Natural resources—uses and management
· Natural resources = raw materials and sources of energy used and consumed by society.
· Examples: sunlight, air, water, land, rocks, ecosystems and living things.
· Natural capital = the stock of natural resources available on Earth.
· Natural income = the goods and services produced by natural capital.
· Goods include fish, timber, crops and freshwater; services include climate regulation, flood prevention, pollution mitigation and carbon sequestration.
· Exam focus: always distinguish between the stock (natural capital) and the flow/benefit (natural income).
This diagram shows how the economy depends on inputs from the biosphere and produces wastes back into it. It is useful for explaining why natural resources are finite and why waste assimilation has limits. Source
Ecosystem services and natural income
· Ecosystem services = life-supporting benefits provided by ecosystems.
· Key examples: water replenishment, flood protection, erosion protection, pollution mitigation and carbon sequestration.
· Reed bed buffer zones can remove inorganic nutrients, reducing pollution before water enters rivers/lakes.
· Ecosystem services support humans and all living things, so damaging ecosystems reduces both environmental sustainability and human well-being.
· In exam answers, link services to specific outcomes: e.g. wetlands → flood prevention, forests → carbon sequestration, mangroves → coastal protection.
This diagram organizes ecosystem services into categories, helping students connect natural capital to the benefits societies receive. It is useful for examples of natural income beyond harvested goods. Source
Renewable vs non-renewable resources
· All resources are finite, but they can be classified as renewable or non-renewable.
· Renewable resources can be regenerated or replaced as fast as they are used, through natural growth, reproduction or recurring processes.
· Examples of renewable resources: food crops, timber, freshwater and ozone.
· Non-renewable resources cannot be replaced on a human timescale, or are used faster than they regenerate.
· A renewable resource becomes effectively non-renewable if use exceeds its regeneration rate.
· Exam phrase: sustainable use requires harvest ≤ regeneration rate and waste release ≤ transformation/assimilation rate.
This diagram shows the principle behind sustainable harvesting of renewable biological resources. It makes clear that increasing exploitation beyond the sustainable point reduces future stock and long-term yield. Source
Perspectives on natural capital
· The terms natural capital and natural income frame nature using an economic model.
· This can be useful because it helps societies recognize that ecosystems have real value and require management.
· It can also be controversial because it may imply an anthropocentric view: nature exists mainly for human use or exploitation.
· Ecocentric perspectives may object to valuing nature only through usefulness to humans, emphasizing intrinsic value instead.
· Top exam answers evaluate both sides: economic valuation can support conservation, but may overlook spiritual, cultural or intrinsic value.
Values of natural capital
· Natural capital can have aesthetic, cultural, economic, environmental, health, intrinsic, social, spiritual and technological value.
· Aesthetic value: beauty of landscapes, wildlife or ecosystems.
· Cultural/spiritual value: sacred sites, indigenous relationships with land, traditional practices.
· Economic value: timber, fisheries, minerals, tourism or ecosystem services.
· Environmental value: biodiversity, nutrient cycling, climate regulation and ecosystem stability.
· Health value: clean air, clean water, food security, recreation and mental well-being.
· Intrinsic value: value independent of human use.
· The value of natural capital is dynamic: it can change over time due to technology, scarcity, market demand, law, culture or environmental awareness.
· Examples of changing value: coal may decline as climate policy strengthens; lithium/cobalt may rise due to battery demand; whale oil declined after substitutes developed; cork may change with packaging alternatives.
Sustainable resource management
· Sustainable resource management ensures long-term availability of resources without degrading ecosystems.
· Natural capital must not be used faster than it can be regenerated.
· Waste must not be released faster than ecosystems can transform, assimilate or detoxify it.
· Overharvesting can cause resource depletion, ecosystem damage, loss of biodiversity and reduced natural income.
· Pollution can exceed ecosystem capacity, causing water pollution, soil degradation, air pollution or bioaccumulation/biomagnification.
· Strong exam answers connect management to systems thinking: excessive inputs/outputs disrupt storages, flows, feedbacks and resilience.
Resource security
· Resource security = the ability of a society to ensure the long-term availability of sufficient natural resources to meet demand.
· Resource security can apply to food, water, energy, minerals, timber or other resources.
· Resource security depends on supply, demand, technology, trade, governance, ecosystem health and social equity.
· In comparisons between societies, consider differences in income, climate, population growth, infrastructure, political stability, technology and access to imports.
· Resource insecurity can reduce socio-economic development, increase environmental degradation and contribute to geopolitical tensions or conflict.
Factors affecting natural resource choices
· A society’s resource choices reflect diverse perspectives and many interacting factors.
· Economic factors: cost, profit, jobs, trade, national income.
· Sociocultural factors: values, traditions, lifestyles, consumption patterns.
· Political factors: laws, subsidies, taxes, lobbying, international agreements.
· Environmental factors: pollution, biodiversity loss, climate impacts, regeneration rates.
· Geographical factors: local availability, climate, distance from markets, transport routes.
· Technological factors: extraction methods, efficiency, recycling, substitutes.
· Historical factors: existing infrastructure, past dependence on a resource, colonial or trade relationships.
· Net zero targets and GHG reduction agreements can change national priorities, especially around fossil fuels, minerals and renewable technologies.
HL only: Management and intervention strategies
· Societies can directly influence natural capital use through management, intervention, policy and public action.
· Government management may include national action plans for SDGs or resource strategies.
· Governments can reduce harmful resource use through taxes, fines, legislation, carbon restrictions and higher fossil fuel prices.
· Governments can encourage sustainable resource use through subsidies, research, education, publicity campaigns and supportive legislation.
