What is a Resources

This is anything which is available in the world that has utility , value is
technologically accessible ,economically feasible , and is culturally acceptable.

● Transformation is Change

Resources are a function of human activities. Human beings themselves are

essential components of resources. They transform material available in our
environment into resources and use them. These resources can be classified in
the following ways –
1. On the basis of origin
● Biotic - they have life , humans,plants , animals.
● Abiotic - non living , air , water , soil , rocks , minerals.

2. On the basis of exhaustibility –

● Renewable - water , sunlight , air , water
● Non renewable - petroleum , coal , cruise oil , diesel

3. On the basis of ownership –

 ● Individual - houses , land , books
● Community - parks , playgrounds , burial grounds
● National - Forest , water , minerals , airports
● International- Areas which do not belong to any country [12 nautical
miles (22.2 Km) from shore of country is theirs , other is open lands]
1 nautical mile =1.85 Km

Organizations who control international resources(after 200 nautical miles)

IRP - international resource panel
WHO - world health organization
EPA - environmental protection agency
India has permission from IRP to exploit manganese nodules

4. On the basis of status of development – potential, developed stock and

reserves.
● Potential- Resource which is not used to its full potential, Eg -
rajasthan has sunlight and wind but not used with solar panels and
windmills
● Developed resources- Resources that have been
calculated ,surveyed . developed and whose quantity and quality
have been defined for use and are currently being used ,it is
technologically available and economically feasible.
● Stock - resources which are available but we don't have technology
to extract them. Eg water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen , but
we don't have the technology to separate and extract them in large
quantities , which will provide power with H and oxygen in air.
 ● Reserves-reserve is a subset of stock. the resources that are
defined and their present amount is recognized they can be used by
humans , but is not being used well, but since they are reserved for
the future, they are not being used.

Development of resource
Resources are vital for human survival as well as for maintaining the quality of life. It was
believed that resources are free gifts of nature. As a result, human beings used them
indiscriminately and this has led to the following major problems.(what are the
problems faced by
● Depletion of resources for satisfying the greed of a few individuals.
● Accumulation of resources in few hands, which, in turn, divided the society into
two segments i.e. haves and have nots or rich and poor
● Indiscriminate exploitation of resources has led to global ecological crises such
as,
1. global warming
2.ozone layer depletion
3.environmental pollution
4.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.
● resource planning is essential for sustainable existence of all forms of life

● Sustainable economic development

1. development should take place without damaging the environment,
2. development in the present should not compromise with the needs of the future
generations.
3. The following was done

Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit(meeting), 1992

● held 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.
● Declaration on Global Climatic Change and Biological Diversity(plant and animal).
● The Rio Convention came up with Agenda 21 for achieving Sustainable Development
 Agenda 21
● Its agenda was to achieve sustainable development
● It is an agenda to combat environmental damage, poverty, disease through
global co-operation on common interests, mutual needs and shared
responsibilities
● All country should make their own agenda 21

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
● Madhya Pradesh , jharkhand Odisha, and chhattisgarh have a lot of mineral resources
● Ladakh- Cold desert , lots of ice , but lacks in water and mineral resources. famous for
culture heritage
● Arunachal pradesh - Has 60% of river brahmaputra tributaries , lacks in infrastructure
● Rajasthan rich in wind and solar energy , lacks in water

Resource planning in India

Steps involved
● 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
● Evolving a planning structure endowed [followed by] with appropriate technology, skill
(workers) and institutional set up for implementing resource development plans
● Matching the resource development plans with overall national development plans

India and its 5 year 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. For eg Madhya pradesh , odisha have tons of
resources but are also the most poor states , while haryana and punjab with no
resources are very rich

Colonization and countries

● The history of colonization reveals that rich resources in colonies were the main
attractions for the foreign invaders
● It was primarily the higher level of technological development of the colonizing countries
that helped them to exploit resources of other regions and establish their supremacy
over the colonies.
 ● Resources can contribute to development only when they are accompanied by
appropriate technological development and institutional changes

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. This
had been the main concern of the leaders and thinkers in the past
● Gandhiji -“There is enough for everybody’s need and not for anybody's greed.”
● He placed the greedy and selfish individuals and exploitative nature of modern
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

LAND RESOURCES
● Land is a natural resource of utmost importance. It supports natural vegetation,
wild life, human life, economic activities, transport and communication systems.
● Land is an asset of a finite magnitude, therefore, it is important to use the
available land for various purposes with careful planning

LAND UTILIZATION
1. Forests
2. Land not available for cultivation
1.Barren and waste land
2. Land put to non-agricultural uses, e.g. buildings, roads, factories.
3. Other uncultivated land (excluding fallow land)
1. Permanent pastures and grazing land
2.Land under miscellaneous tree crops groves (not included in net sown area),
3.Culturable waste land (left uncultivated for more than 5 agricultural years).
4. Fallow
1. lands Current fallow-(left without cultivation for one or less than one agricultural year)
2.Other than current fallow-(left uncultivated for the past 1 to 5 agricultural years).
Area sown more than once in an agricultural year plus net sown area is known as gross
cropped area.

LAND USE PATTERN IN INDIA

The use of land is determined
1. physical factors topography, climate, soil types
2. human factors- population density, technological capability and culture and traditions
 ● 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
because the land use reporting for most of the north-east states except Assam has not
been done fully
● 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?
Decreasing pasture land and poor quality fallow lands make it difficult to feed our large
cattle population. This could lead to consequences such as food shortages and
environmental damage.
● India has 54% of the total reporting area. Net sown area varies greatly from state to
state, from over 80% in Punjab and Haryana to less than 10% in Arunachal Pradesh,
Mizoram, Manipur, and Andaman Nicobar Islands.
● Forest area in the country is far lower than the desired 33 current is 25% 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.

