Geography Chapter 1 - Resource

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### Resources: Definition & Classification - **Definition:** Anything available in our environment which can be used to satisfy our needs, provided it is technologically accessible, economically feasible, and culturally acceptable. - **Interdependent Relationship:** Nature, Technology, and Institutions interact to create resources. #### Classification of Resources 1. **On the Basis of Origin:** * **Biotic:** Obtained from the biosphere and have life (e.g., human beings, flora and fauna, fisheries, livestock). * **Abiotic:** Composed of non-living things (e.g., rocks, metals). 2. **On the Basis of Exhaustibility:** * **Renewable:** Can be renewed or reproduced by physical, chemical, or mechanical processes (e.g., solar energy, wind energy, water, forests, wildlife). * *Continuous or Flow:* Wind, water. * *Biological:* Natural vegetation, wildlife. * **Non-Renewable:** Occur over a very long geological time period. These take millions of years in their formation. Some are recyclable (e.g., metals), and some are non-recyclable (e.g., fossil fuels). 3. **On the Basis of Ownership:** * **Individual:** Owned privately by individuals (e.g., plots, houses, pasture lands, wells). * **Community-Owned:** Accessible to all members of the community (e.g., public parks, picnic spots, playgrounds, grazing grounds, burial grounds). * **National:** Owned by the nation; the government has legal powers to acquire even private property for public good (e.g., roads, canals, railways, mineral resources, water resources, forests, wildlife within political boundaries and oceanic area up to 12 nautical miles (22.2 km) from the coast). * **International:** Regulated by international institutions. No individual country can utilise these without the concurrence of international institutions (e.g., oceanic resources beyond 200 nautical miles of the Exclusive Economic Zone). 4. **On the Basis of Status of Development:** * **Potential:** Resources which are found in a region but have not been utilised (e.g., solar and wind energy in Rajasthan and Gujarat). * **Developed:** Resources which are surveyed and their quality and quantity have been determined for utilisation. The development depends on technology and feasibility. * **Stock:** Resources which have the potential to satisfy human needs but human beings do not have the appropriate technology to access these (e.g., hydrogen and oxygen from water). * **Reserves:** A subset of the stock, which can be put into use with the help of existing technical ‘know-how’ but their use has not been started. They can be used for future requirements (e.g., forest reserves, river water for hydropower). ### Resource Development - Resources are vital for human survival and for maintaining the quality of life. - **Problems Created by Indiscriminate Use:** * Depletion of resources for satisfying the greed of a few individuals. * Accumulation of resources in few hands, dividing society into rich and poor. * Indiscriminate exploitation leading to global ecological crises (e.g., global warming, ozone layer depletion, environmental pollution, land degradation). - **Sustainable Development:** Development should take place without damaging the environment, and development in the present should not compromise the needs of future generations. #### Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, 1992 - First International Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. - More than 100 heads of states met. - Adopted the Declaration on Global Climatic Change and Biological Diversity. - Adopted **Agenda 21** for achieving Sustainable Development in the 21st century. #### Agenda 21 - A declaration signed by world leaders at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. - Aims to achieve global sustainable development. - It is an agenda to combat environmental damage, poverty, disease through global cooperation on common interests, mutual needs, and shared responsibilities. - One major objective is that every local government should draw its own local Agenda 21. ### Resource Planning in India - **Why Planning?** India has enormous diversity in the availability of resources. Some regions are rich in certain types of resources but deficient in others. For example, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh are rich in minerals and coal deposits, Arunachal Pradesh has abundant water resources but lacks infrastructural development. Rajasthan has solar and wind energy but lacks water resources. Ladakh is rich in cultural heritage but deficient in water, infrastructure, and vital minerals. - **Need:** Balanced resource planning at the national, state, regional, and local levels. #### Steps for Resource Planning in India 1. **Identification and Inventory:** Surveying, mapping, qualitative and quantitative estimation and measurement of resources. 2. **Evolving a Planning Structure:** Equipping with appropriate technology, skill, and institutional set-up for implementing resource development plans. 