Shubham Pathak

10TH GRADE
SOCIAL STUDIES

By Shubham Pathak
RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT
Notes

WHAT IS A RESOURCE?

● Everything in our environment which can be used to satisfy our needs and is
technologically accessible, economically feasible and culturally acceptable is
termed as ‘Resource’.

● Human beings themselves are essential components of resources. They

transform things available in the environment into resources and use them.

Types of Resources:

1. On the basis of origin:

- Biotic resources: Obtained from the biosphere and have life such as human
beings, flora and fauna, etc.
- Abiotic resources: Non-living things. For example, rocks and metals.

2. On the basis of exhaustibility:

- Renewable resources: Resources that can be renewed or reproduced by

physical, chemical or mechanical processes. For example, solar and wind
energy, water, etc.

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- Non-renewable resources: Occur over a very long geological time. For

example, minerals and fossil fuels. These resources take millions of years in
their formation. Recyclable- Metals; Non-recyclable- Fossil fuels get exhausted
with their use.

3. On the basis of ownership:

- Individual resources: Owned privately by individuals.

Example: Ponds, Pasture lands, plantation, etc.
Farmers own land allotted by the government against the payment of revenue.
Urban people own plots, houses, ponds, and other properties.

- Community-Owned resources: These resources are accessible to all the

members of the community.
Example: Grazing grounds, burial grounds, public parks, etc.

- National-resources: These resources are under the control of the

nation/country. A country has legal powers to acquire even private property
for the public good.
Example: Roads, canals, railways, etc.

- International resources: Owned & regulated by international institutions.

The oceanic resources beyond 200 nautical miles of the Exclusive Economic
Zone (EEZ) belong to open ocean.
No individual country can utilise these without the concurrence of international
institutions.
Example: Oceanic resource, space, etc.

4. On the basis of the status of development:

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- Potential resources: Found in a region, but have not been utilised.

Example: solar and wind energy in Gujarat and Rajasthan.

- Developed resources: These resources are surveyed and their quality and
quantity have been determined for utilisation. Availability and accessibility of
technology decide the development of these resources.

- Stock: Materials in the environment that have the potential to meet human
needs, but humans lack the necessary technology to access them.
Hydrogen and oxygen in water, for example, can be a rich source of energy.

- Developed resources: These are a subset of stock. These can be used with
existing technical 'know-how,' but they have not yet been put to use. For
instance, river water can be used to generate hydel energy.

DEVELOPMENT OF RESOURCES

Human survival depends on resources. Humans indiscriminately used resources,

believing they were free gifts from nature. This led to major problems:

1. Depletion of resources to satisfy the greed of a few individuals.

2. The concentration of resources in a few hands, which divided society into two
segments, namely haves and have-nots, or rich and poor.

3. Resource indiscriminate exploitation has resulted in global ecological crises (global

warming etc.)

Hence, equitable distribution of resources has become essential for sustained quality
of life and global peace.

Sustainable Development: Development should take place in a way that does not
harm the environment. Thus, development should not compromise with the needs of
future generations. This is possible with careful planning.

- First International Earth Summit was held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992.
- The summit addressed global issues such as environmental protection and
socio-economic development.

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- The Declaration on Global Climate Change and Biological Diversity was signed
by the assembled leaders.
- The Rio Convention endorsed the global Forest Principles and adopted Agenda
21 for 21st-century Sustainable Development.

Agenda 21: Signed United Nations Conference on Environment and Development

(UNCED), 1992.

Objective- To combat environmental damage, poverty, disease through global

co-operation on common interests, mutual needs and shared responsibilities, and
also aims that every local government should draw its own local Agenda 21.

RESOURCE PLANNING

A technique for proper utilization of resources. It has scope in a country like India.,
where the availability of resources varies greatly. This necessitates resource planning
that is balanced at the national, state, regional, and local levels.

Resource Planning in India

Resource planning is a complex process that involves:

- Identification and inventory of resources. 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.
- Matching the resource development plans with overall national development
plans.

Irrational consumption and resource overutilization can lead to socioeconomic and

environmental issues. Resource conservation at various levels is critical to
overcoming these issues. This has been the main concern of the leaders and thinkers
in the past.

➔ Gandhiji advocated that “There is enough for everybody’s need and not for
anybody’s greed.”

