A comprehensive analysis of natural resource use and economic development in poor countries, first published in 2005.

Natural capital constitutes a quarter of total wealth in low-income countries. This publication demonstrates that natural resources can contribute to growth, employment, exports and fiscal revenues and highlights the importance of policies encouraging the sustainable management of these resources.

'Natural resources' are naturally occurring substances that are considered valuable in their relatively unmodified (natural) form. A natural resource's value rests in the amount of the material available and the demand for it. There are 2 types of natural resources: renewable and non-renewable. Natural Resources include soil, timber, oil, minerals, and other goods taken more or less from the Earth. Both extraction of the basic resource and refining it into a purer, directly usable form, (e.g., metals, refined oils) are generally considered natural-resource activities, even though the latter may not necessarily occur near the former. A nation's natural resources often determine its wealth in the world economic system. In recent years, the depletion of natural capital and attempts to move to sustainable development have been a major focus of development agencies. This is of particular concern in rainforest regions, which hold most of the Earth's natural biodiversity -- irreplaceable genetic natural capital. Conservation of natural resources is the major focus of natural capitalism, environmentalism, the ecology movement, and Green Parties. Some view this depletion as a major source of social unrest and conflicts in developing nations. This book gathers and presents important research in the field.

In this book, first published in 1990, Judith Rees considers the spatial distribution of resource availability, development and consumption, and the distribution of resource-generated wealth and welfare. Showing that there are no simple answers, she analyses the complex interactions between economic forces, administrative structures and political institutions. This well-structured text is essential reading for upper-level students in geography, environmental planning, economics and resource management.