WHAT IS A RESOURCE???

• Life on this planet earth depends on a variety of goods and

services provided by the nature, which are known as Natural
Resources.

• Any stock or reserve that can be drawn from nature is a

Natural Resource

• Natural Resources of two Types:

– Renewable Resources- they are in exhaustive and can be
regenerated in a given span of time. E.g. Forests, wildlife,
wind, biomass, tidal, hydro energies etc.
– Non-Renewable Resources- they are exhaustive and
cannot be regenerated. E.g. Fossil fuels- coal, petroleum,
minerals, etc.
NEED FOR CONSERVATION OF
NATURAL RESOURCES
We know that nature provides us all our basic needs but we
tend to overexploit it. If we go on exploiting the nature, there
will be no more resources available in future. There is an
urgent need to conserve the nature. Some of the needs are

• to maintain ecological balance for supporting life.

• to preserve different kinds of species (biodiversity).

• to make the resources available for present and future

generation to ensure the survival of human race.
MAJOR NATURAL RESOURCES
• Water Resources

• Forest Resources

• Mineral Resources

• Energy Resources

• Food Resources

• Soil/Land Resources
 WATER RESOURCES
• Water is known as LIFE.
• Nearly 80% of body composition.
• Water is a chemical substance, a liquid at ambient
conditions, often co-exists on earth with its solid state i.e
ice, and gaseous state i.e water vapor or steam.
• World oceans cover about 3/4th of earth’s surface.
• Fresh water constitutes a very small proportion of this
enormous quantity.
• About 2.7 % of the total water available on the earth is
fresh water of which about 79 % lies frozen in polar
regions and another 20% is present as ground water.
• The rest is available in lakes, rivers, atmosphere,
moisture, soil and vegetation
BASIC FACTS
 USES OF WATER
SR.NO USES

1. AGRICULTURE- 85 %

2. INDUSTRIAL- 10%

3. DOMESTIC- 5%
PER CAPITA-MIN.135LITER/DAY
 SOURCES OF WATER…
Water

Ground Surface Ice Caps,

Rain Water Water Glaciers

Pond, Lake, Rivers,

Aquifer Streams, Artificial
Reservoirs

Confined Unconfined
 PRESENT SCENARIO
• 21 Cities will run out of groundwater by 2020
affecting 100 million people.

• 40 percent of India’s population will have no

access to drinking water by 2030.

• 70% of our water is contaminated; India is

currently ranked 120 among 122 countries in
the water quality index.
 DEGRADATION OF WATER
Degradation of water is the decrease in quality and quantity of water on the earth
surface. With increase in population and industrial growth, water is being degraded
day by day. The main reasons for the degradation of water are:

1. To meet the need of increasing population, surface water (water from ponds,
lakes, rivers, etc) and ground water are overdrawn.

2. Sewage i.e., waste water from domestic and municipal use makes fresh water
unfit for use by human beings and animals.

3. Waste water, from all industries flow down the surface water bodies and ground
water bodies and they get polluted.

4. Agricultural wastes containing manures, fertilizers and pesticides enter the water
bodies and degrade the quality of water.

5. The continuous decrease of ground water level along coastal regions often cause
movement of saline sea water into freshwater wells, thus, spoiling their water
quality.
 CONSERVATION OF WATER
Conservation and management of water are essential for the survival of mankind, plants
and animals. This can be achieved adopting the following methods:

1. Growing vegetation in the catchment areas, which will hold water in the soil
and allow it to percolate into deeper layers and contribute to formation of ground water.

2. Constructing dams and reservoirs to regulate supply of water to the fields,

as well as to enable generating hydroelectricity.

3. Sewage should be treated and only the clear water should be released into the
rivers.

4. Industrial wastes (effluents) should be treated to prevent chemical and thermal

pollution of fresh water.

5. Judicious use of water in our day-to-day life.

6. Rainwater harvesting should be done by storing rainwater and recharging

groundwater
 FOREST RESOURCES
 Forests is green blanket covering the Earth

 About 1/3rd of the world’s land area is forested which

includes closed as well as open forests.

 But the forest cover is depleting. Greatest losses have

occurred in Tropical Asia, where one third of the forest is

destroyed.

