Resource Management

Shitangsu K Paul
Geography and Environmental
Studies
Basic Concepts
Resource Allocation
• Temporal and spatial pattern of resource uses (agriculture,
soil, fodder, game park, fisheries) in a pattern that reflects
the goals, priorities, and aspirations of a community (B.
Mitchell 1989)
• Resource Allocation should not result in deleterious effect
in bio-physical and socio-economic environment
• It should focus production, consumption and distribution
of resources considering local, regional, and national
development objectives
• Tread-offs should be made costs and benefits
– Example: Swamps for local fishing converted to grain farming
 Basic Concepts (Contd.)
Resource development
• Represents the actual exploitation or use of a resource
during the transformation of the neutral stuff into a
commodity or service to human needs and aspirations
• Resource development will involve placing value, extraction
and processing so that a neutral stuff becomes a resource
to be used to meet human wants
• Value of a resource is culturally, economically, and
technologically determined
• Other resources such as atmospheric oxygen possess
biologically mandated and universal values
– Ex. Use of the Nile water for irrigation transforms desert into
ag.land
 Basic Concepts (Contd.)
Resource management
• Involves controls on the amount, quality, timing, availability and general
direction of resource development
• It promotes exploitation, enhancement and restoration of resources
• It is a process of decision making whereby resources are allocated over
space and time according to the needs, aspirations, and desires of man
within the framework of his technological inventiveness, his political and
social institutions and his legal and administrative framework (O’ Riordan
1971)
• In organizational studies, resource management is the efficient and
effective deployment for an organization's resources when they are
needed. Such resources may include financial resources, inventory,
human skills, production resources, or information technology (IT).
Managing human impact on the environment in a way that is sustainable.
 Basic Concepts (Contd.)
Resource management (Contd.)
• A form of decision-making concerned with the allocation and conservation of
natural resources. The main emphases are on: an understanding of the processes
involved in the exploitation of resources, the analysis of the allocation of
resources, and the development and evaluation of management strategies in
resource allocation. (Oxford Dictionary of Geography)

• However, resource management is more comprehensive and

positive term which allows resource allocation to be dominated
neither by market forces nor by quasi-political forums but by a
combination of and compromises in social, cultural, economic,
ecological and industrial process.
 Resource conservation
Resource conservation
– An implicit streak or undertone or no use or preservation
– It reflects no growth
– Practices that protect, preserve or renew natural resources in a
manner that will ensure their highest economic or social benefits.
– Management of the human use of natural resources to provide the
maximum benefit to current generations while maintaining capacity
to meet the needs of future generations. Conservation includes both
the protection and rational use of natural resources.
– The protection, preservation, restoration, and rational use of all
resources in the total environment.
– The act or process of conserving.
• a. Preservation or restoration from loss, damage, or neglect.
• b. The protection, preservation, management, or restoration of
wildlife and of natural resources such as forests, soil, and water.
• C. The maintenance of a physical quantity, such as energy or mass,
during a physical or chemical change.
 The Evolution of the Field of Resource Management

• Before 1960s RM were studied in agriculture, forestry, soil science

and wildlife conservation schools
• By 1970s, it was land use and resource assessment, environmental
science, resource development and conservation, environmental
management or resource management
• At infancy stage it put emphasis on pollution, soil erosion,
deforestation etc.
• None of the studies focused on developing countries
• Main drawback was it included natural resources (minerals, forests,
land, fisheries), other intangible assets such as common property
resources (air, water) were not considered
• In 1960s, concern arises due to the fear of increasing resource
scarcity, human ability to destroy, and inability to substitute
resources
• It was mixed approach of environmental quality and limits to growth
• RM field of study has evolved in response to the shifts in the
perceived values of land, labor, technology and capital.
The Evolution of the Field of Resource Management (Contd.)

RM in Pre-industrial/Pre-colonial Period
– Poorly developed technology to exploit resources
– Less population and consumption
– In relative term resources were scared but in absolute terms they were
abundant
– Economy was poorly developed
– Resource exploitation was labour intensive, and resource allocation was based
on social norms, customs and traditions
– Damage was caused by extreme fluctuation of nature (diseases, floods,
droughts etc.)
– RM techniques were largely developed in order to cope with physical
limitations or fluctuations of nature
– Erosion, water scarcity and soil degradation were some of the major problems
– RM techniques were terracing, irrigation, transhumances, numadism, use of
fires, and shifting cultivation
The Evolution of the Field of Resource Management (Contd.)

RM in Industrial or Colonial period

– Technological advancement and enhancement in resource exploitation
– Technological advancement in the system minimized resource substitution
and importation
– Resources were both relatively and absolutely abundant
– Population growth and escalating demand of diverse resources
– Technology was overpriced and restricted
– Technology was backed by power and politics
– Emphasis on cash crops
– Resource was increasingly exploited in Western perspectives without
considering local environment
– Local communities entered into the international production system due to
the centralized colonial system
– RM policy in developing countries focused largely on the protection of few
public domains such as national parks, game reserves, national reserves,
forest reserves
The Evolution of the Field of Resource Management (Contd.)

