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. Thus, nature,
technology and institutions show an interdependent relationship.
How does technical & economic development increase resource use?
As industries, agriculture, and cities expand, the demand for resources like
energy, minerals, and land also rises. With advanced technology boosting
production and transportation growing rapidly, economic progress drives even
greater resource use.
Classification of Resources:
1. On the basis of Origin:
Biotic Resources: All the living components present on earth are biotic.
• For Example: Flora, Fauna, human beings, fisheries, livestock etc.
Abiotic Resources: All the non-living components on earth are abiotic.
• For Example: Land, water, air, rocks and metals.
2. Exhaustibility:
Renewable Resources: The resources which can be renewed or reproduced by
physical, chemical or mechanical processes are known as renewable or
replenishable resources.
• For Example: Solar and wind energy, water, forests and wildlife, etc.
Non-Renewable Resources: These resources take millions of years in their
formation.
• For Example: Minerals and fossil fuels.
3. Ownership:
Individual Resources: Resources owned privately by individuals are individual
resources.
• For Example: Plots, houses, fields, pasture lands, ponds, water in wells
etc.
Community Owned Resources: There are resources which are accessible to all
the members of the community.
• For Example: Public parks, village commons (grazing grounds, burial
grounds, village ponds, etc.), playgrounds, picnic spots etc.
National Resources: All the resources which come under the territorial
boundary of a country belong to nation. Therefore, these are national
resources.
• For Example: Forests, wildlife, land within political boundaries and
oceanic area upto 12 nautical miles (22.2 km) from the coast.
International Resources: These are resources regulated by international
institutions.
• For Example: The oceanic resources beyond 200 nautical miles of
the Exclusive Economic Zone.
Note:- Territorial water = 12 nautical miles, Exclusive Economic Zone = 12-200
nautical miles, and International waters/ high seas = beyond 200 nautical miles.
4. Status of Development:
Potential Resources: Resources which are found in a region, but have not been
utilized.
• For Example: Rajasthan and Gujarat have potential for the development
of wind and solar energy.
Developed Resources: Resources which are surveyed and their quality and
quantity have been determined for utilization.
Stock: Materials in the environment which have the potential to satisfy human
needs but human beings do not have the appropriate technology to access.
• For Example: We can use Hydrogen as it is rich source of energy but we
do not have advanced technical ‘know how’ for that.
Reserves: Resources which are left unused for the requirement of future
generation.
• For Example: Use of hydroelectricity.
Development Of Resources:
The conception that resources are free gift of nature made the people use
them indiscriminately. This 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:
This summit held in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. More than 100 heads of states met
for addressing urgent problems of environmental protection and socio-
economic development at global level.
• The assembled leaders signed the Declaration on Global Climatic Change
and Biological Diversity.
• The Rio Convention approved the global Forest Principles and
adopted Agenda 21.
o World leader adopted Agenda 21 in 1992 at the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The place
was same; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
1. It is an agenda to combat environmental damage, poverty,
disease through global co-operation on common interests,
mutual needs and shared responsibilities.
2. One major objective of the Agenda 21 is that every local
government should draw its own local Agenda 21.
Resource Planning:
Resources are vital for economic development. However, their distribution is
uneven.
For Example:
States Resources (rich in) Resources (lack in)

Proper Infrastructure &

1. Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh
mineral and coal deposits resource management
and Madhya Pradesh
system

2. Arunachal Pradesh. Water infrastructural development

3. Rajasthan. Solar and Wind energy Water

Water, infrastructure and

4. Ladakh (U.T) Cultural heritage
vital minerals.

Therefore, we need balanced resource planning at the national, state, regional

and local levels.
Resource planning in India:
1. Identification and inventory of resources across the regions of the
country.
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:
• 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.”
o Schumacher also presented Gandhian Philosophy in his
book ‘Small is Beautiful’.
• The Brundtland Commission Report: It introduced the concept
of Sustainable Development.
o Subsequently, it got published in a book ‘ Our Common Future’ as
a conservation measure.
Land Resources:
Land is a natural resource which supports natural vegetation, wildlife, human
life, economic activities, 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 Utilization:
1. Forests
2. Land not available for cultivation.
3. Other uncultivated land (excluding fallow land)
4. Fallow lands
5. Net Sown area or gross cropped area.
The Land Use Pattern In India:
• Two factors determine the use of land.
o Physical factors: topography, climate, soil type.
o Human factors: population density, technological capability and
culture and tradition etc.
• 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.
1. Net Sown Area: It is over 80% of the total area in Punjab and Haryana.
And less than 10% in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and
Andaman Nicobar Islands.
2. Forests: Forest area of India is 24.62%.
o Note: According to National Forest Policy (1952), desired forest
cover is 33%.
Land Degradation And Conservation Measures:
In India, different states faced Land degradation due to several reasons.
Cause of Degradation States