 Current Forest area of India: 21.54% (FSI report 2017)

 USES OF FORESTS
Sr.No Commercial Uses Ecological Uses
1. Wood: timber Regulates water cycle
2. Firewood Produces Oxygen
3. Pulpwood Absorbs Pollutants
4. Food items Act as a sink of CO2 (Reduce Global
Warming)
5. Gums, resins Driving Energy flow and Nutrient
Cycling
6. Fibres, canes, fodder Habitat for wildlife
7. Medicines and drugs Conservation of Soil
8. Worth: Rs.30,000/year by one Worth:1,00,000/year by typical tree
typical tree
 PROBLEMS

• Over – Exploitation: Rapid & Excessive use of

forest to meet human demands

• Deforestation: clearance or clearing is the

removal of a forest or stand of trees where the
land is thereafter converted to a non-forest use.
 OVER –EXPLOITATION
• Due to wood cutting & large scale logging for
raw material
• Deforestation due to road construction
• Forest clearing to convert it to Agricultural Land
to meet food demands
• Encroachment of Forests
• Heavy grazing
• Mining activities
• Hydropower projects
 CAUSES OF DEFORESTATION
• Fuel Requirement
• Raw material for industries
• Shifting cultivation
• Development projects –dams
• Growing food needs
• Overgrazing
• Forest fires
 CONSEQUENCES
• Existence of Species is affected- Natural Habitat
• Biodiversity is lost
• Hydrological cycle affected
• Soil erosion
• In hilly areas – Landslides
• Increase in Carbon levels…….Global
Warming………
 MINERAL RESOURCES
• Minerals are naturally occurring, inorganic, crystalline solids
having a definite chemical composition & characteristics
properties.
 Minerals classified based on their properties are of two
types:
– Metallic
– Non-Metallic
 Minerals are also classified as :
– Critical – Essential for economy of Nation
e.g. Iron, Aluminium, Gold, Copper, etc.
– Strategic – Essential for defence of Country
e.g. Manganese, Cobalt, Platinum, Chromium, etc.
MINERAL DISTRIBUTION IN INDIA
 Uses- Metallic Minerals
Sr. Mineral Uses
No
1. Aluminium Packaging food items, transportation, utensils, electronics
2. Chromium For making high strength steel alloys, textile/tanning ind.
3. Copper Electric & Electronic Goods, building, construction, vessels
4. Iron Heavy machinery, steel production, transportation means
5. Lead Gasoline, car batteries, paints, ammunition
6. Manganese Making high strength, heat resistance steel alloys
7. Gold Ornaments, medical use, use in aerospace
8. Silver Jewellery, photography, electronics
9. Nickel Batteries
10. Platinum Automobiles, catalytic convertors, jewellery, medical use
 USES- NON-METALLIC MINERALS
Sr. Mineral Uses
No

1. Silicate Sand & gravel for construction, bricks, paving, etc

2. Limestone Used for concrete, building stone, used in agriculture for

neutralizing acid soils, used in cement industry.

