CONCEPT OF RESOURCES

Concept of Resources:

The word 'resource' does not refer to a thing or a substance but to a function which a thing or a substance may perform or to an operation in which it may take part, namely, the function or operation of attaining a given end such as satisfying a want. Thus, a resource satisfies individual human wants or attains socialobjectives. Hence, a resource can be tangible as well as intangible.

Resources are always having two properties: first effective ability and second - utility. Both these qualities make anything or substance as a resource.

The Concept of Resources is highly dynamic in nature. It depends on the technological development of humans, which in turn is a function of social and economic development.

A resource is manmade entity. We with our technology are able to convert materials of nature into resources. Eg. Shale gas technology, nanotechnology, etc.
Resources like land resources can become a dynamic resources with the development of cost effective vertical farming technology.
Classification of resources:
Resources can be classified on the basis of their nature, durability, ownership, and distribution pattern.
On the basis of the nature of resources:

Material resources are tangible substances such as iron ore, copper, coal, petroleum, and other minerals. Material resources are further divided into two groups:

► Organic resources: like forest, fish, livestock, etc.

► Inorganic resources: all types of minerals.

Non-material resources are intangible substances like health conditions, culture, freedom, environmental harmony, etc.
On the basis of the durability of resources: There are two types of resources based on durability. These are:

Fund or exhaustible resources: These are not everlasting and get finished aft a particular time. They cannot be created or generated by man but are a result of long geological processes. All the minerals come in this category. Coal, petroleum, iron ore, uranium, copper, mica all are exhaustible resources. The rate of utilization of these resources by humans is greater than the rate of creation by nature.
Flow or inexhaustible resources: These can be used continuously because of their tendency of renewal. Their supply remains unchanged even after renewed use. Such resources are river water, sunshine, wind, sea waves, etc. The forests if properly managed can also be used for a long time. The rate of utilization of these resources by humans is lesser than the rate of creation by nature. These are renewable resources.
- On the basis of ownership of resources: Three categories of resources have been identified on the

basis of their ownership:

Individual resources: They are those which belong to the individual. These are both tangible resources i.e. property, money, wealth, and intangible resources like knowledge, wisdom, health, etc.
Nationalresources: They belong to the nation. These resources include both natural and economic resources. Water, air, forest, minerals, sea resources are mostly national resources. For the utilization of these resources, every nation has its own policies.
International resources: They are also known as world resources. They are owned by the global population or by international organizations. The sum total of all material and non-material resources come under this category.

Note: According to Karl Marx, resources, where human labour has not been involved in their production, are common propertyresources.For e.g.land, atmosphere, oceans, etc. Resources, where human labour is involved in their production, are called resources with private ownership.

On the basis of the distribution of resources: Resources can be classified into two groups on the basis of their distribution or availability. These are:

Ubiquitous resources are found everywhere e.g. sunshine, air, water, etc. while localized resources are found at some particular place such as petroleum, uranium, iron ore and all other mineral resources.

General classification of resources:

Natural resources: Any element of our natural environment such as soil, water, wildlife, minerals, etc. that man can utilize to promote his welfare may be identifi as a natural resource. They vary greatly in quantity, mutability, and reuse.
Economic Resources: In this category. those resources are included which are useful for man from the economic pointofview.Theresources like minerals, power, marine and agriculture resources, forest resources, animal resources are economically useful, therefore called economic resources.
Human Resources: They refer not to human beings as such, but to the qualities they possess and which can be used by the community for some useful purpose. Human resource does not originate spontaneously. It is cultivated through education and proper training.In fact, human resources are the energies, skills, talent, and knowledge of people which potentially can and should be applied to the production of goods and services.

If we want to convert the population into a human resource, two basic qualities are required - a

healthy and skilled population.

Resource Dilemma:

Resources are the gift of nature and also developed by man through his skill, knowledge, and

technology. Earlier man was not particular about resources, because his wants were limited and he used to fulfill them easily. But, with industrialization, technological development, and growth of population, the use of resources has also increased.

In this process of the utilization of resources, man often misuses their availability, thus affecting the

natural ecosystem as well as facing their scarcity. With the overexploitation of resources it was soon realized that resources are not unlimited and unless properly used the day is not far off when he will not only be deprived of them but he will also have to face ecological consequences.

These issues have given rise to two major dilemmas on resources.
Principle of resource adequacy and scarcity
- There are three basic views on resource adequacy.

o Ecologist view believes that resources are finite. As the population grows, resource scarcity is bound to arise. Thus, resources should be conserved to secure the survival of humanity. If the population growth goes beyond the carrying capacity, there will emerge a resource crisis. For eg. The Resource crisis in Africa particularly in countries like Madagascar which is going to witness a famine due to climate change.