3. **Matching Resource Development Plans with National Development Plans:** Aligning resource development efforts with overall national goals. - India has made concerted efforts towards achieving the goals of resource planning right from the First Five Year Plan launched after Independence. ### Conservation of Resources - Resources are vital for any developmental activity. - Irrational consumption and over-exploitation of resources lead to socio-economic and environmental problems. - **Need for Conservation:** Resource conservation at various levels is important. - **Gandhi's Philosophy:** "There is enough for everybody's need and not for anybody's greed." He was against mass production and wanted to replace it with production by the masses. #### Historical Context - **Club of Rome (1968):** Advocated for resource conservation for the first time. - **'Small is Beautiful' (1974):** Schumacher's book presented Gandhian philosophy. - **Brundtland Commission Report (1987):** Introduced the concept of 'Sustainable Development'. This report was published as 'Our Common Future'. ### Land Resources in India - Land is a natural resource of utmost importance. - It supports natural vegetation, wildlife, human life, economic activities, transport, and communication systems. - India has land under a variety of relief features: * **Plains (43%):** Provide facilities for agriculture and industry. * **Mountains (30%):** Ensure perennial flow of some rivers, provide facilities for tourism and ecological aspects. * **Plateaus (27%):** Rich in minerals, fossil fuels, and forests. #### Land Utilisation - Land resources are used for the following purposes: 1. **Forests:** Area covered by forests. 2. **Land not available for cultivation:** * Barren and wasteland. * Land put to non-agricultural uses (e.g., buildings, roads, factories). 3. **Other uncultivated land (excluding fallow land):** * Permanent pastures and grazing lands. * Land under miscellaneous tree crops groves (not included in net sown area). * Culturable waste land (left uncultivated for more than 5 agricultural years). 4. **Fallow Lands:** * Current fallow (left without cultivation for one or less than one agricultural year). * Other than current fallow (left uncultivated for 1 to 5 agricultural years). 5. **Net Sown Area:** Area sown more than once in an agricultural year plus net sown area is known as Gross Cropped Area. ### Land Use Pattern in India - **Factors Determining Land Use:** * **Physical Factors:** Topography, climate, soil types. * **Human Factors:** Population density, technological capability, culture, traditions, etc. - **Total Geographical Area of India:** 3.28 million sq km. - **Data Availability:** Land use data is available only for 93% of the total geographical area because: * Land use data for the North-Eastern states (except Assam) is not fully available. * Some areas of Jammu and Kashmir occupied by Pakistan and China have not been surveyed. #### Key Trends in Land Use - **Forest Area:** Much lower than the desired 33% of the geographical area (as outlined in the National Forest Policy, 1952). Low forest cover is due to deforestation and degradation, leading to environmental imbalance. - **Net Sown Area:** Has decreased slightly over the years. - **Pasture Lands:** The area under permanent pastures has also decreased, affecting the carrying capacity for livestock. - **Fallow Lands:** Current fallow lands are cultivated once or twice in two to three years to restore soil fertility. - **Pattern of Net Sown Area:** Varies from state to state. It is over 80% of the total area in Punjab and Haryana, and less than 10% in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. - **Non-Agricultural Uses:** The proportion of land under non-agricultural uses is increasing due to urbanisation, industrialisation, and infrastructure development. - **Waste Land:** Includes rocky, arid, and desert areas. - **Other Uncultivated Land:** Includes permanent pastures, groves, and culturable wasteland. These lands are used for non-agricultural purposes to some extent. ### Land Degradation and Conservation Measures - **Problem:** Sustained use of land over a long period without taking appropriate conservation measures has resulted in land degradation. - **Causes of Land Degradation:** * **Deforestation:** Loss of forest cover. * **Overgrazing:** Excessive grazing by livestock. * **Mining and Quarrying:** Leaves deep scars and traces of overburden. In states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha, deforestation due to mining has caused severe land degradation. * **Over-irrigation:** Leads to waterlogging, increasing salinity and alkalinity in the soil (e.g., Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh). * **Mineral Processing:** Grinding of limestone for cement industry and steatite for ceramic industry generates huge quantities of dust, which settles on the land and hinders infiltration of water. * **Industrial Effluents:** Water pollution from industrial waste. #### Conservation Measures 1. **Afforestation:** Planting more trees. 2. **Proper Management of Grazing:** Regulating livestock grazing. 3. **Planting of Shelter Belts of Plants:** Rows of trees to break wind force. 4. **Stabilisation of Sand Dunes:** By growing thorny bushes. 5. **Proper Management of Waste Lands:** Reclaiming and managing degraded lands. 6. **Control on Mining Activities:** Regulating mining operations. 7. **Proper Discharge and Disposal of Industrial Effluents and Wastes:** Treating waste before discharge. 