3. Gypsum Used in plaster wall-board, in agriculture

4. Potash, Used in fertilizers

phosphorite

5. Sulphur Used in medicine, car battery, industry

pyrites
 HARMFUL ENVIRONMENTAL
PROBLEM
• Devegetation and defacing of landscape

• Subsidence of land

• Ground water contamination

• Air pollution

• Surface water pollution

• Occupational health hazards

 REMEDIAL MEASURES

• Reduce, reuse, recycle

• New and improved mining technologies

• Microbial leaching technique

• Restoration of mined lands

• Revegetation and stabilization

 FOOD RESOURCES
• There are thousands of edible plants and animals over the
world out of which only about three dozen types constitute
major food of humans.
• The main food resources include wheat, rice, maize, potato,
barley, oats etc. about twenty or so common fruits and
vegetables, milk, meat, fish and seafood. World food
problems.
• Every year food problem is killing as many people as were
killed by the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima during
World War II.
• This shows that there is drastic need to increase food
production, equitably distribute it and also to control
population growth.
• Although India is the third largest producer of staple crops,
an estimated 300 million Indians are still undernourished.
India has only half as much land as USA, but it has nearly
three times population to feed.
 FOOD RESOURCES
• Our food problems are directly related to population. Because of
overgrazing the agricultural land gets affected as follows, it results into:
– Land degradation
– Soil erosion
– Loss of useful species
• Agriculture also makes impact on the usage of land generally as follows:
– Deforestation
– Soil Erosion
– Depletion of nutrients
• Impact of modern agriculture is as follows: There is
– Impact related to high yielding varieties (HYV)
– Fertilizers related problems include micronutrient imbalance, nitrite
pollution, eutrophication
• Pesticide related problems include creating resistance in pests and
producing new pests, death of non-target organisms, biological
magnification.
• Some other problems include water logging, salinity problems and such
others.
 ENERGY RESOURCES
We have always been using different form of energy obtained
from various sources for our daily activity like cooking,
heating, ploughing, transportation, lighting, etc. Different
forms of these energies are obtained from various sources.
Energy consumption of a nation is usually considered as an
index of its development. This is because almost all the
development activities are directly or indirectly dependent
upon energy.

Types of Energy Sources

There are two main categories of energy sources:
1-Conventional Sources of Energy, which are easily available
and have been in usage for a long time.
2-Non-Conventional Sources of Energy, that are other than the
usual, or that are different from those in common practice.
 ENERGY RESOURCES
Conventional Sources of Energy-
• Fossil Fuels
• Coal
• Oil and natural gases.

Non-Conventional Sources of Energy-

• Solar Energy
• Hydel /Hydro Energy
• Wind Energy
• Tidal Energy
• Nuclear Energy
• Hydrogen Energy
• Geothermal Energy
• Biogas
• Bio-fuel
CONSERVATION OF ENERGY SOURCES
• Minimize exploitation of non-renewable energy
resources.

• Emphasis on use of renewable sources of energy.

• Stop wastage of energy.

• Creating awareness among people regarding wise and

judicious use of energy.

• More use of bio-mass based energy.

 LAND RESOURCES

• The most important natural resource, upon which all human activity
is based since time immemorial, is land.
• Land resource is our basic resource.
• Throughout history, we have drawn most of our sustenance and
much of our fuel, clothing and shelter from the land.
• It is useful to us as a source of food, as a place to live, work and
play. It is a productive economic factor in agriculture, forestry,
grazing, fishing and mining.
• It is considered as a foundation of social prestige and is the basis of
wealth and political power.
 LAND RESOURCES
• Out of the total land area, as many as 175 million hectares
suffer from degradation.
• Land degradation is caused largely by soil erosion, but also
by water logging and excessive salinity.
• Most serious threat is deforestation.
The exponentially growing population.
The high degree of degradation of existing land resources,
the changing climate and increasing diversion of land from
agricultural to non-agricultural uses have aggravated the
problem.
The productivity of land has suffered to a great extent,
beyond repair
India, being a large agrarian society, has, therefore, an
enormous task to meet the growing demands for food, fuel,
fiber together with environmental security for its people in
the coming years.
 PROBLEMS

• Soil Erosion

– Water induced erosion

– Wind induced erosion

• Water Logging & Salinity

• Landslides
 SOIL EROSION
• Means wearing of soil
• Defined as “the movement of soil components, especially surface-
litter and top soil from one place to another.”
• It leads to loss of fertile soil layer
• Two types of Soil Erosion:
– Normal or geologic Erosion: Removal of top soil by natural
processes- physical, biological & hydrological activities
– Accelerated Erosion : mainly caused by anthropogenic
activities like overgrazing, deforestation, mining.
• Two factors :
– Climatic Agents- Water & wind
– Biotic Agents- Excessive grazing, deforestation, mining.
 WATER INDUCED SOIL EROSION
• Sheet Erosion: Uniform removal of thin layer of soil from large
surface area.
• Rill Erosion: Due to rainfall finger like grooves or rills are
formed, it is called rill erosion
• Gully Erosion: it is prominent in heavy rainfall, where deeper
cavities or gullies are formed of U /V shaped.
• Slip Erosion: this occurs due to heavy rainfall on slopes of hills
& mountains
• Stream bank Erosion :in rainy season, when fast running
streams take a turn in some direction, they cut the soil and
make caves in the banks.
 WIND INDUCED SOIL EROSION
• Saltation: This occurs due to direct pressure of stormy wind and the

soil particles of 1-1.5 mm diameter move up in vertical direction.

