Ch 01 - Resources and Development10th Geography

No, resources are a function of human activities.

A thing becomes a Resource only when it is:

• Technologically Accessible: We have the tools to get it.
• Economically Feasible: It is profitable to extract or use.
• Culturally Acceptable: Society accepts its usage.

The Triangle of Transformation:

Human beings interact with Nature through Technology and create Institutions to accelerate economic development.

Resources are classified based on:

1. Origin: Biotic vs. Abiotic.
2. Exhaustibility: Renewable vs. Non-renewable.
3. Ownership: Individual, Community, National, International.
4. Status of Development: Potential, Developed, Stock, Reserves.

Biotic Resources

• Obtained from the biosphere and have life.
• Examples: Human beings, flora, fauna, fisheries, livestock.

Abiotic Resources

• Composed of non-living things.
• Examples: Rocks and metals.

Renewable (Replenishable) Resources

• Can be renewed by physical, chemical, or mechanical processes (e.g., Solar, wind, water, forests).
• Some are continuous or flow resources, like wind and water.

Non-Renewable Resources

• Occur over a very long geological time and take millions of years to form.
• Recyclable: Metals.
• Non-recyclable: Fossil fuels (these get exhausted with use).

National Resources

• Technically, all resources within the political boundaries belong to the nation.
• Oceanic area up to 12 nautical miles (22.2 km) from the coast is termed Territorial Water, and its resources belong to the nation.

International Resources

• Oceanic resources beyond 200 nautical miles of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) belong to the open ocean.
• No individual country can utilise these without international concurrence.

Potential Resources

• Found in a region but not yet utilised effectively.
• Example: Wind and Solar energy potential in Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Developed Resources

• Surveyed, and their quality and quantity have been determined for utilisation.
• Their actual development depends on available technology and economic feasibility.

Stock

• Materials that have the potential to satisfy human needs, but we do not have the appropriate technology to access them.
• Example: Extracting Hydrogen from water for energy.

Reserves

• A subset of Stock. We have the technical 'know-how' to use them, but their use has not started yet (saved for the future).
• Example: Water in dams, forests.

Land Relief Features

• Plains (43%): Provide facilities for agriculture and industry.
• Mountains (30%): Ensure perennial flow of rivers, provide tourism opportunities, and maintain ecological aspects.
• Plateaus (27%): Possess rich reserves of minerals, fossil fuels, and forests.

Land Fallow Categories

• Current Fallow: Land left without cultivation for one or less than one agricultural year.
• Other than Current Fallow: Land left uncultivated for the past 1 to 5 agricultural years.

Culturable Waste Land

• Land left uncultivated for more than 5 agricultural years.

Net Sown Area (NSA)

• The physical extent of land on which crops are sown and harvested.
• Variations: NSA is over 80% in Punjab and Haryana, but less than 10% in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, and A&N Islands due to topography and climate.

Gross Cropped Area (GCA)

• Area sown more than once in an agricultural year plus the Net Sown Area.

Out of India's total area (3.28 million sq km), land use reporting is available for only 93%.

Reasons for Missing Data

• Land use reporting for most North-East states (except Assam) has not been done fully.
• Additionally, some areas of Jammu & Kashmir occupied by Pakistan and China have not been surveyed.

• The land under permanent pasture in India has decreased.
• Consequences: This creates a major challenge in feeding India's huge cattle population.
• As a result, farmers are forced to use fallow lands for grazing, which are often of poor quality.

• According to the National Forest Policy (1952), the desired target for forest area is 33% of the geographical area.
• Current Status: The actual forest area is lower than 33%.
• Importance: Achieving this target is essential for the maintenance of the ecological balance.

• Soil erosion is defined as the denudation (wearing away) of the soil cover and its subsequent washing down.
• Soil formation and erosion usually go on simultaneously in nature.
• However, human activities like deforestation and mining disturb this natural balance, accelerating erosion.

Gully Erosion

• Occurs when running water cuts through clayey soils, making deep channels called gullies.
• This process renders the land unfit for cultivation.

Sheet Erosion

• Occurs when water flows as a sheet over large areas down a slope, uniformly washing away the top soil.

• Bad Land: Land that has been made unfit for cultivation, typically due to severe gully erosion.
• Ravines: In the Chambal basin, such heavily eroded and deep bad lands are specifically referred to as Ravines.

Soil is a living system influenced by several factors:

1. Parent Rock / Bed Rock: Determines the soil's colour and basic texture.
2. Climate: Temperature and rainfall heavily affect weathering rates and humus formation.
3. Relief: Altitude and slope determine how soil accumulates.
4. Vegetation & Life: Decomposers contribute essential organic material (Humus).
5. Time: Determines the overall thickness and maturity of the soil profile.

