Natural Resources
Primary 6 · Social and Religious Studies
Natural Resources
Lesson 1 of 3
15 min
Let's begin
Before school, Keza fetches water from the spring, her mother lights the stove with firewood, and her father takes the cows out to graze. Water, wood and grass all come from nature.
Without them, the family's day could not even begin. They are natural resources.
Natural resources are materials and energy from nature that support the lives of people, animals and plants. Air, water, soil, sunlight, forests, wild animals, fish and minerals are all natural resources.
People did not make them, but people use them, sometimes after changing them. For example, cassiterite dug from the ground must be processed before it becomes tin.
Careful: even renewable resources run out if we use them too fast. Soil washed away by erosion can take hundreds of years to form again, and a forest cut down today takes many years to grow back.
| Resource | Where | How it is used |
|---|---|---|
| Fertile soil | Across the country, especially the volcanic soils of the north-west | Farming, the main work of most Rwandans |
| Water: lakes, rivers, rain and wetlands | Lakes Kivu, Burera, Ruhondo, Muhazi and Ihema; the Nyabarongo, Akagera and Rusizi rivers | Drinking, irrigation, fishing, boat transport and hydroelectric power |
| Forests | Nyungwe, Gishwati-Mukura, the forests of Volcanoes National Park, planted woodlots | Timber, firewood, medicine and honey; they bring rain, protect soil, shelter wildlife and attract tourists |
| Wild animals | Volcanoes, Nyungwe and Akagera national parks | Tourism (gorillas, chimpanzees, lions) and a rich variety of life |
| Minerals | Mines in many districts | Cassiterite (tin), coltan (tantalum), wolframite (tungsten) and gold, mostly exported |
| Methane gas | Dissolved deep in Lake Kivu | Taken out and burned to make electricity at the KivuWatt power plant |
| Peat | Swamps, for example at Gishoma in Rusizi District | Burned to make electricity |
| Sunshine | Everywhere, for example the large solar field at Rwamagana | Solar electricity and drying crops |
| Stone, sand and clay | Hillsides, quarries and valleys | Building, bricks and pottery |
Falling water can turn machines called turbines to make hydroelectric power. On the short Ntaruka stream, water drops about 100 m from Lake Burera into Lake Ruhondo, and a power station there uses it. On the Akagera River, the Rusumo Falls power station shares its electricity between Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania.
Worked example
Is Nyungwe Forest a renewable or a non-renewable resource?
Step 1 Ask: can nature replace it? Yes. Trees grow again from seeds if the forest is protected.
Step 2 Ask: can it still run out? Yes, if people cut it faster than it grows.
Answer: a forest is renewable, but only if we protect it and do not use it too fast.
Tip
Can nature make it again soon?
Yes → renewable (trees, water, fish, sunshine).
No → non-renewable (tin, gold, oil, peat).
But remember: renewable does not mean "never runs out"!
What is a natural resource?
Answer: a material or energy from nature that supports the lives of people, animals and plants.
Is gold renewable or non-renewable?
Answer: non-renewable. Once it is dug out and used, it does not grow back.
Which gas, found deep in Lake Kivu, is used to make electricity?
Answer: methane.
Give two uses of Rwanda's forests.
Answer: any two of timber, firewood, medicine, honey, bringing rain, protecting soil, homes for wildlife, tourism.
Why is soil one of Rwanda's most important natural resources?
Answer: most Rwandans earn their living by farming, and crops need fertile soil.
What you learned today
Sources and credits
The practice questions were written by Ganzaa.
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Quick check
Match each natural resource to where it is found in Rwanda.
Tap one on the left, then its partner on the right.
