Resources and Development
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. The process of transformation requires an interactive relationship
between nature, technology, and institutions.
Human beings interact with nature through technology and create institutions to
accelerate their economic development.
Development of Resources:
Indiscriminate use of resources has led to the following problems:
1. Depletion of resources for satisfying the greed of few individuals
2. Accumulation of resources in a few hands, dividing the society into haves and have nots
3. Glob al ecological crises, such as global warming, ozone layer depletion, environmental pollution, land degradation.
Sustainable Development
Development that takes place without damaging the environment and which does not compromise on the needs of the future
generation. In June 1992, the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit took place, convened for addressing urgent problems of environmental
protection and socio-economic development at the global level. The leaders signed the Declaration on Global Climatic Change and
Biological Diversity and adopted Agenda 21, an agenda to combat environmental damage, poverty, disease through global cooperation
on common interests, mutual needs and shared responsibilities.
Resource Development
India has enormous diversity in the availability of resources. Planning is the widely accepted strategy for the judicious use of
resources. States of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, MP are rich in minerals and coal deposits. Arunachal has an abundance of water
resources, but lacks in infrastructural development. Rajasthan is well endowed with solar ad wind energy, but lacks in water resources.
Ladakh is relatively isolated from the rest of the country. This calls for balanced resource planning at the national, state, regional and
local levels
Resource Planning in India:
1. Identification and inventory of resources across the regions of the country, which involves surveying, mapping and qualitative
and quantitative estimation and measurement of the resources.
2. Evolving a planning structure endowed with apt tech, skill and institutional setup for implementing resource development plans
3. Matching the resource development plans with overall national development plans.
India has made concerted efforts for achieving the goals of resource planning right from the First Five Year Plan launched post-
Independence.
Resource Planning in India:
1) Identification and inventory of resources across the regions of the country, which involves surveying, mapping and qualitative
and quantitative estimation and measurement of the resources.
2) Evolving a planning structure endowed with apt tech, skill and institutional setup for implementing resource development plans
3) Matching the resource development plans with overall national development plans.
India has made concerted efforts for achieving the goals of resource planning right from the First Five Year Plan launched post-
Independence.
Mere availability of resources in the absence of corresponding changes in technology and institutions may hinder development.
Elucidate.
1. There are many resource-rich regions in India that are economically backward, and many resource-deficient regions which are
economically developed.
2. History of colonisation reveals that the rich resources in colonies were the main attraction of foreign invaders.
3. It was primarily the higher level of technological development of the colonising countries that helped them exploit resources of
other regions and establish their supremacy over colonies.
4. Therefore, resources can contribute to development only when they are accompanied by appropriate technological
development and institutional changes.
5. 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.
Conservation of Resources:
1. Resources are vital for any developmental activity
2. Irrational consumption and over-utilisation of resources may lead to socio-economic and environmental problems
3. Resource conservation at various levels is thus important.
4. There is enough for everybody’s need and not for anybody’s greed.
5. Gandhi placed the greedy and selfish individuals and exploitative nature of modern technology as the root cause for resource
depletion at the global level
6. Mass production – Production by masses
Plains: Facilities for agriculture and industry.
Mountains: Ensure perennial flow of some rivers, provide facilities for tourism and
ecological aspects
Plateaus: Possess rich reserved of minerals, fossil fuels and forests
1. Forests
2. Land not available for cultivation
a. Barren Land
b. Land put to non-agricultural uses
3. Other uncultivated land (excluding fallow land)
a. Permanent pastures and grazing land
b. Land under misc. tree crops and groves
c. Culturable waste land (uncultivated for >5 years)
4. Fallow lands
a. Current fallow (uncultivated for ≤1 year)
b. Other than current fallow (uncultivated for 1-5 years)
5. Net sown area: Area sown once in an agricultural year
6. Gross cropped area: Net sown area + Area grown more than once in a year.
Land use pattern in India:
1. The use of land is determined both by physical factors such as topography, climate, soil types as well as human factors such as
population density, technological capability and culture and traditions etc
2. Land use data is available only for 93% of the total geographical areas because the land use reporting for most N-E states except
Assam has not been done fully. Moreover, some areas of J&K occupied by Pakistan and China have also not been surveyed
3. The land under permanent pasture has decreased.
4. Pattern of NSA varies greatly from one state to another. It’s >80% in Punjab and Haryana ad less than 10% in N-E states,
Andaman Nicobar
5. Forest area is far lower than the desired 33% outlines in the National Forest Policy (1952)
Land degradation
1. 95% of our basic needs for food, shelter and clothing are obtained from land.
