What is the meaning of Resource Security?
The meaning of resource security relates to the ability of humankind to guarantee the availability of natural resources for all people. Because of population increases, economic growth, and people becoming older than before, resources experience constant pressure. As a result of increased dependence on natural resources, people become more fragile. It results in continuous dangers we face to protect our natural resources, livelihoods and survival methods.
To prevent humankind from experiencing insecure availability of food, for example, diverse legislations and policies became available. Environmental instability means some resources experience overexploitation and endangers our livelihood security. To prevent this from happening, we require certain rules to ensure the conservation of our natural resources and reach levels of security.
The management of resources security entails the administration of natural capital. Similar as we calculate different assets as a part of a company, we also determine our natural resources stability. The accounting of natural resources entails complex systems inclusive of different environmental and social dynamics. For example, scientists attempt to place a figure against the future value of ecosystem services.
Environmental instability influences the security of our resources and creates evidence of fear, food shortages, and conflict. Resources present different levels of sensitivities and importance. For example, some attributes may present lower capacity levels than others. The more resources a country comprises the lesser the value. For example, if a country comprises a magnitude of iron ore, it carries less importance than diamonds. Diamonds present a rare mineral and therefore higher in value.
The meaning thereof results in natural resources becoming insecure and less resilient because of an increase in demand. To move into more detail, the resource security concept relates specifically to the following key aspects humankind experiences globally:
- Increased demand for water
- Increased need for food resources
- Increased usage of energy resources
- Increased needs by the poorer communities to gain access to basic needs
To assist humankind and secure the safekeeping of natural resources, scientists continue to investigate various options to protect these attributes from disappearing. Some methods developed and executed include the following:
- An investigation into protecting the community’s livelihoods
- Developing sustainable development modeling plans explaining the influences on earth’s resources
- Use of mathematical analyses to quantify the impacts on natural resources
- Development of impact assessment models to determine the influences on water, air, groundwater, soil, forests, marine life and other
- Identification of diverse conservation policies and plans that allow for protecting these resources
- Development and implementation of governance procedures to ensure the conservation of natural resources. The protection of natural resources aligns directly with the implementation of a secure and sustainable environment.
What does Natural Resources Security mean to Local Communities?
To allow for proper Natural Resources Security to happen, it becomes significantly important to transfer the responsibilities to local communities. Many years the protection of natural resources relied on the onus of the governments. In the event governments change rule or legislation, resources security tend to struggle. The transfer of responsibilities to inhabitants of a specific geographic area allows them to participate in the care thereof.
Subsequently, governments started to agree with different community leaders to ensure the preservation of their natural resources. They work together with the appointment of government officials to prevent unsustainable living practices, for example:
- Water pollution impacts the ecosystem and water quality for animals as well as humans.
- Overgrazing of land that leads to erosion and further degradation of land.
- Exceeding fishing quotas that result in food insecurity especially for our fishing communities.
- Deforestation that involves an unnecessary cutting of trees, that results in degraded land, erosion, food shortages and climate change.
- Illegal hunting of wildlife and subsequent instability in our biodiversity systems.
- Air pollution because of continuous slash and burn fires for example or the extractive industries destabilizing our atmospheric conditions.
- Illegal mining
The managed to secure natural resources entail much more than implementing strict rules and regulations. It entails the understanding of the community’s cultural characteristics and expectations regarding the meaning of security. It requires a relationship between different assumptions presented by diverse stakeholders. Although we focus on the achievement of natural resources, the role of people plays a significant part to reach stability.
The different types of stakeholders play a key role to ensure the protection of the earth’s resources. Some of these key role players include the following:
- Local communities
- Government leaders
- Government authorities
- Scientists
- Researchers
- Conservation experts
- Non-governmental organizations
How does one reach a level of natural resources security?
To reach a level of natural resources security, one should identify some major issues and opportunities related to natural resources security. This means the inclusion of policy, governance, science and sustainable food security discussion points as well as interventions. Specifically, natural resources managers need to investigate the available resources aligned with the impacts of technology and modern-day living.
Key Steps Resources Security
To reach a level of Resources Security it aims to achieve the following key sustainable development targets:
- Prevention of high-quantity exploitation of natural resources for example oil, timber, and gas.
- Prevention of violent war or conflicts globally that may impact on resources security.
- Management of competition to gain access to resources by different countries across the world.
- Maintenance of environmental degradation, climate change as well as decrease of population growth.
- Rescue of existing poorly managed natural resources areas and assistance to rectify the impacts to the advantage of local as well as global communities.
Legislative Requirements
Each government consists of a task to ensure the management of natural resources to reach their security standards. Some key legislative requirements include the following key aspects:
The development of legislation, policies, and standards to discuss conflict prevention. Conflict prevention plays a key role to limit natural resources from becoming extinct. These guidance notes developed by the world, national and local authorities include the following:
- Conflict over land.
- Conflict over renewable resources.
- Conflict over sensitive natural resources management.
Besides the guidance notes, each country comprises the Environmental Management Legislations inclusive of the conservation of natural and social attributes. Social attributes refer to a country’s work labor, cultural-heritage and health and safety standards for example.
Besides environmental management legislation, other types of legal documents also guide in terms of resource security. These include the following:
- Fishery and Forestry
- Water
- Marine
- Air
- Biodiversity
- Natural heritage
- Land
Read more about Natural Resources
The Ultimate Meaning of Resources Security entails the protection of important natural resources to prevent a scarcity of water, energy, food, and other resources. To reach a level of resources security allows humankind to protect themselves from hunger, conflict, war and unnecessary pollution of natural resources. In the event globally or nationally humankind struggles with resources security it may experience levels of total instability. Instability subsequently creates disagreements between different communities, states, countries, and governments.
It also impacts significantly on the health of our natural resources for example wildlife. During many circumstances, wildlife becomes extinct because of illegal hunting or impacting on the safety of their food resources. It, therefore, stays critical to reaching a balance between development, progress, and expansion of humankind versus the achievement of resources security.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the meaning of food security?
The status of having enough nutritious food resources available to all humans across the world.
What is the definition of resource security?
Scarce food supplies, energy resources, water, and other important needs impact directly on the global, national or local stabilities or securities. In the event the scale moves negatively it may cause conflicts, war, and disagreements between different countries.
Who is responsible to ensure the management of Resources Security?
Although resources security we mainly see as the responsibility of governments and other global institutions, it stretches beyond the obvious. The complex environment requires government institutions, corporate companies, non-government institutions, community bodies and individuals to reach levels of resources security. Without resources security, we easily reach levels of uncertainty and insecure natural resources that may lead to conflict. These uncertainties may cause poorer communities becoming more disadvantaged and less likely to live sustainably.
References
- Nexus, 2016, Resilience Natural Resource Security in an Uncertain World, Nexus Research Papers, https://www.water-energy-food.org/resources/resources-detail/resilience-natural-resource-security-in-an-uncertain-world/
- Simson G.B., Jewitt G.P.W., 2019, The Development of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus as a Framework for Achieving Resource Security: A Review, Frontiers in Environmental Science, https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2019.00008/full
- Pollini J, et al., 2014, The transfer of natural resource management rights to local communities, The transfer of natural resource management rights to local communities, Chapter 8, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268150101