Unit II: NATURAL

RESOURCES

https://www.resourcepanel.org/about-us
Natural resources are naturally occurring materials that are useful to man or could be
useful under conceivable technological, economic or social circumstances or supplies
drawn from the earth, supplies such as food, building and clothing materials,
fertilizers, metals, water and geothermal power. For a long time, natural resources
were the domain of the natural sciences.

Natural resources can be defined as the resources that exist (on

the planet) independent of human actions.
Source: UNEP and IRP (2020). Sustainable Trade in Resources: Global Material Flows,
Circularity and Trade. United Nations Environment Programme.
 Introduction
They are the sources useful to man or those that can be transformed into useful
products. They are primarily of two types:
1. Renewable resources :
• in-exhaustive;
• regenerated;
• Replenishable
• E.g. forest, wildlife, biomass,
tidal, hydro energies etc.
2. Non-renewable resources :
• exhaustive
• cannot be generated
• E.g. Fossil fuels- coal,
petroleum, minerals, etc.
Land Land resources include all those features and
processes of the land, which can, in some way,
Resource be used to fulfill certain human needs.

climate,
relief and geological formations,
soils (including soil hydrology),
water (including geohydrology),
artifactial elements of a stable
nature,
vegetation and related biological
features
Land Resource
•Land is a very valuable resource.
•It provides food, fibre, wood, medicine and other
biological materials needed for food.
•Uses of land resource:
• Provides food, wood, minerals etc.
• Nurtures plants and animals that provides us food
and shelter
• Used as watershed or reservoir
• Acts as dustbin for the wastes
• Provides constructing building material and
industries.
•Store of wealth for individuals, groups, or a community
•Production of food, fibre, fuel or other biotic materials for
human use
•Provision of biological habitats for plants, animals and micro-
organisms
•Co-determinant in the global energy balance and the global
hydrological cycle, which provides both a source and a sink for
greenhouse gases
•Regulation of the storage and flow of surface water and
groundwater
•Storehouse of minerals and raw materials for human use
•A buffer, filter or modifier for chemical pollutants
•Provision of physical space for settlements, industry and
recreation
•Storage and protection of evidence from the historical or pre-
historical record (fossils, evidence of past climates, archaeological
remains, etc.)
•Enabling or hampering movement of animals, plants and people
between one area and another
THE LAND USE PATTERN IN INDIA

• 46.6% is under agriculture,

• 22.6% is forested, and
• 13.6 % is not available for cultivation.
• Roughly 41 million hectares of land are considered totally unfit (snow cover,
desert) or not available (urban use, rivers) for vegetation.
• The per capita availability of agricultural land declined from 0.48 hectare in 1951
to 0.14 hectares in 2001, and 0.12 hectares per person in 2020.
• Besides the pressure of human population, there are about 500 million cattle and
other livestock living off the biomass from the land.
 LAND USE and LAND
COVER
Land Use is characterized by the arrangements, activities and inputs by people to produce,
change or maintain a certain land cover type.
Land use is an important concept. It establishes a direct link between land cover and the
actions of people in their environment.

