Resources – Everything in our environment which can be used to satisfy our needs and is technologically accessible, economically feasible and culturally acceptable is called ‘Resources’.
Human beings themselves are essential components of resources.
They transform material available in the environment into resources and use them.
Classification of Resources:
On the basis of origin: Biotic and Abiotic
Biotic resources – Those resources which are obtained from the biosphere and have life are called biotic resources. Ex – Human beings, livestocks, flora and fauna etc.
They have life or are living resources
Abiotic resources – Those resources which are composed of non-living things are called abiotic resources. Ex– Rocks, metals etc.
Abiotic Resources include all non-living things
On the Basis of Exhaustibility: Renewable and Non–Renewable
Renewable resources – Resources that have the capability to be regenerated by any physical, chemical or mechanical processes are known as Renewable or Replenishable Resources.
Ex– Solar and wind energy, water, forests and wildlife, etc.
The renewable resource may further be divided into continuous or flow and biological.
Non-Renewable Resources – Resources that are exhaustible and cannot be regenerated are called non renewable resources.
Ex – Minerals, fossil fuels, etc.
The resources which once get exhausted cannot be remade.
They take a long geological period of time, i.e., millions of years in their formation.
On the basis of ownership: Individual (Personal), Community, National and International
Individual resources – Resources that have private individual ownership are called individual resources. Ex – House, Plot etc.
Community resources – Resources that are shared by all the members within in a community are called community resources. Ex- Public parks, Playground etc.
National resources – Resources that belong to the nation are called national resources.
National resources include railways, forest, lands, within political boundaries and oceanic areas upto 12 nautical miles from the coast.
International resources – Resources that are regulated by international bodies are called international resources.
Ex– Oceanic area beyond 200 nautical miles of the exclusive economic zone.
Do you know that?
India has got the right to mine manganese nodules from the bed of the Indian Ocean from that area which lies beyond the exclusive economic zone. Identify some other resources which are international in nature.
On the Basis of the Status of Development: Potential, Developed, Stock and Reserves
Potential resources – The resources that are available in a particular region and can be utilized in the future are called potential resources. For example the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat have great potential for harnessing wind and solar energy, but these have not been developed yet.
Developed resources – Resources whose potential has been properly analyzed based on their technological accessibility and economic feasibility and quantity for utilization has been determined are called Developed resources. Ex– Coal, Petroleum etc.
Stock resources – These are the resources that are present in abundance in our surroundings but have been not utilized yet to due to the lack of adequate technology are called stock resources.
Ex – Two inflammable gases compound of water hydrogen and oxygen.
Reserves resources – Those resources are considered a subset of stock are called reserve resources. Ex– Uranium, Water etc.
The technology required to utilize these resources is available,
But their utilization has not begun yet.
They have been reserved for future necessities.
Development of Resources:
Resources have been used by human beings indiscriminately and this has led to the following major problems.
Depletion of resources for satisfying the greed of a few individuals.
Accumulation of resources in a few hands, which, in turn, divided the society into two segments i.e. rich and poor.
It has led to global ecological crises such as global warming, ozone layer depletion, environmental pollution and land degradation.
An equitable distribution of resources has become essential for a sustained quality of life and global peace. If the present trend of resource depletion by a few individuals and countries continues, the future of our planet is in danger. Therefore, resource planning is essential for sustainable existence of all forms of life. Sustainable existence is a component of sustainable development
Sustainable Economic Development – Development should take place without damaging the environment and development in the present should not compromise with the needs of future generations is called Sustainable Economic Development.
Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, 1992
In June 1992, more than 100 heads of states met in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, for the first International Earth Summit.
The Summit was convened for addressing urgent problems of environmental protection and socioeconomic development at the global level.
The assembled leaders signed the Declaration on Global Climatic Change and Biological Diversity.
The Rio Convention endorsed the global Forest Principles and adopted Agenda 21 for achieving Sustainable Development in the 21st century.
Agenda 21
It is the declaration signed by world leaders in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), which took place at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
It aims at achieving global sustainable development.
It is an agenda to combat environmental damage, poverty, disease through global co-operation on common interests, mutual needs and shared responsibilities.
One major objective of the Agenda 21 is that every local government should draw its own local Agenda 21.
Resource planning– The widely accepted strategy for cautious use of resources in known as resource planning.
Planning is the widely accepted strategy for judicious use of resources.
It has importance in a country like India, which has enormous diversity in the availability of resources.
There are regions which are rich in certain types of resources but are deficient in some other resources.
There are some regions which can be considered sell sufficient in terms of the availability of resources and there are some regions which have acute shortage of some vital resources.
