Sustainable Natural Resource Use and Management

Natural resources are material components of the earth's surface that are used by human beings to sustain their livelihoods. The world's population is growing thus exerting increasing pressure on natural resources.Such a scenario demands and dectates that responsible natural resource management paradigms replace old ones if we are to engender development with equity.We did not 'inherit' the earth from our ancestors , rather we borrowed it from future generations.We should bequeath a good environment to future generations. The earth has enough resources for everyone's needs but not everyone's greed.There must be some re-thinking and harmonisation of the manner in which we utilise natural resources because the earth's resources are finite and yet essential for all life. The book examines how natural resources should be used and managed for sustainable development. Resources are a shared ownership, a collective trusteeship requiring caring beyond individualstewardship.Environmental problems demonstrate that the capacity of natural resources is inelastic and demand planned natural resource use if future generations are to live a better quality life with the same resources.