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The process of transformation of things Can you identify and name the various items available in our environment involves an used in making life comfortable in our villages and towns....

The process of transformation of things Can you identify and name the various items available in our environment involves an used in making life comfortable in our villages and towns. List the items and name the interactive relationship between nature, material used in their making. technology and institutions. Human beings interact with nature through technology and create institutions to accelerate their Everything available in our environment economic development. which can be used to satisfy our needs, Do you think that resources are free provided, it is technologically accessible, gifts of nature as is assumed by many? economically feasible and culturally They are not. Resources are a function of acceptable can be termed as ‘Resource’. human activities. Human beings themselves are essential components of resources. They transform material available in our environment into resources and use them. These resources can be classified in the following ways – (a) On the basis of origin – biotic and abiotic (b) On the basis of exhaustibility – renewable and non-renewable (c) On the basis of ownership – individual, community, national and international Fig. 1.1: Interdependent relationship between (d) On the basis of status of development – nature, technology and institutions potential, developed stock and reserves. Fig. 1.2: Classification of resources 2022-23  ponds, etc.) public parks, picnic spots, Identify at least two resources from each playgrounds in urban areas are de facto category. accessible to all the people living there. National Resources: Technically, all the resources belong to the nation. The country TYPES OF RESOURCES has legal powers to acquire even private On the Basis of Origin property for public good. You might have seen Biotic Resources: These are obtained from roads, canals, railways being constructed on biosphere and have life such as human fields owned by some individuals. Urban beings, flora and fauna, fisheries, livestock Development Authorities get empowered by the etc. government to acquire land. All the minerals, water resources, forests, wildlife, land within Abiotic Resources: All those things which are the political boundaries and oceanic area composed of non-living things are called abiotic up to 12 nautical miles (22.2 km) from the resources. For example, rocks and metals. coast termed as territorial water and resources therein belong to the nation. On the Basis of Exhaustibility International Resources: There are Renewable Resources: The resources international institutions which regulate which can be renewed or reproduced by some resources. The oceanic resources physical, chemical or mechanical processes beyond 200 nautical miles of the coastline are known as renewable or replenishable of the country belong to open ocean and no resources. For example, solar and wind individual country can utilise these without energy, water, forests and wildlife, etc. The the concurrence of international institutions. renewable resource may further be divided into continuous or flow (Fig.1.2). Non-Renewable Resources: These occur India has got the right to mine manganese over a very long geological time. Minerals and nodules from the bed of the Indian Ocean fossil fuels are examples of such resources. from that area which lies beyond the exclusive These resources take millions of years in their economic zone. Identify some other resources formation. Some of the resources like metals which are international in nature. are recyclable and some like fossil fuels cannot be recycled and get exhausted with their use. On the Basis of the Status of Development On the Basis of Ownership Potential Resources: Resources which are Individual Resources: These are also owned found in a region, but have not been utilised. privately by individuals. Many farmers own For example, the western parts of India land which is allotted to them by government particularly Rajasthan and Gujarat have against the payment of revenue. In villages enormous potential for the development of there are people with land ownership but wind and solar energy, but so far these have not been developed properly. there are many who are landless. Urban people own plots, houses and other property. Developed Resources: Resources which are Plantation, pasture lands, ponds, water in surveyed and their quality and quantity have wells etc. are some of the examples of been determined for utilisation. The resources ownership by individuals. Make a development of resources depends on list of resources owned by your household. technology and level of their feasibility. Community Owned Resources: There are Stock: Materials in the environment which resources which are accessible to all the have the potential to satisfy human needs members of the community. Village commons but human beings do not have the (grazing grounds, burial grounds, village appropriate technology to access these, are 2 CONTEMPORARY INDIA – II 2022-23 included among stock. For example, water is Indiscriminate exploitation of resources has a compound of two gases; hydrogen and led to global ecological crises such as, global oxygen. Hydrogen can be used as a rich warming, ozone layer depletion, source of energy. But we do not have environmental pollution and land advanced technical ‘know-how’ to use it for degradation. this purpose. Hence, it can be considered as An equitable distribution of resources has stock. become essential for a sustained quality of life Reserves are the subset of the stock, and global peace. If the present trend of resource which can be put into use with the help of depletion by a few individuals and countries existing technical ‘know-how’ but their use continues, the future of our planet is in danger. has not been started. These can be used for Therefore, resource planning is essential meeting future requirements. River water can for sustainable existence of all forms of life. be used for generating hydroelectric power Sustainable existence is a component of but presently, it is being utilised only to a sustainable development. limited extent. Thus, the water in the dams, forests etc. is a reserve which can be used in Sustainable development the future. Sustainable economic development means ‘development should take place without damaging the environment, and development Prepare a list of stock and reserve, resources in the present should not compromise with the that you are familiar with from your local area. needs of the future generations.’ D EVELOPMENT OF RESOURCES Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, 1992 Resources are vital for human survival as well In June 1992, more than 100 heads of states as for maintaining the quality of life. It was met in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, for the first believed that resources are free gifts of nature. International Earth Summit. The Summit was A s a result, human beings used them convened for addressing urgent problems of indiscriminately and this has led to the environmental protection and socio- following major problems. economic development at the global level. Depletion of resources for satisfying the The assembled leaders signed the greed of a few individuals. Declaration on Global Climatic Change and Biological Diversity. The Rio Convention Accumulation of resources in few hands, endorsed the global Forest Principles and which, in turn, divided the society into two adopted Agenda 21 for achieving segments i.e. haves and have nots or rich Sustainable Development in the 21st century. and poor. Agenda 21 It is the declaration signed by world leaders 1. Imagine, if the oil supply gets exhausted in 1992 at the United Nations Conference one day, how would this affect our life style? on Environment and Development (UNCED), 2. Plan a survey in your colony/village to which took place at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It investigate people’s attitude towards aims at achieving global sustainable recycling of the domestic/agricultural development. It is an agenda to combat wastes. Ask questions about : environmental damage, poverty, disease (a) What do they think about resources through global co-operation on common they use? interests, mutual needs and shared (b) What is their opinion about the responsibilities. One major objective of the wastes, and its utilisation? Agenda 21 is that every local government (c) Collage your results. should draw its own local Agenda 21. RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT 3 2022-23 RESOURCE PLANNING What resources are being developed in your Planning is the widely accepted strategy for surroundings by the community/village judicious use of resources. It has importance panchayats/ward level communities with the in a country like India, which has enormous help of community participation? diversity in the availability of resources. There are regions which are rich in certain types of resources but are deficient in some other The availability of resources is a necessary resources. There are some regions which can condition for the development of any region, be considered self sufficient in terms of the but mere availability of resources in the availability of resources and there are some absence of corresponding changes in regions which have acute shortage of some technology and institutions may hinder vital resources. For example, the states of development. There are many regions in our J harkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya country that are rich in resources but these Pradesh are rich in minerals and coal deposits. are included in economically backward regions. Arunachal Pradesh has abundance of water On the contrary there are some regions which resources but lacks in infrastructural have a poor resource base but they are development. The state of Rajasthan is very economically developed. well endowed with solar and wind energy but Can you name some resource rich but lacks in water resources. The cold desert of economically backward regions and some Ladakh is relatively isolated from the rest of resource poor but economically developed the country. It has very rich cultural heritage regions? Give reasons for such a situation. but it is deficient in water, infrastructure and The history of colonisation reveals that some vital minerals. This calls for balanced rich resources in colonies were the main resource planning at the national, state, attractions for the foreign invaders. It was regional and local levels. primarily the higher level of technological development of the colonising countries that helped them to exploit resources of other Prepare a list of resources found in your state regions and establish their supremacy over and also identify the resources that are the colonies. Therefore, resources can important but deficit in your state. contribute to development only when they are accompanied by appropriate technological development and institutional changes. India Resource Planning in India has experienced all this in different phases of Resource planning is a complex process which colonisation. Therefore, in India, development, involves : (i) identification and inventory of in general, and resource development in resources across the regions of the country. particular does not only involve the availability of resources, but also the technology, quality This involves surveying, mapping and of human resources and the historical qualitative and quantitative estimation and experiences of the people. measurement of the resources. (ii) Evolving a planning structure endowed with appropriate Conservation of Resources: Resources are technology, skill and institutional set up for vital for any developmental activity. But implementing resource development plans. (iii) irrational consumption and over-utilisation Matching the resource development plans with of resources may lead to socio-economic and overall national development plans. environmental problems. To overcome these India has made concerted efforts for problems, resource conservation at various achieving the goals of resource planning right levels is important. This had been the main from the First Five Year Plan launched after concern of the leaders and thinkers in the Independence. past. For example, Gandhiji was very apt in 4 CONTEMPORARY INDIA – II 2022-23 voicing his concern about resource available land for various purposes with careful conservation in these words: “There is planning. enough for everybody’s need and not for any India has land under a variety of relief body’s greed.” He placed the greedy and features, namely; mountains, plateaus, plains