This calls for balanced resource planning at the national, state, regional and local levels
Resource planning in India:
Resource planning is a complex process which involves:
(i) Identification and inventory of resources across the regions of the country. This involves surveying, mapping and qualitative and quantitative estimation and measurement of the resources
(ii) Evolving a planning structure endowed with appropriate technology, skill and institutional set up for implementing resource development plans.
(iii) Matching the resource development plans with overall national development plans
The availability of resources is a necessary condition for the development of any region, but mere availability of resources in the absence of corresponding changes in technology and institutions may hinder development.
There are many regions in our country that are rich in resources but these are included in economically backward regions.
On the contrary there are some regions which have a poor resource base but they are economically developed.
Therefore, resources can contribute to development only when they are accompanied by appropriate technological development and institutional changes.
In India, development, in general, and resource development in particular does not only involve the availability of resources, but also the technology, quality of human resources and the historical experiences of the people.
Conservation of Resources – The management of resources by human beings in a judicious and planned way without disturbing environment is called conservation of resources.
Resources are vital for any developmental activity.
But irrational consumption and over-utilisation of resources may lead to socio economic and environmental problems.
To overcome these problems, resource conservation at various levels is important.
Gandhiji was very apt in voicing his concern about resource conservation in these words: “There is enough for everybody’s need and not for anybody’s greed”.
He placed the greedy and selfish individuals and exploitative nature of modem technology as the root cause for resource depletion at the global level.
He was against mass production and wanted to replace it with the production by the masses.
At the international level, the Club of Rome advocated resource conservation for the first time in a more systematic way in 1968.
Subsequently, in 1974, Gandhian philosophy was once again presented by Schumacher in his book Small is Beautiful.
The seminal contribution with respect to resource conservation at the global level was made by the Brundtland Commission Report, 1987.
This report introduced the concept of ‘Sustainable Development’ and advocated it as a means for resource conservation, which was subsequently published in a book, entitled Our Common Future.
Another significant contribution was made at the Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992.
Land Resources:
Land is a natural resource of utmost importance.
It supports natural vegetation, wild life, human life, economic activities, transport and communication systems
However, land is an asset of a finite magnitude therefore, it is important to use the available land for various purposes with careful planning.
Mountains:
About 30% of land area in India is in the form of mountain.
Mountain supports the perennial flow of rivers, which carry fertile soils, facilitate irrigation and provide drinking water.
Mountains are good avenues for tourism and adventure sports and can help in revenue generation.
Plains:
About 43% of land area in India is in the form of plains.
Plains provide facilities for agriculture, building of industries and houses, etc.
Plateau:
About 27% of land in India is in the form of plateau which provides many types of minerals, fossil fuels and forest.
Land Utilization:
Patterns of use of Land Resources:
- Forests
- Land not available for cultivation: There are two types of land which are not used for agriculture purpose. These are:
- Barren and waste land
- Lands used for buildings, roads, factories, etc. i.e for non-agriculture purpose.
- Other uncultivated land (excluding fallow land)
- Permanent pastures and grazing land,
- Land under miscellaneous tree crops groves (not included in net sown area),
- Culturable waste land (left uncultivated for more than 5 agricultural years).
- Fallow lands
- Current fallow-(left without cultivation for one or less than one agricultural year),
- Other than current fallow-(left uncultivated for the past 1 to 5 agricultural years).
- Net sown area: Area which is sown at least once in a year is called net sown area.
- Gross cropped area: Area sown more than once in an agricultural year plus net sown area is known as gross cropped area.
Bases of Land Use Pattern: Pattern of land use depends on both physical and human factors:
Physical factors –
Physical factors include climate, topography, types of soil etc.
Human factors –
Human factors include population, technology, skill, population, density, capability etc.
Land Use Pattern in India:
Total geographical area of India is 3.28 million sq km.
Land use data, however, is available only for 93 per cent of the total geographical area
The land under permanent pasture has also decreased.
How are we able to feed our huge cattle population on this pasture land and what are the consequences of it?
The percentage of NSA in India comes to about 54 per cent of the total reporting area.
The pattern of net sown area varies greatly from one state to another.
It is over 80 per cent of the total area in Punjab and Haryana and less than 10 per cent in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and Andaman Nicobar Island.
Forest area in the country is far lower than the desired 33 per cent of geographical area, as it was outlined in the National Forest Policy (1952).
It was considered essential for maintenance of the ecological balance.
The livelihood of millions of people who live on the fringes of these forests depends upon it.
