Topic 7.1: Natural Resources — Uses and Management Questions

A village in Nepal owns a community forest. Each year the villagers cut some firewood and collect medicinal plants, but they never cut more than grows back. Outline the difference between natural capital and natural income, using the community forest.

Figure 1 is a fact file on the rainforest of Madre de Dios, Peru. Identify one economic value of the forests as natural capital, using Figure 1.

Some people say a wild river is worth protecting even if no one ever fishes in it, drinks from it or visits it. Outline what is meant by the intrinsic value of natural capital.

The Amazon river dolphin, or boto, is pink. Many river communities tell legends about it, and it is listed as endangered. State one value of the Amazon river dolphin.

Figure 1 is a fact file on Brazil nut trees in the Amazon rainforest. Using Figure 1, state one example of a commercial product provided by the natural capital of the Amazon rainforest.

Figure 1 shows examples of plants of New Zealand. Using Figure 1, state one example of a commercial product provided by the natural capital of the region.

What is meant by the sustainable yield of a renewable resource?

Figure 1 is a fact file on Iceland's natural resources. Using Figure 1, identify one natural resource that Iceland uses as a raw material and one that it uses as a source of energy.

Figure 1 is a fact file on the glaciers of northern Pakistan. With reference to Figure 1, identify two forms of natural capital provided by the glaciers.

Figure 1 is a fact file on the Sundarbans mangrove forest. With reference to Figure 1, identify two forms of natural capital provided by the Sundarbans.

Figure 1 is a fact file on the argan forests of Morocco. Using Figure 1, state one example of a commercial product provided by the natural capital of the argan forests.

The Amazon rainforest covers about 5.5 million km² of South America and is home to around one in ten of the world's known species. Outline one ecological service provided by the Amazon rainforest.

Giant tortoises live only in the Galapagos Islands. Some live for over 100 years, and visitors come from around the world to see them. State one value of the Galapagos giant tortoise.

A mangrove forest in Thailand gives local people wood for charcoal and also protects their village from storm waves. Distinguish between natural income as goods and natural income as services, using the mangrove forest.

A country introduces certification for sustainably harvested timber, like the Forest Stewardship Council label. Outline one advantage of this approach.

A country plans to build more solar farms, open a new copper mine and increase its catches of fish. State which of these resources is non-renewable.

A model graph of a fish stock shows that the stock grows fastest at about half of its carrying capacity. Outline what is meant by the maximum sustainable yield of a renewable natural resource.

Since the 1970s, large areas of lowland rainforest in Sarawak, Malaysia, have been logged. Logs are dragged to the rivers and floated down to mills on the coast. Outline three environmental impacts of large-scale logging in a tropical rainforest.

Figure 1 is a fact file on the Okavango Delta in Botswana. With reference to Figure 1, identify two forms of natural capital provided by the delta.

Figure 1 is a fact file on the forests of Madagascar. Using Figure 1, state one example of a commercial product provided by the natural capital of Madagascar's forests.