Resource and Development - QRN

Introduction

Human beings are a part of nature. Nature consists of water, land, rocks, soil, plants,
animals, minerals etc. These are gifts of nature and humans call them resources.

Man converts nature's gifts into resources by his skill, available technology, and
requirement. Some may accept a resource, and some might reject it. Resource
transformation is the interplay of nature, man, and technology.

Everything available in our environment which can be used to satisfy our needs, provided.
It should be technologically accessible, economically feasible and culturally acceptable to
be termed as ‘Resource.’

Figure: Interdependent relationship between nature, technology, and institutions

Classification of resources:

The resources are different in nature that is why we have a broad classification of
resources. We classified resources on these four parameters-

1. On the basis of origin 2. On the basis of exhaustibility

3. On the basis of development 4. On the basis of ownership

On the basis of origin – (biotic and abiotic):

● Biotic is living. Example Humans, Animals, Plants.

● Abiotics are Non-living. Example Rock, Mountain, Water

On the basis of exhaustibility – (renewable and non-renewable):

 ● Renewables can be renewed. Example- Air, Water, Sunlight.
● Non-Renewable cannot be renewed. For example- Coal, Fossil fuels.

On the basis of ownership –

● Individual means privately owned. Example- your car

● Community owned means owned by a community. For example- Burial grounds,
Community halls
● National means owned by a country. For example, National parks, Railways.
● International resource means for the whole world. For example, International
Waters, Moon.

On the basis of status of development –

● Potential means that usage is happening but not to the fullest.

● Developed means usage is happening to the fullest capacity.
● Stock means we have the need but not the technology.
● Reserve means we have the technology, but we don’t need the resource.

Development of resource:

Resources are not always ready to use. They require some processing before going into
use.

For this, man needs to use skills, technology, develop infrastructure for developing a
resource. Resource development is an exercise for the utilisation of resources. Resource
development also includes conservation, judicious and planned use especially of
exhaustible resources. Resource development, in short, is finding, preparing, utilisation,
exploitation and preservation of a resource.

Sustainable Development:

Sustainable development means ‘development should take place without harming the
environment and development in the present should not compromise with the needs of
the future generations ‘.

The developed nations have understood the need for conservation, but a lot is required to
be done by them. Developing nations are also making efforts in this direction but they are
slow and need technological assistance.
Over-exploitation of resources have led to the following problems:

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

2. Accumulation of resources in few hands which has divided the society into haves
and have-nots (i.e., rich and poor).

3. Indiscriminate utilisation of resources and their depletion.

4. Disturbance of ecological balance and extinction of plants and animals.

5. Pollution and health problems.

6. Global warming and depletion of the ozone layer.

Various countries-developed or developing-should make concrete efforts to conserve the

resources. We should try to bring a balance between exhaustible and inexhaustible
resources, for example the use of solar with coal for energy generation. A judicious,
rational, and equitable distribution of resources is essential for sustained economic
development and existence of the environment in its originality.

Resource planning:

● For example, the states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are rich in
minerals and coal deposits whereas Arunachal Pradesh has 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 but Uttar Pradesh lacks in mineral resources.
● This calls for balanced resource planning at the national, state, regional and local
levels so that we can create development for all.

Resource Planning importance:

● Resource planning is a technique or strategy of proper and judicious

utilisation of resources.
● Resource planning also helps in reducing wastage and produces optimum
outputs.

Resource Planning involves three stages:

First stage 𝐼𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛→𝐼𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔

Second Assessment of demand, development of technology
stage
Third stage Planning for the resource exploitation and economic distribution for
different regions
Conservation of resources:

Thinkers and environmentalists started to talk about resource conservation in the first half
of the 21st century. Gandhi said, “There is enough for everybody’s need but not enough for
one man’s greed.”

At the international level, the events started to progress. They are as follows:

● The Club of Rome advocated resource conservation for the first time in a more
systematic way in 1968.
● In 1974, Gandhian philosophy was presented by Schumacher in his book Small is
Beautiful.
● The significant contribution with respect to resource conservation debate 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 and this idea was published in a book entitled Our
Common Future.
● The Earth Summit was held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992. Its main objective was
to address urgent problems of environmental protection and socio-economic
development. Attendees of the Summit signed the Declaration on Global Climatic
Change and Biological Diversity. It adopted Agenda 21 for achieving sustainable
development in the 21st century.

Land Resources:

India has land under a variety of relief features, mountains, plateaus, plains, and islands.

● About 43 per cent of the land area is plain, which provides facilities for agriculture
and industry.
● Mountains account for 30 per cent of the total surface area of the country and
ensure perennial flow of big rivers, provide facilities for tourism and various
research aspects.
● About 27 per cent of the area of the country is the plateau region. It is known for
rich reserves of minerals, fossil fuels and forests.

