Geography Chapter-1

Resources and Development

1. Resource: 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’.

2. TYPES OF RESOURCES : 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

(d) On the basis of status of development – potential, developed stock and reserves.

 Biotic Resources obtained from biosphere and have life such as human beings, flora and
fauna, fisheries, livestock etc.
 All those things which are composed of non-living things are called abiotic resources.
For example, rocks and metals.
 Renewable Resources can be renewed or reproduced by physical, chemical or mechanical
processes For example, solar and wind energy, water, forests and wildlife, etc.
 Non-Renewable Resources occur over a very long geological time. Minerals and fossil
fuels are examples of such resources. These resources take millions of years in their
formation.
 Individual Resources are owned privately by individuals. Example: Many farmers own
land which is allotted to them by government against the payment of revenue.
 Community Owned Resources are resources which are accessible to all the members of
the community. Example: Village commons (grazing grounds, burial grounds, village
ponds, etc.) public parks, picnic spots,playgrounds in urban areas etc.
 National Resources Technically, all the resources belong to the nation. The country has
legal powers to acquire even private property for public good.
 International Resources are international institutions which regulate some resources. The
oceanic resources beyond 200 km of the Exclusive Economic Zone belong to open ocean
and no individual country can utilise these without the concurrence of international
institutions.
 Potential Resources: Resources which are found in a region, but have not been utilised.
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 Resources which are surveyed and their quality and quantity have
been determined for utilisation.
 3. DEVELOPMENT OF RESOURCES

Resources are vital for human survival as well as for maintaining the quality of life. It was
believed that resources are free gifts of nature. Human beings used them indiscriminately and
this has led to the following major problems:

 Depletion of resources for satisfying the greed of 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.

4. Resource Planning in India : It involves :

 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.
 Evolving a planning structure endowed with appropriate technology, skill and
institutional set up for implementing resource development plans.
 Matching the resource development plans with overall national development plans.

Land resources are used for the following

purposes:

 Forests
 Land not available for cultivation

(a) Barren and waste land

(b) Land put to non-agricultural uses, e.g. buildings, roads, factories, etc.

 Other uncultivated land (excluding fallow land)

(a) Permanent pastures and grazing land,

(b) Land under miscellaneous tree crops groves (not included in net sown area),
(c) Cultruable waste land (left uncultivated for more than 5 agricultural years).

 Fallow lands

(a) Current fallow-(left without cultivation for one or less than one agricultural year),
(b) 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.
 8. LAND DEGRADATION AND CONSERVATION MEASURES

 At present, there are about 130 million hectares of degraded land in India.
 Some human activities such as deforestation, over grazing, mining and quarrying too
have contributed significantly in land degradation.
 In states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa 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.

Conservation of Resources:

Land resources can be conserved through various methods including afforestation,

sustainable land use planning, regulated use of chemicals, and controlling overgrazing.

Other important methods include soil conservation practices like crop rotation and
conservation tillage, as well as water management techniques like drip irrigation.

Types of Soil Erosion

The denudation of the soil cover and subsequent washing down is described as soil erosion.
Different types of soil erosion are given below.

 Sheet Erosion: It takes place on level lands after a heavy shower and the soil removal is
not easily noticeable. But it is harmful since it removes the finer and more fertile topsoil.
 Gully Erosion: It is common on steep slopes. Gullies deepen with rainfall, cut the
agricultural lands into small fragments and make them unfit for cultivation.
Methods to check Soil erosion
 Contour plowing:
Plowing across the slope of the land, rather than up and down, helps slow down water
runoff and reduces erosion.
 Terrace cultivation:
Creating stepped fields on slopes can control water runoff and prevent erosion on hillsides.
 Strip cropping:
Planting alternate strips of different crops, like grasses and grains, can break the wind's
force and reduce erosion.
 Crop rotation: Planting different crops in sequence each season can improve soil fertility
and reduce the risk of erosion .
Planting different crops in sequence each season can improve soil fertility and reduce the
risk of erosion.

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