Resources and Development

• Concept of Resources

  • Definition: Environmentally accessible, economically feasible, culturally acceptable
  • Interdependent Process: Nature, Technology, and Institutions

• Classification of Resources

  • On the Basis of Origin
    • Biotic: Living components (e.g., Flora, Fauna, Human beings)
    • Abiotic: Non-living components (e.g., Rocks, Metals)
  • On the Basis of Exhaustibility
    • Renewable: Can be renewed or reproduced (e.g., Solar energy, Wind, Water, Forests)
    • Non-Renewable: Take millions of years to form (e.g., Fossil fuels, Minerals)
  • On the Basis of Ownership
    • Individual: Owned privately (e.g., Plots, Houses, Plantation, Pasture land)
    • Community: Accessible to all members of a community (e.g., Public parks, Burial grounds)
    • National: Belong to the nation, includes territory & Territorial Waters (up to 12 nautical miles)
    • International: Regulated by international bodies beyond 200 nautical miles (Exclusive Economic Zone)
  • On the Basis of Status of Development
    • Potential: Found in a region but not yet utilized (e.g., Solar/Wind in Rajasthan & Gujarat)
    • Developed: Surveyed and quantified for utilization
    • Stock: Have potential to satisfy human needs, but lack technology to access (e.g., Water into $H_2$ & $O_2$)
    • Reserves: Subset of stock, can be used with existing technology for future requirements

• Development of Resources

  • Major Problems
    • Resource depletion due to individual greed
    • Accumulation of resources in few hands (rich vs poor divide)
    • Global ecological crises (Global Warming, Ozone Layer Depletion, Environmental pollution)
  • Sustainable Development
    • Development that meets present needs without compromising the future
    • Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit (1992): First International Earth Summit
    • Agenda 21: Global plan to combat environmental damage, poverty, and disease

• Resource Planning in India

  • Three-Step Process
    • Identification and Inventory: Surveying, mapping, and measuring resources
    • Planning Structure: Developing appropriate technology, skills, and institutional setup
    • Matching Plans: Aligning resource plans with overall national development plans
  • Resource Conservation
    • Crucial to overcome socio-economic and environmental problems
    • Gandhian Philosophy: "There is enough for everybody's need and not for any body's greed"

• Land Resources

  • Land Relief Features in India
    • Plains (43%): Provides facilities for agriculture and industry
    • Mountains (30%): Ensures perennial flow of rivers, tourism, and ecology
    • Plateaus (27%): Reserves of minerals, fossil fuels, and forests
  • Land Use Pattern
    • Factors: Physical (Topography, Climate, Soil) and Human (Population density, Culture, Tech capability)
    • Net Sown Area (NSA): Land cultivated at least once a year
  • Land Degradation and Conservation
    • Causes: Deforestation, Overgrazing, Mining, Over-irrigation (causing salinity/alkalinity)
    • Measures: Afforestation, Shelterbelts, Control on overgrazing, Stabilization of sand dunes

• Soil as a Resource

  • Major Soil Types in India
    • Alluvial Soil
      • Most widespread and fertile; found in Northern Plains and Eastern coastal deltas
      • Divided into Bangar (Old Alluvial) and Khadar (New Alluvial)
      • Ideal for Sugarcane, Paddy, Wheat, and pulses
    • Black Soil (Regur Soil)
      • Volcanic origin; covers Deccan Trap region
      • High moisture-retention capacity; rich in soil nutrients
      • Ideal for growing Cotton
    • Red and Yellow Soil
      • Reddish color due to Iron diffusion in crystalline rocks; yellow when hydrated
      • Found in areas of low rainfall in Deccan plateau
    • Laterite Soil
      • Formed under high temperature and heavy rainfall (Leaching process)
      • Acidic and low in humus; suitable for Tea, Coffee, and Cashew nuts
    • Arid Soil
      • Sandy texture and saline in nature; lacks moisture and humus
      • Found in arid regions like Western Rajasthan
    • Forest Soil
      • Loamy and silty in valley sides, acidic and denuded in snowcovered areas
  • Soil Erosion and Conservation
    • Types of Erosion: Gully Erosion (creates Ravines like Chambal badlands), Sheet Erosion, Wind erosion
    • Causes: Deforestation, overgrazing, defective farming methods
    • Conservation Techniques: Contour Ploughing, Terrace Farming, Strip Cropping, Shelterbelts