GEOGRAPHY
Chapter 1
Resources and Development
What do mean by resource ?
1) 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 a 'resource’.
2.) Human beings themselves are essential components of resources. They transform Materials available in
environment into resources and use them.
3) Resources are vital for human survival and also for maintaining the quality of life.
How do human beings accelerate their economic development?
Human beings interact with nature through technology and create institutions to accelerate their economic
development.
Types of resources
On the basis of origin
1) Biotic
a) These are obtained from biosphere and have life.
b) Eg. human beings, flora, fauna, fishes, live stock, etc
2) Abiotic
a) These are composed of non-living things.
b) Eg. rocks and metals.
On the basis of exhaustibility
1) Renewable
a) These are resources which can be renewed or reproduced by physical, chemical or mechanical processes.
b) These are also called replenishable resources.
c) Eg. solar energy, wind energy, forests, wildlife, etc.
d) These are further divided into continuous or flow.
2) Non-renewable
a) These are resources that occur over a very long geological time.
b) These resources take millions of years in their formation.
c) Eg. minerals and fossil fuels (coal, petroleum).
d) Metals can be recycled.
e) Fossil fuels cannot be recycled and they get exhausted.
On the basis of ownership
1) Individual
a) These are owned privately by individuals.
b) Eg. land owned by farmers in villages, plots, houses and other property by people in urban areas.
2) Community Owned
a) These are accessible to all the members of the community.
b) Eg. burial grounds, village ponds, public parks, picnic spots, etc.
3) National
a) These belong to the nation.
b) All the resources in the country belong to the nation.
c) The country has legal powers to acquire even private property for public good.
d) Eg. minerals, water resource, forest, wildlife, land within the political boundaries and oceanic area up to 12
nautical miles (22.2 km) from the coast and resources therein.
4) International
a) These are regulated by international institutions.
b) No individual country can utilise these without the permission of international institutions.
c) Eg. oceanic resources beyond 200 nautical miles of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
On the basis of status of development
1) Potential resources
a) Resources found in a region but have not been utilised and developed properly.
b) Eg. Rajasthan and Gujarat have enormous potential for the development of wind and solar energy.
2) Developed Resources
a) Resources which are surveyed and their quality and quantity have been determined for utilisation.
b) Their development depends on the level of feasibility and technology.
c) Eg. coal and petroleum.
3) Stock
a) These are materials in the environment which have the potential to satisfy our needs but we do not have the
appropriate technology to access these resources.
b) Eg. Hhydrogen can be used as a rich source of energy but we do not have the technology to use it.
4) Reserves
a) These are part of stock.
b) They can be put into use with the help of existing technical know-how but their use has not been started.
c) They can be used in future.
d) Eg. water in dams, forests, etc.
Development Of Resources
1) Considering resources as free gifts, human beings have been using it indiscriminately.
2) This has led to the following major problems:
a) Depletion of resources for satisfying the greed of a few individuals.
b) Accumulation of resources in a few hands, which in turn divided the society into two segments; rich and poor.
c) It has led to global economic crisis such as global warming, ozone layer depletion, environmental pollution and
land degradation.
3) If the present trend of depletion continues, the future of the earth is in danger.
4) For a sustained quality of life and global peace, an equitable distribution of resources is essential.
5) Resource planning is also essential.
6) This urges us for sustainable development
Sustainable Development
1) Development should take place without damaging the environment.
2) Development in the present should not compromise with the needs of the future generations.
Earth Summit, Rio de Janeiro, 1992
1) The first international Earth Summit took place in June 1992.
2) More than hundred heads of states met in Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil.
3) It was called to address the problems of environmental protection and socio-economic development at the
global level.
4) Declaration on Global Climatic Change and Biological Diversity was signed by the gathered leaders.
5) Agenda 21 was adopted for achieving sustainable development in the 21st century.
Agenda 21
1) It is a declaration signed by the world leaders in 1992, in Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, at the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED).
2) It aims at achieving global sustainable development.
