social

• Resource


  Everything available in our environment which can be used to satisfy our needs, provided, it is technologically accessible, economically feasible and culturally acceptable
• Transformation of things available in our environment

  1. Involves an interactive relationship between nature, technology and institutions

  2. Human beings interact with nature through technology and create institutions to accelerate their economic development
• Resources are not free gifts of nature as is assumed by many
• Resources are a function of human activities
• Human beings themselves are essential components of resources
• Human beings transform material available in our environment into resources and use them
• Classification of resources


  • On the basis of origin - biotic and abiotic
  • On the basis of exhaustibility - renewable and non-renewable
  • On the basis of ownership - individual, community, national and international
  • On the basis of status of development - potential, developed stock and reserves
• Depletion of resources for satisfying the greed of a few individuals
• Accumulation of resources in few hands, which, in turn, divided the society into two segments i.e. haves and have nots or rich and poor
• Indiscriminate exploitation of resources has led to global ecological crises such as, global warming, ozone layer depletion, environmental pollution and land degradation
• Equitable distribution of resources has become essential for a sustained quality of life and global peace
• If the present trend of resource depletion by a few individuals and countries continues, the future of our planet is in danger
• Resource planning is essential for sustainable existence of all forms of life
• Sustainable economic development


  Development should take place without damaging the environment, and development in the present should not compromise with the needs of the future generations
• Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, 1992 was convened for addressing urgent problems of environmental protection and socio-economic development at the global level
• The Rio Convention endorsed the global Forest Principles and adopted Agenda 21 for achieving Sustainable Development in the 21st century
• Agenda 21


  Declaration signed by world leaders in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), which aims at achieving global sustainable development
• One major objective of the Agenda 21 is that every local government should draw its own local Agenda 21
• Resource planning is a complex process which involves identification and inventory of resources, evolving a planning structure with appropriate technology, skill and institutional set up, and matching the resource development plans with overall national development plans
• India has made concerted efforts for achieving the goals of resource planning right from the First Five Year Plan launched after Independence
• Mere availability of resources in the absence of corresponding changes in technology and institutions may hinder development
• Resources can contribute to development only when they are accompanied by appropriate technological development and institutional changes
• Irrational consumption and over-utilisation of resources may lead to socio-economic and environmental problems
• Gandhiji voiced his concern about resource conservation, advocating for production by the masses instead of mass production
• The Brundtland Commission Report, 1987 introduced the concept of 'Sustainable Development' and advocated it as a means for resource conservation
• The Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992 made significant contributions towards resource conservation
• The total geographical area of India is 3.28 million sq km, but land use data is available only for 93 per cent of the total geographical area
• The pattern of net sown area varies greatly from one state to another, with over 80 per cent in Punjab and Haryana, and less than 10 per cent in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and Andaman Nicobar Islands
• The forest area in the country is far lower than the desired 33 per cent of geographical area, as outlined in the National Forest Policy (1952)
• Continuous use of land over a long period of time without taking appropriate measures to conserve and manage it, has resulted in land degradation
• Human activities such as deforestation, over grazing, mining and quarrying have contributed significantly to land degradation
• Over a long period of time without taking appropriate measures to conserve and manage it, has resulted in land degradation. This, in turn, has serious repercussions on society and the environment.
• Ninety-five per cent of our basic needs for food, shelter and clothing are obtained from land. Human activities have not only brought about degradation of land but have also aggravated the pace of natural forces to cause damage to land.
• Some human activities that have contributed significantly to land degradation

  • Deforestation
  • Over grazing
  • Mining and quarrying
• Mining sites are abandoned after excavation work is complete leaving deep scars and traces of over-burdening. In states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha deforestation due to mining have caused severe land degradation.
• In states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra overgrazing is one of the main reasons for land degradation.
• In the states of Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, over irrigation is responsible for land degradation due to water logging leading to increase in salinity and alkalinity in the soil.
• The mineral processing like grinding of limestone for cement industry and calcite and soapstone for ceramic industry generate huge quantity of dust in the atmosphere. It retards the process of infiltration of water into the soil after it settles down on the land.
• In recent years, industrial effluents as waste have become a major source of land and water pollution in many parts of the country.
• Ways to solve the problems of land degradation

  • Afforestation and proper management of grazing
  • Planting of shelter belts of plants, control on over grazing, stabilisation of sand dunes by growing thorny bushes
  • Proper management of waste lands, control of mining activities, proper discharge and disposal of industrial effluents and wastes after treatment