Resources & Development Notes

RESOURCES &
DEVELOPMENT
GEOGRAPHY
Chapter 1

Topics to be
considered:
What are Resources?
Relationship between Nature, Technology & Environment
Types of resources
Major Problems led by the indiscriminate use of resources by humans?
Define Sustainable Development.
What is Resource Planning? Why is it needed?
Steps involved in Resource Planning in India:
Justify Gandhiji's statement - “There is enough for everybody’s need and
not for any body’s greed.”
Why Conservation of Resources is necessary?
Importance of Land Resources
Relief Features of India

Topics to be
considered:
Land Utilisation
Which factors affect the Land Use Pattern in India?
Which activities led to Land Degradation?
Which conservative measures should be taken to overcome the problem
of Land Degradation?
Soil as a Resource
Layers of Soil
Classification of Soils
Soil Erosion
Types of Soil Erosion
Soil Conservation

What Are
Resources?
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’.

 Relation Between
Nature,
Technology &
Environment:
The process of transformation
of things available in our
environment involves an
interactive relationship
between nature, technology
and institutions. Human beings
interact with nature through
technology and create
institutions to accelerate their
economic development.

• 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. 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.
• 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. Therefore, resources can contribute to development only
when they are accompanied by appropriate technological development and institutional
changes. India has experienced all this in different phases of colonisation. Therefore, in
India, development, in general, and resource development in particular does not only
involve the availability of resources, but also the technology, quality of human resources and
the historical experiences of the people.

Classification Of
Resources:
(on the basis of)
ORIGIN – Biotic and Abiotic
EXHAUSTIBILITY – Renewable and
Non-Renewable
OWNERSHIP – Individual,
Community, National and
International
STATUS OF DEVELOPMENT –
Potential, Developed, Stock and
Reserves.

On the basis of
ORIGIN
• Biotic Resources
1. All those resources which are obtained
from biosphere & having life
2. Example - human beings, flora and fauna
etc.
• Abiotic Resources
1. All those things which are composed of
non-living things
2. Example - rocks and metals

On the basis of
EXHAUSTIBILITY
• Renewable Resources
1. resources which can be renewed or reproduced
by physical, chemical or mechanical processes
2. Also known as Replenishable Resources
3. Example - solar and wind energy, water, forests
and wildlife, etc.
• Non-Renewable Resources
1. Resources occur over a very long
geological time.
2. Example - Minerals and fossil fuels

On the basis
of
OWNERSHIP
• Individual Resources:
1. Resources owned privately by individuals.
2. Example - Urban people own plots, houses and other
property.
• Community Owned Resources:
1. Resources which are accessible to all the members of the
community.
2. Example - Village commons (grazing grounds, burial grounds,
village ponds, etc.) public parks, picnic spots, playgrounds in
urban areas.

On the basis
of
OWNERSHIP
• National Resources:
1. Technically, all the resources belong to the nation.
The country has legal powers to acquire even private
property for public good.
2. Example - All the minerals, water resources, forests,
wildlife, land within the political boundaries and oceanic area
up to 12 nautical miles (22.2 km) from the coast termed as
territorial water and resources therein belong to the nation.
• International Resources:
1. There are international institutions which regulate
some resources.
2. 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.

On the basis of
STATUS OF
DEVELOPMENT
• Potential Resources
1. Resources which are found in a region, but have not
been utilised.
2. For example, the western parts of India particularly
Rajasthan and Gujarat have enormous potential for the
development of wind and solar energy, but so far these
have not been developed properly.
• Developed Resources
1. Resources which are surveyed and their quality and
quantity have been determined for utilisation. The
development of resources depends on technology and
level of their feasibility.

On the basis of
STATUS OF
DEVELOPMENT
• Stock
1. Materials in the environment which have the potential
to satisfy human needs but human beings do not have
the appropriate technology to access.
2. For example, water is a compound of two gases;
hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen can be used as a rich
source of energy. But we do not have advanced
technical ‘know-how’ to use it for this purpose. Hence,
it can be considered as stock.
• Reserves
1. These 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.
2. Example - River water can be used for generating
hydroelectric power but presently, it is being utilised
only to a limited extent. Thus, the water in the dams,
forests etc. is a reserve which can be used in the future.

 Major Problems
led by the
indiscriminate
use of resources
by humans?
• Depletion of resources for satisfying the greed of a
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.

Define Sustainable
Development.
Sustainable economic development
means -
‘development should take place
without damaging the environment,
and development in the present should
not compromise with the needs of the
future generations.’

 What is
Resource
Planning?
Why is it
needed?
• Resource Planning means formulating a strategy
for equitable distribution and judicious use of
resources.
• It is needed for 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.
• (Example from book)

Steps involved in Resource Planning in India:
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.
1
Evolving a planning structure
endowed with appropriate
technology, skill and
institutional set up for
implementing resource
development plans.
2
Matching the resource
development plans with
overall national
development plans.
3

 Justify Gandhiji's
statement -
“There is enough
for everybody’s
need and not for
any body’s
greed.”
• This had been the main concern of the
leaders and thinkers in the past. For example,
Gandhiji was very apt in voicing his concern
about resource conservation in these words:
“There is enough for everybody’s need
and not for any body’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.

Why
Conservation of
Resources is
necessary?
• Resources are vital for any
developmental activity.
• Irrational consumption and
over-utilisation of resources
may lead to socio-economic
and environmental problems.
• To overcome these problems,
resource conservation at
various levels is important.

Importance
of
Land
Resources
• We live on land, we perform our
economic activities on land and we
use it in different ways. Thus, 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.