• Suspension: Here fine soil particles (less than 1 mm dia) which are

suspended in air are picked and taken away to distant places.

• Surface Creep: Here larger particles (5-10 mm dia) creep over the

soil surface along with wind.

 WATER LOGGING
• Result of excessive irrigation

• Pore spaces filled with water

• Roots cannot breath

• Make continuous column with water

• When evaporates leaves behind a white crust of salt

• Extremely high sodium quantity.

• Precious LAND RESOURCE IS WASTED

 CONSERVATION OF SOIL EROSION

• Conservational till farming

• Contour farming

• Terracing

• Strip Cropping

• Alley Cropping

• Wind breaks or Shelterbelts

 CONSERVATION OF SOIL
1. Maintenance of soil fertility: The fertility can be
maintained by adding manure and fertilizers regularly
as well as by rotation of crop.
2. Control on grazing: Grazing should be allowed only on
the areas meant for it and not on agricultural land.
3. Reforestation: Planting of trees and vegetation reduces
soil erosion by both water and wind.
4. Terracing: Dividing a slope into several flat fields to
control rapid run of water. It is practised mostly in hilly
areas.
5. Contour ploughing: Ploughing at right angles to the
slope allows the furrows to trap water and check soil
erosion by rain water.
 WILDLIFE CONSERVATION
The plants, animals and microorganisms other than the cultivated
plants and domesticated animals constitute the wildlife. Animals
and plants living in their natural habitat constitute wildlife. The
wildlife forms an important resource as it plays a major role in
maintaining ecological balance.

Need for Conservation of wildlife

Wildlife needs to be conserved for :

• maintaining ecological balance for supporting life.
• preserving different kinds of species (biodiversity).
• preserving economically important plants and animals.
• conserving the endangered species.
 Wildlife Conservation
Methods of Conservation of Wildlife
• Establishing biosphere reserves, national parks and sanctuaries.
• Afforestation (Tree planting programme).
• Special schemes for preservation of threatened species.
• Improvement of natural habitats of wildlife.
• Educating people about the need and methods of conservation of
wildlife.
• Formulation of Acts and Regulations to prevent poaching (killing
animals) for sports and money.
 DEPLETION OF THE
ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL
RESOURCES
• The future economic development and growth of the human
population in many countries will cause shortage of natural
resources, energy, food and water significant for the
development of humanity.
• Global society will face difficult and complex environmental
challenges. Under such circumstances, it is simply common
knowledge that an optimal use of one or another resource
will ensure their sustainability.
• In view of the economic, political and environmental
interests of the numerous parties involved, any decision on
the restrictions of the use of resources in the modern world
should be looked upon as a remarkable success.
 FUTURE TRENDS
The future economic development and growth of the human population in many
countries will cause shortage of natural resources, energy, food and water
significant for the development of humanity.
According to the report's projections, the current world population of 7.3 billion is
expected to reach 8.5 billion by 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050.Global society will
face difficult and complex environmental challenges.
Under such circumstances, it is simply common knowledge that an optimal use of
one or another resource will ensure their sustainability.
In view of the economic, political and environmental interests of the numerous
parties involved, any decision on the restrictions of the use of resources in the
modern world should be looked upon as a remarkable success.
 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the
present generation and conserves it for the future generation. So we
should leave water, air, soil and other natural resources as pure and
unpolluted as when it came on earth.
Sustainable development should include –
• reducing excessive use of resources and enhancing resource conservation.
• recycling and reuse of waste materials.
• scientific management of renewable resources, especially bio-resources.
• plant more trees.
• green grassy patches to be interspersed between concrete buildings.
• use more environment friendly material or biodegradable material.
• use of technologies, which are environmental friendly and based on
efficient use of resources.
SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF THE RESOURCES

Anthropogenic air Recommence and

and water pollution conservation of
balanced with the ecosystem’s
natural renewed productivity
processes SUSTAINABLE
MANAGEMENT
OF THE
RESOURCES
Conservation of
Efficient use and the biological and
management of the landscape
renewable natural diversity
resources not exceeding
capacity and
Flow efficiency and cyclization
reproduction limits
of the non renewable
resources.
Creation and introduction of
the renewable substitutes
Thank You………..