Māris kļaviņŠ, azamat azizov, JĀnis zaļoksnis environment, pollution, development: the case of uzbekistan

 2.2. 
 Natural resources of Uzbekistan
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Natural resources can be divided into several groups, and 
this  classification  helps  to  understand  the  formation  of  natural 
resources, their potential use, the importance and renewal of 
their  reserves.  There  are  real,  or  identified,  and  potential  natural 
1 
The chapter is prepared with contribution of prof. O. Nikodemus
Figure 2.5. 
Mountain 
landscape of Uzbekistan 
(Photo by Ole Christian 
Rousing)

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12 
ENVIRONMENT, POLLUTION, DEVELOPMENT:  THE CASE OF UZBEKISTAN
resources. Real natural resources include those that have been 
identified and evaluated, and whose use is economically grounded. 
Natural resources includes mineral deposits, soils, timber, as well as 
protected areas, sand beaches and a microclimate that is suitable for 
life and recreation. From a historical perspective, this is a dynamic 
classification  since  the  needs  of  society  are  constantly  changing; 
however, this classification is essentially influenced by technological 
developments. Potential natural resources include those that have 
not  yet  been  discovered,  sufficiently  explored  or  whose  use  is  not 
economically  justified.  Among  the  typical  examples  are  wave  and 
earthquake energy, as well as iceberg freshwater.
It  is  difficult  to  establish  a  border  between  these  groups.  For 
example, the riches of larch timber in Siberian taiga should belong 
to real natural resources as they constitute a calculated or practi-
cally verified quantity. However, this timber becomes a real natural 
resource only through an economically grounded use of this resource 
and  a  traffic  infrastructure  for  the  transportation  and  subsequent 
processing of timber. A similar approach applies to the valuation of 
the volume of water in Greenland’s glaciers, the heat released from the 
active zone of the Atlantic volcanic ridge, or natural building material 
from Vesuvius. If we subtract the costs of building roads and creating 
infrastructure from the potential value of the resources, it is evident 
that these resources can be classified only as potential resources.
Traditionally, natural resources are classified according to their 
accessible quantity and rate of the substance turnover cycle:
 
Š
inexhaustible resources,
 
Š
conditionally inexhaustible resources,
 
Š
exhaustible – partially renewable resources,
 
Š
exhaustible – non-renewable resources (Figure 2.6).
 Solar energy
Wind energy
Geothermal 
energy
 Tidal energy
Water resources
Air resources