Various uses of land In India:

Sown Area:

The area under cultivation is called a sown area. It is further divided in two categories-

Net Sown Area and Gross Sown are.

The formulas are

Net Sown Area= Net area under cultivation

Gross Sown Area= Net area under cultivation x Number of times it is cultivated

Fallow lands:

Fallow land is a piece of land which is not under cultivation. It is further classified in three
categories-

(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.

(c) Culturable waste land- left uncultivated for more than five agricultural years.

Since man started to settle, changes came in land use patterns. Forests were first cleared
for agriculture then for settlements, industries, and transport. Unplanned land use without
caring for nature has led to degradation of land. Misuse of land resources in turn is leading
to various problems which can result in severe consequences.

Land degradation:

We have inherited our land from the past generations and will have to handover it to the
future generations too. Maximum 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.

Some human activities such as deforestation, overgrazing, mining, and quarrying too have
contributed significantly to land degradation.
Soil as a resource:

Classification of soil:

On the basis of colour, age, chemical composition, physical properties, and soil forming
factors, the soils in India can be, broadly classified as:

1. Alluvial soil 2. Black soil

3. Red and Yellow soil 4. Laterite soil

5. Arid or Desert soil 6. Forest and Mountain soil

Alluvial soil:

This is the most important soil as India is an agrarian country. In fact, the entire northern
plains are made of alluvial soil.

● These have been deposited by three important Himalayan River systems – the
Indus, the Ganga, and the Brahmaputra.
● Alluvial soil is also found in the eastern coastal plains; in the deltas of the Mahanadi,
the Godavari, the Krishna, and the Kaveri River.

Alluvial soil is of two types- Bhangar and Khadar.

1. Khadar is new alluvial soil and Bhangar is old alluvial soil.

2. Khadar is found near the floodplains and Bhangar is found above and away from
the floodplain.
3. Khadar has smooth texture and more fertility and Bhangar has coarse texture with
kankars and less fertility than khadar.
Black soil:

This dark-coloured soil is also called regur and ‘black cotton soil’ meaning ideal soil for
growing cotton. Breaking and decaying of basaltic rocks and moderate climate formed
black soil. It is found in Deccan Trap regions of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat,
Chhattisgarh and parts of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka.

The major features of black soil are

● It is fine or clayey in nature.

● Rich in iron, magnesium, and potash.
● Good for growing cotton.

Red and Yellow Soils:

● Red soil, rich in iron, develops on crystalline igneous rocks in areas of low rainfall in
the eastern and southern parts of the Deccan plateau. These soils develop a reddish
colour due to diffusion of iron in crystalline and metamorphic rocks.
● Yellow soil is found in parts of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, southern parts of the middle
Ganga plain. It looks yellow because it occurs in a hydrated form.

Laterite Soil:

This soil is found in areas of high temperature and heavy rainfall. Laterite soils are formed
due to the process of intense leaching in high rainfall regions. It causes washing away of
soluble nutrients from upper layers and exposing lower layers of soil. They are found in
Western Ghat regions of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu; some parts of Eastern Ghats in
Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.

The main features of this soil are:

● Laterite soils though are not suitable for cultivation, but sufficient and appropriate
fertiliser and manure can help.
● However, in hilly uplands in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, this soil is used for
growing tea and coffee.
● Red laterite soils of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are used for growing
cashew nuts.

Arid Soils:

Arid soils range from red to brown in colour. They are sandy in texture and saline in nature.
Due to the dry climate, high temperature, evaporation is faster, and the soil loses humus
and moisture. The lower horizons of the soil are occupied by Kankar because of the
increasing calcium content downwards. After managing proper irrigation, these soils can
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 and forests
are available. The soil 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. This soil is formed in lower hilly areas.

Soil erosion:

Causes of soil erosion are

(i) Indiscriminate clearing of forests and deforestation for agriculture, industries, and
settlements.

(ii) Practice of shifting cultivation by tribals in forests.

(iii) Overgrazing of pasture lands by cattle.

(iv) Construction and digging activities of man.

(v) Faulty farming techniques, e.g., dry fallowing, over irrigation and growing of the
same crop repeatedly.

(vi) Increased floods leading to excess siltation.

Types of soil erosion:

1. Gully erosion is caused by rainfall when streams of water cut through fine soils
making furrows or deep channels (ravines). Gully erosion renders land useless for
farming, eventually transforming into badlands. They are commonly found in
Chambal Valley in Uttar Pradesh and parts of Madhya Pradesh.

2. Sheet erosion is caused in desert areas and sloped areas. Large part of the soil is
affected by strong winds and sometimes rain takes a layer of soil away.

Some methods that we can use to counter soil erosion are shelter belts,
contour ploughing, strip cropping, afforestation, better irrigation practices,
and terrace farming.