeps the soil moisture fixed,
preventing evaporation; controlled grazing; afforestation and reforestation; addition of
manure and fertilizers and ploughing.

3.5.2 Conservation of food

This involves prevention of food crisis by adopting measures such as increasing the
land area for cultivation, controlling population growth rate, improving soil fertility and
the use of biofertilizers, prevention of soil erosion, water logging and soil salinity,
developing forests and wildlife and giving subsidies to farmers.
3.5.3 Conservation of water
This can be achieved through construction of dams and reservoirs, treatment of
sewage before release into the rivers, treatment of industrial effluents to prevent
release of chemicals into the freshwater, judicious use of water and growing vegetation
in catchment areas which will hold water and contribute to formation of ground water.
3.5.4 Conservation of biodiversity
This can be done in-situ or ex-situ. In-situ conservation involves the conservation of
plants and animals in their natural habitat or protected areas such as national parks
while ex-situ conservation involves the conservation outside their natural habitats such
as botanical gardens, zoo, seed banks etc. Biodiversity can be conserved by
afforestation, improvement of natural habitats of wildlife, educating people about the
need and methods of conservation of wildlife and enactment of acts and regulations
 for their conservation. Trees can be conserved by recycling their products such as
paper, cup, cardboards etc. thereby reducing the number of trees the number of trees
cut down in a year.
3.5.5 Conservation of fossil fuel
One way of conserving fossil fuel is to generate power from other sources such as
hydropower and solar power.
3.6 Contribution of renewable natural resources to the growth of Nigeria
Nigeria is rich in renewable natural resources. These resources are the backbones of every
economy. They serve two basic functions: provision of raw materials for production of goods and
services as well as provision of environmental services. They constitute the productive base for
agriculture, forestry, fishery and wildlife, upon which the livelihoods, employment and incomes of a
large majority of Nigerians depend. Therefore, the sustainability of growth and poverty reduction
hinge critically on these resources. Nigeria's economic growth has been disappointing over the
years. Rapid growth in the late 1970s occasioned by oil boom was short-lived and followed by a
sharp decline in real per capita GDP from the late 1970s-1984. From 1992-2002, growth in per
capita GDP occurred marginally in 2 years only, stagnating or falling in other years. Despite the
dominance of the oil sector in government revenues and foreign exchange earnings, renewable
natural resources-based
sector comprising agriculture, forestry and fisheries constitutes the largest single share of national
output, incomes and employment. Agriculture, including forestry and fisheries account for not less
than 35% of GDP and is the backbone of rural livelihoods. But, this central role is not adequately
appreciated within official national accounts. For example, non marketed renewable natural
resources -based products (such as fuel wood and medicinal plants) and economic costs of
renewable natural resources degradation are usually left out in conventional national accounts.
Some estimates put the non-marketed consumption of non-wood forest products (NWFPs), fish and
fuelwood to be up to additional 10% of GDP. Currently, agriculture-forestry has the highest poverty
incidence (67%) among all economic sectors, and about 62% of Nigeria's poor people are into
agriculture. The rural sector contributes 65% to national poverty and 86% of households in
agriculture live in rural areas. About 7 out of every 10 farmers are poor and 6 out of every 10 poor
households are farmers. Therefore, growth in renewable natural resources -based sectors (and in
rural sector) is essential for improving the welfare of the vast majority of Nigeria's poor. The prices
of basic foodstuffs, which account for 52-60% of total household consumption expenditures by the
about 60% of the country's population are determined by farm productivity and production costs.
Therefore, in order to bring about significant reductions in poverty among Nigerians, there is need
for a collective effort on the part of Nigerian farmers, federal, state and local governments as well
as agricultural scientists to stimulate broad-based agricultural growth. Developing the renewable
natural resources sectors can increase domestic resource mobilization and impart more
significantly on the entire economy.