Resources and Development

"Anything that satisfies human needs is called a resource. Gifts of nature, such as air, water, soil, forests and minerals, as well as human creations, such as buildings, roads and so on, are resources because they satisfy various human needs. Human beings, too, are a resource because they have the ability to develop skills that can help them identify new resources and find new uses of existing ones."

1.0Introduction

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'. Transformation of things available into resource involves an inter - dependent relationship between nature, technology and institutions. Human beings interact with nature through technology and create institutions to accelerate their economic development.

Resources are not free gifts of nature. Resources are a function of human activities. Human beings transform material available in our environment into resources and use them.

2.0Types of resources

(a) On the basis of origin

(b) On the basis of exhaustibility

(c) On the basis of ownership

International resources: There are international institutions which regulate some resources. The oceanic resources beyond 200 nautical miles of the Exclusive Economic Zone belong to open ocean and no individual country can utilise these without the concurrence of international institutions.

Exclusive Economic Zone: An "exclusive economic zone," or "EEZ" is an area of the ocean, generally extending 200 nautical miles ( 230 miles) beyond a nation's territorial sea, within which a coastal nation has jurisdiction over both living and non-living resources.

(d) On the basis of the status of development

Stock: Materials in the environment which have the potential to satisfy human needs but human beings do not have the appropriate technology to access these, are included among stock. For example: Water is a compound of two inflammable gases; hydrogen and oxygen, which can be used as a rich source of energy. But we do not have the required technical 'know-how' to use them for this purpose. Hence, it can be considered as stock. Reserves are the subset of the stock, which 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.

3.0Development of Resources

Resources are vital for human survival as well as for maintaining the quality of life. Indiscriminate use of resource has led to the following major problems.

• Depletion of resources for satisfying the greed of few individuals.
• Accumulation of resources in few hands, which, in turn, divided the society into two segments i.e. haves and have nots or rich and poor.
• Indiscriminate exploitation of resources has led to global ecological crises such as global warming, ozone layer depletion, environmental pollution and land degradation.

An equitable distribution of resources has become essential for a sustained quality of life and global peace. If the present trend of resource depletion by a few individuals and countries continues, the future of our planet is in danger. Therefore, resource planning is essential for sustainable existence of all forms of life. Sustainable existence is a component of sustainable 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.

Rio Convention and agenda 21: 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.

4.0Resource planning

Planning is the widely accepted strategy for judicious use of resources. It has importance in a country like India, which has enormous diversity in the availability of resources. There are regions which are rich in certain types of resources but are deficient in some other resources. There are some regions which can be considered self-sufficient in terms of the availability of resources and there are some regions which have acute shortage of some vital resources. This calls for balanced resource planning at the national, state, regional and local levels.

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.

"Resources can contribute to development only when they are accompanied by appropriate technological development and institutional changes."

(i) The availability of resources is a necessary condition for the development of any region, but mere availability of resources in the absence of corresponding changes in technology and institutions may hinder development. (ii) There are many regions in our country that are rich in resources but these are included in economically backward regions. On the contrary there are some regions which have a poor resource base but they are economically developed. (iii) The history of colonisation reveals that rich resources in colonies were the main attractions for the foreign invaders. It was primarily the higher level of technological development of the colonising countries that helped them to exploit resources of other regions and establish their supremacy over the colonies.

5.0Conservation of Resources

Resources are vital for any developmental activity. But irrational consumption and overutilisation of resources may lead to socio-economic and environmental problems. 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 modern 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.

6.0Land resources

"Land is a natural resource of utmost importance" Land is a natural resource of utmost importance. It supports natural vegetation, wild life, human life, economic activities, transport and communication systems. However, land is an asset of a finite magnitude, therefore, it is important to use the available land for various purposes with careful planning. "India has land under a variety of relief features" India has land under a variety of relief features, namely; mountains, plateaus, plains and islands.

• 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 some rivers, provide facilities for tourism and ecological aspects.
• About 27 per cent of the area of the country is the plateau region.

Land utilisation

Land resources are used for the following purposes: (i) Forests (ii) Land not available for cultivation

• Barren and waste land
• Land put to non-agricultural uses, e.g. buildings, roads, factories, etc. (iii) Other uncultivated land (excluding fallow land)
• Permanent pastures and grazing land.
• Land under miscellaneous tree crops groves (not included in net sown area)
• Culturable waste land (left uncultivated for more than $5$ agricultural years). (iv) Fallow lands
• Current fallow- (left without cultivation for one or less than one agricultural year).
• Other than current fallow-(left uncultivated for the past 1 to 5 agricultural years). (v) Net Sown Area: Net sown area the physical extent of land on which crops are sown harvested is known as net sown area. (vi) Area sown more than once in an agricultural year plus net sown area is known as gross cropped area.