The Technocentric view believes that the resources are inexhaustible as they depend upon development of technology. It believes that "resources are not, they become". As Zimmerman remarks, "man's own wisdom is his premiere resource - the key resource that unlocks the universe."
The socialist view focuses on the rate of consumption of resources. They believe that the problem of resource scarcity is, not a problem of resource exhaustibility, but the problem related with the unequal distribution of resources.
All these three views on resources can be summed up in the following equation,

I= PAT

Here, I= impact on environment, P= population size, A= affluence (rate of consumption), T= technology

Principle of environment conservation:

The second dilemma pertains to the paradox between resource exploitation and environment conservation. There are two major views on this issue:
First, Ecocentric view believes that, any resource exploitation always causes damage to the environment. Thus, according to them, resource exploitation and development are incompatible with environment conservation. Ultimately humans have to choose between one of these objectives.
Second, Technocentric view believes that technological development takes care of the damage

caused to the environment due to resource exploitation. Thus they believe that instead of worrying about environmental degradation, the focus should be on the development of resources and technology.

In recent times, a synthesis view has emerged which believes that both resource development and
environmental conservation are simultaneously possible. This view is referred to as Sustainable Development. It is based on the concept of equity- not just spatial but also inter-generational.
Resource Management:
It is a process or method through which there is the most effi utilization of resources.
This effi utilization of resources is subject to the dilemmas discussed earlier. It involves the effi of production, distribution, and environmental conservation.
The production and distribution aspects are debated today in the form of free-market vs. state/community. Whereas environmental conservation is reflected in the idea of Technocentricism vs. Ecocentricism.

Free market vs. state:

The free market way is said to be the better way of resource management, as the free market has several advantages likedemand and supply which automatically indicates the innovators of the available opportunity in the maretdue to demand and supply forces.
In a free market, there is enough presence of rewards like a patent. Hence there is high effi which takes care of resource inadequacy.
However, it is said that the idea of free competition is utopian. Actually a monopoly/oligopoly exists in the market. The prime motive is earning profits. Hence the resources created may not be of benefit to the society. Free market also fails to take care of the equity. Hence there is need for the state tointervene. For e.g. US companies trying to patent 'neem', which is a heritage Indian commodity.
The advantage of the state would be that it would not only be in a position to develop the resource, but also look into the factor of equity.
- In this case as well there is a middle path where some resources are left to the private sectors, while some are left for the state. Eg. National parks, sanctuaries reserved for the state, nuclear energy resources reserved for the state, whereas in the case of other minerals private sectors can also participate. Hence, there is the rise of a 'mixed economy.

Ecocentricvs. Technocentric:

A balance is achieved by way of following sustainable techniques for resource management. For e.g. development of gas-based fuel, solar energy, electric vehicles, etc.
- While Ecocentricism is suited for some sectors like an ecosystem, forests, etc., Techno centrism is used for sectors like mineral development which passes through the stage of industrialization.

LAND RESOURCES

The earth's surface consists of 29% of land area (around 149 million km2) and 71% of ocean (around 361 million km2).
Of this land surface, 71% area is habitable while 10% area is covered by glaciers. Similarly, around
19% of the land is barren. This barren land consists of mountainous land, desert land, plateau land, etc. In this barren land, population density is low.
The habitable land is known as the Ecumene area and others like glaciers, barren land is non
ecumene.
Of habitable land, half of the land is utilized for agricultural purposes (around 50%). And 37% of the area is under forest cover while 11% of the habitable area comes under shrubs. 1% of the land is urban built up. The built-up area is cities and urban infrastructure while another 1 % of the area is occupied by Freshwater which includes rivers, lakes, etc.
Further, 77% of the agricultural land is used for Livestock, meat, and dairy( pasture and grazing land)
and 23% of the agricultural land is used for cropping.
For much of human history, most of the world's land was a wilderness: forests, grasslands, and shrubbery dominated its landscapes. Over the last few centuries, this has changed dramatically: wild habitats have been squeezed out by turning them into agricultural land.
If we rewind 1000 years, it is estimated that only 4 million square kilometers - less than 4% of the
world's ice-free and non-barren land area were used for farming.
Today 10% of the world is covered by glaciers, and a further 19% is barren land - deserts, dry salt flats, beaches, sand dunes, and exposed rocks. This leaves what we call 'habitable land'. Half of all habitable land is used for agriculture.
This leaves only 37%for forests; 11% as shrubs and grasslands; 1% as freshwater coverage; and the remaining 1% is built-up urban areas which include cities, towns, villages, roads, and other human infrastructure.
There is also a highly unequal distribution of land use between livestock and crops for human consumption. If we combine pastures used for grazing with land used to grow crops for animal feed, livestock accounts for 77% of global farming land.
While livestock takes up most of the world's agricultural land it only produces 18% of the world's
calories and 37% of total protein.
The expansion of agriculture has been one of humanity's largest impacts on the environment. It has transformed habitats and is one of the greatest pressures for biodiversity: of the 28,000 species evaluated to be threatened with extinction on the IUCN Red List, agriculture is listed as a threat for 24,000 of them. But we also know that we can reduce these impacts-both through dietary changes, by substituting some meat with plant-based alternatives, and through technological advances. Crop yields have increased significantly in recent decades, meaning we have spared a lot of land from agricultural production: globally, to produce the same number of crops as in 1961, we need only 30% of the farmland.
With solutions from both consumers and producers, we have an important opportunity to restore
some of this farmland back to forests and natural habitats.
Global land allocated to livestock either in the form of grazing land or cropland used for animal feed is equivalent to the area of the Americas (North, Central and South Americal combined);
- Cropland (minus land used for the production of animal feed) is equivalent to the area of East Asia-
- Forested area is equal to Africa (minus Libya), the Middle East and South Asia;
- Global freshwater (inland water bodies) approximates to the area of Mongolia
- Total build-up land (villages, towns, cities & infrastructure) would fit into an area the size of Libya;
- Shrub land is equivalent to an area the size of East Asia-Pacific, from Malaysia southwards;
- Barren land is equivalent to the size of Europe;
- Glaciers (permanent ice & snow) approximates to an area of Antarctica & Greenland combined.
Pacifi extending as far south as Thailand;

