| gen. |
natural resources (Factors of production provided by nature. This includes land suitable for agriculture, mineral deposits, and water resources useful for power generation, transport and irrigation. It also includes sea resources, including fish and offshore mineral deposits. The effective availability of natural resources is strongly influenced by human activities: most agricultural land has been drained and fertilized, mineral resources have been surveyed, and the accessibility of resources depends on the provision of transport links. Some apparently natural resources are in fact man-made: a large part of the Netherlands, for example, has been reclaimed from the sea over many centuries. Natural resources can also be depleted by over-exploitation, leading to deforestation and erosion. OE Alexander Demidov) |