8. **Control on Over-irrigation:** Promoting efficient irrigation methods. ### Soil as a Resource - Soil is the most important renewable natural resource. - It is the medium of plant growth and supports different types of living organisms on earth. - Formation takes millions of years to form a few centimetres of soil. - **Factors of Soil Formation:** Relief, parent rock or bedrock, climate, vegetation, and other forms of life and time. - **Agents of Nature:** Changes in temperature, actions of running water, wind, glaciers, activities of decomposers, etc., contribute to soil formation. #### Classification of Soils in India 1. **Alluvial Soils:** * **Formation:** Deposited by three important Himalayan river systems – the Indus, Ganga, and Brahmaputra. Also found in eastern coastal plains (deltas of Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri). * **Characteristics:** Very fertile, contain adequate proportion of potash, phosphoric acid, and lime. Ideal for growing sugarcane, paddy, wheat, and other cereal and pulse crops. * **Types:** * **Bhangar (Old Alluvium):** Higher concentration of kankar nodules, less fertile. * **Khadar (New Alluvium):** Finer particles, more fertile. 2. **Black Soils (Regur Soils):** * **Formation:** Derived from Deccan trap (basalt) region. Made up of fine, clayey material. * **Characteristics:** Well-known for their capacity to hold moisture. Rich in calcium carbonate, magnesium, potash, and lime. Poor in phosphoric content. Sticky when wet, difficult to work unless tilled immediately after the first monsoon shower or pre-monsoon period. * **Crops:** Ideal for growing cotton (also known as black cotton soil). * **Distribution:** Deccan trap region – Maharashtra, Saurashtra, Malwa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and along Godavari and Krishna valleys. 3. **Red and Yellow Soils:** * **Formation:** Develops on crystalline igneous rocks in areas of low rainfall in the eastern and southern parts of the Deccan plateau. Yellow soil occurs when it is in a hydrated form. * **Characteristics:** Reddish colour due to diffusion of iron in crystalline and metamorphic rocks. Looks yellow when hydrated. * **Distribution:** Parts of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, southern parts of the Middle Ganga Plain, and along the Piedmont zone of the Western Ghats. 4. **Laterite Soils:** * **Formation:** Develops under tropical and subtropical climates with alternate wet and dry seasons. Result of intense leaching due to heavy rain. * **Characteristics:** Humus content is low due to high temperature, which kills bacteria. Very acidic, coarse in texture. * **Crops:** After appropriate conservation measures, useful for growing tea and coffee (Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu). Red laterite soils in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala are more suitable for cashew nut crops. * **Distribution:** Western Ghats region, eastern Ghats, southern parts of Maharashtra, Odisha, West Bengal, and some parts of North-East region. 5. **Arid Soils:** * **Formation:** Ranges from red to brown in colour. Sandy in texture and saline in nature. * **Characteristics:** Lacks humus and moisture. The lower horizons are occupied by Kankar nodules because of increasing calcium content downwards. The Kankar layer restricts the infiltration of water. * **Crops:** After proper irrigation, these soils become cultivable (e.g., western Rajasthan). * **Distribution:** Western Rajasthan and parts of Gujarat. 6. **Forest Soils:** * **Formation:** Found in hilly and mountainous areas where sufficient rain forests are available. * **Characteristics:** Loamy and silty in valley sides, coarse-grained in the upper slopes. Acidic with low humus content in snow-covered areas. Fertile in the lower parts of the valleys (especially on river terraces and alluvial fans). * **Distribution:** Himalayan region. ### Soil Erosion and Soil Conservation - **Definition of Soil Erosion:** The denudation of the soil cover and subsequent washing down is described as soil erosion. - **Causes:** Human activities (deforestation, overgrazing, construction, mining) and natural forces (wind, glacier, water). - **Runoff Water:** The running water cuts through the clayey soils and makes deep channels called **gullies**. The land becomes unfit for cultivation and is known as **bad land**. - **Sheet Erosion:** 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 Erosion:** Wind blows loose soil off flat or sloping land. - **Defective Methods of Farming:** Ploughing in a wrong way (e.g., up and down the slope) can lead to formation of channels for quick flow of water, leading to soil erosion. #### Soil Conservation Methods 1. **Contour Ploughing:** Ploughing along the contour lines to decelerate the flow of water down the slopes. 2. **Terrace Cultivation:** Steps cut out on the slopes to restrict erosion. Western and Central Himalayas have well-developed terrace farming. 3. **Strip Cropping:** Large fields divided into strips. Strips of grass are left to grow between the crops. This breaks up the force of the wind. 4. **Shelterbelts:** Rows of trees planted to create shelter. They stabilise sand dunes and the desert in western India. 5. **Afforestation:** Planting trees to prevent soil erosion. 6. **Proper Management of Grazing:** Regulating grazing by livestock.