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➔ In 1974 Gandhian philosophy was presented again by Schumacher in his book

Small is beautiful.

➔ Brundtland Commission Report, 1987 introduced the concept of ‘Sustainable

Development’ and advocated it as a means for resource conservation, which
was later published in a book “Our Common Future”.

LAND RESOURCES

The land is a natural resource

of utmost importance and
supports natural vegetation,
wildlife, human life, economic
activities, transport &
communication systems.

India has land under a variety

of relief features, namely;
mountains, plateaus, plains and
islands.

Land Utilization:

1. Forests
2. Land not available for cultivation
a) Barren and wasteland
b) Land put to non-agricultural uses
3. Other uncultivated lands (excluding fallow land)
a) Permanent pastures and grazing land;
b) Land under miscellaneous tree crops groves (not included in the net sown
area);
c) Culturable wasteland (left uncultivated for more than 5 agricultural years)
4. Fallow Land
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)

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5. Net sown area: Area sown more than once in an agricultural year plus the net
sown area is known as gross cropped area.

Land Use Pattern in India

The use of land is determined by physical and human factors.

The total geographical area of India is 3.28 million sq km. The land under permanent
pasture has also decreased. The pattern of the net sown area varies greatly from one
state to another.

The wasteland is a land that has been converted to non-agricultural uses like as
rocky, arid, and desert areas, roads, railways, industry, and so on.

Land degradation has resulted from the continued use of land over a long period of
time without appropriate conservation and management measures.

Land degradation & Conservation Measures

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Some human activities such as deforestation, overgrazing, mining and quarrying too
have contributed significantly to land degradation.

Causes of land degradation Areas where land degradation has occurred

Mining and Quarrying Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and

Odisha

Waterlogging due to over-irrigation Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh

causing increase in salinity and alkalinity

Overgrazing Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,

Maharashtra, and hilly states of Northern India

Industrialisation causing retardation of In pockets all over India

water infiltration into the soil

How can the land be conserved?

Land conservation refers to various methods of preserving land and ensuring it is

protected forever from development. Following are the ways to conserve land:

- Afforestation and proper management of grazing.

- Planting of shelter belts of plants.
- Stabilisation of sand dunes by growing thorny bushes.
- Proper management of wastelands.
- Control of mining activities.
- Proper discharge and disposal of industrial effluents and wastes after
treatment.

SOIL AS A RESOURCE

- Soil- the most important renewable natural resource, serves as a medium for
plant growth and is home to a variety of living organisms on Earth.
- Soil also consists of organic (humus) and inorganic materials.

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Types of Soil

- Soils of India are classified on the basis of soil formation, colour, thickness,
texture, age, chemical and physical properties.

Alluvial Soil

- Very fertile soil, widely spread in north Indian plains, and is deposited by three
main Himalayan river systems- the Ganga, Yamuna, and Brahmaputra.
- This soil extend in Rajasthan, Gujarat, eastern coastal plains, particularly in the
deltas of the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri rivers.
- Consist of various proportions of sand, silt and clay.
- On the basis of age alluvial soil is 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.
- The soil contains an adequate proportion of potash, phosphoric acid and lime,
and is ideal for the growth of sugarcane, paddy, wheat and other cereal and
pulse crops.

Black/ Regur Soil

- Climatic conditions along with the parent rock material are the important
factors for the formation of black soil.
- The soil is ideal for growing cotton and is also known as black cotton soil.
- This type of soil is found in the Deccan trap (Basalt) region spread over the
northwest Deccan plateau and is made up of lava flows.
- Cover the plateaus of Maharashtra, Saurashtra, Malwa, Madhya Pradesh &
Chhattisgarh & extend in the southeast direction along the Godavari and the
Krishna valleys.
- The black soils are made up of extremely fine i.e. clayey material and are
well-known for their capacity to hold moisture.
- Black soil is nutrients rich and contains calcium carbonate, magnesium, potash
and lime.

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- The soil is sticky when wet and difficult to work on unless tilled immediately
after the first shower or during the pre-monsoon period.

Red and Yellow Soil

- Develops on crystalline igneous rocks in areas of low rainfall in the eastern and
southern parts of the Deccan plateau.
- Found in parts of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, southern parts of the middle Ganga
plain and along the piedmont zone of the Western Ghats.
- Develops reddish colour due to diffusion of iron in crystalline and metamorphic
rocks
- Looks yellow when it occurs in a hydrated form.