A part of the land is termed as waste land and land put to other non-agricultural uses.
Waste land includes rocky, arid and desert areas and land put to other non-agricultural uses includes settlements, roads, railways, industry etc.
Continuous use of land over a long period of time without taking appropriate measures to conserve and manage it has resulted in land degradation.
This, in turn, has serious repercussions on society and the environment.
Land Degradation – Any change in the condition of the land which reduces its productive is called land degradation.
Land degradation and conservation:
Measures:
Ninety-five per cent of our basic needs for food, shelter and clothing are obtained from land.
Human activities have not only brought about degradation of land but have also aggravated the pace of natural forces to cause damage to land.
At present, there are about 130 million hectares of degraded land in India.
Approximately, 28 per cent of it belongs to the category of forest degraded area, 56 per cent of it is water eroded area and the rest is affected by saline and alkaline deposits.
Causes of land degradation:
Some human activities such as deforestation, over grazing, mining and quarrying too have contributed significantly in land degradation.
Mining sites are abandoned after excavation work is complete.
In states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha deforestation due to mining have caused severe land degradation.
In states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra overgrazing is one of the main reasons for land degradation.
In the states of Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh over irrigation is responsible for land degradation due to water logging leading to increase in salinity and alkalinity in the soil.
The mineral processing like grinding of limestone for cement industry and calcite and soapstone for ceramic industry generate huge quantity of dust in the atmosphere.
It retards the process of infiltration of water into the soil after it settles down on the land.
In recent years, industrial effluents as waste have become a major source of land and water pollution in many parts of the country.
Ways to solve the problems of land degradation:
Afforestation and proper management of grazing can help to some extent.
Planting of shelter belts of plants, control on overgrazing, stabilisation of sand dunes by growing thorny bushes are some of the methods to check land degradation.
Proper management of waste lands, control of mining activities, proper discharge and disposal of industrial effluents and wastes after treatment can reduce land and water degradation in industrial and suburban areas.
Measures to Conserve the Land Resources:
Degradation of land can be prevented by taking following measures:
Afforestation
Proper management of grazing.
Stabilisation of sand dunes by plantation of thorny bushes.
Proper management of waste lands.
By proper irrigation.
By proper harvesting.
Control over mining activities.
Proper management of land after completion of mining work.
Discharge of industrial waste and effluents only after proper treatment.
Plantation of trees along the road sides.
Soil as a resource:
Importance:
Soil is the most important renewable natural resource.
It is the medium of plant growth and supports different types of living organisms on the earth.
The soil is a living system.
It takes millions of years to form soil up to a few cm in depth.
Soil Profile – The arrangement of different layers of soil at a place is called soil profile.
Formation of soil:
Relief, parent rock or bed rock, climate, vegetation and other forms of life and time are important factors in the formation of soil.
Various forces of nature such as change in temperature, actions of running water, wind and glaciers, activities of decomposers etc contribute to the formation of soil.
Chemical and organic changes which take place in the soil are equally important.
Soil also consists of organic (humus) and inorganic materials.
Time provides maturity to soil.
Classification of soils:
India has varied relief features, landforms, climatic realms and vegetation types. These have contributed in the development of various types of soils.
(i) Alluvial soils:
The most widely spread, important and fertile soil
Formation
Have been deposited by the important Himalayan river systems the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra.
Distribution
Covers the entire northern plains, extend in Rajasthan and Gujarat through a narrow corridor, also found in the eastern coastal plains particularly in the deltas of the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri rivers.
Due to high fertility of this soil these areas are highly cultivated alluvial soils contain adequate proportion of potash, phosphoric acid and lime which are ideal for the growth of sugarcane, paddy, wheat and other cereal and pulse crops.
Soils in the drier areas are more alkaline and can be productive after proper treatment and irrigation
As we move inlands towards the river valleys, soil particles appear somewhat bigger in size.
In the upper reaches of the river valley i.e. near the place of the break of slope, the soils are coarse.
Such soils are more common in piedmont plains such as Duars (Assam), Chos (Punjab) and Terai (Uttar Pradesh).
Types
According to their age, alluvial soils can be classified as old alluvial (Bangar) and new alluvial (Khadar)
(ii) Black soil:
Black in colour, also known as regur soils Ideal for growing cotton, also known as black cotton soil
Formation
Climatic condition along with the parent rock material is the important factors for the formation of black soil.
Distribution
Typical of the Deccan trap (Basalt) region spread over northwest Deccan plateau and is made up of lava flows.
They cover the plateaus of Maharashtra, Saurashtra, Malwa, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and extend in the south east direction along the Godavari and the Krishna valleys.