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
● Human activities such as deforestation, over grazing, mining and quarrying (removal of
stones from hills )too have contributed significantly in land degradation.

● Mining sites are abandoned after excavation work is complete leaving deep scars and traces of
over-burdening.
● 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, Uttar Pradesh, over-irrigation is responsible for land
degradation due to water logging leading to an increase in salinity (salts) and alkalinity
(chemicals)in the soil
● Mineral processing like grinding of limestone for cement industry and calcite and soapstone for
ceramic industry generate huge quantity of dust in the atmosphere this settles in land , and stops
rainwater from entering soil
● Industrial waste causes land degradation and spoiling of fertility

How to stop land degradation

● Afforestation
● controlling Mining activities
● Controlling the overgrazing of animals
● Shelterbelts, like in seashores, cyclones occur, they cause a lot of destruction, number of
huge trees to be grown and sea shore so they break the wind
● Stabilization of sand dunes by growing thorny bushes
● Proper discharge and disposal of industrial wastes and wastes after treatment.
Soil as a resource
● Soil is the most important renewable natural resource,plant growth and supports different types of
living organisms on the earth.
1. It Takes millions of years to form soil up to a few cm in depth
2. Relief(structure of land)
3. parent rock or bedrock
4. Climate
5. vegetation (plant forms) and other forms of life and time are important factors in the
formation of soil
● Various forces of nature also contribute
1. such as change in temperature
2. actions of running water
3. wind and glaciers
4. activities of decomposers

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.

Alluvial Soils
● This is the most widely spread and important soil
● The entire northern plains or indo-gangetic plains are made of alluvial soil.
● These have been deposited by three important Himalayan river systems – the Indus, the Ganga
and the Brahmaputra
● This is the world's largest agricultural plains
● The alluvial soil consists of various proportions of sand, silt (fine soil) and clay
● Alluvial is also defined according to their age, alluvial soils can be classified as old alluvial
(Bangar) and new alluvial (Khadar).
● Bangar- The bangar soil has higher concentration of kanker nodules than the Khadar
● Khadar -It has more fine particles and is more fertile than the bangar.
● Alluvial soils as a whole are very fertile. Mostly these soils contain potash, phosphoric acid
and lime
● Alluvial soil is great for the growth of sugarcane, paddy, wheat and other cereal and pulse crops
● Alluvial soils are intensively cultivated and densely populated.

Black Soil
● These soils are black in colour and are also known as regur soils
● Black soil is ideal for growing cotton and is also known as black cotton soil.
● It is believed that climatic conditions along with the parent rock material are the important factors
for the formation of black soil
● This type of soil is typical of the Deccan trap (Basalt) region spread over northwest Deccan
plateau and is made up of lava flows so also called deccan trap lava
● Black soil are in the plateaus of Maharashtra, Saurashtra, Malwa, Madhya Pradesh and
Chhattisgarh and extends in the south east direction along the Godavari and the Krishna valleys.
● They are well-known for their capacity to hold moisture.
● They are rich in soil nutrients, such as calcium carbonate, magnesium, potash and lime.
● They develop deep cracks during hot weather, which helps in the proper aeration of the soil.
 ● During rainy season it is very sticky

Red and Yellow Soils

● Red soil develops on crystalline igneous rocks in areas of low rainfall in the eastern and southern
parts of the Deccan plateau
● Yellow and red soils are also found in parts of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, southern parts of ganga
plains
● These soils develop a reddish color due to diffusion of iron in crystalline and metamorphic rocks.
It looks yellow when it occurs in a hydrated form.(water added to soil)

Laterite Soil
● Laterite has been derived from the Latin word ‘later’ which means brick
● The laterite soil develops under tropical and subtropical climate with alternate wet and dry
seasons.
● The laterite soil develops under tropical and subtropical climate with alternate wet and dry
seasons. This soil is the result of intense leaching due to heavy rain.
● Lateritic soils are mostly deep to very deep, acidic (pH<6.0),
● occur mostly in southern states, Western Ghats region of Maharashtra, Odisha, some parts of
West Bengal and North-east regions
● it is humus rich, but under sparse vegetation and in semi-arid environment, it is generally humus
poor
● In Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, this soil is beneficial for growing tea and coffee.
● Prone to degradation
Arid Soils
● Arid soils range from red to brown in colour.
● They are generally sandy in texture and saline(salt particles and content) in nature
● In some areas the salt content is very high and common salt is obtained by evaporating
the water
● . Due to the dry climate, high temperature, evaporation is faster and the soil lacks humus
and moisture.
● The lower horizons of the soil are occupied by Kankar nodules ( presence of calcium
carbonate , making balls , which an be broken
● 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.

Forest Soils
● These soils are 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.

Soil Erosion and Soil Conservation

● The denudation of the soil cover and subsequent washing down is described as soil erosion
● The processes of soil formation and erosion, go on simultaneously and generally there is a
balance between the two.
● Sometimes, this balance is disturbed due to human activities like deforestation, overgrazing,
construction and mining
● while natural forces like wind, glacier and water lead to soil erosion.
● The running water cuts through the clayey soils and makes deep channels as gullies
● The land becomes unfit for cultivation and is known as bad land.
● In the Chambal basin 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. Plowing in a wrong way i.e. up and down the slope form
channels for the quick flow of water leading to soil erosion

Counter ploughing
Shelter belts
Afforestation
Thorny bushes
Strip cloth