UNIT 3

Natural Resources : Renewable and Non-‐renewable Resources

3.1           Land as a resource, land degradation, Wasteland reclamation, man induced landslides, soil erosion and desertification

Land as a resource

Land resource is important because humans not only live but also perform all economic activities on land. Besides, land also supports wild life, natural vegetation, transport and communication activities. Ninety five percent of our basic needs and requirements like food, clothing and shelter are obtained from land.

Land resources are limited because only 43% of the total land area is plain which is suitable for agricultural activities, industrial development and setting up of transport and communication systems. 27% of the total land area is covered with plateau region which are moderately populated. Mountains cover 30% of the total land area and are sparsely populated. Land has become a limited resource because the degradation of land is taking place at a faster pace. Deforestation, water logging, construction of large dams, mining and over grazing have resulted in the degradation of the land resource.

Land degradation

Land degradation is caused by multiple forces, including extreme weather conditions, particularly drought. It is also caused by human activities that pollute or degrade the quality of soils and land utility. It negatively affects food production, livelihoods, and the production and provision of other ecosystem goods and services. Desertification is a form of land degradation by which fertile land becomes desert.

Wasteland reclamation

Reclaiming lands that have been laid waste in an extraction or industrial process is "wasteland reclamation." Strip-mining coal produces wastelands. Using chemicals in an industrial process, then dumping the used chemicals either on the land or into a stream creates wastelands or releasing chemicals into the air in an industrial process can create waste lands. When there is no regulation of wastes disposal by the industry can create wastelands. And finally, nuclear accidents can create wastelands.

Environment keeps changing over time naturally and it is also amenable to changes by human beings. Thanks to scientific and technological developments, our ability to alter the environment has increased tremendously, whereas the capacity of environment to cope with those alterations is limited. Nature's bounty and abundance are disappearing at a rapid rate now in many regions of the world including India due to the human alterations of the environment. All this has brought to the fore the need for protection and preservation of environment and the urgency of developing sound environmental policies and program Without them, development would not only be unsustainable but would be tantamount to retrogression. The challenge of creating and maintaining a sustainable environment is probably the single most pressing issue confronting us today and will remain so in the foreseeable future.

The Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development and Government of India has identified different types of degraded wastelands and has prepared a Wasteland Atlas of India for the year 2000, with the help of Indian Remote Sensing Satellites. According to their estimates, the degraded wastelands accounted for about 20.16 % of India’s total geographical area. The degraded lands include several types of land such as gullied and /or ravenous land, water-logged and marshy land, land affected by salinity and / or alkalinity, degraded pastures / grazing land, degraded notified forest land, mining industrial wastelands, eroded steep slopping land, sandy and deserted lands, and barren rocky /stony wastelands. Whatever the type of degradation, a common characteristic of degraded lands is that their productivity is almost negligible but it could be restored through proper reclamation measures and management.

It is estimated that in India in 1994, about 188 million ha of land, which is 57 per cent of the country’s total geographical area of about 329 million ha, was degraded. Of the 188 million ha of degraded land, about 149 million ha was affected by water erosion, 13.5 million ha by wind erosion, about 14 million ha by chemical deterioration and 11.6 million ha by water-logging (Sehgal and Abrol, 1994). A recent survey by the National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning revealed that 66 per cent of India’s total geographical area (around 192 m ha) was at varying stages of degradation (quoted in Haque, 1997).

Land degradation has significant adverse impacts on crop productivity and the environment. Joshi and Jha (1991) in a study of four villages in Uttar Pradesh found that a 50 per cent decline in crop yields over a period of eight years was due to salinity and water -logging caused by the irrigation system.

Man induced landslides

Human-induced landslides (HIL) refer to landslide events that are directly triggered or partially aggravated by an-tropic activities. Most of them are the results of anthropogenic factors such as modification of the topography, change of the water circulations, land use changes, ageing of infrastructure, etc.

Soil erosion and Desertification

Soil degradation is a global process. It involves both the physical loss (erosion) and the reduction in quality of topsoil associated with nutrient decline and contamination.

Desertification is defined as a process of land degradation in arid, semi-arid and sub-humid areas due to various factors including climatic variations and human activities. Or, to put it in another way, desertification results in persistent degradation of dryland and fragile ecosystems due to man-made activities and variations in climate.

Desertification, in short, is when land that was of another type of biome turns into a desert biome because of changes of all sorts. A huge issue that many countries have is the fact that there are large pockets of land that are going through a process that is known as desertification.

Overgrazing is the major cause of desertification worldwide. Other factors that cause desertification include urbanization, climate change, overuse of groundwater, deforestation, natural disasters, and tillage practices in agriculture that make soils more vulnerable to wind.

Desertification affects topsoil, groundwater reserves, surface runoff, human, animal, and plant populations. Water scarcity in dry lands limits the production of wood, crops, forage, and other services that ecosystems provide to our community.

