A resource is anything that enables an individual or an organization to work efficiently. It could be money, or it could be an organization's employees. The higher the resource availability, the greater the value addition. Let us learn about the types of resources in this blog.

All of the natural elements that help us to survive in this world are our resources. Some resources are extremely valuable economically, while others are not. Many resources are also culturally and artistically significant. Even biological wastes can be converted into useful resources in today's technologically advanced world. The use of fossil fuels is a good example of this.

There are different types of resources based on the basis of origin, ownership, exhaustibility, and the status of development.

On the Basis of Origin

1. Biotic Resources: These are obtained from the biosphere and have life such as human beings, flora, and fauna, fisheries, livestock, etc.
2. Abiotic Resources: All those things which are composed of non-living things are called abiotic resources. For example, rocks and metals.

On the Basis of Exhaustibility

1. Renewable Resources: The resources which can be renewed or reproduced by physical, chemical, or mechanical processes are known as renewable or replenishable resources. For example, solar and wind energy, water, forests, and wildlife, etc.
2. Non-Renewable Resources: These occur over a very long geological time. Minerals and fossil fuels are examples of such resources. These resources take millions of years in their formation. Some of the resources like metals are recyclable and some like fossil fuels cannot be recycled and get exhausted with their use

On the Basis of Ownership

1. Individual Resources: These are also owned privately by individuals. Many farmers own land which is allotted to them by the government against the payment of revenue. In villages, there are people with land ownership but there are many who are landless. Urban people own plots, houses, and other property. Plantation, pasture lands, ponds, water in wells, etc. are some of the examples of resources ownership by individuals.
2. Community Owned Resources: There are resources that are accessible to all the members of the community. Village commons (grazing grounds, burial grounds, village ponds, etc.) public parks, picnic spots, playgrounds in urban areas are de facto accessible to all the people living there.
3. National Resources: Technically, all the resources belong to the nation. The country has legal powers to acquire even private property for the public good. You might have seen roads, canals, railways being constructed on fields owned by some individuals. Urban Development Authorities get empowered by the government to acquire land. All the minerals, water resources, forests, wildlife, land within the political boundaries and oceanic area up to 12 nautical miles (19.2 km) from the coast termed as territorial water and resources therein belong to the nation.
4. International Resources: There are international institutions that regulate some resources. The oceanic resources beyond 200 km of the Exclusive Economic Zone belong to the open ocean and no individual country can utilize these without the concurrence of international institutions.

On the Basis of the Status of Development

1. Potential Resources: Resources that are found in a region, but have not been utilized. For example, the western parts of India particularly Rajasthan and Gujarat have enormous potential for the development of wind and solar energy, but so far these have not been developed properly.
2. Developed Resources: Resources that are surveyed and their quality and quantity have been determined for utilization. The development of resources depends on technology and level of their feasibility.
3. Stock: Materials in the environment that have the potential to satisfy human needs but human beings do not have the appropriate technology to access these, are included.

Read More: Natural Resources: Definition, Types and Examples