Natural resource
Topic: Natural Resources: Classification, Planning and Sustainable Use · NCERT: Class 8, Ch 1 "Natural Resources and Their Use"
Meaning
A natural resource is a material or substance found in nature that is valuable to humans. Nature is everything living and non-living that humans did not make. Part of nature becomes a resource only when people find a use for it. Almost everything we use comes from nature in the end. Even a plastic button traces back to petroleum.
Example
Coal lies in the rocks of Jharkhand, in eastern India. It is part of nature. It becomes a natural resource when it is mined and burnt in power stations to make electricity.
Don't confuse with
- Resource (Class 10 sense): this is a wider idea. Anything in our surroundings counts, as long as it is technologically accessible, economically feasible and culturally acceptable. A natural resource is only the part of it that comes from nature.