1. Types of Natural Resources

Identifying Resources

Culture and technology shape how we decide if a material or an object is useful to people as a resource.

Culture

The people from who live in the rainforest made use of wood from the trees to build their houses and as firewood. However in Singapore we use bricks, cement and steel bars to construct our houses.

Based on our lifestyle, gas, cement, steel bars and electricity are resources to us but not to the Penan (a group of indigenous people living in the forest of Sarawak) as they do not use them.

Technology

Before machines were invented, animals were used for laborious work. Farmers used water buffaloes and simple tools to plough and till their land. Now, however, farmers use machinery such as power tillers and combine harvesters. Thus water buffaloes are less likely to be seen as a valuable resource.

A combined harvester at the rice field in Tanjong Karang, Malaysia.

Photo taken in 2004.

Types of Natural Resources

Natural resources are useful materials found on Earth not made by man.

It can be classified as renewable or non-renewable.

Renewable natural resources can be replenished naturally quickly within the period used.

For example, water and solar-energy.

Non-renewable natural resources may or may not be replenished. If they are replenished, the process occurs very slow and take a very long time that is beyond the period used.

For example, crude oil.