3) It is an agenda to combat environmental damage, poverty and diseases, through global cooperation.
4) It also urges every local government to draw its own local Agenda 21.
Resource planning
1) Resource planning is a strategy for judicious use of resources.
2) It is important for a country like India, which has enormous availability of resources.
3) There are some regions which can be considered self-sufficient in terms of availability of resources.
4) There are some regions which have acute shortage of some vital resources.
5) Rajasthan has abundant solar and wind energy, but lacks in water resources.
6) Ladakh has a very rich cultural heritage, but is deficient in water, infrastructure and some vital minerals.
7) Arunachal Pradesh has abundance of water resources, but lacks in infrastructural development.
Resource Planning in India
Resource planning process in India has three steps:
1) Identification and inventory of resources across the country.
1.1) This involves survey, mapping and qualitative and quantitative estimation and measurement of the
resources.
2) Evolving a planning structure endowed with appropriate technology, skill and institutional set up for
implementing resource development plans.
3) Matching the resource development plans with overall national development plans.
Is availability of resources enough for development?
1) Availability of resources is a necessary condition for the development of any region; but it is not enough.
2) The absence of corresponding changes in technology and institutions may hinder development.
3) There are regions which are rich in resources but are economically backward.
4) There are also regions which are poor in resources better economically developed.
5) Rich resources of the colonies attracted the foreign invaders. Their higher level of technological development
helped them to exploit resources of other colonies and establish their supremacy.
6) Thus, resources can contribute to development only when they are accompanied by appropriate technological
and institutional changes.
7) In India, in addition to availability of resources, resource development includes availability of technology,
quality of human resource and historical experiences of the people.
Conservation of Resources
1) Though resources are vital for development, there irrational consumption and over utilisation may lead to
socio-economic and environmental problems.
2) Resource conversation at all levels is important to overcome these problems.
3) Gandhiji showed his concern for resources when he aptly said “There is enough for everybody’s needs but not
for anybody’s greed”.
4) The greedy and selfish individuals, along with exploitative nature of modern technology are the root cause of
resource depletion at the global level.
Resource Conservation Initiatives At International Level
1) In 1968, the Club of Rome advocated resource conservation for the first time in a more systematic
2) Schumacher presented the Gandhian philosophy in his book Small is Beautiful, in 1974.
3) The Brundtland Commission Report, 1987, made the seminal contribution to resource
conservation at the global level.
4) The Brundtland Commission Report, introduced the concept of ‘Sustainable Development’ and advocated
it as a means for resource conservation.
5) The idea of ‘Sustainable Development’ was subsequently published in a book entitled Our Common Future.
6) The Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992, was also an important contribution towards resource
conservation.
Land Resources
1) Land is a natural resource of utmost importance.
2) Natural vegetation and wildlife, human life, economic activities, transport and communication system, are
supported by land.
3) Land is limited. As such the available land needs to be used with careful planning.
4) 95% of our basic needs of food, shelter and clothing are obtained from land.
Land Resources in India
1) In India land is found under a variety of relief features.
2) Plains - 43% - facilitates agriculture and industry.
3) Mountains – 30% - ensures perennial flow of rivers, facilitates tourism and ecological aspects.
4) Plateau – 27% - rich reserves of minerals, fossil fuels and forest.
Land Utilisation
Land resources are used for following purposes:
1) Forests.
2) Land not available for cultivation. ( Barren land, waste land, non-agricultural use land)
3) Other uncultivated land. (Permanent pastures, grazing land, miscellaneous tree crops, grooves and cultural
wasteland)
4) Fallow lands (current fallow and other than current fallow)
5) Net sown area (total area sown with crops and orchards)
What is non-agricultural use land?
Land used for buildings, roads, factories, etc.)
What is current fallow land?
Land left without cultivation for one or less than one agricultural year.
What is other than current fallow land?
Land left uncultivated for the past 1 to 5 agricultural years.
What is culturable wasteleand?
Land left uncultivated for more than 5 agricultural years.
What is gross cropped area?
Area sown more than once in an agricultural year, plus net sown area.
