RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT

Definition: Everything available in our environment which can be used to satisfy our needs, provided, it
is technologically accessible, economically feasible and culturally acceptable can be termed as
‘Resource’.
Characteristics of resource: 1. Utility 2. Limited availability 3. Potential of depletion or consumption.
Resources are not free gifts of nature. Resources are a function of human activities. Human
themselves are important components of resources. They transform material into resources and
use them.

When human beings interact with nature (or natural surrounding) through technology, they create
institution to accelerate their economic development.

Physical Environment
(Nature)

Human Beings

Technology Institution
 Indiscriminate exploitation of resources has led to following problems:
• Depletion of resources for satisfying the greed of few individuals.
• Accumulation of resources in few hands.
• Global ecological crises such as, global warming, ozone layer depletion, environmental
pollution and land degradation.

RESOURCE PLANNING
Resource planning is method to use the resources in optimum way so that maximum benefit
should reach to maximum people. Resource planning also means avoiding wastage, misuse and
overuse of resources.
Need:
a. Most of resources are limited in nature.
b. Resources are unevenly distributed.
c. For sustainable development.
d. An equitable distribution of resources is essential for a sustained quality of life and global peace.

Steps for resource planning:

a) Identification and inventory of resources by surveying and mapping
b) Evolving a planning structure to use the resources with appropriate technology
c) Matching resource development plan with national development plan

CONSERVATION OF RESOURCES
Gandhiji says: “There is enough for everybody’s need and not for any body’s greed.”
He was against mass production and wanted to replace it with the production by the masses.

Steps Taken so far

(i) The Club of Rome (Global think tank which published its reports - the limits to growth in
1972) advocated resource conservation for the first time in a more systematic way in 1968.

(ii) In 1974, Gandhian philosophy was once again presented by Schumacher in his book Small is
Beautiful.

(iii) 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.

(iv) First Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992. (3-14 June)
More than 100 heads of states participated and signed the Declaration on Global Climatic
Change and Biological Diversity.

(v) The Rio Convention endorsed the global Forest Principles and adopted Agenda 21(signed at
UNCED) for achieving Sustainable Development in the 21st century.

LAND RESOURCE
India has land under a variety of relief features, namely;
a. Plains (43 %), which provides facilities for agriculture and industry.
b. Mountains ( 30 %) ensure perennial flow of some rivers, provide facilities for tourism and
ecological aspects.
c. Plateau (27%) possesses rich reserves of minerals, fossil fuels and forests.
Land Use and Its Category
There are 5 categories under land use.
1. Forest
2. Land not available for cultivation
3. Other uncultivated land
4. Fallow land
5. Net sown area

 Land not available for cultivation includes barren land, waste land and land which is used for
building, roads, parks, factories etc.
 Fallow land is that land which is left uncultivated by the farmer. Farmer leaves some land to give
rest to the land. Fallow land for one or less than one year is called Current Fallow. If land is left
fallow for more than one but less than five years it is called as Other Fallow land.
 Net sown area is the actual land on which agriculture is done. Some parts of net sown area is
used more than one time in a single agricultural season. When this land is added with net sown
area, it is called gross sown area or gross cropped area.

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 because the land use reporting for most of the
north-east states except Assam has not been done fully. Moreover, some areas of Jammu and
Kashmir occupied by Pakistan and China have also not been surveyed.

1. The land under permanent pasture has also decreased. It has put detrimental effect on livestock.

2. 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 Islands.

3. 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:
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
(i) Mining sites are abandoned after excavation work is complete leaving deep scars and traces of
over-burdening. In states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa deforestation
due to mining have caused severe land degradation.

(ii) In states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra overgrazing is one of the
main reasons for land degradation.

(iii) 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.
(iv) 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.

(v) In recent years, industrial effluents as waste have become a major source of land and water
pollution in many parts of the country.

Preventive Methods:
a. Afforestation
b. Proper management of grazing and control on over grazing
c. Shelter belts of plants,
d. Stabilisation of sand dunes by growing thorny bushes
e. Proper management of waste lands,
f. Control of mining activities,
g. Proper discharge and disposal of industrial effluents and wastes after treatment

SOIL AS A RESOURCE
It is an important an renewable resource. It is upper part of the crust which is loose and
fragmented. It has air, water and minerals contents and it support growth of plants. Bacteria and
other small organisms are also found in the soil which makes it more fertile.

Factors Affecting Soil Formation

a) Parent Rocks: It determined the colour, texture and mineral contents in soil
b) Climate [Rainfall and Temperature]: It determines rate of weathering and erosion of rocks.
c) Topography [Slope]: On higher land thin layer of soil is found, while in the lower valley thick
deposition of alluvium is found.
d) Vegetation [Plants and Trees]: They add organic matter [Humus] to the soil.
e) Time: Older soils are generally more fertile than newer soil.

