Previous Year Question
Which of the following is the fastest depleting resource in the world?
Correct Answer: B
Detailed Solution
The expected answer to this PYQ is Forest. Forests are renewable natural resources, but when deforestation exceeds the ability of forests to regenerate or be restored, forest resources decline. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in its Global Forest Resources Assessment 2025, global deforestation averaged about 10.9 million hectares per year during 2015–2025. Although the rate has declined compared with earlier decades, substantial forest loss continues worldwide.
Forest loss is strongly associated with conversion of forest land for agriculture, infrastructure and other land uses. Forests play crucial roles in biodiversity conservation, carbon storage, regulation of the water cycle and soil protection; therefore, their depletion has wide environmental consequences.
Important fact: There is no universally accepted scientific ranking called the “world's fastest depleting natural resource”, because different resources are measured using different depletion criteria.