Resources & Development

Resource - Things which can be used to satisfy our needs, is technologically accessible, economically feasible and culturally acceptable.

TYPES OF RESOURCES

On the Basis of Origin

Biotic Resources: are obtained from biosphere and have life such as human beings, flora and fauna, fisheries,  livestock etc.

Abiotic Resources: composed of non-living things are called abiotic resources. rocks and metals.

On the Basis of Exhaustibility

Renewable Resources: can be renewed or reproduced by physical, chemical or mechanical processes.  solar and wind energy, water, forests and wildlife, etc. may further be divided into continuous or flow.

Non-Renewable Resources: occur over a very long geological time. Minerals and fossil

fuels . May further be divided into recyclable and non-recyclable

On the Basis of Ownership

Individual Resources: owned privately by individuals. Plantation, pasture lands, ponds, water in wells etc.

Community Owned Resources: resources which are accessible to all the members of the community. Village commons, public parks, picnic spots

National Resources: All the minerals, water resources, forests, wildlife, land within the political boundaries and oceanic area upto 12 nautical miles (22.2 km) from the coast termed as territorial water and resources

International Resources: international institutions regulate these resources. The oceanic resources beyond 200 nautical miles of the Exclusive Economic Zone

On the Basis of the Status of Development

Potential Resources: found in a region, but have not been utilized. Rajasthan and Gujarat have

enormous potential for the development of wind and solar energy, but so far these have not been developed properly.

Developed Resources: are surveyed, quality and quantity determined for utilization. development depends on technology and level of their feasibility.

Stock: human beings do not have the appropriate technology to access these, are included among

Reserves can be put into use with the help of existing technical ‘know-how’ but their use has not been started. These can be used for meeting future requirements. the water in the dams, forests etc.

DEVELOPMENT OF RESOURCES

Indiscriminate use of resources by human being has led to the following major problems.

• Depletion of resources for satisfying the greed of few individuals.

• Accumulation of resources in few hands, divided the society into haves  and have not's or rich and poor.

• global ecological crises such as, global warming, ozone layer depletion, environmental

pollution and land degradation.

RESOURCE PLANNING

Strategy for judicious use of resources.

Is important as there is enormous diversity in the availability of resources.

Many of the resources are non-renewable. This calls for balanced resource planning at the national, state, regional and local levels.

Resource Planning in India involves :

(i) identification and inventory of resources

(ii) Evolving a planning structure endowed with appropriate technology, skill and institutional set up.

(iii) Matching the resource development plans with overall national development plans.

Conservation of Resources: Resources are vital for any developmental activity. 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 any body’s

greed.”

LAND RESOURCES

Land is a natural resource of utmost importance.

India has land under a variety of relief features,  43 per cent is plain, provides facilities for agriculture and industry. Mountains account for 30 per cent ensure perennial flow of some rivers, provide facilities for tourism and ecological aspects. About 27 per cent is the plateau, possesses rich reserves of minerals, fossil fuels and forests.

LAND UTILISATION

Land resources are used for the following purposes:

1. Forests

2. Land not available for cultivation

(a) Barren and waste land

(b) Land put to non-agricultural uses, e.g. buildings, roads, factories, etc.

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 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 both by physical factors such as topography, climate, soil types as well as human factors such as population density, technological capability and culture and traditions etc.

Total geographical area of India is 3.28 million sq km.

The land under permanent pasture has decreased.

NSA in India comes to  about 54 per cent of the total reporting area. 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 Islands.

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

LAND DEGRADATION AND CONSERVATION MEASURES

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.

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.

Ways to solve the problems of land degradation

Afforestation , proper management of grazing, Planting of shelter belts of plants, control on

over grazing, 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

SOIL AS A RESOURCE

Relief, parent rock or bed rock, climate, vegetation and other forms of life and time are important factors in the formation of soil.

Classification of Soils

Alluvial Soil : It is of two types — khadar and bangar. It is found mainly in the Northern

Plains and Coastal Strips of the Eastern Coast.

Black Soil : It is derived from the Deccan Traps. It occurs in areas like Maharashtra, Western

Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. It is known for the cultivation of cotton.

Red Soil : It is formed in areas of igneous and metamorphic rocks. It is found in parts of

Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Jharkhand.

Laterite Soil : It is the intensively leached soil of the monsoon climate. It is found in the hills of the Deccan, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa and parts of Assam and Meghalaya.

Mountain Soil : It is characterized by the deposition of organic materials derived from the vegetative cover. It is found in Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Eastern ranges, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

Desert Soil : It is found in the arid areas of Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana.

Soil Erosion and Soil Conservation

The denudation of the soil cover and subsequent washing down is described as soil erosion. Human activities like deforestation, over-grazing, construction and mining etc., while natural forces like wind, glacier and water lead to soil erosion. Deep channels as gullies, bad land, Chambal ravines, sheet erosion.

Contour ploughing, Terrace cultivation, Strip cropping, Shelter belts.