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Summary Grade 11 Resources and Sustainability
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Grade 11 Platinum – Resources and SustainabilityResources and Sustainability
The relationship between resources and economic
development:
• Resources: things people use to help them meet their
needs.
• Natural resources are found in particular places across the
world. For example, the Democratic Republic of the Congo
has gold, iron and copper. Saudi Arabia has crude oil.
• Some countries do not need all the resources they have
so they sell some of the resources on the world market.
• Having resources does not always mean a country will
have high economic development. Trade and political
issues can both positively and negatively affect development.
• In Africa, levels of development are closely linked to the availability of resources, resource use and
trade. Most African countries export resources in an unprocessed, raw form. Not many African
countries have developed manufacturing industries, which are focused on export.
• Manufactured products are more valuable than raw materials on the world market. Countries with
well-developed manufacturing industries are more economically development than countries that rely
on exporting raw materials.
• There is a high demand for Africa’s raw materials and more economically developed countries, where
these materials are processed into manufactured products.
Exploitation and depletion of resources:
• Depletion: reduction in the supply through use of resources in large quantities.
• Exploitation: greedy and careless use that does not consider consequences.
• Renewable resources: resources that can be regenerated or replaced.
• Non-renewable resources: resources that have a limited supply; they cannot renew themselves in a
human time frame.
• Causes of exploitation:
o Poor methods of resource use.
o Unnecessary use of resources.
o Overpopulation.
o Poverty.
o Shortage or poor distribution of resources in an area.
o Large-scale industrial development and urbanisation.
o Pollution of resources.
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, Grade 11 Platinum – Resources and Sustainability
Resources
Human resources: skills,
Natural Resources
pollution, infastructure
Renewable
Non-renewable
- perpetual: wind, solar,
- minerals: diamonds, iron
waves.
ore
- sustainable: soils, water,
- fossil fuels: coal, crude oil
forests
• Perpetual resources: resources that exist despite the actions of people and over which people have
virtually no control such as the movement of oceans, solar radiation and the wind. They exist despite
the actions of people. They are becoming increasingly important as sources of renewable energy.
• Sustainable resources: sources that in theory can continue to support a constant rate of use without
the supply being significantly reduced. We say in theory because bad management, exploitation and
pollution can cause these resources to become unsustainable or even non-renewable. Water, soils
and forests are examples of these.
Concepts of sustainability and sustainable use of resources:
• Sustainability: meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their needs.
• A sustainable resource does not have to be replaced quickly. If the demand for oil dropped to a level
that does not put pressure on a limited supply of oil, will be a sustainable resource even if it is non-
renewable.
• Alternative sources of energy such as wind, solar power and water power are renewable energy
resources as well as sustainable energy resources.
• Sustainability is not only about the environment. Natural resources exist in the environment. Societies
use resources to live and to create wealth in the economy. The concept of sustainability aims to
maintain a balance between these elements. Sustainable societies can benefit from the gifts of nature
without threatening their future needs.
Soil and soil erosion
Soil formation:
• Soil is a mixture of broken pieces of rock, plant and animal remains, water and air. It is essential to
the vast majority of plants and animals to live on the Earth.
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, Grade 11 Platinum – Resources and Sustainability
• Soil takes a long time to form. Can take up to 10,000 years to form so it is said to form at a rate of 1
cm every hundred to 400 years.
• In human terms, soil is a non-renewable resource. Once an area loses its soil, the area is effectively
lost.
Factors that affect soil formation:
Climate:
Human activity: High temperatures and high rainfall accelerate weathering.
Activities such as farming, mining and Areas with high temperatures and rainfall tend to have deep
building affect the formation of soils. Human soils. This type of climate also supports rich growth of plants.
activity can also affect other factors such as The amount of water in the soil and water’s direction of
climate, organisms and topography. movement also affects the formation of soil. When water
moves down in the soil, it can carry with it soluble minerals.
Organisms: This is called leaching. A leached soil can be infertile because
Organisms such as worms and animals all because many of the nutrients have been washed away.
burrow and make tunnels in the soil, moving
the soil around and increasing air spaces. Time:
This is called bioturbation. Animals add dung Young soils have a similar composition to the parent rock from
to the soil. Bacteria and microorganisms help which they are weathered. Overtime, more organic material
to decompose plant and animal material. enters the soil; becomes deeper and more fertile. Climatic
Decomposition releases valuable nutrients conditions change, the composition of the soil will also change.
into the soil.
Parent material:
Topography: A large part of soil is made up of small pieces of rock. We call
Steeper slopes usually have thinner soils than the rock from which this way the weather is the parent rock.
slopes with gentle gradient. Steep slopes Weathering breaks down the parent rock into small pieces.
have high run off. Soils on steep slopes are Rocks are the weathered by physical processes and by
thin and infertile. Gentler slopes and valleys chemical processes. The weathered material determines the
have much deeper soils. Plant roots hold the texture structure and colour of the soil.
soil together and continue to allow the soil to Soil structure: arrangement of soil particles.
break down and become more fertile. Soil texture: the size distribution of soil particles.
Soil as a resource:
• Soils are central to agriculture and food production. Throughout history, people have lived close to
areas that have fertile soil.
• A combination of good soil and plenty of water are central to
development of ancient civilisations in different parts of the
world. The annual flooding of the River Nile deposits fresh soil
on the fields next to the river. The new soil made the growth of
rich farming community possible in Egypt. Even today, wordle
settlement patterns are influenced by the availability of fertile
soil.
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