SUPPORT STUDY MATERIAL

RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT

Resources : Any thing which is available in the environment ,which is used to satisfied human wants provided  it should be technological accessible, economically  feasible and culturally acceptable

Those products and objects which have value for human beings

Characteristics of resources :

They have utility ,they are normally available in limited quantity, they help us to create goods and services utility of resources changes with improvement in science and technology                                                          

                                                          Resources

Natural resources                                                                  Artificial resources

They are free gift of nature                                                           Resources are      these are those products                                                       made by using natural        That human labour can                                                resource  e.g. buildings, road ,

Extract from nature                                                                           machine                    E.g. minerals , soils ,water                                                              tools

 Relationship between nature ,technology and institution                  

         Human being interact with the  Physical environment with the help of  Technology by making vrious  Institutions  to accelerate their development

Classification of resources:

1On the basis of origin : biotic and abiotic

2.On the basis of exhaustibility : renewable and non renewable

3.On the basis of ownership: individual ,community , national ,international

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

Biotic :these are obtain from biosphere and have life such as human beings ,flora and fauna

Abiotic :all those things which are composed of non-living things are called abiotic resources for example rocks and minerals.

 Renewable resources : The resources which can be renewed or reproduced by physical,chemical or mechanical process .example solar and wind energy

These are of two types : continuous or flowing such as wind ,water etc  and biological such as natural vegetation like forests and wildlife etc.

Non-renewable resources : those natural resources which are available to us in  a fixed stock,once used cannot be regenerated , they are also known as exhaustible resources .these takes millions of the year to form.

These are of two types : recyclable (that can be reused ) like metals and non recyclable (they are consumed up after the use)like  fossil fuel .

Individual resources : resources which are privately owned  for example : land ,House.

Community resources: These resources can be used by all the members of community

For example : grazing grounds ,public park

National resources : Technically all the resources belongs to  the nation. the country have legal power to acquire private property.

For example : minerals ,water resources ,forest ,wild life etc

International resources : there are international resources institutions which regulate some resources .resources beyond 200 nautical miles .

On the basis of status of development :

Potential resources : Resources which are found in region,but have not been utilised . For example solar and wind energy in some part of Gujarat and Rajasthan

Developed resources :  resources which are surveyed and their quality and quantity have been determined for utilization

Stock :  Material in the environment which have the potential to satisfy human needs but human being did not have appropriate technology to access these

For example : water is compound of two inflammable gases hydrogen and oxygen which can be used as a resources but we did not have technology

Reserves : these are the subset of stocks which can be put into use with the help of existing technology but their use has not been started .

Major problems of  indiscriminately  use of resources

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

2.Accumulation of resources in few hands ,which in turn divide the society in two segments that

    is have and have not or rich or poor

3.Global ecological crises  such as , global warming ,ozone depletion, environmental pollution      

   and land degradation.

There for resources planning is essential for sustainable existence  and it is the component of sustainable development

Rio de janeiro  earth summit  1992

More than 100 heads of state met

First international earth summit addressing urgent problems of environmental protection and socio-economic development at the global level

Leaders signed the declaration and  adopted Agenda 21 for achieving sustainable development by 21 century

Agenda 21: it is the declaration by the world leaders in 1992 at the united nations conference on environment  and development  (UNCED)

It aims to achieve the global sustainable development

It is an agenda to combat environmental damage ,poverty ,disease through global cooperation on common interests

Each local government should draw its own local agenda 21

Resource planning :

Resources are unevenly distributed in our country

Resources available in the country are limited in nature in comparison to the demand

Resource planning is  a judicious and planned used of resources by the human management

Resource conservation is the use of available exhaustible resources ,so that the interest of the future generation are adequately taken care of

Making effort  to regenerate and replenish renewable resources

Resource planning involves three stages

Stage I : Identification and  inventory of resources .it includes surveying ,mapping and measurement of characteristics and properties of resources.

Stage II :  It involves evaluation in terms of availability for development. Resources are examined from the point of view of technology ,economy and need.

Stage III: comparison of resource development plans with overall  national development plans.

Conservation of resources :

There is enough for everybody need and not for anybody greed

Recycling or reusing waste matter.

Substituting non-renewable items with renewable ones

Curtailing or minimizing wastage

Study and research provide new ways of conservation

Conservation law should be strictly enforced

Assessment of resources should be made periodically

Land resources:

Important resource which support natural resources, wild life , human life etc.43% plain, 27%plateaus, 30% mountain.

Land use pattern: total area 3.28million square kilometer out of this land use data is available 93%

1.Net sown area

2.Gross sown area

3.Fallow land current fallow(1 or less than 1year) and other than current fallow (1-5 year)

4.Land under pasture

5.Forest land (required 33% but NFP  approx 22%)

6.Cultivable wasteland (include rocky, arid and desert)

7.Land not available for cultivation(non agriculture for settlement ,roads, railway and industry)

8.Cultivated more than once

Land degradation and conservation methods:

Reason for land degradation:

Human activity such as deforestation ,overgrazing ,mining and quarrying

Mining sites are abandoned after the excavation work is complete leaving deep scars and traces of over-burdening in state like Jharkhand ,Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh

In  the state of Punjab,Haryana ,Western Uttarpradesh,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 of cement industry and calcite and soapstone  for ceramic industry generate huge quantity of dust in the atmosphere it retard the infiltration of water into the soil after it settles down on the land

Industrial effluent as waste have become a major source of land and water pollution in many part of the country

Various ways to solve the problems of land degradation/soil erosoin:

1.Afforestration and proper management of grazing can help to control land degradation

2.Planting of shelter belts ; to break the force of wind ,lines of trees are planted to create shelter the row of such trees are called shelter belts

3.Control on overgrazing

4.Stabilisation of sand dunes by growing thorny bushes helps to control land degradation

5.Proper management of waste land

6.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.

