INTRODUCTION
The
course introduces students
to the concept
and importance of
natural resource and environmental conservation. It provides students with knowledge
about the principles, approaches and tools for natural resources management.
Specifically the course deals
with aspects of
natural resource governance;
integrated natural resources management, establishment of
protected areas, biodiversity conservation, property rights and regimes, and
policies on natural resources management.
Learning Outcomes
At
the end of the course students should be able to:
§ Define
the concept of natural resources and natural resources management
§ Describe
the principles of natural resources management
§ Discuss
different approaches to natural resources management
§ Apply
the skill of inventorying and monitoring forests rangeland and wildlife
management.
§ Identify
the resource use conflicts and conflict management
§ Discuss
the integrated natural resources management
§ Describe
the rationale for establishment of protected areas
§ Identify
categories of protected areas
§ Describe
criteria for selection of areas for protection
§ Prepare
management plans for National Parks
§ Describe
policies and practices for protected rights and regimes
§ Discuss
natural resources policies, legislations and conventions
§ Identify
management regimes and practices
PRINCIPLES
AND APPROACHES TO NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
Overview
Environmental resources (natural
resources) are the materials that occur naturally in the environment and
they have use
value naturally or
after being subject
to certain degree modification or process.
They are sources
of raw materials
used by the
society (McKinney and Schoch,
1996).
On the other hand Waugh (1995)
defined natural resources as features which are needed and used by people.
Literally the term resources is synonymous
to natural resources,
some individuals broaden
the meaning to
even accommodate human resources.
These materials include all types
of matter and energy that are used to build and run society such as soil, minerals,
water, coal and all other naturally occurring materials. Materials that have
been located and can profitably
be extracted at
the present market
price form a
subset of natural resource termed
Reserves. The resources are
exploitable under current economic and technological conditions. The materials
that have been located but cannot be extracted profitably at the present time
are simply called resources which are as good as undiscovered raw materials.
These are tangible and non- tangible elements of the
bio-physical environment necessary for the production of certain basic
commodities or necessary for the livelihoods of human beings. They consist of
all things that do not fall under man- made creations, thus what we see around
us that take the course without the interventions of human beings is what would
account as natural resources. A natural resource should be of a good quality
and able to be transformed into values that satisfy human needs.
They
include the components of the Mother Nature like: Land / Soil, Water, Air,
Minerals/ Precious Stones, Forests / Vegetation, Wildlife/ Animals.
Natural
resources are also considered as commodities which are valuable and they occur
in nature and can be used to create wealth. Therefore; a commodity
becomes a natural resource when a primary activity associated with it is
extraction or purification.
Resources
Refer
to all means of satisfying human needs at a given time and place. Resources
include; Air, Land, Water, Minerals, Forests, Wildlife, Living things including
human beings, Non-living things etc. Are
means of attaining individual or social welfare and they vary over time and space. They are the attribute of the environment appraised
by man to have value within the social and economic constraints.
How does a resource become a
resource?
Elements
of the environment become resources when human beings appraise them to have
values and these values depend on :-
·
Human needs and desires
·
Socio - Cultural
·
Economic Conditions
·
Political
·
Biological
This means that, to make an element of
the environment to be a resource, man has to employ his/ her technological and
organizational abilities. His / her actions to make the elements of the
environment to be resources will be constrained by:-
v Ecological resistances-
which demand that a harmonious
equilibrium should be maintained when exploiting the resources
available in the environment. This means that, whenever you utilize resources,
you must not deplete them; therefore, there is a need to balance between
exploitation and regeneration/reproduction of natural resources.
Exploitation of
non- renewable resources should consider the developmental aspect of the
country and its exploitation should be in a way that is friendly to the
environmental ecosystems. The renewable resources must be utilized without
damaging their capacity to regenerate themselves.
The decision to use a resource and the rate of
resource exploitation depends on the Supply
and Demand.
|
Resources Exploitation Rate
|
|
Quantity of Resources/Units
|
|
S
|
|
D
|
|
Equilibrium
|
CATEGORIES OF NATURAL RESOURCES
-
Natural resources are generally
classified into three categories (this is according to abundance and
availability)
i.
Continuous
natural resources
ii.
Renewable
natural resources
iii.
Non-
renewable natural resources