Khadar (New Alluvial)

• Contains more fine particles, making it more fertile.
• It is renewed frequently by floods.

Bangar (Old Alluvial)

• Has a higher concentration of Kanker (calcareous) nodules.
• Less fertile than Khadar.

Nutrient Profile

• Alluvial soil generally contains an adequate proportion of potash, phosphoric acid, and lime.
• It is ideal for Sugarcane, Paddy, and Wheat.

Formation and Characteristics

• Formed by climatic conditions and Basalt/Lava flow parent rock.
• Famously known as Black Cotton Soil as it is ideal for growing cotton.
• Made of extremely fine clayey material, known for its capacity to hold moisture.

Self-Ploughing Quality

• Develops deep cracks during hot weather, which helps in the proper aeration of the soil.
• Becomes sticky when wet, requiring immediate tilling after the first shower.

Nutrient Profile

• Rich in Calcium carbonate, magnesium, potash, and lime.
• Generally poor in Phosphoric contents.

• Red Colour: Develops a reddish colour due to the diffusion of iron in crystalline and metamorphic rocks.
• Yellow Colour: The soil looks yellow when it occurs in a hydrated form (mixed with water).
• Location: Found in areas of low rainfall in the eastern and southern parts of the Deccan plateau (e.g., Odisha, Chhattisgarh).

Origin and Formation

• Etymology: Derived from the Latin word 'later' which means brick.
• Formation: Develops in tropical areas with high temperature and heavy rainfall.
• It is the result of intense leaching due to heavy rain washing away nutrients.

Humus Content

• Humus content is very low because micro-organisms (decomposers) get destroyed due to the high temperature.

• Characteristics: Generally acidic (pH < 6.0) and deficient in plant nutrients.
• However, it becomes highly useful for commercial crops after applying appropriate soil conservation techniques and manures/fertilizers.
• Tea and Coffee: Successfully grown in the hilly areas of Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.
• Cashew Nut: Red Laterite soils in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala are highly suitable for this crop.

Characteristics

• Range from red to brown in colour with a sandy texture and saline nature.
• Low Humus: Lacks humus and moisture because of the dry climate and faster evaporation rates.

The Kankar Layer

• The bottom horizons of Arid soil are occupied by Kankar nodules due to increasing calcium content downwards.
• Impact: These Kankar layer formations severely restrict the infiltration of water.

• Valley Sides: In the lower parts of valleys, forest soils are loamy, silty, and highly fertile.
• Upper Slopes: The texture becomes coarse-grained.
• Snow-covered Himalayas: In higher altitudes, these soils experience denudation and are typically acidic with low humus content.

• Definition: These are specific piedmont plains found at the foot of mountains.
• Location: Found in the upper reaches of river valleys near the break of the slope.
• Soil Type: They typically contain coarse Alluvial soils.
• Regional Names: Known as Duars in the East, Chos in Punjab, and Terai in the North.

Laterite Soil

• Key Regions: Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and the hilly areas of Odisha and Assam.

Red and Yellow Soil

• Key Regions: Odisha, Chhattisgarh, southern parts of the middle Ganga plain, and along the piedmont zone of the Western Ghats.

Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), oceanic resources beyond 200 nautical miles belong to the open ocean.

India's Special Right

• India has secured the right to mine manganese nodules from the bed of the Indian Ocean from an area that lies beyond the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Key Milestones

• 1968: The Club of Rome advocated resource conservation for the first time in a systematic way.
• 1974: E.F. Schumacher presented Gandhian philosophy on conservation in his seminal book, 'Small is Beautiful'.

• The Report: The Brundtland Commission Report (1987).
• Contribution: It introduced the concept of 'Sustainable Development' and advocated it as a means for resource conservation.
• Publication: The report was subsequently published in a book titled 'Our Common Future'.

Context

• Held in June 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where over 100 heads of state met to address urgent problems of environmental protection and socio-economic development.

Key Outcomes

• Leaders signed the Declaration on Global Climatic Change and Biological Diversity.
• The convention endorsed the global Forest Principles.
• Adopted Agenda 21 for achieving Sustainable Development in the 21st century.

• Origin: Adopted at UNCED (Rio de Janeiro, 1992).
• Aim: To achieve global sustainable development and combat environmental damage, poverty, and disease through global co-operation on common interests.
• Key Local Objective: The core philosophy dictates that every local government should draw its own local Agenda 21 to tackle specific regional challenges.

Sustainable Economic Development means that development should take place without damaging the environment, and development in the present should not compromise with the needs of the future generations.

