Natural Resource Management

Natural resources are naturally occurring substances or features of the environment (physical or biological). Since natural resources can be exploited, they represent actual or potential sources of wealth that occur in a natural state, such as timber, water, fertile land, wildlife and minerals. A natural resource qualifies as a renewable resource if it is replenished by natural processes at a rate comparable to its rate of consumption by humans or other users. A natural resource is considered non-renewable when it exists in a fixed amount, or when it cannot be regenerated on a scale comparative to its consumption.

Disaster impacts, environmental degradation, as well as the inadequate management and use of natural resources perpetuate or even amplify disaster risk and can severely undermine the resilience of populations directly depended on the natural resources provided by local ecosystems. Since natural resources are particularly important for the poorest and most vulnerable communities in the world, they are most severely affected by deteriorating environmental conditions and factors limiting natural resource access. Environmental degradation and damages to ecosystems reduces the capacity of ecosystems to provide important services to communities, such as food, firewood, medicines and protection from natural hazards. It also greatly reduces a landscape’s ability to sequester carbon – a crucial element in climate change mitigation. When natural resources are poorly managed, inequitably shared, or when operations are implemented without due consideration for the environmental context and communities, tensions might emerge that can escalate into violent conflict or feed into and exacerbate pre-existing conflict dynamics.

Vulnerability to water insecurity is particularly high in many developing countries, with a high risk of waterborne diseases and little available resources to invest in alternative technological solutions. Climate change further poses high risk of abrupt and irreversible regional-scale change in the composition, structure, and function of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems, including wetlands (IPCC, 2014). Therefore, wise use of natural resources such as wetlands, watersheds and river basins for their regulatory services is paramount.

The effective management of land/land-use including agriculture, forestry, water systems, life-forms and atmospheric environment is vital to reduce disaster risks and community vulnerability to disasters impacts. Ecosystem restoration and the sustainable use of natural resources facilitates people’s ability to prevent, cope with and recover from disasters. Key natural resource management considerations that are relevant throughout disaster preparedness, response and recovery include:

• Watershed restoration, agroecology, reef protection and rangeland rehabilitation to support climate change adaptation as they serve immediate needs and bring immediate benefits to local communities while also contributing to longer-term capacity development that will create a basis for reducing future vulnerabilities
• Given that increasing frequency of water-related hazards or hydro-hazards, integrated water resource management (IWRM) is an essential tool that integrates DRR strategies in managing both excess water and water scarcity as well as encompassing integrated watershed management (IWM) and integrated river basin management (IRBM)
• Integrated forest management (IFM) helps to balance demand for forest products with the ecological requirements of forests, while ensuring other key benefits for livelihoods, notably by stabilizing steep slopes and reducing soil erosion
• Promoting sustainable agricultural practices and the careful management of protective vegetation to address land degradation and conserve soil moisture, thus reducing the impact of drought and ensuring food supply for communities in marginal drylands
• Protecting coral reefs and coastal mangrove forests as these are known for their ability to adapt to climate change and recover from storms and floods and still provide services of protecting the coast and absorbing pollution
• Integrating natural resource issues in peace negotiations is an important component of laying the foundation for future reforms, securing livelihoods, and promoting equitable access
• Natural resource management is especially conducive to bottom-up approaches and requires communities to take the lead in order to be successful and sustainable
• Especially in the disaster context, natural resource expertise is often required to assess natural resource issues