Contemporary India-Il (Geography) Resources and Development ‘The concept of resource and ‘management of hhatural resources 1.1 Resources and th Everything available in our satisfy our needs, is technol achievable and culturally acc eir Classification environment that can be used to logically accessible, economically eptable can be termed as ‘resource! tween nature, technology and S of transformation of things rent. Human beings themselves of resources. They transform -nvironment into resources and. There is a relationship bet institutions, in the proces available in the environm are essential components ‘material available in the e use them, The resources can be classifie () On the basis of origin - Gi) On the basis of exhausti non-renewable (iti) On the basis of ownership national and international Gv) On the basis of status of d cd in the following w: biotic and abiotic bility ~ renewable and ~ individual, community, levelopment ~ potential, developed stock and reserves Pescucos Nadal en aan Renewable Nor Abnewate $ Structures — Quantity and andinstiviens qualty Beoogical 1 Contindous or owe. wind Feorsbiee.9. Non Recjiatie Mats a rome wie Vegeiation urvival as well as for development focuses on the geographical distribution, utlsation and anastasia nh Bn nate rte Mamie relationship benween humans and thelr environment, emp in shaping economic, socal and cultural landscape. CHAPTER However, human beings used them indiscriminately randomly and this has led to following major problems + Resources are depleted for satisfying the greed of few individuals, * The accumulation of resources in few hands div society into rich and poor. Over utilisation of resources led to the global ecologic crisis, eg. global warming, ozone layer depletion, environmental pollution and land degrad ided the lation Thus, resource planning (equal distribution of resources) and sustainable development are essential for sustainsb, existence ofall forms of fe. stainable development means development should tale Pa ithout damaging the environment and develope fine Present should not compromise with the nei re future generations ME ecer)Resource Plannin, Resource plannin, judicious use of ¢ 18 in India 18 Tefers to the st ee the available res, In India, itis very im 3 important bec. Hanesources while come are deh vital resources in some area seats ‘eet ae while some areas are 8"! le, trategy adoy ure Pted for suse Some regions are ich = States like Jharkhand, C) i and, Chhati Pradesh ate rich in coal ana ee ® Arunachal Pradesh has abuin« Jacks in infrastructure develonan * Rajasthan is enriched lacks water resources, hand Madhya rals deposits,” water resources, bu lopment, ee with wind and solar energy, but The cold desert’ of Ladakh lacks n | although it has a rich cultural heritase TSOUres age Process of Resource Planning in india The resource planning is necessary to balance equal resources s distribution at the national, state, regional and local leve ¢ cal levels The complex process of resource planning in India is iy Uvided into three stages. They areas follows (@ Identification and inventory of resources across the = regions of the country. This involves surveying, mapping, qualitative and quantitative estimation and ‘measurement of the resources. (ii) Planning for resource development usin 8 P ig appropriate skill, technology and institutional set-up. (iii) Matching the resource development plans with ‘overall national development plans. followed the policy of resource planning from the first Five Year Plan rightly after the Independence. sources can contribute to the development only with technological development and institutional India has experienced this in the different phases Iv the development does not only involve cxourees, but also the technology quality of ‘and the historical experiences of the people. important due to nat various levels is ee ‘over-utilisation of resources. ‘covered pace i ty annual precipitation ot jf eequrn nally known 26 World Comm oment by UN-Gro Hort Br jigenous pele’ mperate or higher latitudes (temper weryantie vegetation. No peop's land of cOUNY dommission on envionment and Oe tana was Production by the masses, Concern for reso following events ‘ce conservation has been raised at the Avoca forthe iste in 960th accepted Gandhian phil ; Seanad ‘conservation. inns global level. I also introduced the ‘concept of aot a book titled Our Common Future. a 4. Whore was the fst inamatona Earth sume ree ie 2. What does agenda 21 alm to achiev at ballet? 3. Name a state that Is backward inspite of having abundant water resources. 4, The concept of sustainable development was introduced in Brundtland Commission Report. Name the book in which it ‘was published. mmission? Report, 1.2 Land Resources Land isa very important natural resource as it supports natural vegetation, wildlife, human life, economic activities, transport and communication systems. However, land is limited so, it needs to be used with careful planning. India's geographical area comprises ofa variety of relief features like mountains, plateaus, plains and islands. They are distributed as follows ‘© About 43 per cent plain land area support agriculture and industry activities, ‘» About 27 per cent of the platea ‘source of minerals, fossil fuels and forests cent area which provide sites for tourism and 1 eon which the = Mountains cover 30 per perennial river water an ecological aspects eh pola) ane ner tudes (noun 68 and expt hem. pant WCED) costes 0K is fist chairmen. 