In the previous chapter ‘our environment’, we learned how we humans are degrading the environment with our activities and how they are affecting our surroundings. In class 10 science chapter 16 sustainable management of natural resources, we will learn a valuable lesson on how we can efficiently use our natural resources.
Nature has given us so many resources which make our life easy and cheerful. It is not just our responsibility but it’s our duty to make sure that these resources are available for all living beings and most of all, save them for our future generation.
Class 10 Science Chapter 16 Sustainable Management of Natural Resources
We ought to save the natural resources that are available to us for future generations, but this does not mean that we should not use them at all. What’s the use of these resources if we can’t use them, therefore, we should use these resources in such a way that we fulfill our needs as well as save them for the future generations, and this is what class 10 science chapter 16 sustainable management of natural resources teaches us.
The five R’s to save the environment: The problems of the environment are so big that often we feel overwhelmed and helpless. It looks like there is nothing we can do, but it is not so. We can do many things on our end to save the environment by following the 5 R’s of saving the environment i.e:
Recycle: Recycling is the process in which things (that were useful once but are now useless) are used to create something else that will make them useful again. You will find plenty of such things around you like some broken plastic bucket, botel of sauce, or some metal item. Instead of just throwing them we can give them to recycle so that they can be used again.
Try to follow all the R’s given in class 10 science chapter 16 sustainable management of natural resources in your day-to-day life to save the environment.
Reuse: This option is even better than recycling. In this, instead of giving things to recycle, we try to find some other way in which useless things can be used again. In simple words, using things, again and again, is called resuing. This option is better than recycling because recycling needs effort and energy, whereas resuing would not need much effort and energy.
Repurpose: It is almost similar to reuse. Repurpose simply means finding some other purpose for an item to serve. e.g a bottle of sauce can be repurposed as a pot for money plant.
Refuse: This simply means to refuse things that may cause harm to the environment like plastic bags.
Reduce: When we reduce the use of natural resources and energy then it is called reducing. e.g switching off the light and fans when not needed, saving water whenever possible, etc.
Class 10 Science Chapter 16 Sustainable Management of Natural Resources
Following all the above mention is hard, but if your remain aware and empathic towards your surrounding and environment then it will motivate you to follow the steps thought in class 10 science chapter 16 sustainable management of natural resources and even encourage others to follow them.
# 16.1 — Why do we need to manage our resources?
Though we have already answered this question above in this article, still, let’s try to answer it in detail. So, why do we need to manage our resources? a simple straightforward answer to this question is, because the resource available to us are limited, and the rate at which the human population is increasing, it looks like we will soon run out of these resources.
The rate at which we are consuming these resources, in future only the rich will have access to them and enjoy life whereas the middle class and lower classes will struggle to get even those resources that are basic to live. In short, if we do not manage our resources then life will be very difficult.
# 16.2 — Forests and wildlife
Forests and wildlife are very important to sustain the ecosystem. After conducting a lot of experiments and field studies, scientists have concluded that loss of biodiversity may lead to loss of ecological stability.
16.2.1 — Stakeholders
Stakeholders in the context as given in class 10 science chapter 16 sustainable management of natural resources are people and organization that directly or indirectly depends on the forest. There can be the following stakeholders:
- The local people who reside around the forests and depend on the forest for various aspects of their lives.
- The government department that owns that forest and controls the resources that are produced from it.
- The industrialists who are dependent on not just 1 forest but on various others for their products.
- The social workers and wildlife enthusiasts who want to conserve nature.
16.2.2 — Management of forest
The destruction of forests affects the quality of soil and the source of water, and of course, the availability of products from it. While carrying out any activity that may affect the forest, the involvement of all the shareholders is important.
Class 10 Science Chapter 16 Sustainable Management of Natural Resources
Hope you are not taking this chapter for granted. The class 10 science chapter 16 sustainable management of natural resources may not look of much value from an exam perspective, but this chapter teaches us how to deal with one of the major challenges of modern-day life i.e pollution and recourse management. So, for god sake, do pay attention to this chapter.
# 16.3 — Water for all
Just like oxygen, water is not just a need but a necessity for all living organisms. One would be amae to know that scarcity of water is closely correlated to the cute poverty. In a study, it was found that the region in India where there was a scarcity of water were some of the acute poverty regions. Such is the importance in just our day-to-day life, but also for development.
16.3.1 — Dams
Having a big dam in an area can accomplish many goals like storing adequate water for various purposes, generating electricity, etc. But if the management of dams is not done effectively, then it may cause a lot of problems too.
16.3.2 — Water harvesting
Various organizations and NGOs all around the country are working towards harvesting water through various methods like digging small pits and lakes, outing in place simple watershed systems, building small earthen dams, constructing dukes, sand, and limestone reservoirs, setting up rooftop water collecting units, etc.
# 16.4 — Coal and petroleum
We are heavily dependent on coal and petroleum to produce energy for various tasks like transportation fuel. Since the industrial revolution, our consumption of these resources has increased significantly.
These resources are obtained from the fossil fuels that are formed from the degradation of biomass million years ago. This means that it will take millions of more years to form more, and this ultimately means that we have very limited stock of coal and petroleum. Also, burning these energy sources causes pollution in the environment.
# 16.5 — An overview of natural resource management
Sustainable management of natural resources is undoubtedly a challenging task and it will take dedication and lots of patience to achieve this goal. We need to tailor our requirements, individually and collectively so that these resources could not only fulfill our requirements, but also remains available for future generation, and most of all help in saving the environment.
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