RM in Post-industrial or Post Colonial Period

– Mistakes in colonial period strengthen RM in post colonial period
– It was realized that private gain did not enhanced public welfare, hence
welfare economics was incorporated in RM
– Public participation began to play vital role in RM
– Multidisciplinary projects were initiated including environmental quality and
dignity of life
– RM focused on protection and enhancement of environmental quality
– Guideline for using common property resources
– Colonial roles and regulations were gradually modified
– Population in cash economy increased
– Investment in education and industry was significantly increased
– Until 1970s, env. concerns in developing countries were triggered by the fears
of population growth, reducing ag. productivity, soil erosion, unaffordable oil
price, inflation, unemployment, and poverty
– Currently RM issues in developing countries focuses rising and sustaining high
level of productivity without environmental impairment
 Major Approaches in RM

• Spatial Approach
• Ecological Approach
• Economic Approach
• Technological Approach
• Ethnological Approach
 Major Approaches in RM (Contd.)

Spatial Approach
• Geography is the science of spatial distribution and believed that an
objective of geographic research must be an understanding of the
evolution of space contents as it is influenced by the physical, biotic,
and cultural process (Akerman 1958)
• Geography’s focus is to account for the locations and spatial
arrangements of phenomena on earth surface (McCarty 1963)
• Geographers are concerned about how physical space is structured,
how men relate through space, how men have organized their
societies in space, and how the conception and use of space have
changed (Morrill 1970)
• Geography differentiated itself from the other branches of science by
the questions posed about location, spatial structure, and spatial
process (Abler, Adams and Gold 1971)
Major Approaches in RM (Contd.)
Ecological Approach
• The allocation and management of resources on the basis of an
understanding of the functional components of the physical and
biological environment, and the relationship among the
components
• Geography’s view should be concerned with the mutual relation
between people and their environment (Barrows 1923)
• Key concepts of ecological approach are community, succession
and climax
• However, core message is the allocation of resources in a
manner that minimizes environmental impairments
Major Approaches in RM (Contd.)
Ecological Approach (Contd.)
• Ecosystem inventory to determine community zones (open
water, swamps, mixed forests)
• Identification of natural process that lead to stability and
determination of the limiting factors (slope, alkalinity, water
table, altitude, external factors)
• Analysis of inventory data to evaluate the functional
significance of the ecosystem components
• Recommendation of alternative uses based on the
established functional significance (potential intensive use
areas, sensitive areas, recreation areas)
Major Approaches in RM (Contd.)
Economic Approach
• The essence of economic activity is the removal of materials
from the environment, their transformation by production
and consumption and their eventual return to the
environment (Mills 1975)
• Main premise is resources are scarce and therefore resource
users have to make choice and optimize their use of resources
• The objective of resource allocation is to achieve economic
efficiency by minimizing production coasts (labour and
capital) and maximizing monetary profits
Major Approaches in RM (Contd.)
Economic Approach (Contd.)

Major Assumptions of Economic Approach

• Production coasts are freely substitutable for one another in
achieving a desired level of output (replace of land by labour)
• Demand can be identified and consumer preferences for different
uses are known and can be compared
• Benefits from resource uses can be quantified in monetary terms
• Resource use has no external effects on the physical environment
and economic situation
• Main limitation is all resources are not similar to market goods
• Quantifying or substituting is difficult i.e. visual beauty
• Willingness to pay or contingency evaluation are widely used
techniques
Major Approaches in RM (Contd.)
Technological Approach
• The effective application of economic approach can be enhanced by
development of technology
• Technology reduce production costs and increase production with same
volume of labor and resources
• Technology is a promoter of economic growth
• Resource use problems such as floods, droughts are solved by building
dams and irrigation
– Pollution and Rapid resource deterioration
– Positive is technology reduces environmental deterioration and resource
scarcity
• Anti-pollution technology is cost effective in terms of health, property,
and environmental damage
• Erosion control to livestock breeding, to new crop variety, to promote less
damaging production methods
Major Approaches in RM (Contd.)
Ethnological Approach
• Fundamental issues of RM are the allocation of resources,
setting of priorities, determination of emphasis, and making
of choices
• Public consent should be incorporated in resource allocation
and management everywhere (Firey 1960)
• Ethnological approach stipulates that cultural differences in a
part influence the way people perceive and use resources of
their environment
• The use of resource is related to specified cultural themes
and perception of resources
– Conflicts in competing tribal interests such as CHT
 Ethnological Approach (Contd.)

• Citizen participation in the development process

• Issue identification: the legal, administration and
environmental constrains
• Collection of data
• Analysis of data
• Evaluation
• Decision implementation: involves feedback to public