Land Use Pattern in India
1) Two factors determine the use of land.
1.1) Physical factors- topography, climate and soil types.
1.2) Human factors- population density, ecological capability, culture and traditions.
2) Land use pattern is available only for 93% of the total geographical area (3.28 million sq. km) of India.
3) Most of the North-east states and some areas of Jammu and Kashmir have not been surveyed.
4) Land under permanent pasture has decreased.
5) Net sown area varies greatly (over 80% in Punjab and Haryana whereas below 10% in Arunachal Pradesh,
Mizoram, Manipur and Andaman and Nicobar Islands).
6) Forest area is lower than the desired 33% (National Forest Policy 1952) of the geographical area.
7) Continuous use of land without taking proper measures to conserve and manage it has led to land degradation.
What is waste land?
It includes rocky, arid and desert areas.
Land Degradation
1) Human activities (mining, quarrying, deforestation, overgrazing) have brought about the degradation of land
and also increased the speed of natural forces to cause damage to land.
2) Severe land degradation has taken place in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha because of
deforestation due to mining.
3) Overgrazing is the main reason for land degradation in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
4) Over irrigation, which leads to water logging causing increase in salinity and alkalinity in the soil, is responsible
for land degradation in Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh.
5) Industrial effluents have become a major source of land and water pollution in many parts of the country.
6) Grinding of limestone for cement industry and soapstone for ceramic industry produce huge amount of dust in
the air and retards the process of infiltration of water into the soil.
Conservation Methods
Following are the methods of land conservation:
1) Afforestation
2) Proper management of grazing.
3) Planting of shelterbelts.
4) Stabilisation of sand dunes.
5) Control of mining activities.
6) Proper management of waste lands.
7) Proper discharge and disposal of the industrial effluents.
Soil As A resource
1) It is the most important renewable natural resource.
2) It is the medium of plant growth.
3) It supports the different types of living organisms.
4) It is a living system and takes millions of years to form a few cm thick.
5) The important factors in the formation of soil are relief, parent/bedrock, climate, time, vegetation and other
forms of life.
6) Change in temperature, actions of the running water, wind, glaciers and activities of decomposers, also
contribute towards the formation of soil.
7) Chemical and organic changes in the soil are also important in soil formation.
8) Soil consists of organic (humus) and inorganic materials.
What developed the various soil types?
The varied relief features, landforms, climatic regions and vegetation types, have contributed towards the
development of various types of soils.
What Has Led To The Classification Of Soils
Soils of India have been classified into different types on the basis of:
1) factors responsible for soil formation,
2) colour
3) thickness
4) texture
5) Age
6) Chemical properties
7) Physical properties.
Types Of Soils In India
1) Alluvial Soil
a) The most widely spread and important soil.
b) This soil is found in the entire Northern Plains due to deposition by the three Himalayan rivers; the Indus, the
Ganga and the Brahmaputra.
c) It is also found in the Eastern Coastal Plains, mainly in the deltas of the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna
and the Kaveri.
d) This soil is also found in a narrow area in Rajasthan and Gujarat.
e) It consists of various proportions of sand, silt and clay.
f) Towards the river valleys, the soil particles are bigger in size.
g) The soil particles are coarse near the break of slope and are commonly found in Duars, Chos and Terai.
h) These soils contain adequate proportion of potassium, phosphoric acid and lime.
i) The alluvial soil is classified on the basis of age as, old alluvial (Bangar) and new alluvial (Khadar).
j) The Bangar soil has higher concentration of kanker.
k) The Khadar soil has fine particles and is more fertile than Bangar .
l) Regions of alluvial soil are intensively cultivated due to its high fertility .
m) This soil is ideal for the growth of sugar cane, paddy, wheat and other cereal and pulse crops.
