Resources & Development

Cheatsheet Content

### Introduction to Resources - **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:** Technology, economic development, and institutions all play a role in transforming things into resources. ### Classification of Resources #### On the Basis of Origin - **Biotic Resources:** Obtained from the biosphere and have life. E.g., Human beings, flora and fauna, fisheries, livestock. - **Abiotic Resources:** Composed of non-living things. E.g., Rocks, metals, water. #### On the Basis of Exhaustibility - **Renewable Resources:** Can be renewed or reproduced by physical, chemical or mechanical processes. E.g., Solar energy, wind energy, water, forests, wildlife. - **Non-Renewable Resources:** Occur over a very long geological time. Take millions of years in their formation. E.g., Minerals (coal, petroleum), fossil fuels. #### On the Basis of Ownership - **Individual Resources:** Owned privately by individuals. E.g., Plots, houses, plantations, pasture lands. - **Community Owned Resources:** Accessible to all members of the community. E.g., Public parks, village ponds, burial grounds. - **National Resources:** All resources within political boundaries and oceanic area up to 12 nautical miles (22.2 km) from the coast. E.g., Roads, railways, canals, minerals, forests, wildlife. - **International Resources:** Regulated by international institutions. No individual country can utilise these without the concurrence of international institutions. E.g., Oceanic resources beyond 200 nautical miles (Exclusive Economic Zone). #### On the Basis of Status of Development - **Potential Resources:** Resources found in a region but have not been utilised. E.g., Wind and solar energy in Rajasthan and Gujarat. - **Developed Resources:** Resources which are surveyed and their quality and quantity have been determined for utilisation. - **Stock:** Materials in the environment which have the potential to satisfy human needs but human beings do not have the appropriate technology to access them. E.g., Hydrogen in water. - **Reserves:** Subset of the stock, which can be put into use with existing technical 'know-how' but their use has not been started. E.g., Forest reserves. ### Resource Development - **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 (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 with the needs of future generations. - **Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit (1992):** - First International Earth Summit. - Held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. - Purpose: Addressing urgent problems of environmental protection and socio-economic development at the global level. - Adopted Agenda 21. #### Agenda 21 - **Goal:** Achieving global sustainable development. - **Objective:** Combating environmental damage, poverty, disease through global cooperation on common interests, mutual needs and shared responsibilities. - Every local government should draw its own local Agenda 21. ### Resource Planning - **Necessity:** Resources are unevenly distributed. India has enormous diversity in the availability of resources. - **Steps in Resource Planning in India:** 1. **Identification and inventory:** Surveying, mapping, qualitative and quantitative estimation and measurement of resources. 2. **Evolving a planning structure:** Endowed with appropriate technology, skill and institutional set up for implementing resource development plans. 3. **Matching resource development plans:** With overall national development plans. - **Conservation of Resources:** Essential, as resources are vital for any developmental activity. Irrational consumption and over-utilisation lead to socio-economic and environmental problems. Gandhiji advocated against mass production and for production by the masses. ### Land Resources in India - **Land as a Natural Resource:** Supports natural vegetation, wildlife, human life, economic activities, transport and communication systems. - **Relief Features:** - **Plains (43%):** Provide facilities for agriculture and industry. - **Mountains (30%):** Perennial flow of rivers, tourism, ecological aspects. - **Plateaus (27%):** Rich in minerals, fossil fuels, and forests. #### Land Utilisation - **Forests:** Area covered by forests. - **Land not available for cultivation:** - Barren and wasteland. - Land put to non-agricultural uses (buildings, roads, factories). - **Other uncultivated land (excluding fallow land):** - Permanent pastures and grazing lands. - Land under miscellaneous tree crops groves (not included in net sown area). - Culturable wasteland (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 1 to 5 agricultural years). - **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 - Influenced by physical factors (topography, climate, soil