· Examples of technological interventions: carbon-storing concrete, recyclable wind turbines, biological ammonia production replacing the Haber process.
· NGOs, local communities and social movements can influence behaviour through campaigns, social media, advocacy and practical actions such as recycling.
· Exam skill: evaluate each strategy using effectiveness, cost, equity, enforcement, stakeholder support and long-term sustainability.
HL only: SDGs and sustainable resource management
· The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a global framework for sustainable resource use and management.
· SDGs encourage action through global partnership, not just individual national policies.
· Relevant SDG links include SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy, SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG 13: Climate Action, SDG 14: Life Below Water and SDG 15: Life on Land.
· Detailed knowledge of every goal is not required, but students should apply two relevant examples to resource management.
· Example: SDG 12 supports reduced waste, recycling and responsible consumption; SDG 6 supports sustainable freshwater access and sanitation.
This image helps connect natural resource management to global sustainability targets. It is especially useful for linking resource examples to SDGs such as clean water, clean energy, responsible consumption, climate action and life on land/water. Source
HL only: Environmental impact assessments (EIAs)
· An environmental impact assessment (EIA) assesses the environmental, social and economic impacts of a development project.
· EIAs support sustainable resource management by identifying likely harm before a project is approved.
· EIAs usually involve independent surveys, baseline studies, impact prediction, mitigation strategies, audits and continued monitoring after completion.
· Baseline studies measure current conditions so future impacts can be predicted and evaluated.
· EIA parameters may include biodiversity, water quality, air quality, soil, noise, land use, resource use, waste, health, livelihoods and cultural impacts.
· Making EIAs public allows local citizens to act as stakeholders in decision-making.
· Benefits of stakeholder participation: local knowledge, transparency, fairness, conflict reduction and better project design.
· Limitations: EIAs can be expensive, politically influenced, inconsistently enforced or completed too late to prevent harm.
HL only: When renewable resources are still unsustainable
· A resource may be renewable, but its extraction, harvesting, transport or processing may still be unsustainable.
· Timber may be renewable, but logging can cause deforestation, soil erosion, habitat fragmentation and carbon emissions if poorly managed.
· Fish may reproduce, but fishing can be unsustainable due to overharvesting, bycatch, bottom trawling, fuel use and weak regulation.
· Hydropower uses renewable water flow, but dams can alter river ecosystems, sediment transport, fish migration and local communities.
· Exam phrase: evaluate the whole life cycle, not just whether the resource itself is renewable.
HL only: Short-term economics vs long-term sustainability
· Economic interests often favour short-term production and consumption because benefits are immediate.
· Short-term exploitation can undermine long-term sustainability by depleting forests, fish stocks, whales, soil fertility or freshwater stores.
· Common pattern: high demand → high profits → overexploitation → declining stock → reduced natural income → social/economic damage.
· Strong evaluation considers winners and losers: companies may profit short term while ecosystems, local communities and future generations bear long-term costs.
HL only: Resource insecurity, globalization and geopolitics
· Natural resource insecurity can hinder development, worsen environmental harm and increase geopolitical tension.
· Resource power changes when societies shift resource use: e.g. moving from fossil fuels to battery technologies changes demand for lithium, cobalt and rare earth elements.
· Oil production is strongly linked to OPEC countries.
· Key minerals for batteries and electronics are mined in countries such as Australia, China, Chile and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
· Much mineral processing is concentrated in China, creating dependence and potential supply-chain vulnerability.
· Economic globalization can increase supply through trade, but it can also reduce national resource security by increasing dependence on imports.
· Use examples from food, water and energy to show how globalization creates both interdependence and risk.
HL only: Improving resource security
· Resource security can be improved by reducing demand, increasing supply or changing technologies.
· Reducing demand: efficiency improvements, conservation, reduced waste, behavioural change, circular economy strategies.
· Increasing supply: new sources, improved infrastructure, imports, desalination, agricultural intensification, renewable energy expansion.
· Changing technologies: resource substitutes, recycling, energy storage, precision agriculture, water-saving irrigation, renewable energy systems.
· Examples: food security through reduced food waste or improved crop yields; water security through drip irrigation or rainwater harvesting; energy security through renewables, storage and efficiency.
Checklist: can you do this?
· Define and distinguish natural resources, natural capital, natural income and ecosystem services.
· Classify resources as renewable or non-renewable, and explain when renewable use becomes unsustainable.
· Evaluate the values of natural capital from different perspectives, including economic and intrinsic value.
· Apply resource security ideas to two contrasting societies using examples of food, water or energy.
· For HL, evaluate EIAs, SDGs, government interventions, globalization and resource insecurity using named examples.
High-scoring exam links
· Link natural capital to sustainability: resource use must maintain long-term ecosystem function and natural income.
· Link resource management to systems thinking: unsustainable extraction disrupts flows, storages, feedbacks and resilience.
· Link resource choices to perspectives: technocentric, anthropocentric and ecocentric views often support different solutions.
· Link resource insecurity to environmental justice: marginalized groups may suffer most from scarcity, pollution or development decisions.
· Use named examples wherever possible; generic answers score lower than examples linked to a specific resource, society or project.
Shubhi is a seasoned educational specialist with a sharp focus on IB, A-level, GCSE, AP, and MCAT sciences. With 6+ years of expertise, she excels in advanced curriculum guidance and creating precise educational resources, ensuring expert instruction and deep student comprehension of complex science concepts.
Shubhi is a seasoned educational specialist with a sharp focus on IB, A-level, GCSE, AP, and MCAT sciences. With 6+ years of expertise, she excels in advanced curriculum guidance and creating precise educational resources, ensuring expert instruction and deep student comprehension of complex science concepts.