selfish individuals and exploitative nature of and islands. About 43 per cent of the land modern technology as the root cause for area is plain, which provides facilities for resource depletion at the global level. He was agriculture and industry. Mountains account against mass production and wanted to for 30 per cent of the total surface area of the replace it with the production by the masses. country and ensure perennial flow of some rivers, provide facilities for tourism and At the international level, the Club of Rome ecological aspects. About 27 per cent of the advocated resource conservation for the first area of the country is the plateau region. It time in a more systematic way in 1968. possesses rich reserves of minerals, fossil fuels Subsequently, in 1974, Gandhian philosophy and forests. was once again presented by Schumacher in his book Small is Beautiful. The seminal LAND UTILISATION contribution with respect to resource Land resources are used for the following conservation at the global level was made purposes: by the Brundtland Commission Report, 1987. 1. Forests This report introduced the concept of ‘Sustainable Development’ and advocated 2. Land not available for cultivation it as a means for resource conservation, (a) Barren and waste land which was subsequently published in a book (b) Land put to non-agricultural uses, e.g. entitled Our Common Future. Another buildings, roads, factories, etc. significant contribution was made at the Earth 3. Other uncultivated land (excluding Summit at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992. fallow land) (a) Permanent pastures and grazing land, LAND RESOURCES (b) Land under miscellaneous tree crops groves (not included in net sown area), We live on land, we perform our economic activities on land and we use it in different (c) Cultruable waste land (left uncultivated ways. Thus, land is a natural resource of for more than 5 agricultural years). utmost importance. It supports natural 4. Fallow lands vegetation, wild life, human life, economic (a) Current fallow-(left without cultivation activities, transport and communication for one or less than one agricultural year), systems. However, land is an asset of a finite (b) Other than current fallow-(left magnitude, therefore, it is important to use the uncultivated for the past 1 to 5 agricultural years). 5. Net sown area the physical extent of land on which corps are sown harvested is known as net sown area. Area sown more than once in an agricultural year plus net sown area is known as gross cropped area. LAND USE PATTERN IN INDIA The use of land is determined both by physical factors such as topography, climate, soil types as well as human factors such as population Fig 1.3: India : Land under important Relief density, technological capability and culture Features and traditions etc. RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT 5 2022-23  Reporting Area: 100 Per cent Source : Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture, 2017 Fig. 1.4 Total geographical area of India is 3.28 of such land is very high. Hence, these lands million sq km. Land use data, however, is are cultivated once or twice in about two to available only for 93 per cent of the total three years and if these are included in the geographical area because the land use net sown area then the percentage of NSA in reporting for most of the north-east states India comes to about 54 per cent of the total except Assam has not been done fully. reporting area. Moreover, some areas of Jammu and Kashmir The pattern of net sown area varies greatly occupied by Pakistan and China have also from one state to another. It is over 80 per not been surveyed. cent of the total area in Punjab and Haryana and less than 10 per cent in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and Andaman Try to do a comparison between the two pie Nicobar Islands. charts (Fig. 1.4 ) given for land use and find out why the net sown area and the land under forests have changed from 1960-61 Find out reasons for the low proportion of to 2014-15 very marginally. net sown area in these states. The land under permanent pasture has Forest area in the country is far lower than also decreased. How are we able to feed our the desired 33 per cent of geographical area, huge cattle population on this pasture land as it was outlined in the National Forest Policy and what are the consequences of it? Most of (1952). It was considered essential for the other than the current fallow lands are maintenance of the ecological balance. The either of poor quality or the cost of cultivation livelihood of millions of people who live on 6 CONTEMPORARY INDIA – II 2022-23 the fringes of these forests depends upon it. There are many ways to solve the problems A part of the land is termed as waste land of land degradation. Afforestation and proper and land put to other non-agricultural uses. management of grazing can help to some Waste land includes rocky, arid and desert extent. Planting of shelter belts of plants, areas and land put to other non-agricultural control on over grazing, stabilisation of sand uses includes settlements, roads, railways, dunes by growing thorny bushes are some of industry etc. Continuous use of land over a the methods to check land degradation in arid long period of time without taking appropriate areas. Proper management of waste lands, measures to conserve and manage it, has control of mining activities, proper discharge resulted in land degradation. This, in turn, and disposal of industrial effluents and wastes has serious repercussions on society and the after treatment can reduce land and water environment. degradation in industrial and suburban areas. L AND D EGRADATION AND CONSERVATION S OIL AS A RESOURCE MEASURES Soil is the most important renewable natural We have shared our land with the past resource. It is the medium of plant growth generations and will have to do so with the and supports different types of living organisms future generations too. Ninety-five per cent of on the earth. The soil is a living system. It takes millions of years to form soil upto a few our basic needs for food, shelter and clothing cm in depth. Relief, parent rock or bed rock, are obtained from land. Human activities have climate, vegetation and other forms of life and not only brought about degradation of land time are important factors in the formation of but have also aggravated