Chapter 1 - Importance of natural resources conservation: Moving toward the sustainable world

Abstract

Existence of human civilization depends upon the ecosystem and ecosystem services. Maintaining daily livelihood is a biggest challenge for human kind under environmental degradation and changing climate that is taking place in the 21st century. Development of science and technology has increased the interaction between human and environment, which has leads to rapid depletion of infinite natural resources (NR). This situation is creating alarming issues and leading to unsustainable use of NR. Hence, the major problems such as food crisis, water scarcity, temperature rise, deforestation and environmental pollution are irreversible in nature causing severe damage to the present and future generation. In this context, natural resource management (NRM) is the need of hour that requires a holistic and integrated approach to manage the social, economic and environmental issues for sustainable use of NR. There is urgent need to focus on the importance of sustainable ecosystem with NRM. It will help the future perspective for existence of the humanity on the earth. Sustainable utilization and efficient use should be the central theme of the NRM at various spheres of conservation approaches. This chapter is focused on NRM and conservation toward sustainable development. Therefore, awareness, improve technology as well as changing attitude of people from consumeric to conservative is the need of the hour. In this direction, future research and development, planning, and policy formulation are need to addressed toward natural resource conservation.