3.2           Use and over – exploitation, deforestation

Use and over exploitation

A forest is a biotic community predominantly of trees, shrubs and other woody vegetation, usually with a closed canopy. This invaluable renewable natural resource is beneficial to man in many ways.

The direct benefits from forests are:

(a) Fuel Wood:

Wood is used as a source of energy for cooking purpose and for keeping warm.

(b) Timber:

Wood is used for making furniture, tool-handles, railway sleep­ers, matches, ploughs, bridges, boats etc.

(c) Bamboos:

These are used for matting, flooring, baskets, ropes, rafts, cots etc.

(d) Food:

Fruits, leaves, roots and tubers of plants and meat of forest animals form the food of forest tribes.

(e) Shelter:

Mosses, ferns, insects, birds, reptiles, mammals and micro-organ­isms are provided shelter by forests.

(f) Paper:

Wood and Bamboo pulp are used for manufacturing paper (News­print, stationery, packing paper, sanitary paper)

(g) Rayon:

Bamboo and wood are used in the manufacture of rayon (yarns, artificial silk-fibers)

(h) Forest Products:

Tannins, gums, drugs, spices, insecticides, waxes, honey, horns, musk, ivory, hides etc. are all provided by the flora and fauna of for­ests.

Over exploitation of forests

Forests contribute substantially to the national economy. With increasing population increased demand of fuel wood, expansion of area under urban development and industries has lead to over exploitation of forest .At present international level we are losing forest at the rate of 1.7 crore hectares annually. Overexploitation also occurs due to overgrazing and conversion of forest to pastures for domestic use.

3.3           Timber extraction

There has been unlimited exploitation of timber for commercial use. Due to increased industrial demand; timber extraction has significant effect on forest and tribal people.

Logging
 

• Poor logging results in degraded forest and may lead to soil erosion especially on slopes.
• New logging roads permit shifting cultivators and fuel wood gatherers to gain access to the logging area.
• Loss of long-term forest productivity
• Species of plants and animals may be eliminated
• Exploitation of tribal people by contractor.

3.4             Mining, dams and other effects on forest and tribal people

Mining

Major effects of mining operations on forest and tribal people are:

• Mining from shallow deposits is done by surface mining while that from deep deposits is done by sub-surface mining. It leads to degradation of lands and loss of top soil. It is estimated that about eighty thousands hectare land is under stress of mining activities in India
• Mining leads to drying up perennial sources of water sources like spring and streams in mountainous area.
• Mining and other associated activities remove vegetation along with underlying soil mantle, which results in destruction of topography and landscape in the area. Large scale deforestation has been reported in Mussoorie and Dehradun valley due to indiscriminating mining.
• The forested area has declined at an average rate of 33% and the increase in non-forest area due to mining activities has resulted in relatively unstable zones leading to landslides.
• Indiscriminate mining in forests of Goa since 1961 has destroyed more than 50000 ha of forest land. Coal mining in Jharia, Raniganj and Singrauli areas has caused extensive deforestation in Jharkhand.
• Mining of magnetite and soapstone have destroyed 14 ha of forest in hilly slopes of Khirakot, Kosi valley and Almora.
• Mining of radioactive minerals in Kerala, Tamilnadu and Karnataka are posing similar threats of deforestation.
• The rich forests of Western Ghats are also facing the same threat due to mining projects for excavation of copper, chromites, bauxite and magnetite.

Dams and other effects on forest and tribal people

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru referred dam and valley projects as “Temples of modern India”. These big dams and rivers valley projects have multi-purpose uses. However, these dams are also responsible for the destruction of forests. They are responsible for degradation of catchment areas, loss of flora and fauna, increase of water borne diseases, disturbance in forest ecosystems, rehabilitation and resettlement of tribal peoples.

India has more than 1550 large dams, the maximum being in the state of Maharashtra (more than 600), followed by Gujarat (more than 250) and Madhya Pradesh (130).

The highest one is Tehri dam, on river Bhagirathi in Uttaranchal and the largest in terms of capacity is Bhakra dam on river Satluj in Himachal Pradesh. Big dams have been in sharp focus of various environmental groups all over the world, which is mainly because of several ecological problems including deforestation and socio-economic problems related to tribal or native people associated with them.

The Silent valley hydroelectric project was one of the first such projects situated in the tropical rain forest area of Western Ghats which attracted much concern of the people.

The crusade against the ecological damage and deforestation caused due to Tehri dam was led by Shri. Sunder Lal Bahaguna, the leader of Chipko Movement.

The cause of Sardar Sarovar Dam related issues have been taken up by the environmental activitist Medha Patkar, joined by Arundhati Ray and Baba Amte. For building big dams, large scale devastation of forests takes place which breaks the natural ecological balance of the region.

Floods, droughts and landslides become more prevalent in such areas. Forests are the repositories of invaluable gifts of nature in the form of biodiversity and by destroying them (particularly, the tropical rain forests), we are going to lose these species even before knowing them. These species could be having marvelous economic or medicinal value and deforestation results in loss of this storehouse of species which have evolved over millions of years in a single stroke.

