What is a resource?
A resource is anything around us that we can use to meet our needs. It must be available, we must have the technology to use it, and it must be acceptable to people. A river is just water until we build a canal to take it to fields.
People are the most important part. Without human skill, nothing in nature becomes useful.
Types of resources
1. By origin
Biotic: from living things (plants, animals, fish). Abiotic: from non-living things (rocks, metals, water).
2. By exhaustibility (will it run out?)
Renewable: can come back again (sun, wind, forests, water). Non-renewable: take millions of years to form, so they get used up (coal, petroleum, minerals).
3. By ownership
Individual (your own land or house), community (village pond, playground), national (all minerals, forests, roads belong to the nation), international (the open ocean beyond 200 nautical miles).
4. By status of development
Potential: present but not used yet (much of Rajasthan's wind and sun). Developed: surveyed and in use. Stock: present, but we lack the technology (using hydrogen from water as fuel). Reserves: part of the stock we can use now but keep for the future (water in dams).
Why and how we plan resources
Using resources without thinking causes three problems: they run out, a few rich people take most of them, and nature gets damaged (global warming, pollution, land loss). So we need sustainable development: use resources today in a way that leaves enough for our children.
India has some regions rich in one resource but poor in others (Jharkhand has minerals, Rajasthan has sun and wind but little water). So resource planning is needed:
- Survey: find and list resources, make maps, measure how much there is.
- Plan: match the resource with the right technology, skill and money.
- Link the plan with the national development plan.
The Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro (1992) and Agenda 21 asked all countries to fight poverty and pollution together.
Land resources and land use in India
India has plains (about 43% of land, good for farming), mountains (about 30%, rivers and tourism) and plateaus (about 27%, minerals and forests).
Land is used for: forests, land not for farming (barren land, buildings, roads), other uncultivated land (pastures, trees, culturable waste land), fallow land (left empty for a season or a few years), and net sown area (land actually farmed, a bit less than half of India).
Forest cover is about 22%. The National Forest Policy (1952) says it should be 33%.
Land degradation means land becomes poor and useless. Causes: cutting forests, overgrazing, mining left open, too much irrigation (salty soil), and dust from industries. Solutions: planting trees, controlling grazing, shelter belts of trees, and stopping mining waste.
Soils of India
Soil forms very slowly from rocks broken by heat, water, wind and living things. Six main soils:
- Alluvial: laid by rivers in the northern plains and deltas; very fertile; old (bangar) and new (khadar) alluvium; rice, wheat, sugarcane.
- Black (regur): from lava rocks of the Deccan; holds moisture; cracks when dry; best for cotton.
- Red and yellow: on old crystalline rocks; red due to iron; yellow when wet.
- Laterite: in hot, very rainy areas; nutrients wash away; good for tea, coffee, cashew after adding manure.
- Arid: sandy and salty; desert areas; farmed only with irrigation.
- Forest: on hill slopes; rich in humus in valleys.
Soil erosion and how to stop it
Soil erosion is the removal of the top soil by water or wind. Running water cuts deep channels called gullies, making bad land (ravines in the Chambal area). Water can also wash a whole layer away (sheet erosion). Wind blows loose soil in deserts.
Ways to save soil:
- Contour ploughing: plough along the slope lines, not up-down.
- Terrace farming: cut steps on hill slopes.
- Strip cropping: grass strips between crops to slow wind.
- Shelter belts: rows of trees to break the wind.
Try it
In the 3D, open the last step and keep the slope bare: 10 soil balls wash away. Now add trees and bunds. Count how many balls are left. At home: put some soil in two trays, one bare and one with grass, tilt both and pour a cup of water. Which tray loses more soil?
Key formulas and definitions
- Resource = nature + technology + people
- Renewable: comes back (sun, water, forests)
- Non-renewable: runs out (coal, oil, minerals)
- Sustainable development: meet today's needs without hurting tomorrow's
- Net sown area: land actually farmed in a year
- Soil erosion: top soil removed by water or wind
Worked examples
1. Classify these: solar energy, coal, a village pond, the open sea.
Solar energy: renewable. Coal: non-renewable. Village pond: community-owned. Open sea beyond 200 nautical miles: international resource.
2. A farmer on a hill loses soil every rainy season. What should he do?
He should make terraces (steps) on the slope and plough along the contour lines, so water flows slowly and does not carry the soil away.
3. Why is black soil best for cotton?
It holds water for a long time, so cotton plants get moisture even in dry months. It is also rich in lime, potash and magnesium.
Common mistakes
- Thinking every natural thing is a resource. It becomes a resource only when people can use it.
- Mixing up stock and reserves. Stock: we cannot use it yet. Reserves: we can use it but save it for later.
- Saying laterite soil is very fertile. Heavy rain washes its nutrients away; it needs manure.
- Writing forest cover target as 22%. 22% is what we have; 33% is the target.