Hello everyone, welcome back to our environmental science video series. Today we are beginning a very important topic, natural resources. So what exactly are natural resources? Natural resources include all the essential materials, energy sources and environmental processes that are available in nature and help support life on earth. This include everything from air, water, soil, minerals, forest to sunlight and fossil fuels. These resources are the backbone of life for human, animal and plant alikes. They are vital for human survival. For example, we need water to drink, air to breathe and food to eat. But beyond that, these resources are also key driver of economical development. They provide the raw material for industry, agriculture, construction and transport. However, it is important to understand that the way we use and manage these resources determine the health of our environment. If we overuse or misuse them, it could lead to pollution, scarcity, and harm for future generation. So, sustainable management is essential. Forest resources. Let us now turn to our first category of natural resources. Forests are often called the lungs of earth and rightly so. Important oxygen and carbon dioxide regulation. Forest and produce oxygen through photosynthesis which is essential for all living organism. At the same time they absorb carbon dioxide helping to balance atmospheric gases and fight climate changes. Number two biodiversity hotspot forest are home to an enormous variety of species including plants, animal and insect along with microorganism. These complex ecosystem play a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity which is essential for ecological balance and resilences. Water regulation. Forest help in regulating the water cycle. The trees absorb rain water and slowly release it into the river and groundwater system preventing both flood and drought. Number four, soil protection. Tree roots behind bind the soil preventing erosion. They reduce the impact of rain on the soil and leaf. Litter enriches the soil with organic matter maintaining fertility. Number five, economics value. Forest provide us with timbers for construction, paper for education and packaging fuel, wood for cooking, medicine and plants for health care and even food like fruits, nuts and honey. They are a crucial source of income and livelihood for many communities. Overexloitation. Unfortunately, forests are under serious threat due to overexloitation. The uncontrolled logging, rapid agriculture expansion and widespread urban development are leading to excessive deforestation. When forests are cut down at a rate faster than they can regenerate, the ecosystem gets damaged. Causes of deforestation. Agriculture expansion. Forests are cleared to make way for crops and pastures. Illegal logging. Tree are cut down unlawfully for timber and firewood. Infrastructure development. Roads, dam and building enroach encroach upon forest land. Mining extracting minerals require clearing large forested area. Consequence of deforestation. Loss of biodiversity as habitat are destroyed. Disruption of water cycle that lead to reduced rainfall. Increase carbon emission due to loss of carbon sink. Soil degradation as protective trees covered is removed. Next we have water resources. Water covers nearly 71% of earth's surface and all of it together form hydrosphere. This include ocean and sea, river and lace, glacier and ice cap, groundwater, water vapor in the atmosphere. Water constantly circulate through the water cycle. It evaporate from surface, condense into cloud, fall as precipitation and infiltrate the ground. This cycle is essential for replenishing water sources. But here is a shocking fact. Only 2.5% of earth waters is fresh water and much of it is locked in glacier and underground. That means only a tiny fraction which is about 1% is easily accessible for drinking, farming and for industry. Overutilization of surface and groundwater. Unfortunately we are overusing both surface and groundwater. Surface water from river, lakes and reservoir is heavily used for irrigation industries and domestic purposes. Groundwater is extracted through wells, borewell. It is lifeline in areas where surface water is insufficient. However, excess withdrawal is causing aquifier to dry up. Land is sinking due to the loss of underground water. A phenomenon known as land subsidance. Water quality is also declined. The consequence is included like reduce availability of water for people and animal, increased competition and conflict over water rights, negative impact on ecosystem, agriculture and future water security. Let us talk about flood. Flooding is a natural process caused by heavy rainfall, melting snow and hurricane. But human activity like deforestation and urbanization make flood more frequent and severe impact of flood. Damage to infrastructure like homes, bridges and road loss of human life and displacement of community. Contamination of water resources due to mixing with sevage and industrial waste. Management measure. Building improved drain system to carry away excess water. Constructing flood barrier. Reforestation to improve water absorption. Better urban planning to mitigate flood risk. In contrast to flood, we also face drought. Drought uh occur where there is long-term shortage of rainfall. It is made worse by global warming, loss of forests, overuse of water resources. Its impact, crop failure led to food shortages, water scarcity affect drinking, sanitation and irrigation, famine and livestock loss in rural area. Economic hardship and migration m management. Efficient water uses and storage system. Use of drought resistance crop. Water conservation method like rainforest, rainwater harvesting, strong climate policies at national and global levels. Next is mineral resources. Classification of minerals. Minerals are naturally occurring substance found in earth crust. They are essential for modern infrastructure and everyday life. The first one is metallic minerals. These include iron, copper, gold, aluminium and silver. They are shiny, good conductor of electricity and widely used in construction, electronic machinery and transportation. Number two, non-metallic minerals. These include limestone, gypsum and salt. They are generally softer and nonconductive. They are used in construction, agriculture and food processing. Number three is fossil fuel. These are minerals like coal, oil and natural gases. They are formed from ancient organic matter and are burned to produce energy. However, they release carbon dioxide and other pollutant contributing significantly to air pollution and climate changes. Overexplitation of mineral wealth. As our need for mineral grow, we are facing serious overexploitation. Excessive mining and obstruction are leading to resource depletion as some minerals are nonrenewable and finite habitat dissection