the pace of natural soil. Various forces of nature such as change forces to cause damage to land. in temperature, actions of running water, wind Some human activities such as and glaciers, activities of decomposers etc. deforestation, over grazing, mining and contribute to the formation of soil. Chemical quarrying too have contributed significantly and organic changes which take place in the in land degradation. Mining sites are abandoned after Top soil excavation work is complete leaving deep scars the upper soil layer and traces of over-burdening. In states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh Subsoil weathered rocks sand and and Odisha deforestation due to mining have silt clay 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 Substratum Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, over weathered parent irrigation is responsible for land degradation rock material 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 Unweathered after it settles down on the land. In recent parent bed rock years, industrial effluents as waste have become a major source of land and water pollution in many parts of the country. Fig. 1.5: Soil Profile RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT 7 2022-23 soil are equally important. Soil also consists kanker nodules than the Khadar. It has more of organic (humus) and inorganic materials fine particles and is more fertile than the (Fig. 1.5). bangar. On the basis of the factors responsible for Alluvial soils as a whole are very fertile. soil formation, colour, thickness, texture, age, Mostly these soils contain adequate proportion chemical and physical properties, the soils of of potash, phosphoric acid and lime which India are classified in different types. are ideal for the growth of sugarcane, paddy, wheat and other cereal and pulse crops. Due Classification of Soils to its high fertility, regions of alluvial soils are India has varied relief features, landforms, intensively cultivated and densely populated. climatic realms and vegetation types. These Soils in the drier areas are more alkaline and have contributed in the development of various can be productive after proper treatment and types of soils. irrigation. Alluvial Soils Black Soil This is the most widely spread and important These soils are black in colour and are also soil. In fact, the entire northern plains are known as regur soils. Black soil is ideal for made of alluvial soil. These have been growing cotton and is also known as black deposited by three important Himalayan river cotton soil. It is believed that climatic condition systems – the Indus, the Ganga and the along with the parent rock material are the Brahmaputra. These soils also extend in important factors for the formation of black Rajasthan and Gujarat through a narrow soil. This type of soil is typical of the Deccan corridor. Alluvial soil is also found in the trap (Basalt) region spread over northwest eastern coastal plains particularly in the deltas Deccan plateau and is made up of lava flows. of the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna They cover the plateaus of Maharashtra, and the Kaveri rivers. Saurashtra, Malwa, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and extend in the south east direction along the Godavari and the Krishna valleys. Fig. 1.6: Alluvial Soil The alluvial soil consists of various proportions of sand, silt and clay. As we move inlands towards the river valleys, soil particles appear some what bigger in size. In the upper reaches of the river valley i.e. near the place of the break of slope, the soils are coarse. Such soils are more common in piedmont plains such as Duars, Chos and Terai. Fig. 1.7: Black Soil Apart from the size of their grains or components, soils are also described on the The black soils are made up of extremely basis of their age. According to their age fine i.e. clayey material. They are well-known alluvial soils can be classified as old alluvial for their capacity to hold moisture. In (Bangar) and new alluvial (Khadar). The addition, they are rich in soil nutrients, such bangar soil has higher concentration of as calcium carbonate, magnesium, potash and 8 CONTEMPORARY INDIA – II 2022-23 India: Major Soil Types RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT 9 2022-23 lime. These soils are generally poor in vegetation and in semi-arid environment, it is phosphoric contents. They develop deep generally humus poor. They are prone to cracks during hot weather, which helps in erosion and degradation due to their position the proper aeration of the soil. These soils on the landscape. After adopting appropriate are sticky when wet and difficult to work on soil conservation techniques particularly in unless tilled immediately after the first shower the hilly areas of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil or during the pre-monsoon period. Nadu, this soil is very useful for growing tea and coffee. Red laterite soils in Tamil Nadu, Red and Yellow Soils Andhra Pradesh and Kerala are more suitable Red soil develops on crystalline igneous rocks for crops like cashew nut. in areas of low rainfall in the eastern and southern parts of the Deccan plateau. Yelllow Arid Soils and red soils are also found in parts of Arid soils range from red to brown in colour. Odisha, Chhattisgarh, southern parts of the They are generally sandy in texture and saline middle Ganga plain and along the piedmont in nature. In some areas the salt content is zone of the Western Ghats. These soils develop very high and common salt is obtained by a reddish colour due to diffusion of iron in evaporating the water. Due to the dry climate, crystalline and metamorphic rocks. It looks high temperature, evaporation is faster and yellow when it occurs in a hydrated form. the soil lacks humus and moisture. The lower Laterite Soil horizons of the soil are occupied by Kankar Laterite has been derived from the Latin word because of the increasing calcium content ‘later’ which means brick. The laterite soil downwards. The Kankar layer formations in develops under tropical and subtropical the bottom horizons restrict the infiltration of climate with alternate wet and dry season. water. After proper irrigation these soils This soil is the result of intense leaching due become cultivable as has been in the case of to heavy rain. Lateritic soils are mostly deep western Rajasthan. to very deep, acidic (pH