NCERT Solutions for Class 8th Social Science Chapter 1 Natural Resources and Their Use
Updated on 2026-09-19
About this chapter
An element of Nature becomes a resource only when humans can actually use it. The chapter sets three conditions: it must be technologically accessible , its exploitation must be economically feasible , and it must be culturally acceptable . Petroleum too deep to reach, or trees in a sacred grove, are therefore not resources. Resources can be categorised in more than one way. By use — resources essential for life (air, water, soil), resources for materials (wood, marble, coal, gold) and resources for energy (coal, water, petroleum, natural gas, sunlight, wind). By renewability — renewable and non-renewable. Nature works by restoration (returning to a healthy state) and regeneration (creating new life), in cycles where nothing is waste. A resource stays renewable only while that rhythm is un
- Theme: India and the World: Land and the People
- Nature as sacred in indigenous traditions
- Tracing everyday things back to Nature
- Criteria for categorising natural resources
- Traditional restraint in fishing, and the decline of tuna
- A research study of renewable resources in your region
- Non-renewables in daily use, and their renewable substitutes
- Fig. 1.11
- A resource conflict in the international context
- The ‘Paradox of Plenty’
Quick revision
| Term | What it means | Where it appears in the chapter | Example / detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature | The totality of life and non-life forms that are part of our environment but have not been created by humans | Page 2 — ‘When does Nature become a Resource?’ | A standing tree in a forest |
| Natural resource | Materials and substances that occur in Nature and are valuable to humans | Page 3 | Air, water, soil, coal, petroleum, timber, metal ores, precious stones |
| Exploitation | In this chapter it carries no negative sense — it means the extraction, utilisation and consumption of natural resources | Page 2 (the bracketed note) | Mining coal; pumping groundwater |
| Renewable resource | A resource Nature restores and regenerates — but only if we do not use it faster than it renews | Pages 5–6 | Solar energy, wind energy, energy from flowing water, timber from forests |
| Non-renewable resource | Created over long periods; cannot be replenished at the rate we use it | Page 8 | Coal, petroleum, iron, copper, gold |
| Restoration | Returning something to its original healthy state after it has been degraded or damaged | Page 5 | A cut on your skin healing; a forest recovering after a wildfire |
| Regeneration | Nature's ability to create new life and the conditions for thriving — it goes beyond restoration | Page 5 | Planting the original species of trees so birds and squirrels return |
| Ecosystem function | Something Nature does of its own accord | Page 7 — DON'T MISS OUT | A forest filtering water, preventing soil erosion, giving habitat |
| Ecosystem service | An ecosystem function from which humans benefit | Page 7 | Clean water, protected farmland, pollinated crops |
| ‘Paradox of plenty’ / natural resource curse | Regions rich in natural resources sometimes growing more slowly, because they cannot convert those resources into products of higher value | Page 11 | India avoided it by investing in such industries |
| Stewardship | Using resources so that renewables can restore and regenerate, and non-renewables are used responsibly and judiciously | Page 12 | Water harvesting, organic farming, the shift to solar energy |
| Lokasangraha | The Bhagavad Gītā's idea that everyone must transcend personal desires and act for the wellbeing of all | Pages 18–19 | The chapter's closing appeal to act as stewards of Nature |
Exercises
- Theme: India and the World: Land and the People — The Big Questions Page 1
- Nature as sacred in indigenous traditions — Don't Miss Out Page 3
- Tracing everyday things back to Nature — Think About It Page 3
- Criteria for categorising natural resources — Think About It Page 4
- Traditional restraint in fishing, and the decline of tuna — Don't Miss Out Page 6
- Human actions that block Nature's restoration and regeneration — Let's Explore Page 7
- A research study of renewable resources in your region — Let's Explore Page 8
- Non-renewables in daily use, and their renewable substitutes — Let's Explore Page 8
- Fig. 1.11 — Let's Explore Page 9
- Mapping two natural resources and weighing the cost of extracting them — Let's Explore Page 10
- A resource conflict in the international context — Let's Explore Page 10
- The ‘Paradox of Plenty’ — Let's Explore Page 11
- Lokasangraha and stewardship — In-text Questions Page 19
- End-of-chapter exercise — Questions and activities Page 19