3.5           Use and over utilization of surface and ground water

Use and over exploitation of surface and ground water

Water resources are sources of water that are useful or potentially useful. • Uses of water include agricultural, industrial, household, recreational and environmental activities. • Virtually all of these human uses require fresh water

Water Resources-Use and Overutilization:

1. The water Cycle through evaporation and precipitation, maintains hydrological systems .
2. All aquatic ecosystems are used by a large number for their daily needs such as washing irrigation, cooking etc.
3. One of the greatest challenges today is the management of these water resources.
4. Due to increasing population there is an enormous supply for the available freshwater resources. India is likely to face water crisis by 2025.
5. With growth of human population larger amounts of water will be required to fulfil basic needs Today in many areas this need cannot be met.
6. Overutilization of water occurs at various levels:
7. Most people use more water than required to carry out basic activities such as brushing, bathing, washing and cleaning etc.
8. Farmers also sometimes use double the water required for irrigation.
9. There are many ways in which the farmer can increase the yield by using less water for irrigation.
10. With the growth of human population there is an increasing need for larger amounts of water to fulfil a variety of basic needs. Today in many areas this requirement cannot be met.
11. Overutilization of water occurs at various levels. Most people use more water than really needed. Most of us waste water during a bath by using shower or during washing of clothes. Many agriculturists use more water than necessary to grow crops. There are many ways in which farmers can use less water without reducing the yields such as the use of drip irrigation systems.
12. Agriculture also pollutes surface water and underground water stores by the excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Methods such as the use of biomass as fertilizers and non toxic pesticides such as neem products reduces the agricultural pollution of surface and ground water.

Industry tends to maximise short-term economic gains by not bothering about its liquid waste and releasing it into the streams, rivers, sea.

3.6           Floods, drought, conflicts over water

Floods

Floods have been serious environmental hazards from centuries. Deforestation causes flood that kills people, damage crops and destroys homes. • Rivers changes its course during floods and tons of valuable soil is lost to the sea.  As the forest are degraded, rain water no longer percolates slowly into the sub-soil but runs off down the mountainside bearing large amount of top soil.

Droughts

In most arid regions of the world the rains are unpredictable. This leads to a periods when there is a serious scarcity of water to drink, use in farm, or provide for urban or industrial use. One of the factor that worsens the effect of droughts is deforestation. Drought is one of the major problem in our country, due to unpredictable climatic condition or due to the failure of one and more monsoon.

Conflicts over water

• Conflicts through use -Unequal distribution of water has often led to interstate or international disputes
• Constructions of dams -Hydroelectric power generation, dams are built across the rivers, which initiates conflict between the states.

3.7           Growing energy needs, renewable and non-renewable energy sources use of alternate energy sources

Energy consumption of a nation is usually considered as an index of its development, because almost all the development activities are directly or indirectly dependent upon energy. Power generation and energy consumption are crucial to economic development as economy of any nation depends upon availability of energy resources. There are wide disparities in per capita energy use of developed and the developing nations. With increased speed of development in the developing nations energy needs are also increasing.

• The very original form of energy technology probably was the fire, which produced heat and the early man used it for cooking and heating purposes.

• Wind and hydropower has also been used. Invention of steam engineers replaced the burning of wood by coal and coal was further replaced by oil.
• The oil producing has started twisting arms of the developed as well as developing countries by dictating the prices of oil and other petroleum products.
• Energy resources are primarily divided into two categories viz. Renewable and non-renewable sources.
• Renewable energy resources must be preferred over the non-renewable resources.
• It is inevitable truth that now there is an urgent need of thinking in terms of alternative sources of energy, which are also termed as non-conventional energy sources which include:

1. Solar energy needs equipments such as solar heat collectors, solar cells, solar cooker, solar water heater, solar furnace and solar power plants .
2. Wind energy
3. Hydropower, Tidal energy, ocean thermal energy, geothermal energy, biomass, biogas, biofuels etc.

• The non renewable energy sources include coal, petroleum, natural gas, nuclear energy.

Renewable Resource is energy which is generated from natural sources i.e. sun, wind, rain, tides and can be generated again and again as and when required. They are available in plenty and by far most the cleanest sources of energy available on this planet. Solar Energy, Wind Energy, Geothermal Energy, Biomass Energy from Plants, Tidal Energy are the examples of Renewable resources.

Non-Renewable Resource is a natural resource that cannot be re-made or re- grown at a scale comparable to its consumption. Non-renewable sources are not environmentally friendly and can have serious effect on our health.  They are called non-renewable because they cannot be re-generated within a short span of time.  Non-renewable sources exist in the form of fossil fuels, natural gas, oil and coal

References:

1. Textbook Of Environmental Science By Deeksha Dave And E.Sai Baba Reddy, Cengage
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5. Environmental Sciences And Engineering – J. Glynn Henry And Gary W. Heinke – Prentice Hall Of
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7. A Text Book Of Environmental Studies By G.R.Chatwal, Himalaya Publishing House