where ecosystem are wiped out for mining operation pollution especially from mining waste and chemical. If mining is done irresponsibly it can leave longterm scar on environment and nearby community. Environmental effect of mining. Mining have severe negative impact on the environment like uh land degradation. Forest and top soil are removed leading to erosion and habitat loss, water pollution, harmful chemicals from mines known as uh contaminate rivers and groundwater. These affect aquatic life and human health. Air pollution. Dust and harmful gases released during mining reduce air quality and cause breathing problems. Climate change. The process of mining and burning fossil fuel contribute to greenhouse gases emission intensify climate change. Food resources. Global food challenges. Let us now explore food resources and the global challenges we are facing like uh population growth. As the global population increases, the demand for food also rises. This strain our agriculture system. Climate change. Irregular rainfall, drought and extreme temperature affect crop production and food availability inequality. While some people waste food, other suffer from hunger and malnutrition. Unequal distribution and access to food are major problem. Impact caused by the agriculture and overg grazing. Agriculture and livestock grazing are essential but when order done they lead to several problem like soil degradation. Over farming and grazing remove essential nutrient from soil making it less fertile and more prone to erosion. Loss of biodiversity. Large scale farming and deforestation reduce the variety of life in the area. Water depletion, irrigation, large field and maintaining livestock use up huge amount of water leading to groundwater exhaustion. Effect of modern agriculture. Modern agriculture has greatly increased food production but it comes with serious side effect like chemical inputs. Farmer use large quantity of synthetic fertilizer, pesticide and herbicide to enhance crop yield. However, these chemicals can degrade soil quality, pollute water bodies and pose health risk to human and wildlife. Monoculture farming. This is the practice of growing in a single type of crop over large area. It may be efficient but it deplete so specific nutrient in the soil increasing pest and disease and reduce biodiversity. Genetic modification. Genetically modified crops are engineered for better yield and pest resistance. While they help increase food supply, they are concerned about their long-term effect on health, the environment, and traditional farming practices. Fertilizer pesticides problem. The overuse of fertilizer and pesticide lead to several environmental and health issues like water pollution. When fertilizer run off into the nearby river and lakes, they cause utrification and overgrowth of algae that deplete oxygen and kill aquatic life. Soil contamination. Excessive use of these chemical can make soil toxic, reduce microbial activities and lower its fertility over time. Health risks residue from pesticide can enter the food chain and drinking water. Long-term exposure is linked to the serious health issues like cancer, hormone disruption and neur neurological problem. Next is energy resources. Let us now look at the energy resources. As the global population and industries grow, so does the demand for energy. Most of our energy is still come from fossil fuel like coal, oil and natural gases. These are nonrenewable meaning they can run out and their use release pollutant that can cause climate change. To meet future need sustainability, we must shift to alternative cleaner energy sources like alternative energy sources. Here are some important alternative energy sources that can reduce our dependence on fossil fuel like solar energy. Capture sunlight using solar panel to produce electricity. It is clean, abundant and renewable, wind energy. Wind turbine convert wind movement into electricity. Ideal in windy region. It produce no emission. Hydro power use flowing or falling water from river and dam to generate electricity. It is reliable but can be disrupt aquatic ecosystem. Land resources. Land is a vital resources that support various human activities like uh agriculture. Land is primarily used for growing crops and raising animal. It support food production and rural livelihood. Urbanization. As cities expand, land is converted into residential area, road, factories and commercial spaces. This help economic development and but reduce natural habitat. Conservation area. Some land are reserved for wildlife, sanctuaries, national park and forest. These area help preserve biodiversity and maintain ecological balance. Land degradation. Human activities are causing land degradation reducing its quality and productivity. Soil erosion, deforestation and overuse of land remove top soil reducing the land ability to support crops. Desertification in dry region. Loss of vegetation and water led to land turning into desert. It's a major issue in semi-arid region. Pollution. Chemical from farm and factories pollute land making it unsuitable for farming and harmful to nearby community. Landslide. Landslide are sudden movement of rock and soil down a slope. They can be caused by natural causes like heavy rainfall, earthquake and volcanic activity can destabilize land asly on hill. Human cause deforestation, unplant construction and mining weaken the soil structure and increase the risks of landslide impact. Landslide can destroy home, block road and cause injuries or death. They also disturb natural habitat. Soil erosion. Soil erosion is a major land problem. It's happen when the top layer of soil is uh removed by wind, water and human activity. Some causes like cutting down trees, overg grazing by cattle, intensive farming, poor land management. Some of the consequence are loss of fertile land, decline in crop yield, greater risk of flooding due to exposed soil. Some mitigation like terracing, building steps on slope to slow water flow, planting trees to hold soil, changing crops each season to improve soil health. Descertification. Finally, we have descertification. This is the process where fertile land become desert mainly due to the climate change, deforestation, overg grazing, unsustainable farming. Some of the impact are reduced food production, hunger and poverty, people being forced to migrate. Some previsions are sustainable farming methods, reforestation, soil conservation technique. So protecting our land resources is crucial for health and sustainable future. So we have covered forest, water, mineral, food, energy and land resources, their use, issues and ways to manage them wisely. Now I will end this video here. Thanks for watching. If you find this video helpful, please like, share, subscribe for more educational content. See you in the next one. And remember, let's take care of our earth together.