2. Human activities have degraded land as well as aggravated the pace of natural forces to cause damage to it.
3. Mining sites are abandoned after excavation work is complete, leaving deep scars and traces of over-burdening. In states like
Odisha, Jharkhand, MP, deforestation due to mining have caused severe land degradation
4. In Gujarat, Rajasthan, MP, overgrazing is one of the main reasons for land degradation
5. In Punjab, Haryana and western UP, over-irrigation is responsible for land degradation due to water logging leading to
increase in salinity and alkalinity of the soil.
6. The mineral process like grinding of limestone for cement industry and calcite and soapstone for ceramic industry generate
huge quantities of dust which retards the infiltration of water into the soil after it settles down.
Conservation Measures
1. Afforestation and proper management of grazing
2. Planting of shelter belts of plants
3. Control on overgrazing
4. Stabilisation of sand dunes by growing thorny bushes
5. Proper management of waste lands
6. Control of mining activities
7. Proper discharge and disposal of industrial effluents and wastes after treatment
Soil as a Resource:
1. Most important renewable natural resource, medium of plant growth and supports different types of living organisms on the
earth
2. It’s a living system- takes millions of years to form soil upto a few cm in depth
3. Factors affecting soil formation include relief, parent rock, climate, vegetation, other forms of life, time, change in
temperature, actions of running water, glaciers, activity of decomposers, chemical and organic changes.
Soil Erosion and Conservation
1. Denudation of soil cover and subsequent washing down is called soil erosion
2. Deforestation, over grazing, construction and mining, wind, water, glaciers
3. Running water cuts through clayey soils making deep channels as gullies
4. This land is rendered unfit for cultivation- called bad land. Sometimes water flows as a sheet over large areas down a slope,
washing away topsoil. This is called sheet erosion.
5. Wind blows loose soil off flat or sloping land, called Wind Erosion. Ploughing in a wrong way and defective farming practices
also causes soil erosion.
Conservation:
1. Contour Ploughing
2. Terrace Farming (done in Western and Central Himalayas)
3. Strip cropping
4. Shelter belts of trees (contributes to stabilisation of sand dunes and desert)
River terraces-
Fertile Forest soil is
found here, along
with Alluvial fans in
the next page.
types of soils:
Name of Soil Places Found Crops Grown Constituents Special Features
Alluvial Northern plains Sugarcane Adequate proportion of Khadar- New alluvium
Indus + Ganga + Brahmaputra Paddy potash, phosphoric acid Bangar- Old alluvium, contains
△Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna Wheat and lime. kanker nodules.
Piedmont plains- Duars, Chos, Terai Other cereal
crops
Black Maharashtra, MP, extend in the Cotton, Calcium Carbonate, Made of extremely fine, clayey
southeast along Godavari + Krishna Sugarcane Potash, Magnesium, material; Sticky when wet,
valley Lime develop deep cracks when dry-
help in aeration of the soil
Red and Eastern and Southern pasts of Diffusion of iron in crystalline
Yellow deccan plateau; Odisha, and metamorphic rocks causes
Chhattisgarh, southern parts of red appearance; yellow when
middle ganga plain, along the hydrated
piedmont zone of Western Ghats
Laterite Southern states, Western Ghats Tea and Coffee, Deficient in plant Is the result of intense leaching
region of Maharashtra, Odisha Cashew nut in nutrients, humus rich due to heavy rain. Deep to very
Tamil Nadu, when the soils support deep, acidic (pH < 6.0). Prone to
Andhra, Kerala deciduous and erosion and degradation due to
evergreen forests. their position on the landscape.
Arid Rajasthan Sandy in texture, saline Range from red to brown in
in nature, lacks humus colour. Lower horizons of the
and moisture due to soil are occupied by Kankar
high temp. dry climate because of the increasing
and faster evaporation Calcium content downwards.
The Kankar layer restricts the
infiltration of water.
Forests Hilly and Mountainous areas where The soils found in the Loamy and Silty in valley sides;
sufficient rain forests are available. lower parts of the coarse-grained in the upper
valleys particularly on slopes. In the snow-covered
the river terraces and areas of the Himalayas,
alluvial fans are fertile. experience denudation and are
acidic with low humus content.
Alluvial Fans
Piedmont plains:
Alluvial soil is found in these plains in Duars,
Chos and Terai Regions