7. Strip cropping : in this large fields are divided into strips and in between the crops, strips of      

    grass are left to grow which help in restricting the force of the wind

8. Contour ploughing : it is practiced in hilly area, to prevent water from running down the

   slopes ,ploughing is done along the contour lines

9. Terrace farming ; to restrict soil erosion, steps are cut on the slopes making terrace . This is

    termed as terrace cultivation

10. Leveling of uneven land

11. Raising grass and other vegetation on land

12. Construction of bunds across gullies (narrow channels formed by water streams)

Soil as a resource

Soil is the upper most layer of earth crust consisting of organic and inorganic substances

Factor of soil formation

1. Parent materials: the soil is form by the weathering of rocks exposed on the surface generally the soil of north-western plateau are closely related to the parents rocks and on the other hand the north Indian plains are transported and deposited by the rivers.

2.Relief:Relief features influence the process of soil formation in various ways . In areas of steep slopes ,the top layer of soil is heavily denuded.

3.Climate : in area of extreme temperature and high rainfall the rocks are easily weathered and lead to soil formation

4.Natural vegetation : the process of soil formation and its development is associated with the growth of vegetation . The decayed leaf material adds to the fertility of the soil

Classification of soil:

According to their formation,colour,texture,age and physical and chemical properties. The Indian Council of agricultural research has divided the soils found in the country into six major group

1.     Alluvial soils:

 These have been deposited by three important  Himalayan river system-the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra

They are formed by the depositional work of rivers in the river valleys, flood plains and deltas

Characteristics:  alluvial soil is fertile very finely grained ,rich in potash, phosphoric acid and lime but deficient in nitrogen and humus.

These are suitable for the cultivation of cereals ,pulses,oilseeds ,sugarcane etc

Types: they are two types Khadar and Bhangar

new alluvial is known as khadar and old alluvial is known as bhangar,the bangar soil has higher concertration of kanker nodules than the khadar ,it has more fine particles and is more fertile than the bangar.

Area occupied: these soils are found  in the great plains from punjab to assam and in the deltas of mahanadi,godavari ,krishna and kaveri

2.Black Soil :

These are black in colour  and are suitable for cultivation of cotton . It is also known as regur soil. These soil are formed due to weathering of lava rocks in the deccan plateau over thousands of years ago

Characteristics: these soils are rich in potash, magnesium, lime and calcium but deficient in nitrogen and phosphoric  acid. These have large capacity to hold water and become sticky when wet. These soils develop large and deep cracks before monsoon which helps in aeration

They are suitable for growing cotton, cereals and oilseeds

Area occupied: it is found in states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh

3. Red or yellow soils:

 It is formed by the weathering up of igneous and metamorphic rocks. These soils surround the black soil on their south, east and north . Red colour of the soils is because of the presence of iron therein.

Characteristics: These are deficient in nitrogen ,humus ,phosphoric acid and lime. These are suitable for cultivation of rice, cotton, pulses, tobacco,jowar etc

These soils look yellow when these occur in hydrated form

Areas occupied : these soils are found in parts of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh Orissa and Jharkhand

4.Laterite soils: These soils are formed due to intense leaching of soils caused by heavy rainfall. This are red in colour and made up of clay and gravels of red sandstones. Laterite soils are generally poor in nitrogen, potash, potassium and organic matter . These have low fertility but readily respond to manuring .These soils have low humus content as most of the micro-organism are destroyed due to high temperature

Areas occupied : this soil occur in the states of Karnataka, Kerala ,Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh

These soils are suitable for the growth of coffee and cashewnuts

 

5. Mountain soils or forest soil:

These soils are formed by the deposition of organic matter derived from the forest growth

There is abundance of humus in these soils  which are deficient in potash phosphorus and lime . Their fertility varies from place to place

These soils found in Jammu and Kashmir ,Uttrakhand ,Himachal Pradesh and eastern hilly ranges

6. Desert soils :

Desert soils are formed under arid and semi-arid condition in the north-western parts of the country particularly in western Rajasthan and part of Punjab and Haryana

These soils have a very low humus and nitrogen content

These are sandy and alkaline in nature .These soils have a low moisture content and  contain high percentage of soluble salt.

SOIL EROSION  :

It is the wearing away of the top soil cover by natural agencies, such as water and wind and also as a result of human and animal interference

Types of soil erosion:

 1. Water erosion :

   during heavy rains water removes the thin soil cover over large areas more or less uniformly

  (a) Gully erosion: In areas of clayey soils, running water cuts thorough, making deep channels called gullies. These are termed as ‘Bad lands’  and are unfit for cultivation

     In the Chambal basin such lands are called ravines

  (b) sheet erosion : when water flows down the slope as a sheet , the top soil is washed away . This is termed as sheet erosion

2.Wind erosion : wind erosion is generally confined to arid and semi-arid region with high range of temperature . Due to the removal of vegetation the top soil becomes extremely loose to be carried away by wind in large quantities.