Natural Resource Management

Conservation, valuation, and sustainable management of Earth’s resources.

Author

Geography Team

Official Syllabus

NEP-2020 Syllabus

NoteCore I Paper XVIII — Natural Resource Management and Geo informatics

**(4 Credit, Theory: 45hrs, Practical: 30hrs)*

**Unit I:* - Natural Resource Base (land, water, forest, biodiversity, minerals), classification - Resource depletion, pollution, Resource Curse - Historical evolution of NRM Measures: policy and practices - Valuation methods of Natural resources

**Unit II:* - Management under different property regimes (Public, Private, Commons, Open Access) - Tragedy of commons, Ostrom’s idea on institutional designs - Measures: Watershed Management, Forest Management, JFM - Forest Rights Act, CAMPA - Wetland Management, Grassland Management, Ecosystem services (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment)

**Unit III:* - Application of Geoinformatics in mapping and monitoring NR - Watershed delineation, soil erosion estimation, forest monitoring, ground water management - Conjunctive use of tank-groundwater, Adaptive crop planning

UGC NET Syllabus

TipUGC NET Overlaps
  • Natural Resources (classification, distribution and associated problems), Natural Resources Management
  • Conservation and management of ecosystems
  • Remote sensing applications in resource management

Welcome to the Natural Resource Management module of Geography OpenCourseWare.

Part A: Common Topics (NEP-2020 & UGC NET)

These topics are covered in both the NEP-2020 undergraduate syllabus and the UGC NET syllabus.

Natural Resource Base and Classification

Warning📘 Syllabus Coverage
Syllabus Topic Details
NEP-2020 Unit I — Resource Base, classification, Resource Curse, Valuation
UGC NET Natural Resources (classification, distribution)

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NoteKey Concepts
  • Resource Types: Land, Water, Forest, Biodiversity, Minerals. Classified by renewability (flow/fund vs. stock), origin (biotic/abiotic).
  • Resource Depletion: Exhaustion of non-renewables and overuse of renewables beyond their regenerative capacity.
  • Resource Curse (Paradox of Plenty): Phenomenon where countries with abundant natural resources (like oil or diamonds) tend to have less economic growth, less democracy, and worse development outcomes than countries with fewer natural resources.
  • Valuation of Natural Resources: Assigning economic value to ecosystems to prevent their destruction.
    • Use values (direct/indirect) vs. Non-use values (existence, bequest).
    • Methods: Contingent Valuation, Travel Cost Method, Hedonic Pricing.

Property Regimes and The Tragedy of the Commons

Warning📘 Syllabus Coverage
Syllabus Topic Details
NEP-2020 Unit II — Property regimes, Tragedy of commons, Ostrom’s idea
UGC NET Resource Management and Governance

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NoteKey Concepts
  • Property Regimes:
    • Private Property: Owned by individuals/corporations.
    • State/Public Property: Owned by government.
    • Common Property: Owned and managed collectively by a defined group.
    • Open Access: No rules or ownership; free-for-all.
  • Tragedy of the Commons (Garrett Hardin, 1968): In open-access systems, individuals acting in rational self-interest will deplete the shared resource, ruining it for everyone.
  • Elinor Ostrom’s Response: Proved that communities can and do successfully manage Common Pool Resources (CPRs) without top-down state regulation or privatization, provided there are clear boundaries, local rule-making, and conflict resolution mechanisms (Nobel Prize in Economics, 2009).

Ecosystem Services and Management Strategies

Warning📘 Syllabus Coverage
Syllabus Topic Details
NEP-2020 Unit II — Ecosystem services, Watershed/Forest/Wetland management, JFM, FRA
UGC NET Conservation and management of ecosystems

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NoteKey Concepts
  • Ecosystem Services (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment):
    1. Provisioning (food, water, timber)
    2. Regulating (climate regulation, water purification)
    3. Cultural (recreation, spiritual)
    4. Supporting (nutrient cycling, soil formation).
  • Watershed Management: Treating the watershed as a unified hydrological and ecological unit for soil and moisture conservation.
  • Joint Forest Management (JFM): Partnership between state forest departments and local communities to protect and manage degraded forests.
  • Forest Rights Act (FRA, 2006): Recognizes pre-existing rights of forest-dwelling tribal communities and other traditional forest dwellers over forest land and resources.
  • CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund): Funds collected for diverting forest land for non-forest purposes, used for afforestation.

Geoinformatics in Natural Resource Management

Warning📘 Syllabus Coverage
Syllabus Topic Details
NEP-2020 Unit III — Application of Geoinformatics in monitoring NR
UGC NET Remote sensing applications

Get the Presentation ↗   |   Watch the Video ↗

NoteKey Concepts
  • Mapping and Monitoring: Satellite imagery enables continuous monitoring of remote and vast natural resources.
  • Applications:
    • Forestry: Deforestation tracking, forest fire detection, biomass estimation using NDVI.
    • Water: Watershed delineation (using DEMs), water body area extraction, groundwater potential mapping.
    • Soil: Erosion modeling (Universal Soil Loss Equation - USLE) using slope, land cover, and rainfall data in GIS.
    • Agriculture: Adaptive crop planning, precision agriculture.
  • Decision Support: Geoinformatics integrates multiple data layers to help policymakers make informed conservation decisions.

Quick Reference

Natural Resource Management Quick Reference

Key Books and Concepts

Book / Concept Author / Details
World Resources and Industries E.W. Zimmermann
Phantom Pile / Resource Concept Zimmermann (“Resources are not, they become”).
Tragedy of the Commons Garrett Hardin
Limits to Growth Club of Rome

Notes compiled by Geography Team