Land Use Pattern in India

Factors deciding the use of land

Land degradation and conservation

We have shared our land with the past generations and will have to do so with the future generations too. 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. Factors affecting 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 leaving deep scars and traces of over-burdening. (i) In states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha 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

Ways to solve the problems of land degradation.

7.0Soil 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.

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

8.0Alluvial soils

This is the most widely spread and important soil. (i) 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. These soils also extend in Rajasthan and Gujarat through a narrow corridor. Alluvial soil is also found in the eastern coastal plains particularly in the deltas of the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and

(iii) Alluvial soils are very fertile. Mostly these 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. (iv) Due to its high fertility, regions of alluvial soils are intensively cultivated and densely populated. Soils in the drier areas are more alkaline and can be productive after proper treatment and irrigation.

Black soil

(i) These soils are black in colour and are also known as regur soils. Black soil is ideal for growing cotton and is also known as black cotton soil. (ii) It is believed that climatic condition along with the parent rock material are the important factors for the formation of black soil. (iii) This type of soil is 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. (iv) The black soils are made up of extremely fine i.e. clayey material. They are well-known for their capacity to hold moisture. In addition, they are rich in soil nutrients, such as calcium carbonate, magnesium, potash and lime. These soils are generally poor in phosphoric contents (v) 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.

Red and yellow soils

(i) Red soil develops on crystalline igneous rocks in areas of low rainfall in the eastern and southern parts of the Deccan plateau. (ii) Yellow and red soils are also found in parts of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, southern parts of the middle Ganga plain and along the piedmont zone of the Western Ghats. (iii) These soils develop a reddish colour due to diffusion of

Laterite soil

(i) Laterite has been derived from the Latin word 'later' which means brick. The laterite soil develops under tropical and subtropical climate with alternate wet and dry season. This soil is the result of intense leaching due to heavy rain. (ii) Lateritic soils are mostly deep to very deep, acidic ( $\mathrm{pH}<6.0$ ), generally deficient in plant nutrients and occur mostly in southern states, Western Ghats region

Arid Soils

(i) Arid soils range from red to brown in colour. They are generally sandy in texture and saline in nature. In some areas the salt content is very high and common salt is obtained by evaporating the water. (ii) Due to the dry climate, high temperature, evaporation is faster, and the soil lacks humus and moisture. The lower horizons of the soil are occupied by Kankar

Arid soil because of the increasing calcium content downwards. The Kankar layer formations in the bottom horizons restrict the infiltration of water. (iii) After proper irrigation these soils become cultivable as has been in the case of western Rajasthan.

Forest Soils

(i) These soils are 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. (ii) In the snow-covered areas of Himalayas, these soils experience denudation and are acidic with low humus content. (iii) The soils found in the lower parts of the valleys particularly on the river terraces and alluvial fans are fertile.

9.0Soil erosion and soil conservation

The denudation of the soil cover and subsequent washing down is described as 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.

Factors leading to soil erosion and Landforms made.

Sometimes, this balance is disturbed due to human activities like deforestation, overgrazing, construction and mining etc., while natural forces like wind, glacier and water lead to soil erosion. (i) The running water cuts through the clayey soils and makes deep channels as gullies. The land becomes unfit for cultivation and is known as bad land. In the Chambal basin such lands are called ravines.

Ways to control soil erosion

(i) Ploughing along the contour lines can decelerate the flow of water down the slopes. This is called contour ploughing. (ii) Steps can be cut out on the slopes making terraces. Terrace cultivation restricts erosion. Western and central Himalayas have well developed terrace farming. (iii) Large fields can be divided into strips. Strips of grass are left to grow between the crops. This breaks up the force of the wind. This method is known as strip cropping. (iv) Planting lines of trees to create shelter also works in a similar way. Rows of such trees are called shelter belts. These shelter belts have contributed significantly to the stabilisation of sand dunes and in stabilising the desert in western India.

10.0Glossary

• Piedmont plains - An area at the base of a mountain range or a mountain is known as Piedmont plain.
• Duars - Duars are the floodplains and foothills of the eastern Himalayas in North-East India around Bhutan.
• Chos - parts or slopes of the Shiwalik range which are completely devoured or lack forest cover, i.e. they face heavy erosion as they are very anatomized by the seasonal rivers that flow through them.
• Terai - Terai is a belt of marshy land at the foot of mountains at the foot of the Himalayas in North India.
• Denudation - Denudation is the geological processes in which moving water, ice, wind, and waves erode the Earth's surface, leading to a reduction in elevation and in relief of landforms and landscapes.
• Silt - Silt is made up of rock and mineral particles that are larger than clay but smaller than sand.

11.0MIND MAP