123 chapter 1: Resources and Development ———iLand Utilisation (0 Foren (i) tand not avaiable for culvaton (@) Barton and vaste ead Land put to nonag road factories te (i) Other uncaitvated land (excluding flow land) () Permanepeaning an ) Land under miscellaneous wee crops and groves io (not included in net sown area) than 5 agricultural years) (iv) Fallow lands (4) Current fallow Land left uncultivated for one or less than one agricultural year. (©) Other than Current Fallow Land not cultivated forthe past 1 to 5 agricultural years (9) Net Sown Area The physical extent of land on which crops are harvested, Gross Cropped Area The ar a sown more than once in an argicultural year plus the net sown area, topography, etc. (ii) Human Factors Th ese include population density, cultural, traditions, technological capability, etc for maintenance ofthe ecological balance, Theland under permanent pastures has decreased, than current fallow Ja ind are of poor Jn India, land resources are used for the following purpose ultural uses, eg, buildings, (©) Calturable waste land (left uncultivated for more + Me pte of Net Sown Are ais ile aie sn on ps a in Ph m ecisaal fociiSen Haryana de to intensive age than 10 percent in Arunachal Prades, Manipuy Mizoram and Andaman and Nicobar Islands Some land is considered as ‘wast land like rocky, desert areas and the land tat are used for non-agr Purpose like ~ settlements, roads always, induct Land Degradation The continuous use of land over a long period of tin without conserving and managing it, has resulted in degradation. 95% of basic needs like food, shelter and clothing obtained from land, However, human activities hee degraded lands and also increased the rate of damag lands caused by natural forces. Some of the causes of land degradation are as follow: * Deforestation, overgrazing and expansion of minir uarrying operations. For example, deforestation 4 ‘mining in states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Mad Pradesh and Odisha. Overgrazing is the main reas fand degradation in states like Gujarat, Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, Tr ittigation in the states of Punjab, Haryana a Western Uttar Pradesh, which led to water loggin leading increase in salinity and alkalini y in the so Mineral processing, eg. grinding of limestone for cement industry and calcite and so. atmosphere. Wher land, it slowdown water infiltration ints the soil, * Industrial effluent: s are major source of land and w Pollution in many Parts of the country, Conservation Measures Control over mining act Planting of shelter belts? Control on overgrazing. vities, Of trees, Stabilisation of sand dunes by Browing thorny bush * Proper management of wastelands,, 5 SI Pat What percentage: 4. What percentage of and in india syatpocen Dut for agua a pes ould be under forest cover t sae Vang sloeatblnce Tater enn ch ‘Uh Jame two states where land degradation i Sc aia lon caused by overgrazing, 4. What is the best way of land conservation in the arid aid areas? 1.3 Soil as a Resource Sails the most important renewable natural resource tillons of yeast form sll pte a ew entetesin depth & oil is a living syster re fesganteanttetnapertant cis inthe golfers eee age tg | _reliefrparent rock or bed rock, climate, vegetat noe 1 due y materials (i.e, humus). = ad adh on and soil. : — the ‘Soil Profile Classification of Soils Soils in India are classified on the basis ‘of chemical and a ike colous, thickness texture 486 © soils are as follows the most widespread and important soil in India, whic ted by tree impostant Himala)20 1 the Indus the Ganges and "he ‘Brahmaputra Fre fat or gery siosing are 8 igneous py which air 8c he base plate of mountain, formed bY in ent oe a nid ma or cssonved 1 Tey regions of llovia soi are intensively densely populted dish ety nt Some feature of alluvial solar given below * teimade wp of sand stand dy and contains sane operon ppp die +The parce ofthis ois bigger towards iver valley and hs ol conse to upper tv val upper reaches = On the basis of of ag, it canbe categorised as Bangar (ida ad Khar (oc ala, unas ha high concentration of kankar nodules, but Khadr Ts fine parties and is more fer + Tis suitable for growing pad rowing pady, wheat, sugarcane and other cereal and pulse crops. " Alluvial si inthe ier areas s more alkaline and need prope treatment and irrigation tobe productive + Tes more common inthe piedmont plains that are st the foothills such as Duar, Chos and Tera eis mostly found in river valleys ofthe Northern Plains (indus, Ganga, Brahmapatra}, pars of Gujarat and Rajasthan and in Eastern coastal ais, expecially inthe deltas of Peninslar rivers (Mahanad, Godava Krishna, Kaves) Black Soils. It is also known as black cotton soil or regur soil. The rors that are important for the formation of