1. Depletion: Resources are rapidly shrinking to satisfy the greed of a few individuals.
2. Inequity: The accumulation of resources in a few hands divides society into Haves and Have-nots (Rich vs. Poor).
3. Global Ecological Crises: It has led to severe global issues such as global warming, ozone layer depletion, environmental pollution, and land degradation.

Community Owned Resources

• Accessible to all members of a specific community.
• Rural Examples: Village grazing grounds, burial grounds, village ponds.
• Urban Examples: Public parks, picnic spots, playgrounds.

National Resources

• Belong to the nation. The government has legal powers to acquire even private property for the public good.
• Examples: Roads, canals, railways, minerals, forests, and wildlife.

Resource planning is essential due to the enormous diversity in resource availability across regions:

• Jharkhand / Madhya Pradesh: Rich in minerals and coal deposits but lack infrastructural development.
• Arunachal Pradesh: Has abundant water resources but lacks infrastructural development.
• Rajasthan: Endowed with solar and wind energy but lacks water resources.
• Ladakh: Has a rich cultural heritage but is deficient in water, infrastructure, and vital minerals.

Planning ensures balanced regional and national development.

1. Identification & Inventory: Surveying, mapping, and making qualitative and quantitative estimations of resources across regions.
2. Planning Structure: Evolving a planning structure endowed with the appropriate technology, skill, and institutional set-up for implementing development plans.
3. Matching Plans: Integrating regional resource development plans with overall national development plans.

• The mere availability of resources in the absence of corresponding changes in technology and institutions does not hinder development.
• Foreign invaders used higher technological development to exploit the rich resources of colonies and establish supremacy.
• Key Lesson: Resources can contribute to development only when they are accompanied by appropriate technological advancement and institutional frameworks.

'There is enough for everybody's need and not for any body's greed.'

• Root Cause: He blamed greedy/selfish individuals and the exploitative nature of modern technology for resource depletion at the global level.
• Production Philosophy: He was strictly against mass production and wanted to replace it with the production by the masses.

Comparing 1960-61 data to present trends reveals key structural shifts:

• Forest Cover: Has increased marginally but remains far below the desired 33% mark mandated by the 1952 policy.
• Barren and Waste Land: Has decreased, mostly being converted to non-agricultural uses (urbanization, infrastructure).
• Permanent Pastures: Have steadily decreased, placing pressure on livestock management.
• Net Sown Area (NSA): Has remained relatively stable, hovering around 45-46% of total area.

| Region / States | Main Cause of Degradation |
|:--- |:--- |
| Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, MP, Odisha | Deforestation due to severe Mining operations. |
| Gujarat, Rajasthan, MP, Maharashtra | Severe Overgrazing by livestock. |
| Punjab, Haryana, Western UP | Over-irrigation (leads to water-logging, increasing soil salinity/alkalinity). |

• The Process: Grinding minerals like limestone for the cement industry, and calcite/soapstone for the ceramic industry, generates huge quantities of dust in the atmosphere.
• The Impact: When this dust eventually settles down on the surrounding land, it forms a hard crust that retards the process of infiltration of water into the soil, drying it out and degrading it over time.

Arid Areas

• Planting lines of trees to create shelter belts.
• Proper control on overgrazing.
• Stabilisation of sand dunes by growing thorny bushes.

Industrial and Suburban Areas

• Proper discharge and disposal of industrial effluents and wastes after chemical treatment.

General Measures

• Afforestation, proper management of wastelands, and strict control of mining activities.

• Method: Ploughing is done along the natural contour lines of the land, rather than up and down the slope.
• Mechanism: This creates natural ridges that decelerate the flow of water down the slopes, giving water time to infiltrate the soil and drastically reducing sheet erosion.

• Method: Broad, flat steps (terraces) are cut out on steep slopes. This restricts the rapid downhill flow of water, preventing severe soil erosion.
• Region: It is a well-developed and heavily practiced farming method in the Western and Central Himalayas.

• Method: Large agricultural fields are divided into strips. Strips of grass are intentionally left to grow between the main crops.
• Mechanism: As wind blows across the flat plains, these grass barriers break up the force of the wind, significantly reducing the amount of topsoil blown away.

• Definition: The practice of planting long lines of trees along the borders of fields or desert margins to create wind shelter.
• Impact: They have made a massive contribution to the stabilisation of sand dunes and have been crucial in preventing the desert from expanding further into the plains of western India.

Sukhomajri Village

• Demonstrated that it is possible to reverse land degradation.
• Tree density in Sukhomajri increased from 13 per hectare in 1976 to 1,272 per hectare in 1992, restoring the ecological balance.

Jhabua District (Madhya Pradesh)

• Proved that regeneration of the environment leads to economic well-being.
• Utilized participatory watershed management, giving the local community control over resources to increase agricultural incomes.