Mining Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, Madhya Pradesh & Odisha

Overgrazing Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh & Maharashtra

Over Irrigation Punjab, Haryana, Western 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 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.
Classification of Soils (in India):
 Classification
Soil Type Area Nutrients Crops Characteristics
/ Features

By Landform
/ Size: Upper
Course →
Coarse
Entire
(gravel, sand)
Northern
• Middle
Plains and
Course →
Eastern Sugarcane,
Medium (silt) Highly fertile,
Coastal Plains Potash, Paddy,
• Lower intensively cultivated
Alluvial Soil (especially Phosphoric Wheat,
Course → and densely
deltas of Acid, Lime Cereals,
Fine (clay, populated
Mahanadi, Pulses
silt) By Age:
Godavari,
Bangar (old)
Krishna,
and Khadar
Kaveri)
(new)
Examples:
Duars, Chos,
Terai

Deccan Trap
(Basalt) region,
Calcium High moisture
Maharashtra,
Carbonate, retention capacity;
Black Soil Saurashtra, Also called
Magnesium, Cotton develops deep cracks
(Regur Soil) Malwa, Regur Soil
Potash, in hot weather
Madhya
Lime helping aeration
Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh

Odisha,
Chhattisgarh,
Develops on Millets,
Southern Iron (major Red due to iron
crystalline Pulses,
Red and Middle Ganga factor diffusion; appears
igneous rocks Groundnut
Yellow Soil Plain, affecting yellow in hydrated
in low rainfall (commonly
Piedmont colour) form
areas grown)
Zone of
Western Ghats
 Classification
Soil Type Area Nutrients Crops Characteristics
/ Features

Southern
Forms under tropical
States,
& subtropical climate
Western Ghats Derived from Tea, Coffee,
Iron and with alternate wet
Laterite Soil (Maharashtra), Latin word Cashew
Aluminium and dry season;
Odisha, parts ‘Later’ = Brick Nut
formed due to
of West Bengal
intense leaching
and North-East

Red to brown colour;

Western Calcium sandy and saline;
Corn,
Arid Soil Rajasthan, Carbonate, Also called lacks humus and
Sorghum,
(Desert Soil) Rann of Kutch Gypsum, Desert Soil moisture; kankar
Pearl Millet
(Gujarat) Sodium layer restricts water
infiltration

Loamy and silty in

Low humus Texture valleys; coarse on
Hilly and Fruits, Tea
in upper varies by upper slopes; acidic
Forest Soil Mountainous (region
snowy mountain in snow-covered
regions dependent)
regions environment Himalayas; fertile in
valleys

Quick Memory Trick:

• Alluvial → Agriculture king 👑

• Black → Cotton 🧵

• Red → Iron ❤️

• Laterite → Tea & Coffee ☕

• Arid → Dry Desert 🌵

• Forest → Mountains 🌲
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:-
Type of Erosion Meaning How it Happens Appearance Example

Removal of a thin Rainwater flows Soil disappears

Common in gently
uniform layer of evenly over land like a sheet
Sheet Erosion sloping agricultural
topsoil over a and carries away without deep
land
large area fertile topsoil cuts

Formation of Running water

small narrow starts cutting Small finger-like Occurs when sheet
Rill Erosion
channels in the tiny grooves in channels erosion continues
soil the land

Formation of
Rills become
deep and wide
larger and Deep cuts or Severe in areas like
Gully Erosion channels due to
deeper over ravines Chambal region
continuous water
time
flow

Some conservation measures for soil.

1. Contour Ploughing: Ploughing along the contour lines can decelerate the
flow of water down the slopes.
2. Terrace Farming or Step Farming: Steps can be cut out on the slopes
making terraces as this type of farming restricts erosion.
3. Strip Farming: Large fields can be divided into strips (strips of grass) as
this breaks up the force of the wind.
4. Shelter belts: Planting lines of trees can help in stabilizing the soil in its
place. Thus, we can use these belts to prevent soil erosion.