Safety of natural resources from the overgrowing population is a very important issue as far as the development of India is concerned. No country, no economy can even dream of being a developed one or retaining the status of a developed one if it does not utilize it's natural resources to the maximum capability.
The natural resources can not be used to their maximum capacity if they are not safe from the various hazards such as exploitation, improper use and most importantly, the overgrowth of the population which puts an adverse effect on the natural resources and hence impeding the development of India.
What are natural resources?
The dictionary definition of natural resources is “materials or substances occurring in nature which can be exploited for economic gain”. The natural resources are resources that have an existence in nature without any action direct or indirect by mankind.
The sunlight that graces us from dawn till dusk, the atmosphere that we breathe in, the water that sustains life, the land that we live on along with all its mineral resources and flora and fauna constitute of natural resources and are all very crucial in the development of India.
The natural resources are fast depleting and have hence become a cause of concern for quite a few governments and international organizations such as the United Nations.
The United Nations has gone to the extent outlining the necessary steps that countries need to take to sustain and safeguard their natural resources in section two of the organization’s Agenda 21.
Why is the safety of natural resources a problem?
In the words of Theodore Roosevelt, “The conservation of natural resources is the fundamental problem. Unless we solve that problem, it will avail us little to solve all others.”
The safety of natural resources is paramount because of the loss of or even depletion of these natural resources will result in the tragic loss of various ecosystem services.
Many social scientists also see the depletion and loss of natural resources as something that acts as one of the major sources that lead to unrest in societies and conflicts especially in developing countries like India.
To avoid such a scenario and to ensure that there is no hindrance in the path of development of India we need to ensure the safety of natural resources.
The overgrowth in the population of India
India is home to a stunning one point two billion people who put a serious pressure on its natural resources. The load on India’s natural resources have stretched to almost a breaking point due to the overgrowth in population.
This load leads to economic inequality and lack of equal access to the natural resources which should certainly not be the case.
According to scientists, “drinking water, sewage treatment, rapid depletion of energy resources, extinction of many species of the flora and fauna, inadequate rainfall, serious disturbances in the ecosystem and increased level of life life-threatening and water pollution and extreme hunger rates” are all a result of overgrowth in population.
The overgrowth in population hence not only threatens the natural resources of India but while doing so also impedes the development of India.
The overgrowing population and natural resources
The major concern that comes to the mind when considering the population explosion is the pressure on the finite natural sources like the fossil fuels that mankind is burning at an alarming rate without any consideration or the fresh water which is depleting at an alarming rate or the arable land which provides us with food but is going barren due to wrong farming practices or the coral reefs or the frontier forests.
All these resources are important to the development of an economy and are facing the wrath of the overgrowing population and suffering. This suffering is impeding the development of India.
A study conducted by the United Nations Environmental Programme, which took five years to complete and was the result of the work of fourteen hundred scientists has essentially declared that “Human consumption had far outstripped the available resources. Each person on Earth now requires a third more land to supply his or her needs than the planet can supply.”
So how do we save natural resources from the overgrowing population?
We need to not only stabilize or control the growing population but also cut back on the consumption of resources so that they can be safeguarded and put to proper use in the development of India.
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