Geography Chapter 1 – Resources and Development - Notes
Resources:
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’.
Interdependent relationship between nature, technology and institutions:
Human beings obtain natural resources and convert them into a new resource. During this
process, interaction takes place between human beings and nature. Here, technology (a
man-made resource) works as a link and institutions (human-made) help to accelerate
economic development.
Classification of Resources:
Development of Resources:
The conception that resources are free gift of nature made the people use them
indiscriminately. This has led to the following major problems.
1. Depletion of resources.
2. Accumulation of resources in few hands.
3. Global Ecological crises (global warming, ozone layer depletion, pollution, land
degradation etc.)
Sustainable Development:
Sustainable economic development means ‘development should take place without
damaging the environment, and development in the present should not compromise with
the needs of the future generation
Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, 1992: (Read from Text book)
Resource Planning:
Resources are vital for economic development. However, their distribution is uneven.
For Example:
States Resources (rich in) Resources (lack in)
1. Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and mineral and coal Proper Infrastructure & resource
Madhya Pradesh deposits management system
2. Arunachal Pradesh. Water infrastructural development
Solar and Wind
3. Rajasthan. Water
energy
4. Ladakh (U.T) Cultural heritage Water, infrastructure and vital minerals.
Resource planning in India:
1. 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.
2. Evolving a planning structure endowed with appropriate technology, skill and
institutional set up for implementing resource development plans.
3. Matching the resource development plans with overall national development plans.
Conservation of Resources:
Irrational use of resources has made us face socio-economic and environmental
problems.
The root cause for resource depletion is the greed of individuals. This is why; Gandhiji
stated “There is enough for everybody’s need and not for any body’s greed.”
Schumacher also presented Gandhian Philosophy in his book ‘Small is Beautiful’.
Land Resources:
Land is a natural resource which supports natural vegetation, wildlife, human life,
economic activities, and transport and communication system.
We use land for different purposes. India has variety of relief features, namely; Plains
(43%), mountains (30%), Plateaus (27%) and Islands.
Land Utilisation: (Learn from TB)
The Land Use Pattern in India:
Total geographical area of India is 3.28 million sq km.
However, the available data is only 93%.
o Reason:- The land use area for most of the north-east states except Assam has not
been done fully.
o Some areas of Jammu and Kashmir occupied by Pakistan and China have also not
been surveyed.
Land Degradation and Conservation Measures:
In India, different states faced Land degradation due to several reasons.
Cause of Degradation States
Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh,
Mining
Madhya Pradesh & Odisha
Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya
Overgrazing
Pradesh & Maharashtra
Punjab, Haryana, Western
Over Irrigation
Uttar Pradesh
Causes for land degradation:
Deforestation
Over grazing
Over Irrigation
Industrial waste
Huge amount of dust from cement industries.
Conservation measures:
Afforestation
Management of Grazing land
Proper Irrigation
Proper treatment for industrial waste.
Control mining activities.
Soil as a Resource:
Soil is the most important renewable natural resource. It takes millions of years to form
soil up to a few cms in depth.
It is a medium of plant growth and supports different types of living organisms on the
earth.
The important factors for soil formation are relief, parent rock or bed rock, climate,
vegetation and other forms of life and time.
Moreover, soils can have different color, thickness, texture, age, chemical and physical
properties.
Soil also consists of organic (humus) and inorganic materials .
Classification of Soils
Alluvial Soil:
Area: Entire Northern Plains and eastern coastal plains (particularly in the deltas of the
Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri rivers).
Nutrients: Potash, phosphoric acid and lime.
Based on age, Alluvial soils can be classified as:
Old Alluvial (Bangar): The Bangar soil has a higher concentration of kanker
nodules than the Khadar.
New Alluvial (Khadar): It has more fine particles and is more fertile than the
Bangar.
Crops: sugarcane, paddy, wheat and other cereal and pulse crops.
Features:
It has high fertility.
Regions of alluvial soils are intensively cultivated and densely populated.
Black Soil:
It is also known as regur soil.
Area: Deccan trap (Basalt) region and plateaus of Maharashtra, Saurashtra, Malwa,
Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Nutrients: calcium carbonate, magnesium, potash and lime.
Crops: The soil is ideal for growing cotton and is also known as black cotton soil.
Characteristics:
It has capacity to hold moisture.
It develops deep cracks during hot weather, which help in the proper aeration of the
soil.
Red and Yellow Soils:
Area: Odisha, Chhattisgarh, southern parts of middle Ganga plain and along the
piedmont zone of Western Ghats.
Features:
o Red soil develops on crystalline igneous rocks in areas of low rainfall.
o These soils develop a reddish color due to diffusion of iron in crystalline and
metamorphic rocks.
o It looks yellow when it occurs in a hydrated form.
Laterite Soil:
Laterite has been derived from the Latin word ‘later’ which means brick.
Area: Southern States, Western Ghats region of Maharashtra, Odisha, some parts of
West Bengal and North-east regions.
Crops: Tea, coffee and cashew nut.
This soil is the result of intense leaching due to heavy rainfall.
Arid Soil:
Another name for this soil is desert soil.
Area: Western Rajasthan
Characteristics:
o Arid soils range from red to brown in color.
o They are generally sandy in texture and saline in nature.
o Due to dry climate, high temperature, evaporation is faster and the soil lacks humus
and moisture.
Forest Soil:
Area: Hilly and mountainous region.
They are loamy and silty in valley sides and coarse grained in the upper slopes.
The soil is fertile on the river terraces and alluvial fans.
Soil Erosion and Soil Conservation:
Soil Erosion: It is a process in which natural forces like wind, glacier and water wash
away the upper fertile layer of the soil.
Types of soil Erosion: - Gully erosion and Sheet erosion
Different Ways for Soil Conservation
1. Ploughing along the contour lines decelerate the flow of water down the slopes.
This is called Contour Ploughing.
2. Terrace cultivation restricts erosion. This type of agriculture practice is done in the
Western and Central Himalayas.
3. When a large field is divided into strips and strips of grass are left to grow between
the [Link] breaks up the force of the wind. This method is known as Strip
Cropping.
4. Planting lines of trees to create shelter helps in the stabilisation of sand dunes and in
stabilising the desert in western India. Rows of such trees are called Shelter Belts.