Resources And Development

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’.

Classification of Resources:

1:-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 resourceswhich are composed of non-living things are

called abiotic resources. Ex- Rocks, metals etc.

● Abiotic Resources include all non-living things

2:-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.
3:-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.
4:-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.

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.

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

Conservation of Resources - The management of resources by human beings in a

judicious and planned way without disturbing environment is called conservation

of resources.

● 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.

● 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:

1. Forests

2. Land not available for cultivation:There are two types of land which are

not used for agriculture purpose. These are:

a. Barren and waste land

b. Lands used for buildings, roads, factories, etc. i.e for non-agriculture

purpose.

3. Other uncultivated land (excluding fallow land)

a. Permanent pastures and grazing land,

b. Land under miscellaneous tree crops groves (not included in net sown

area),

c. Culturable waste land (left uncultivated for more than 5 agricultural

years).
 4. Fallow lands

a. Current fallow-(left without cultivation for one or less than one

agricultural year),

b. Other than current fallow-(left uncultivated for the past 1 to 5

agricultural years).

5. Net sown area: Area which is sown at least once in a year is called net

sown area.

6. 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

soilprofile.

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.

Q1:-What is the role of humans in resource development ?

Answer: (i) Human beings interact with nature through technology and create

institutions to accelerate their economic development.

(ii) Human beings transfer material available in our environment into resource and

use them.
Q2:-“India is rich in certain types of resources but deficient in some other

resources.” Support your answer with examples.

Answer: (i) The states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are rich in

mineral resources but lack industrialisation.

(ii) Arunachal Pradesh has an abundance of water resources, but lacks in

infrastructural development. The state of Rajasthan is very well endowed with solar

and wind energy but lacks in water resources. The cold desert area of Ladakh is

relatively isolated from the rest of the country due to lack of means of

transportation and communication.

(iii) Most of North-Eastern states are rich in natural vegetation but lacks in fertile

soil.

Q3:-Explain the land-use pattern of India.

Answer: (i) The net sown area in India has decreased from 45.26% to 43.41%. This

means that more and more agricultural land is being shifted to other activities. This

is not a healthy trend, and must be checked. The steps taken by government has

resulted in increase of net sown area to 47% in 2005-06.

(ii) The pattern of the 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 the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

(iii) The area under forests has increased from 18.11% in 1960-61 to 22.57% in

2000-03 and to 23% in 2005-06 yet it is far below than the scientific norms.

(iv) The land under permanent pasture is very low, i.e., only 3.45% (Fallen to 3%).

This shows the tremendous pressure of livestock population on agricultural land.

Cattle are reared mainly on the farm wastes, grain chaff and a few fodder crops.

(v) Area under fallow land has also decreased which shows, that subsistence

agriculture is being replaced by commercial agriculture.

(vi) 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, industries, etc.

Q4:-What are the main advantages of India’s land under a variety of relief

features?

Answer: India has land under a variety of relief features, namely: mountains,

plateaus, plains and islands.

(i) About 43 per cent of the land area is plain, which provides facilities for agriculture
and industry.

(ii) Mountains account for 30 per cent of the total surface area. They ensure

perennial flow of some rivers, provide facilities for tourism and ecological aspects.

(iii) About 27 per cent of the land area is plateau. It possesses reserves of minerals,

fossil fuels and forests.