black sil fact arent rock materi are climatic condition along with Ps Some features of black soil are given below This found in the Deccan trap” (Basalt) region and is made up of lava flows, It is made up of extremely fine Le. clayey material and suitable for growing cotton ke calcium carbonate, © Itis rich in nutrients Id potash and lime, but is poor in ‘magnesium carbonate, phosphoric content, ing the hot summer, which iL Tt becomes sticky (due to tion) when wet and «It develops deep cracks dur helps in aeration’ of the so their capacity to hold moisture retent ppecomes difficult to be tile. au areas of Saurastra, Mabarastra fy and also lies Pradesh, Chhattisgal ‘and Krishna rivers f= It covers the plate Malwa, Madhya Pradesh, Along the valleys ofthe Godavar ot and dab cated by her and a st contains back rat met ces se cna chapter 1: Resources and Development 125Red and Yellow Soils ‘Red soil develops in low rainfall areas of the Deccan plateau (Eastern and Southern parts), 1s red in colour duc to diffusion of iron particles in erystalline and metamorphic rocks?. It turns yellow when it occurs in a hydrated form, Red and yellow soils are found in parts of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Southern parts of Middle Ganga Plain and along the piedmont zone of the Western Ghats. Laterite Soil rhe word laterite has been derived from the Latin word later which means brick. Laterte soil develops in tropical and sub-tropical climate with alternative wet and dry season, Some features of laterite soil are given below © Its formed in areas of heavy rainfall resulting in intense leaching®, [supports deciduous, evergeen forests as itis rich in humus. However, at some places itis poor in buna dlue to semi-arid environment and sparse vegetation, “ It's prone to erosion and degradation due to its Position on the landscape, * It is more acidic with pH < 60 and deficient in plant nutrients “ It's found mostly in Southern states, Western Ghats peo of Maharashtra, Odisha, some parts of West Bengal and North-East regions. * In hilly areas of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, spnand coftes is grown inthis soil after adopting pPropriate soil conservation techniques, " Red laterite soil is four and Andhra Prad cashew nuts, ind in Kerala, Tamil Nadu lsh and it is suitable for growing from red to brown in colour, sandy in nd ‘in nature, + I acks humus and moisture due to dry climate, high temperature and faster rate of evaporation, © Kankar are found in the lower h due to increasing calcium conte restrict the infiltration of water = Itcan be useful for cultiva methods as in case of Wes }orizons of this soil. I jg ent downwards, which tion only with suitable irr tern Rajasthan, Forest Soil eee een laity and mountainous areas where suficiene rain forests are available coarse grained in the upp = In the snow cover low humus conte; er slopes. fed area of Himalayas itis acidic with -nt due to denudation", * It's fertile in lower parts of valleys particularly on the ‘iver terraces and alluvial fans. * India: Major Sou Types tne hangin a and chemical harass of esting rays, ning away ofthe plan nutvents fromthe sll due to excess range in which moving water, ce, wind and wav odes the Ears surface, loamy and silty in valley sides to anesrrrmeaee onsoil Erosion oil erosion is the removing of the soil cover and later washi Selous later washing ® Contour Ploughing It involves ploughing along down of top soil. eer ace Contour lines to slow down water flow on slopes. rosio and generally there is a balance ere oe cee ‘= Terrace Cultivation In this method, steps are cut on Hamers balance is disturbed due to natural and See eee Ketan i trosion, Well-developed terrace farming is observe in the Western and Central Himalayas. Ret included) natural forces like wind, glacier and_ = Strip Cropping In this ‘method, large fields can water. Human causes include human activities like tbe divided into strips. The strips of grass are left deforestation, overgrazing, construction and mining. to grow between the crops. This breaks the force Types of Soil Erosion ofiind, = Gully Erosion Running water creates ne = Shelter Belts In this method, a line of trees is : " .p channels in. clayey soils forming gles which makes and unfit for laa or ae cultivation and is known as bad land, In the Chambal ra prey pe desert areas of Western Indl asin, these gullies are known as ravines. a Sheet Erosion When water flows as a sheet over large areas Gown a slope and washed away the top soil, itis known as “L Tea and coffee grown well inthis soll after proper s ven it is more acidic in nature. Identity sheet erosion. conservation, i - soll type a Wind Erosion When wind blows the loose sol from flat or 2, What restiets 0 nnrtion of waterIn desert sloping land, it is known as wind erosion. Wn eatin of calcium content? «Defective Farming Methods Soil erosion is aso caused by 3 Name methods of preventing sol erosion by win defective farming method. For example, ploughing in «Wien method can prevent slteresin nnonsio ‘or plains? ‘wrong way ie. up and down slopes, can lead to channel formation and quick water flow, causing soil erosion.