The term "resource availability" began to be used in connection with the development of industrial production and the growing needs of the population for energy, water and raw materials for its further processing and transformation into various material goods.
Definition of availability of resources
Resource availability is a quantitative relationship between the amount of natural resources and the amount of their consumption. The concept of natural resources refers to those components of nature that are used or can be used to meet various human needs. The past twentieth century is characterized by an unprecedented increase in the world's population and world social production, and the achievements of modern scientific technologies have an increasing impact on the environment. Ashuman needs for raw materials are constantly increasing, the task of rational and reasonable exploitation of all natural resources is becoming more and more urgent.
General classification of world resources
Natural resources can be classified according to various criteria. The most fundamental is the classification based on the genesis of resources, according to which they are divided into:
- land;
- forest;
- water;
- biological;
- minerals;
- energy;
- climatic.
Classification of resources by type of exhaustibility
All resources of nature are divided into inexhaustible and exhaustible. The first are water and climate resources. Exhaustible natural resources decrease in the course of their use; most of the Earth's resources fall into this group. Another important property of exhaustible resources is their renewability. On this basis, they are divided into:
- renewable (forests, plants, animals, etc.);
- non-renewable (minerals).
Due to the limited reserves of inexhaustible resources, today more and more attention is paid to the use of resource-saving technologies and the search for alternative energy sources.
How to calculate resource availability
Resource availability is usually expressed as the number of years for which consumers are provided with a certain type of resource. This indicator contains important information that allows planning the future use of certain natural resources. The assessment of the resource availability of renewable resources, however, is expressed by the ratio between their reserves and the amount per capita. Thus, their updating is taken into account. Since literally all types of resources are raw material for various sectors of the economy, the concept of "resource availability" also has a socio-economic significance.
How to assess resource endowment?
Assessment of the country's resource availability is carried out in two ways. The first method uses the following formula:
R=C/D, where
P - resource availability in years, 3 - amount of reserves, D - production volume.
This method estimates resource endowment based on annual consumption.
In the second method, the calculation is carried out according to the formula:
R=Z/N, where
P - resource availability in years, 3 - amount of reserves, N - population of the country.
It is used to estimate renewable resources.
The resource availability indicator is calculated relative to a certain point in time and may change.
Meaning
The distribution of natural resources on Earth is connected with the tectonic features of the formation of continents. Their reserves affect the indicator of resource availability of a country or individual regions of the world. Resource availability is the factor that has a largeimportance for the development of the country's economy in a certain direction. Although there are no regions on Earth characterized by an absolute lack of resources. The presence of, say, energy resources is a much greater advantage than the availability of, for example, sand. This, however, does not mean that a resource-poor country is also doomed to poverty. An example is Japan, which has limited resources, but is among the most developed countries due to the provision of capital, the working capacity of the population and the introduction of modern technologies.
Distribution of natural resources in the world
Natural we alth on Earth is distributed very unevenly not only in relation to continents, but also to individual countries. Depending on their endowment with resources, countries are divided into:
- Endowed with rich reserves of various resources - these include Russia, the United States and China, which are almost completely provided with them. This group also includes India, Australia, Brazil, South Africa and Canada, which have a smaller but rather rich variety of resources compared to the top three countries.
- Countries of medium resource endowment – in fact, most states belong to this group. Typically, such countries have an average amount of some types of resources, while other types are not represented.
- Specialized countries that are endowed with large reserves of any one important type of resource. An example is Saudi Arabia, which isthe world's largest oil supplier.
From the above classification, a pattern is clearly visible between the area of the territory of a certain state and the amount of we alth it has. The resource supply of the regions of the world and individual countries, however, depends not only on the amount of reserves, but also on the scale of exploration, development and extraction of resources. Thus, Saudi Arabia holds the palm in terms of oil production, but in terms of resource availability with this raw material, Iraq ranks first. Due to the Gulf War in the 1990s and the subsequent occupation of Kuwait by Iraq, international sanctions were imposed on the country, and now Iraq does not have an oil production quota.
Russia's natural potential
The total amount of natural resources that can be used in the country's economy is called the natural resource potential. The total potential is the sum of the potentials of individual types of resources.
Russia's natural resources are distinguished by significant reserves and diversity, but uneven distribution across the country. It should be noted that some types of resources located in sparsely populated areas with unfavorable climatic conditions are insufficiently studied. Well-developed and developed areas are characterized by the depletion of existing reserves.
How well resourced is Russia?
Resource availability is the ratio between the reserves of resources and the volume of their production. The basis of Russia's industrial potentialis its endowment with resources. The country is ranked among the countries that occupy leading positions in the field of exploration and development of minerals. But how developed is Russia's resource endowment? The country is characterized by the production and consumption of all major primary energy resources (coal, natural gas and oil). The largest share of reserves falls on coal, the second place is occupied by natural gas, and the least here are oil reserves. This ratio also applies to the situation around the world, and in the future, as stocks are depleted, it is necessary to look for options to replace these resources with alternative species.
The second most important place after energy is occupied by metals and ore minerals. Russia has the richest iron ore reserves in the world, as well as significant amounts of copper, nickel, titanium ores, tin, tungsten and other metals. Deposits of precious metals and diamonds are important for the country's economy. In terms of their production, Russia ranks second after South Africa. The country is also a leader in terms of the amount of timber reserves and land fund. Based on the above, several conclusions arise:
- Energy resource availability is one of the most important advantages of Russia. These resources are concentrated mainly in the east.
- There is a pronounced difference between the distribution of resources in the western and eastern parts of the country. The western part is characterized by the predominance of deposits of various types of ores; it also contains the mainagricultural land.
The total size of potential reserves, their diversity and nature of placement are suitable for the development of all sectors of the economy and the integrated development of the economy in certain economic regions.
US resource endowment
The country is characterized by a variety of natural conditions and types of resources. As an advantage, excellent agro-climatic conditions should be noted - the United States has huge forest resources, large black earth areas and a mild climate. The United States, like Russia, is among the leaders in terms of its reserves of mineral fuels - about 25% of the world's coal deposits are located in the country, and the country is in the top ten countries in terms of oil and gas reserves. Other types of resources that the United States has at its disposal in significant quantities are iron ore, non-ferrous and precious metal ores, uranium, and phosphorites. The country is sufficiently provided with water resources, but they are unevenly distributed on its territory. Despite the diversity of natural resources, both countries are forced to import certain types of minerals due to their absence or insufficient quantity.