Relief Features
of India India has land under a variety of relief
features, namely; mountains, plateaus, plains and
islands.
Ø About 43 per cent of the land area is plain, which
provides facilities for agriculture and industry.
Ø 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.
Ø About 27 per cent of the area of the country is the
plateau region. It possesses
rich reserves of minerals, fossil fuels and forests.

LAND
UTILISATION
Land resources are used for the
following purposes:
• Forests
• Land not available for cultivation
 Barren and waste land
 Land put to non-agricultural uses, e.g. buildings, roads,
factories, etc.
• 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).
• 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).
• Net sown area
 Area sown more than once in an agricultural year plus net sown
area is known as gross cropped area.

Which
factors affect
the Land Use
Pattern in
India?
The use of land is determined both by:
• Physical Factors such as topography, climate, soil
types
• Human Factors such as population density,
technological capability and culture and
traditions etc.
Note: 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.

Which
activities led
to 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. In states like
Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha
deforestation due to mining have caused severe land
degradation.
• In states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and
Maharashtra overgrazing is one of the main reasons for land
degradation.
• 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.
• 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.
• In recent years, industrial effluents as waste have become a
major source of land and water pollution in many parts of the
country.

Which
conservative
measures should
be taken to
overcome the
problem of Land
Degradation?

Soil as a Resource
• 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.
• It takes millions of years to form soil up to a few cm in depth.
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.
• Parent rock or bedrock, climate, vegetation and other forms
of life and time are important factors in the formation of soil.
• Chemical and organic changes which take place in the soil play
an important role.
• Soil also consists of organic (humus) and inorganic materials.

Classification
of Soils
• On the basis of the factors responsible
for soil formation, colour, thickness,
texture, age, chemical and physical
properties, the soils of India are
classified in 6 types.
• Alluvial, Black, Red &
Yellow, Laterite, Arid, Forest

Alluvial Soils
• The entire northern plains are made of alluvial soil.
• The Alluvial Soil is deposited by 3 important Himalayan river systems – the Indus, the
Ganga and the Brahmaputra.
• It is also found in Rajasthan, Gujarat and eastern coastal plains particularly in the deltas of
the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri rivers.
• The alluvial soil consists of various proportions of sand, silt and clay. As we move inlands
towards the river valleys, soil particles appear to be bigger in size whereas in the upper
side of the river valley, the soils are coarse.
• Based on age, Alluvial soils can be classified as:
• Old Alluvial (Bangar): The Bangar soil has a higher concentration of kanker nodules than
the Khadar.
• New Alluvial (Khadar): It has more fine particles and is more fertile than the Bangar.
• Alluvial soils are very fertile. These soils contain an adequate proportion of potash,
phosphoric acid and lime, which are ideal for the growth of sugarcane, paddy, wheat and
other cereal and pulse crops.

Black Soil
• This soil is black in colour and is also known as regur soil. Climatic conditions along
with the parent rock material are the important factors for the formation of black soil.
• The soil is ideal for growing cotton and is also known as black cotton soil.
• This type of soil is typical of the Deccan trap (Basalt) region spread over northwest
Deccan plateau and is made up of lava flows.
• The soil covers the plateaus of Maharashtra, Saurashtra, Malwa, Madhya Pradesh and
Chhattisgarh and extends in the south-east direction along the Godavari and the
Krishna valleys.
• The black soils are made up of extremely fine i.e. clayey material and well-known for
their capacity to hold moisture.
• Black soil is nutrients rich and contains calcium carbonate, magnesium, potash and
lime.
• The soil is sticky when wet and difficult to work on unless tilled immediately after the
first shower or during the pre-monsoon period.

Red & Yellow Soils
• How it develops? This type of soil 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. It looks yellow when it
occurs in a hydrated form.
• Found in parts of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, southern parts of the
middle Ganga plain and along the piedmont zone of the
Western Ghats.

Laterite Soil
• Climatic Condition Required: The laterite soil develops under
tropical and subtropical climate with the alternate wet and dry
season. This soil is the result of intense leaching due to heavy rain.
• Location: Lateritic soils are acidic (pH<6.0) in nature and generally
deficient in plant nutrients. This type of soil is found mostly in
Southern states, Western Ghats region of Maharashtra, Odisha,
some parts of West Bengal and North-east regions.
• The soil supports deciduous and evergreen forests but humus poor.
• Use: This soil is very useful for growing tea and coffee.

Arid Soils
• Arid soils range from red to brown in colour.
• This soil is 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.
• Arid soil lacks humus and moisture.
• The lower horizons of the soil are occupied by Kankar because of the
increasing calcium content downwards. The Kankar layer formations in
the bottom horizons restrict the infiltration of water.

Forest Soils
• Relief: These soils are found in the hilly and mountainous
areas.
• Characteristics:
The soil texture is loamy and silty in valley sides and coarse
grained in the upper slopes.
In the snow covered areas of Himalayas, these soils
experience denudation and are acidic with low humus
content. The soil is fertile on the river terraces and alluvial
fans.

Soil Erosion
• The denudation of the soil cover and
subsequent washing down is described as
soil erosion.
• Causes of Soil Erosion:
Human Causes - (same as land
degradation) Soil erosion is also caused
due to defective methods of farming.
Natural Causes - natural forces like wind,
glacier and water which lead to soil
erosion.

Soil Conservation
Different Ways for Soil Conservation:
• Ploughing along the contour lines decelerate the
flow of water down the slopes. This is
called Contour Ploughing.
• Terrace cultivation restricts erosion. This type of
agriculture practice is done in Western and
Central Himalayas.
• When a large field is divided into strips and strips
of grass are left to grow between the crops.
Then, this breaks up the force of the wind. This
method is known as Strip Cropping.
• Planting lines of trees to create shelter helps in
the stabilisation of sand dunes and in stabilising
the desert in western India. Rows of such trees
are called Shelter Belts

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