Utilization of natural resources

Natural resources refer to those materials and resources that occur naturally in a locality, such as minerals, forests, wildlife and fertile land. Appropriate utilization of natural resources play an important role in leading a nation towards the economic and industrial development stage.

The problem of national utilization of natural resources is of greatest importance all over the world today. There are two main aspects of the problem: first - all natural resources are to be used more economically as they are not unlimited, and second - measures are to be taken to prevent harmful effect of waste products of industrial enterprises on the environment.

All people are interested in nature preservation as all natural resources are national property. In Russia the programme on nature conservation has always been part and parcel of the development of national economy. As a result in Russia pollution of the environment as a whole is 10-20 times lower than in the USA or FRG.

Now in the period of most intensive development of industry and agriculture, the programme of nature conservation is of special importance. According to this programme, practical measures on rational and economic utilization of natural resources in different spheres of economy are planned.

One of the means to solve both aspects of the problem is to build complex enterprises. It means that the production process in the complex must be organized so that waste products of one enterprise could be utilized and processed by another. On the one hand, it will have great economic effect, and, on the other hand, will protect air and water from pollution.

Though complex enterprises will require rather big capital investments, it is better both from economic and ecological point of view to prevent pollution of the atmosphere than to liquidate its effect.

For example, it has been shown that under the influence of air pollution the yield of wheat decreases by 40-60%. When we use natural resources we should be careful not to destroy the balance of the biosphere in order to preserve nature not only for people living now, but also for those who will live many thousand years after.

Natural resources are necessary to sustain a living on this earth. People not only use these resources to maintain an existence but also to make a living out of their utilization. A fertile land is one of the most important natural resources. It allows human beings to grow food such as rice, wheat, maize, vegetables and fruits etc. This is not only a source of food for people across the world but wildlife, domestic animals, birds and insects also rely on this vegetation for their survival. This calls for the formulation and implementation of appropriate land policies for a better livelihood of the poor, as well as increased private investment in agriculture. Working forests are also the nature's gift to the economy.

To realize measures to be taken for nature conservation, to fulfill the programme on rational use and reproduction of natural resources, co-operation of specialists in different spheres of science and practical activities - sociologists, biologists, economists, physicists, biochemists, mathematicians, geologists, agronomists, foresters, engineers - is wanted.