Laterite Soil

- The word laterite- Derived from Latin word ‘later’ which means brick.
- Develops under tropical and subtropical climates with alternate wet and dry
seasons.
- Soil is the result of intense leaching due to heavy rain.
- Lateritic soils are mostly deep to very deep, acidic (pH<6.0), generally
deficient in plant nutrients.
- This type of soil is found mostly in Southern states, Western Ghats region of
Maharashtra, Odisha, some parts of West Bengal and North-east regions.

Arid Soil

- Range from red to brown in colour.

- Generally, sandy in texture & saline in nature. In some areas, the salt content is
very high & common salt is obtained by evaporating water.
- Lacks humus & moisture because of the dry climate, the high temperature
makes evaporation faster.
- Lower horizons of the soil are occupied by Kankar because of the increasing
calcium content downwards.
- After proper irrigation, these soils become cultivable as has been in the case of
western Rajasthan.
- Found in Western parts of Rajasthan, Haryana, Northern Gujarat.

Forest Soil

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- Found in the hilly and mountainous areas.

- The soil texture is loamy and silty in valley sides and coarse-grained in the
upper slopes.
- In the snow-covered areas of the Himalayas, these soils experience denudation
and are acidic with low humus content.
- The soil is fertile on the river terraces and alluvial fans.

MAJOR SOIL TYPES

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SOIL EROSION AND SOIL CONSERVATION

Soil Erosion is the denudation of the soil cover and subsequent washing down. The
process of soil formation and erosion go hand in hand, and there is a balance
between the two. But, this balance is disturbed due to human activities like
deforestation, over-grazing, construction and mining etc., while natural forces like
wind, glaciers and water lead to soil erosion.

Gullies: The running water cuts through the clayey soils and makes deep channels.
Badland: The land becomes unfit for cultivation. In the Chambal basin such lands are
called ravines.

Types of Soil Erosion Meaning

Sheet Erosion Water flowing down over a large area causes the topsoil to be washed away.

Wind Erosion Wind blows loose soil off flat or sloping land known as wind erosion.

Gully Erosion Running water cuts through the clayey soils and makes deep channels as gullies.
This makes land unfit for cultivation.

Ways of Soil Conservation

Soil conservation is the prevention of erosion of the topmost layer of soil.

Types of Soil Erosion Meaning

Contour Ploughing Ploughing along the contour lines can decelerate the flow of water down the
slopes.

Strip Cropping Large fields can be divided into strips. Strips of grass are left to grow between
the crops. This breaks up the force of the wind.

Shelterbelts Planting lines of trees to create shelter also works in a similar way. This helps
in the stabilisation of sand dunes and in stabilising the desert in western India.

Terrace Farming Steps can be cut out on the slopes making terraces. Terrace cultivation
restricts erosion. Western and central Himalayas have well-developed terrace
farming.

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Soil States Soil Texture Deficient Crops Special Feature

ALLUVIAL Punjab, Haryana, Sandy, loam Nitrogen, Sugarcane, Highly fertile

Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, to clay. Phosphorus Paddy,
etc. & organic Wheat,
matter Cereal, etc.

BLACK Gujarat, Maharashtra, Clayey Humus, Cotton, Made up of lava

M.P., Chattisgarh material Nitrogen, Citrus fruits, flow
Potassium. tobacco, etc.

RED & YELLOW Odisha, Chattisgarh, Fine grained, Phosphoric Cotton, Formed under
Southern of the clay to loam acid, organic pulses, well drained
middle Ganga plain. material, millets, conditions
humus. oilseeds,
potato,
maize,
groundnut,
etc.

LATERITE Tamil Nadu, Andhra Reddish Plant Cashew Nuts The pebbly
Pradesh, Kerala, brown in Nutrients & Tea Plants crust formed
Madhya Pradesh, etc. colour due to due to
the presence alteration of
of iron oxide wet and dry
periods.

ARID Western Rajasthan, Sandy in Humus & Barley, High salt &
Haryana, Punjab. texture & moisture. Wheat, calcium content.
saline in Millets
nature.

FOREST Himalayas, Eastern Loamy & silty Potash, Spices, teak, Acidic soil
Ghats & Terai regions in valley phosphorous apple.
sides and & lime.
coarse
grained in
the upper
slopes.

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