Natural resources and sustainable development
Clear, source-checked guides to the natural resources of more than 160 countries, renewable energy and sustainability.
Find your country
Explore the natural resources, geography and economy of each country. Start with a region, or search directly.
Continent guides
Regional overviews bringing together the countries of each continent.
Natural resources of Africa
54 African countries: strategic minerals, oil, water and a biodiversity found nowhere else.
Natural resources of Asia
48 countries: energy, mining, great rivers and forests across the largest continent.
Key topics
The core concepts of sustainability, explained with examples.
♻️ Renewable resources
Sun, wind, water and biomass: what they are, types and examples.
⛏️ Non-renewable resources
Oil, gas, coal and minerals: characteristics and uses.
⚡ Green energy
The energy transition and alternative energy for the future.
🌱 Sustainable development
What it is, its principles, and real sustainable projects.
Featured country guides
Some of the most complete country guides on the site.
Latest articles
Oceania Natural Resources: Iron, Lithium and Coral Reefs
Oceania holds some of the most strategic natural resources on the planet: Australia produced around 930 million tonnes of iron ore in 2024 and was the world’s largest lithium producer with 88,000 tonnes, while the region is home to close to 185 million hectares of forest and to the Great Barrier Reef, covering some 344,400…
Latin America Natural Resources: Copper, Lithium and Oil
Latin America is one of the richest regions on Earth in natural resources: it holds the world’s largest tropical rainforest (the Amazon, home to at least 10% of all known species), the largest proven oil reserves (Venezuela, some 303 billion barrels), more than half of the world’s identified lithium resources in the Chile-Argentina-Bolivia “triangle”, and…
Amazon Rainforest Natural Resources: Water and Wildlife
The Amazon holds the most valuable natural resources on the planet: more than half of the world’s remaining tropical rainforest (some 5.5 million km²), close to one in every ten known species on Earth, roughly 56.8 billion tonnes of above-ground carbon, and a river that discharges around 15% of all the fresh water reaching the…
North America Natural Resources: Oil, Silver and Forests
North America holds exceptional natural wealth: Mexico is the world’s largest silver producer with 6,300 tonnes in 2024 (USGS), the United States leads global oil production at 13.2 million barrels a day (EIA) and Canada holds 369 million hectares of forest, close to 9% of the world total (NRCan). Add the Great Lakes, which hold…
Sustainable Consumption: What It Is and Real Examples
Sustainable consumption is the use of products and services with the least possible impact on the environment, also called responsible or conscious consumption. What is sustainable consumption in practice? According to the UN (2011), it seeks to minimize the negative effects of consumption and production while improving quality of life, taking the product’s whole life…
History of Sustainable Development: Origins and Milestones
The history of sustainable development comes from two ideas meeting: development, tied to the notion of progress since Greek and Roman times, and sustainability. The word sustainability was already in use among German foresters in the 18th century, and thinkers such as Thomas Robert Malthus were warning about the limits of population growth. So where…
Europe Natural Resources: Forests, Gas and Minerals
Europe holds around 25% of the world’s forest area, the largest share of any region (FAO 2025), is home to the planet’s largest natural gas reserves in Russia, and protects more than 1.29 million km² through the Natura 2000 network. Its natural resources span strategic minerals, North Sea hydrocarbons, rivers such as the Volga, and…
Asia Natural Resources: Oil, Rare Earths, Rice and Water
Asia, the largest continent on the planet with its 48 countries, holds the world’s greatest concentration of natural resources: close to 48% of oil reserves (Saudi Arabia alone accounts for 267 billion barrels) and more than 50% of natural gas reserves, it produces around 70% of the world’s rare earths and grows more than 90%…
Africa Natural Resources: Cobalt, Platinum, Gold and Oil
Africa holds close to 30% of the world’s critical mineral reserves, including 76% of cobalt (DR Congo) and around 70% of phosphates (Morocco), along with the second-largest rainforest on the planet: the Congo Basin. What are Africa’s main natural resources? The continent stands out for its strategic minerals (cobalt, platinum, gold, diamonds, bauxite), its oil…
What Is Sustainable Development? Definition and Principles
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own. That definition comes from the 1987 Brundtland report, Our Common Future, and rests on two ideas: human needs, especially those of the poorest, and the limitations of the environment and of technology. What…
Sustainable Cities: What They Are and Real Examples
A sustainable city is a habitat that offers its residents quality of life without compromising the resources of future generations. By 2050 the number of people living in cities will multiply to 6 billion, which raises major challenges around water, energy, transport and pollution that demand cooperation between government, the private sector and citizens. What…
Non-Renewable Natural Resources: Types and Examples
Non-renewable natural resources are materials that exist in fixed quantities and, once used up, do not come back on a human timescale. What are the best-known non-renewable natural resources? Oil, coal, natural gas, metallic minerals such as lithium, and nuclear uranium. They took millions of years to form, they pollute when burned, and oil and…
About the project
Desarrollo Sustentable is an editorial project that explains the natural resources of every country, and the big questions of sustainability and the environment, using data and verifiable sources.
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