Natural Resources and Development:

The attempts of the developing countries to proceed on  the path of development are constrained  by  the  lack  of  specific natural  resources. Natural resources  can  be considered as the universal means of production, and are indispensable for canying the productive activity of society and are taken  as a gift of nature. A nation's  total supply of resources is inherited from the past.

The  use of  natural resources  is  to  a  large  extent  based  on  the  level  and type  of technology.  Natural  resources are crucial  not  only for raising food crops and  for other  natural food items but  exports of minerals  can  also  be  a  foreign  exchange earner for developing countries. Developing countries face a resource crunch as  these are based mostly on primary activities  such as agriculture, mining, fisheries and other extraction based  industries. However, with  the  help  of technology, some of these countries have been able to surpass the natural resource constraints.  Japan and Korea indicate that with  the growth of  technology and  other institutions, it is possible to overcome the constraints imposed by  lack of resources.