Soil of Deccan is black in colour due to its origin.
Characteristics
Black soils are made up of extremely fine ie. Clayey material.
Well-known for their capacity to hold moisture.
They develop deep cracks during hot weather, which helps in the proper aeration of the soil.
These soils are sticky when wet and difficult to work on unless tilled immediately after the first shower or during the pre monsoon period.
Rich in soil nutrients, such as calcium carbonate, magnesium, potash and lime.
Generally poor in phosphoric contents.
(iii) Red and yellow soils:
Formation
Develops on crystalline igneous rocks in areas of low rainfall.
When iron contents reacts with crystalline igneous rock.
Distribution
In the eastern and southern parts of the Deccan plateau.
In parts of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, southern parts of the middle Ganga plain and along the piedmont zone of the Western Ghats.
Characteristics
These soils develop a reddish colour due to diffusion of iron in crystalline and metamorphic rocks.
It looks yellow when it occurs in a hydrated form.
(iv) Laterite soil (word origin by Latin word “later’ means brick):
Formation
Develops in areas with high temperature and heavy rainfall.
Is the result of intense leaching due to heavy rain.
Distribution
Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu Madhya Pradesh and the hilly areas of Odisha and Assam.
Characteristics
Humus content of the soil is low.
Are suitable for cultivation with adequate doses of manures and fertilizers.
After adopting appropriate soil conservation techniques particularly in the hilly areas of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, this soil is very useful for growing tea and coffee.
Red laterite soils in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala are more suitable for crops like cashew nut.
(v) Arid soils:
And soils range from red to brown in colour.
Especially found in Thar Desert.
They are generally sandy texture and saline in nature.
The lower horizons of the soil are occupied by Kankar because of the increasing calcium content downwards.
The Kankar layer formations in the bottom horizons restrict the Infiltration of water.
After proper irrigation these soils become cultivable as has been in the case of western Rajasthan.
(vi) Forest soils:
Found in the hilly and mountainous areas where sufficient rain forests are available.
The soils texture varies according to the mountain environment where they are formed.
They are loamy and silty in valley sides and coarse grained in the upper slopes.
In the snow covered areas of Himalayas, these soils experience denudation and are acidic with low humus content.
The soils found in the lower parts of the valleys particularly on the river terraces and alluvial fans are fertile.
Soil erosion and soil conservation:
Soil erosion – The natural process in which the topsoil of a field is carried away by physical sources such as wind and water is called soil erosion.
Soil erosion is caused due to human activities like deforestation, over-grazing, construction and mining etc, while natural forces like wind, glacier and water lead to soil erosion
Soil conservation – The prevention or reduction of soil erosion and soil depletion by protective measures against water and wind damage is called Soil conservation.
Types:
The running water cuts through the clayey soils and makes deep channels as gullies.
Due to the formation of gullies the land becomes unfit for cultivation and is known as bad land or ravines.
In the Chambal basin (Madhya Pradesh) such lands are called ravines.
Sometimes water flows as a sheet over large areas down a slope in such cases the top soil is washed away. This is known as sheet erosion.
Wind blows loose soil off flat or sloping land known as wind erosion.
Soil erosion is also caused due to defective methods of farming.
Ploughing in a wrong way i.e. up and down the slope for channels for the quick flow of water leading to soil erosion.
Ways to control soil erosion:
Ploughing along the contour lines can decelerate the flow of water down the slopes. This is called contour ploughing.
Steps can be cut out on the slopes making terraces.
Terrace cultivation restricts erosion.
Western and central Himalayas have well developed terrace farming.
Large fields can be divided into strips. Strips of grass are left to grow between the crops. This break up the force of the wind. This method is known as strip cropping.
Planting lines of trees to create shelter breaks up the force of the wind. Rows of such trees are called shelter belts.
These shelter belts have contributed significantly to the stabilisation of sand dunes and in stablising the desert in western India.
State of India’s Environment
The village of Sukhomajri and the district of Jhabua have shown that it is possible to reverse land degradation.
Tree density in Sukhomajri increased from 13 per hectare in 1976 to 1,272 per hectare in 1992;
Regeneration of the environment leads to economic well-being, as a result of greater resource availability, improved agriculture and animal care, and consequently, increased incomes.
Average annual household income in Sukhomajri ranged from Rs 10,000-15,000 between 1979 and 1984;
People’s management is essential for ecological restoration.
With people being made the decision-makers by the Madhya Pradesh government, 2.9 million hectares or about 1 per cent of India’s land area, are being greened across the state through watershed management.