CLASSIFICATION OF SOILS IN INDIA:

Alluvial Soil:
a. This soil covers about 40 per cent of the total area of the country. It is the most fertile and
extensive soil in India.
b. This is depositional soil, transported and deposited by rivers and streams.
c. vary in nature from sandy loam to clay. colour of the alluvial soils varies from the light grey to
ash grey.
d. Rich in potash, phosphoric acid and lime but poor in organic and nitrogenous content.
e. It is found in the river valleys of Ganga, Yamuna, Indus and Brahmaputra and in the eastern
coastal plains.
f. Coarse soil near the mountain foothill is called duars, chos and tarai. In the plain area, lower parts
are called khadar and upper parts are called banger.
g. This soil is ideal for the agriculture of rice, wheat, sugarcane, pulses and many other crops.

Black Soil
a. This soil is formed by the weathering of lava rocks.
b. It looks black due to presence of magnesium in it.
c. It is found mainly in Maharastra, Gujarat and Karnataka [Deccan Trap].
d. Black soil has high capacity to hold moisture. It become sticky when it is wet and develop crack
when it is dry. There occurs a kind of ‘self ploughing’.
e. It is best for the cultivation of cotton. Hence, it is called as Black Cotton Soil. It is also known as
‘Regur Soil’.

f. Rich in lime, iron, magnesia , alumina and potash. but lacks in phosphorous, nitrogen and
organic matter.

g. The colour of the soil ranges from deep black to grey.

Red and Yellow Soil

a. This soil has red colour due to diffusion of iron in crystalline and metamorphic rocks.
b. It looks yellow when it is found in hydrated form.
c. The fine-grained red and yellow soils are normally fertile, whereas coarse-grained soils found in
dry upland areas are poor in fertility.
d. This is generally poor in nitrogen, phosphorous and humus.
e. Found in Parts of Orissa, Chhattisgarh, southern parts of the middle Ganga plain and along the
piedmont zone of the Western Ghats.

Laterite Soil
a. Laterite has been derived from the Latin word ‘later’ which means brick.
b. The laterite soil develops in areas with high temperature and heavy rainfall. This is the result of
intense leaching due to heavy rain.
c. Humus content of the soil is low because most of the micro organisms, particularly the
decomposers, like bacteria, get destroyed due to high temperature.
d. Laterite soils are suitable for cultivation with adequate doses of manures and fertilizers.
e. Poor in organic matter, nitrogen, phosphate and calcium but iron oxide and potash are in excess.
f. Spread: Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and the hilly areas of Orissa and
Assam.
g. Crop: tea , coffee and cashew nut.
Arid Soils
a. Arid soils range from red to brown in colour.
b. They are generally sandy in texture and saline in nature.
c. Soil lacks humus and moisture.
d. The lower horizons of the soil are occupied by Kankar because of the increasing calcium content
downwards.
e. The Kankar layer formations in the bottom horizons restrict the infiltration of water.
f. Nitrogen is insufficient and the phosphate content is normal.
g. Found in western Rajasthan.
 Forest Soils
a. These soils are found in the hilly and mountainous areas where sufficient rain forests are
available.
b. They are loamy and silty in valley sides and coarse grained in the upper slopes.
c. In the snow covered areas of Himalayas, these soils experience denudation and are acidic with
low humus content.
d. The soils found in the lower parts of the valleys particularly on the river terraces and alluvial fans
are fertile.

Soil Erosion:
Removal of top and fertile layer of soil by the agents like rainwater and wind is called soil erosion.
Soil erosion is a acute problem in India. Chambal river basin is so badly eroded that this entire
area is called as ‘Bad Land or Ravines’. There are three types of erosion, i.e. a) Sheet Erosion, b)
Rill Erosion and c) Gully Erosion [Most Dangerous]. Followings are the reasons for soil erosion.
 Reason for Soil Erosion:
a. Deforestation
b. Torrential [heavy] rainfall
c. Overgrazing by cattle
d. Unscientific agriculture [Ploughing land parallel to the slope]
e. Excessive use of chemical fertilizers and irrigation
Measurement to Check Soil Erosion:

a. Afforestation – Planting trees on degraded land

b. Plugging of gullies
c. Check on overgrazing by cattle
d. Scientific agriculture [Ploughing land at right angle of slope – Contour Ploughing]
e. Crop rotation
f. Terrace farming
g. Preparation of shelter belt