natural resources

Commodities or assets with some economic value that exist without any effort of mankind. Natural resources can be of three types. The first is non-renewable, like oil and coal, stocks of which will eventually run out . The second is renewable, like water and fish, which are reproducible. The third is non-expendable: it is not used up in the consumption process. An example is a landscape of outstanding beauty, which yields utility for those that see it, and tourist income for the owner. Penguin Dictionary of Economics (1998)