Land Cover is the observed (bio)physical cover on the earth's surface

 Changes in the Land Use Pattern
Change in land-use pattern result in major changes in landscape thereby.
There are several purposes for which the land is used:
• Forest land cleared for agricultural purposes
• Agricultural land used for urban area, industries, development projects,
infrastructures
Negative impact of environmental quality:
• Disruption in water cycle
• Impact on ground water and surface water quality
• Water pollution
• Air pollution
• Habitat and wildlife destruction
• Soil degradation, quality detoriation
Pattern of land use on earth:
• Arable land
• Pastures and meadows
• Forest land
• Urban land
• Non-agricultural land
Land-use involves economic activities leading to environmental problems
from:
• Waste disposal
• Pollutant discharge
• Consumption of natural resources for economic activity
• Disturbances in the ecological cycles and wildlife habitats
Land Degradation
The surface layer of land is called soil. Fertility or productive capacity of the soil
depends on minerals it contains. Minerals are mainly available to the top layer of the
soil. Top layer is best for the vegetation.
Land degradation refers to deforestation or detoriation or loss of fertility or productive
capacity of soil.
Factors responsible for land degradation:
• Soil Erosion
• Soil pollution
• Salination and water logging
• Shifting cultivation
• Desertification
• Urbanization
Soil Erosion
Loss or removal of the superficial layer of the soil by the action of water, wind or
human activities. Factors affecting soil erosion:
• Distribution, intensity and amount of rainfall
• Unequal distribution of rainfall
• Slope of the ground
• Nature of the soil
• Vegetation cover- holds the soil in place by forming a network of roots plants
• Soil mismanagement e.g. faulty practices; overgrazing; wrong cultivation
practices; forest fires; removal of forest litter; erosion, floods and
sedimentation.
Two steps involved in the removal of the soil
• The detachment of the particle
• Transportation: Agencies like wind and water
Factors responsible for the detachment of the particle:
1. Natural causes
2. Less soil moisture
3. No vegetation on the surface
4. Deforestation
5. Faulty agricultural practices
6. Mining
7. Urbanization
Harmful Effects of soil
erosion
• Loss of fertile top soil leading to gradual loss of soil fertility and agricultural productivity.
• Loss of mineral nutrients from soil through leaching and flooding.
• Loss of soil ability to hold water and sediment
• Sediment runoff can pollute water courses and kill aquatic life
• Lowering of the underground water table and decrease in the percentage of soil moisture.
• Drying of vegetation and extension of arid lands.
• Increase in frequency of droughts and floods.
• Silting of river and canal belts.
• Recurrence of landslides.
• Adverse effect on economic prosperity and cultural development

Soil Conservation practices

1. Conservation till farming or no-till farming
2. Contour Farming
3. Terracing
4. Alley Cropping or Agro Forestry
5. Wind breaks or shelter beds
• Contour farming: In this method, crops are planted in rows along contours of gently
sloped land. Each row acts as a small dam to hold soil thereby slowing water runoff.
• Terracing: In this method, steep slopes are converted into a series of broad terraces
that run across the contour. This retains water for crops and reduces soil erosion by
controlling runoff.
1. Broad based Terracing 2. Bench Terracing
• Netting
• Alley cropping or Agro forestry: This method involves planting crops in strips or
alleys between rows of trees or shrubs that provide fruits and fuel wood. Hence, when
the crop is harvested, the soil will not be eroded as the trees and shrubs remain on
ground holding the soil particles.
• Wind breaks or shelter belts: In this technique, trees are planted in long rows along
the boundary of cultivated land which block the wind and reduce soil erosion. Wind
breaks help in retaining soil moisture, supply wood for fuel and provide habitat for
birds.
Salinization
Soil salinization occurs when water-
soluble salts accumulate in the soil to a
level that impacts on agricultural
production, environmental health, and
economics
CAUSES:
1. Natural
2. Human
Parent Material; geological formations;
 Shifting Cultivation

Shifting
agriculture is a
practice where a plot
of land is cleared and
cultivated for
a short period of time;
then it is abandoned
and allowed to revert
to its natural
vegetation while the
cultivator moves on to
another plot.

SLASH AND BURN

JHOOM
Water Resources
Water is the most inexhaustible, most abundant resources.
VIRTUAL
WATER

Prof. Tony Allan

What if I tell you: You Eat 3,496 L of Water
Everyday!!
DOMESTIC WATER CONSUMPTION IN HOMES
Much of the water we use is VISIBLE in our
homes. COOKING
AND
DRINKING CLEANING
10% 5%

Our domestic consumption is around 137 L BATHING

35%
of water everyday LAUNDRY
20%

92 % of this water we use is INVISIBLE !! FLUSHING

30%

This is hidden in the FOOD we eat and the CLOTHES we wear

THE WATER IMPACT OF A SINGLE SODA BOTTLE
 Can we
help?? IT IS TIME TO CHECK OUR
WATER FOOTPRINT!!
WE CAN!

