Natural Resources Depletion and Economic Growth in Present Era

Resources depletion refers to the situation where the consumption of natural resources is faster than it can be replenished. The natural resources of a nation can be divided as renewable resources and non renewable resources. The natural resources contribute at large to the economic development of a nation. Current patterns of energy and natural resource use, agricultural practices, and urbanization appear to be largely unsustainable and require urgent remediation. The consumption pattern of natural resources did not seem to be justifiable which can have economic downfalls for the nation. Population Explosion is acting as a catalyst for resources depletion. Consumption pattern if not addressed will lead to irreversible climate change and declined economic growth, as a result of increased social, economic, and environmental costs and decreased productivity. In order to achieve economic growth, developing countries are abusing their lands on the grounds of economic interests. Whether is in the form of air and water pollution, deforestation and soil erosion or the extraction of natural resources itself, the fact is that developing countries are currently accounting for remarkable depletion of natural resources. It seems evident that much of the economic growth activities enforced by governments, account for significant resources depletion. Additionally, developing countries remain largely dependent on exports of natural resources to generate economic dividends. Withstanding, pulling raw material from forests to fulfill exportation needs is subject to enormous domestic and international pressure, causing overexploitation of the natural resource base. Furthermore, it is highly relevant to add that the disproportional level of resources exploitation being caused due to economic policies. Resource utilization has always been part of human history; however, the acceleration of economic growth activities together with the pursuit of an urgent economic development is the core cause of resources overexploitation. In conclusion, one may argue that economic growth and associated development usually results in increased levels of resources exploitation. However, that is not to say that an inevitable consequential relationship exists between these trends. It seems evident that developing countries pursuing rapid economic growth disregard environmental concerns.