types) and human factors (population density, technological capability, culture, traditions). - Forest area is lower than the desired 33% of geographical area (as per National Forest Policy 1952). - Land under permanent pasture has decreased, affecting grazing animals. - Pattern of Net Sown Area varies greatly from state to state. - Waste land includes rocky, arid, and desert areas, and land put to non-agricultural uses. ### Land Degradation and Conservation Measures - **Causes of Land Degradation:** Human activities (deforestation, overgrazing, mining and quarrying) and natural factors. - **Mining:** Leaves deep scars and traces of overburdening. - **Overgrazing:** Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra. - **Over-irrigation:** Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh, leading to waterlogging, increased salinity and alkalinity in soil. - **Mineral processing:** Grinding of limestone for cement industry and soapstone for ceramic industry generate huge quantities of dust, hindering infiltration of water into soil. - **Industrial effluents:** Pollute land and water. - **Conservation Measures:** - **Afforestation and proper management of grazing.** - **Planting of shelter belts of plants.** - **Stabilisation of sand dunes by growing thorny bushes.** - **Proper management of waste lands.** - **Control of mining activities.** - **Proper discharge and disposal of industrial effluents and wastes after treatment.** ### Soil as a Resource - **Definition:** 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. Formed by relief, parent rock or bedrock, climate, vegetation and other forms of life and time. - **Factors:** Change in temperature, actions of running water, wind and glaciers, activities of decomposers etc. contribute to the formation of soil. #### Classification of Soils - **Alluvial Soils:** - Most widespread and important soil. - Formed by deposition of sediments by Himalayan rivers (Indus, Ganga, Brahmaputra). - Rich in potash, phosphoric acid and lime, ideal for sugarcane, paddy, wheat, and other cereal and pulse crops. - Two types: - **Bangar (old alluvium):** Higher concentration of Kanker nodules, less fertile. - **Khadar (new alluvium):** Finer particles, more fertile. - **Black Soils (Regur Soils):** - Black in colour, also known as Regur soils. - Ideal for growing cotton (black cotton soil). - Found in Deccan trap region (Maharashtra, Malwa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh). - Made up of fine clayey material, well-known for their capacity to hold moisture. - Rich in calcium carbonate, magnesium, potash, and lime. - **Red and Yellow Soils:** - Develop on crystalline igneous rocks in areas of low rainfall. - Found in eastern and southern parts of Deccan Plateau, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, parts of Ganga plain, and Western Ghats. - Reddish colour due to diffusion of iron in crystalline and metamorphic rocks. Looks yellow when in hydrated form. - **Laterite Soils:** - Develop in areas with high temperature and heavy rainfall. - Result of intense leaching due to heavy rain. - Found in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, hilly areas of Odisha and Assam. - Suitable for cashew nuts. - **Arid Soils:** - Red to brown in colour, sandy in texture and saline in nature. - Found in western Rajasthan. - Lacks humus and moisture. - Kankar layer formation restricts water infiltration. - **Forest Soils:** - Found in hilly and mountainous areas. - Loamy and silty in valley sides, coarse-grained in upper slopes. - Acidic with low humus content in snow-covered areas. - Fertile in lower parts of valleys. ### Soil Erosion and Soil Conservation - **Soil Erosion:** Denudation of the soil cover and subsequent washing down. Caused by human activities (deforestation, overgrazing, construction, mining) and natural forces (wind, glacier, water). - **Types of Erosion:** - **Gully Erosion:** Running water cuts through clayey soils and makes deep channels (gullies), making land unfit for cultivation (badland). - **Sheet Erosion:** Water flows as a sheet over large areas down a slope, washing away the topsoil. - **Wind Erosion:** Wind blows loose soil off flat or sloping land. - **Plo ughing:** Defective methods of ploughing can lead to soil erosion (e.g., up and down the slope forming channels). - **Soil Conservation Measures:** - **Contour Ploughing:** Ploughing along the contour lines to decelerate the flow of water down the slopes. - **Terrace Cultivation:** Steps cut out on the slopes to restrict erosion. - **Strip Cropping:** Large fields divided into strips, strips of grass left to grow between crops to break up the force of wind. - **Shelterbelts:** Rows of trees planted to create shelter, stabilising sand dunes and desert in western India.