What we EAT
What we Answer lies in our
BUY Shopping Bag
What we USE
 Over-utilization of surface and
groundwater
1. Rapid growth in the population
2. Rapid industrialization
This has lead to:
1. Excessive water extraction
2. Decrease in water table
3. High groundwater withdrawal rate-sinking/overlaying land surface
4. Decreasing aquifers, lowering of water table in the arid and semi-arid parts.
5. Salt intrusion in the coastal areas
6. Land has become more prone to earthquake, landslides, and famine
7. Drying up of wells
 AQUIFER
Aquifer is a body of porous rock or sediment saturated with groundwater.
• Confined aquifers
• Unconfined aquifers
Water logging
Standing water on land for most of the time in year.
Causes of water logging:
• Excessive water supply to the croplands
• Heavy rain
• Poor drainage
Effects:
• Soil-air gets depleted
• Poor aerated soil
• Low soil strength
• Minerals get diluted
Methods to prevent water logging:
• Avoid and prevent excessive irrigation
• Sub-surface drainage
Salinity
Water when not absorbed by soil, gets evaporated leaving behind a thin layer of
dissolved salts in the top-soil. This is Salinity.
Soil pH > 8.0
Characterized by:
Accumulation of soluble salts like NaCl, CaCl2, MgCl2, Na2SO4, Na2CO3, NaHCO3
PROBLEMS IN SALINITY:
1. Saline soils yield less crop
2. Sub-surface drainage system, the salt water is flushed out.
CASE STUDIES:
Canal irrigation in Haryana resulted in the rise in water table followed by water logging
and salinity causing low crop productivity thereby huge economic losses.
‘Indira Gandhi Canal Project’ converted a big area into water soaked area.
 Dams: Benefits and Problems

The dams built to serve more than one purpose- ‘multi purpose dams’.
They are built across rivers for generating electricity, irrigation and for flood
controls.
BENEFITS:
1. to control floods and store flood water.
2. to divert water
3. to provide water for agricultural and drinking purposes.
4. for generating electricity
5. in navigation and fisheries
PROBLEMS: cont….
PROBLEMS:
Downstream:
1. Human displacement
2. Loss of non-forested
3. Loss of flora, vegetation, wildlife.
4. Landslide, sedimentation and siltation
5. Reservoir Induced Seismicity (RIS) causes earthquakes
6. Navigation and aquaculture activities can be developed in the dam areas.
Upstream:
7. Water logging and salinity due to over irrigation
8. Reduced water flow and silt deposition in rivers
9. Salt intrusion at river mouth
10. Sediments carrying nutrients gets deposited in the reservoir
11. Fertility of the land get reduced
12. Faulty design and structural defects may cause sudden dam failure
13. Stagnation and waterlogging around reservoirs
14. Breeding of vectors and vector-borne diseases
DROUGHT:
Scarcity of water. It occurs due to:
1. Inadequate rainfall
2. Late arrival of rains
3. Excessive withdrawal of groundwater
4. Scarcity of water for domestic needs- agriculture, livestock, industry or
human population.
5. Dry weather that persists for long
6. Hydrological imbalances.
CAUSES OF DROUGHT:
• When annual rainfall is below normal and less than evaporation, drought
occurs.
• High population also leads to drought.
• Poor land use and worsens the situation.
• Intensive cropping pattern and over-exploitation of water by digging wells or
bore-wells for high productivity.
• Desertification and drought.
EFFECTS OF DROUGHT:
1. Drought causes hunger, malnutrition
2. It causes widespread crop failures to acute shortage of food thereby
adversely affecting human and livestock populations.
3. It indicates the initiation of desertification
4. Raw materials for agro-based industries are critically affected during drought.
5. Drought accelerates degradation of natural resources.
DROUGHT MANAGEMENT:
• Indigenous knowledge in control and desertification is very useful for dealing
with drought problems.
• Rainwater harvesting program is very useful technique used to conserve water
and control drought.
• Construction of large capacity reservoirs is essential in drought prone areas.
• Modern irrigation techniques (drip irrigation) is very useful to conserve water
and avoid wastage.
• Afforestation activities improve the potential of water in drought prone areas
• Mixed cropping and dry farming.
FLOODS:
Its an overflow of water, whenever the magnitude of flow of water exceeds the carrying
capacity of the channel within banks.
CAUSES OF FLOOD:
1. Heavy rainfall, melting of snow (ice), sudden release of water from dams often causes
floods in the low lying coastal area.
2. Overflowing of lakes and rivers.
3. Reduction in carrying capacity of river channels due to accumulation of sediments in
floods.
4. Deforestation, overgrazing, mining increases the run-off from rains causing floods.
5. Removal of dense and uniform forest cover over hilly zones leads to occurrence of
floods.
EEFECTS OF FLOODS:
6. Water spreads in the surrounding areas and submerges them
7. Plain surfaces get eroded and silted with mud and sand thereby affecting cultivable
land areas.
8. Extinction of civilization in some coastal areas also occurs.
FLOODS MANAGEMENT:
• By constructing dams or reservoirs
• Channel management and embankments also control floods.
• Encroachment of flood ways should be banned.
• Flood hazard may be reduced by forecasting or flood warning.
• Reducing run off.
• Increasing filtration capacity of the soil.
• Engineered Structures:
1. Levees
2. Check Dams
3. Dams
4. Dykes
5. Diversion spillways
6. Afforestation
7. Flood Zoning
8. Wetland and River Restoration
INTERNATIONAL RIVER CONFLICTS:
1. China-India- The Brahmaputra River
2. Ethiopian-Egypt- The Niles : 2011
3. Turkey-Iraq: Ilisu Dam and the Tigris River
Major Inter-State River Disputes