2) Black soil
a) Black in colour and made up of lava flows.
b) Also known as regur soil.
c) Mainly found in the Deccan trap region, spread over north-west Deccan Plateau.
d) Also covers the plateaus of Maharashtra, Saurashtra, Malwa, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
e) Also found along the Godavari and Krishna valleys.
f) Made up of extremely fine clayey material.
g) Well known for their capacity to hold moisture.
h) Ideal for growing cotton.
i) Develops deep cracks during hot weather.
j) Sticky when wet.
k) Difficult to work unless tilled immediately after the first shower.
3) Red and Yellow Soil
a) Develops on crystalline igneous rocks in areas of low rainfall.
b) Found in the Eastern and Southern parts of the Deccan Plateau.
c) Also found in parts of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Southern parts of middle Ganga plain and some areas of Western
Ghats.
d) Develops red colour due to diffusion of iron in crystalline and metamorphic rocks.
e) It looks yellow when it occurs in hydrated form.
4) Laterite Soil
a) Laterite is derived from the latin word ‘later’ which means brick.
b) It develops under tropical and subtropical climate.
c) It is a result of intense leaching due to heavy rains.
d) Occurs mainly in Southern states, Western Ghats region of Maharashtra, Odisha, some parts of West Bengal
and North - eastern regions.
e) It is humus rich in areas where it supports deciduous and evergreen forest.
f) It is humus - poor under sparse vegetation and semi - arid environment.
g) Prone to erosion and degradation.
h) Useful for growing tea and coffee in hilly areas of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
i) Suitable for cashew nut crop in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
5) Arid Soils
a) These soils range from red to brown in colour.
b) Sandy in texture and saline in nature.
c) Salt is obtained by evaporating the water in some areas where salt content is
very high.
d) Fast evaporation due to the dry climate and high temperature.
e) Lacks humus and moisture.
f) Lower horizons occupied by Kankar because of the increasing calcium content
downwards.
g) The Kankar layer formations in the bottom horizons restrict the infiltration of water.
h) Cultivable after proper irrigation. Eg. Western Rajasthan.
6) Forest Soils
a) Found in the hilly and mountainous areas where sufficient rain forests are available.
b) Soil texture varies depending on the mountain environment where they are formed.
c) Loamy and silty in valley sides.
d) Coarse grained in the upper slopes.
e) Experience denudation in the snow covered areas of Himalayas.
f) Acidic with low humus content.
g) Fertile in the lower parts of the valleys (river terraces and alluvial fans).
Soil Erosion
What Is Soil Erosion?
The denudation of the soil cover and subsequent washing down is described as soil erosion.
How is soil erosion caused?
1) The processes of soil formation and erosion, go on simultaneously.
2) There is a balance between soil formation and erosion.
3) Human activities like deforestation, over-grazing, construction and mining etc., and natural forces like wind,
glacier and water disturb this balance, leading to soil erosion.
4) Ploughing in a wrong way i.e. up and down the slope form channels for the quick flow of water, leading to soil
erosion.
What is gully erosion?
The running water cuts through the clayey soils and makes deep channels as gullies. This is known as gully
erosion.
What is bad land?
1) Gully erosion makes the land unfit for cultivation.
2) Such a land is known as bad land. (Bad lands are called ravines in the Chambal basin)
What is sheet erosion?
1) Sometimes water flows as a sheet over large areas down a slope, leading to the washing away of the top soil.
3) This is known as sheet erosion.
What is wind erosion?
Blowing away of the loose soil from flat or sloping land due to wind, is known as wind erosion.
Soil Conservation
1) Contour Ploughing
a) Ploughing along the contour lines can decelerate the flow of water down the slopes.
b) This is called contour ploughing.
2) Terrace Cultivation
a) Steps can be cut out on the slopes making terraces. Terrace cultivation restricts erosion. Western
and Central Himalayas have well developed
terrace farming.
3) Strip Cropping
a) Strips of grass are left to grow between the crops, in large fields, to break the force of wind.
b) This is known as strip cropping.
4) Shelter Belts
a) Planting lines of trees around the fields, to lessen the force of wind, to prevent erosion.
b) Eg. Shelter belts have led to the stabilisation of sand dunes and in stabilising the desert in Western India.
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