General classification of natural resources

Natural resources are those units and systems (inanimate and living nature) that are used by mankind to ensure its vital activity, as well as to meet its material or cultural needs.

Human civilization has long used nature for its own purposes, and the higher the degree of the spread of technocracy, the more natural resources are needed. Demographic consumption also affects demographic consumption: more people require more consumption of natural elements and systems.

Natural Resources: Classification

Some researchers (for example V. Protasov) use only three parameters in order to classify natural resources: by source of origin, by use in production and by the degree of exhaustion. An even narrower classification refers to the natural-typological and industrial principle, where depletion is determined and a definition is made from this initial point. We propose to consider a wider type of classification.

Classification of natural resources by origin

• Natural components. This includes components of animal origin, plant and soil, as well as water resources, mineral and climatic.
• Natural-territorial (complexes). They are distinguished by a complex structure of elements: water management and mining and industrial complexes.

As we see, here the origin of the PR is divided into 2 types: single components are separated from the complex of elements.

Classification of natural resources by types of economic use

This includes resources for use in agriculture or industry. In the first case, water is used to irrigate fields, land for growing plant resources or placing animals. Those. To agricultural resources include land, vegetation and climatic.

For industrial production , both energy (combustible fossil) and non-energy resources (water, forest, land, mineral) are used.

Classification of natural resources by exhaustibility

There are three categories:

• Renewable;
• Not fully renewable;
• Not renewable.

Non-renewable PRs include oil, land and minerals. At present, scientists are working on methods to solve this problem, but it is impossible to eradicate it completely at the present stage.

Not completely renewable resources belong to the plant and animal life. So, there is the Red Book, which includes endangered species. In developed countries, there is a sponsorship of the environmental industry, which is engaged in increasing the population of endangered species.

Renewable resources do not represent a problem for our civilization, they include those animals and plants, the number of which is under control and meets economic consumption.

Classification of natural resources by substitutability

Here there are only 2 types of PR:

• Replaceable;
• Irreplaceable.

The first category includes those resources that can be replaced by others (for example, fuel substitutes for other energy-containing substances and materials).

To the irreplaceable include, first of all, air and fresh water. These resources, if they are not found to be replaced, may later become one of the biggest problems of mankind, because without them life is impossible.

Thus, proceeding from the general classification, it can be concluded that the characterization of natural resources depends first of all on what kind of activity it is created for: thus, the production goals imply the evaluation of raw materials that can be used for production. The scientific classification of PRs is characterized by a generalized division of resources with a wide coverage: from the atmosphere to groundwater. The economic classification focuses on plant, water, land and animal resources. However, there is one parameter that combines all types of classification: the potential, which includes the range of the prospect of using a particular resource.