River (s) States

INTERSTATE RIVER CONFLICTS:
1.RaviThe
and Beas
CauveryPunjab,
Water Haryana, Rajasthan
Dispute
2.Narmada
Satluj Yamuna Link
Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan

Krishna Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana

Vamsadhara Andhra Pradesh & Odisha

Cauvery Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry

Godavari Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha

Mahanadi Chhattisgarh, Odisha

Mahadayi Goa, Maharashtra, Karnataka

Periyar Tamil Nadu, Kerala

Ambiguities of River conflicts
1. Constitutional Legal Ambiguity – Conflictual Federalism
2. Historical-Geographical Ambiguity
3. Institutional Ambiguity

Harmon, History and Hobbes

The Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was introduced in Lok Sabha on July
25, 2019 by the Minister of Jal Shakti, Mr. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. It amends the Inter-State
River Water Disputes Act, 1956. The Act provides for the adjudication of disputes relating to waters
of inter-state rivers and river valleys.

• DRC- Dispute Resolution Committee

• Tribunals

https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/three-stressors-of-inter-state-water-conflicts-in-india/
https://prsindia.org/billtrack/the-inter-state-river-water-disputes-amendment-bill-2019
RAIN
WATER
HARVESTI
NG
Rain Water Harvesting, is a technology that collects and stores rainwater for
human use.
Simple rain barrels to more elaborate structures with pumps, tanks,
and purification systems.
1. Roof top type
2. Open Field type
COMPONENTS:
3. Catchment
4. Coarse mesh
5. Gutter
6. Conduits or pipes
7. Filters
The non-potable water can be used to :
1. Irrigate landscaping,
2. Flush toilets,
3. Wash cars,
4. or launder clothes,
5. and it can even be purified for human consumption.
6. With water scarcity a pressing problem for many densely populated
regions, rainwater harvesting systems can supply households and
businesses with water for use in dry seasons and lessen the demand
on municipal systems.
CIRCULAR
ECONOMY
The concept of the Circular Economy is a sustainable business response to the
challenges of climate change.

It involves thinking about the end of the product, at the beginning.

It is about designing products that can be reused, refurbished, and repaired.

And making the waste of one product, the raw material for another.

A circular economy is based on the principles of

designing out waste and pollution, keeping
products and materials in use, and regenerating
natural systems.
-Allen McArthur Foundation
 It replaces the linear economy of
TAKE---MAKE---DISPOSE
Three main principles:

1. DESIGN OUT WASTE AND POLLUTION

i. Meet the new polysterene
ii. The sweet taste of the resource from waste
iii. Regenerative agriculture

2. KEEP PRODUCTS AND MAETRIALS IN USE

i. Free repairs for life
ii. A circular economy experience
iii. Light as a service

3. REGENERATE NATURAL SYSTEMS

i. Closing the nutrient loop
ii. Building natural capital
iii. A farm powered by symbiosis
https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-economy/what-is-the-circular-economy
https://medium.com/circulatenews/building-a-world-free-from-waste-and-pollution-575efb9a6a47