Chapter 1: Resources and Development (Geography)

In Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, over-irrigation causes waterlogging, which increases salinity and alkalinity in the soil.

(c) Over irrigation

Terraces are cut on the slopes of hilly areas such as the western and central Himalayas.

(d) Uttarakhand

(b) Maharashtra

Black soil is found mainly in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh (also in parts of Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka). It is ideal for growing cotton, so it is also called black cotton soil (regur).

Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh; cotton.

Alluvial soil is found in the deltas of the Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri.

• It is deposited by rivers and is very fertile, rich in potash, phosphoric acid and lime.
• It consists of various proportions of sand, silt and clay.
• It is ideal for growing sugarcane, paddy, wheat and other cereal and pulse crops, so these areas are intensively cultivated and densely populated.

Alluvial soil: very fertile, made of sand, silt and clay, rich in potash, phosphoric acid and lime, and good for rice, wheat and sugarcane.

• Contour ploughing: ploughing along the contour lines slows down the flow of water down the slopes.
• Terrace farming: cutting steps (terraces) on the slopes restricts erosion.
• Strip cropping: strips of grass are left to grow between the crops, which breaks up the force of the wind.
• Planting trees (shelter belts) and checking overgrazing also help.

Contour ploughing, terrace cultivation, strip cropping and planting shelter belts of trees.

India's total geographical area is 3.28 million sq km, but land use data are available for only about 93 per cent of it, as the reporting for most north-eastern states except Assam is incomplete, and some areas of Jammu and Kashmir occupied by Pakistan and China have not been surveyed.

Land is used for: forests; land not available for cultivation (barren and wasteland, and land put to non-agricultural uses such as buildings, roads and factories); other uncultivated land (permanent pastures and grazing land, land under miscellaneous tree crops, culturable wasteland); fallow lands (current and other fallows); and the net sown area.

• In 2019-20, the net sown area was about 45.6 per cent of the reporting area. It varies widely: over 80 per cent in Punjab and Haryana, but less than 10 per cent in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• The forest area was about 23.4 per cent, far lower than the desired 33 per cent set out in the National Forest Policy (1952).

Why forests have not increased much: land is in great demand for agriculture to feed a growing population, for industries, mining, roads, railways, dams and towns, and for grazing. Forest land keeps getting diverted to these uses, so even with afforestation programmes the forest cover has increased only marginally.

About 45.6% of the reporting area is net sown and only about 23.4% is under forests; forests have grown little because land is constantly needed for farming, industry, mining, construction and grazing.

• Technology makes it possible to extract and use resources that were earlier out of reach, such as minerals from deep mines, oil from the sea bed, and hydroelectricity from rivers. Machines make extraction faster and on a much larger scale.
• Economic development raises incomes and living standards. People then demand more goods and services: vehicles, electrical appliances, processed food, housing, travel. All of these need more energy, minerals, water and land.
• Industrialisation and urbanisation increase the demand for raw materials and power.
• The colonisers used their technological superiority to exploit the resources of their colonies, and today some rich countries and individuals consume a much larger share of resources than others.

Indiscriminate use has led to problems such as the depletion of resources for the greed of a few, an unequal distribution of resources, and global ecological crises like global warming, ozone depletion, pollution and land degradation. This is why sustainable development is needed.

Better technology lets us extract more resources faster, and economic growth raises demand for goods and energy, so resource use has increased greatly, often wastefully.

Outline for the project:

• List the resources used in your locality: water, electricity, fuel (LPG, petrol), land, wood, paper.
• Record consumption: for example, collect electricity and water bills from a few houses, or count the vehicles passing a road in an hour.
• Identify wastage: taps left running, lights on in daytime, burning of leaves and garbage, open land being built upon.
• Suggest conservation steps: rainwater harvesting, LED bulbs, solar panels, carpooling, composting, recycling paper and plastic, planting trees.

Present it as a chart or poster with photographs and a short survey table.

Survey what resources are used and wasted locally, and suggest steps to conserve them.

Points for the discussion:

• Electricity: switch off fans and lights when classrooms are empty; use daylight; install solar panels.
• Water: repair leaking taps; harvest rainwater from the school roof; reuse water for the garden.
• Paper: use both sides of paper; recycle old notebooks; use digital notices.
• Land and greenery: plant and care for trees; make a compost pit for garden waste.
• Awareness: form an eco-club to monitor resource use.

Save electricity, water and paper, plant trees, compost waste and run an eco-club.

• Transport would be badly hit: cars, buses, trucks, trains (diesel), ships and aircraft run mostly on petroleum, so travel and movement of goods would slow down and become costly.
• Prices of food and other goods would rise, since they are transported over long distances.
• Many industries that use petroleum as fuel or raw material (plastics, fertilisers, synthetic fibres, medicines) would suffer.
• Cooking fuel (LPG, kerosene) would be unavailable, and electricity from oil-based plants would fall.

We would have to depend on renewable energy (solar, wind, hydro, biogas), electric vehicles, cycling and walking, and live more simply. This shows why we should conserve oil now.

Transport, industry and cooking would be disrupted and prices would rise; we would have to shift to renewable energy and simpler lifestyles.

(i) Resources (ii) Minerals (iii) Black (iv) Laterite (v) Afforestation (vi) Alluvial