Changes in the land use pattern of the world

Changes in the land use pattern of the world is found at twojunctures:
The first change comes from the Medieval Period and during this period, there was a little increase
in the total area under agriculture.
The second change occurred in the Modern period. This was a significant/ exponential increase in the total area under agriculture.

o Medieval Period

► During this period, the factor which led to the increase is technological change and this is the

period where the agricultural revolution took place. Even before, there was the maturing of agriculture taking place.

► There was also greater food production which led to the gradual increase in the world population.

► There was also a change in political-economic factors. In Europe, as the population was increasing, it was felt that there was more need for food production. But the problem was that for food production, an increase in investment was required. Before this, there was community based ownership of land. In community-based ownership of land, most of the people are given a certain piece of land by the community. So, the land is divided among the individuals, and everyone will have limited land which means limited surplus. Intensifying the inputs of agriculture is the way to improve agricultural production but it requires lots of surplus production. But this type of agriculture was subsistence agriculture. Then kings started a new kind of land ownership which is called feudalism. Feudalism is a type of system where the ownership of land is in the hands of a few individuals. Thus, the feudal lords became the managers of the land and other people became the laborers. This system led to greater effi in production. So, change was one of the politico-economic factors which led to the gradual increase in agricultural production.

o Modern Period: Factors that led to change in the modern period:

► Technological change and this change came in the form of the industrial revolution, and this was one of the major factors that led to change in the present patt of land. In this period, the exponential increase is seen not only in agriculture but also in industrial and built-up areas.

►Bett food security and medical facilities led to the lowering of mortality rates which resulted in an exponential increase in population and this increased population required more and more land to be brought under the agricultural land.

► Political - economic factors: There was an emergence of capitalism.

► Cultural Factors: Spread of Christianity to newly found worlds. This Christianity is a dairy and livestock-based culture. This led to the exponential increase in agricultural activity.

Land use areas
- High agricultural land use areas: These are Monsoon Regions, Steppe Grassland regions. The Monsoon region is where the dominance of cropping is found while the dominance of grazing is found in the steppe region. Over 60% of the land use comes under these regions.
  - Medium Land Agriculture Use: 20-60% of the land use comes under this category.
  - Low Agriculture Land use areas: It includes tropical rain forests, tropical-subtropical Deserts, Polar and subpolar regions, Taiga. Less than 20% of land use comes under this region.
There is large variability in the share of land a given country uses for agriculture. Allocation ranges from less than ten percent, particularly across countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Scandinavian region close to 80 percent across most regions (including the UK, Uruguay, South Africa, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia). It's important to note that this metric includes both lands used for arable (cropland) production and pastureland for livestock grazing. It means that agriculture can consume a large share of land area, even in arid and semi-arid regions where extensive arable farming is not possible.
There are two main uses of agricultural land: arable farming (which is land dedicated to growing crops), and pastureland (which includes meadows and pastures used for livestock rearing). In the chart here we see a global map of land used for arable agriculture (as a share of total land area).
- For most countries, as we will show in the section below, land use for livestock grazing is dominant relative to arable farming. For most countries, land dedicated to cropland is typically below 20 percent, with many countries dedicating less than 10 percent. There are some notable exceptions, however; countries in South Asia and Europe allocate a large share of land area to arable farming. India, Bangladesh, Ukraine, and Denmark all dedicated more than half of total land area to cropland in 2015.

For most countries, the majority of agricultural land is used for livestock rearing in the form of pastureland. In the map here we see the share of permanent meadows and pasture as a percentage of the total land area.
As a contrast to arable farming, land use for livestock in Europe and South Asia, in particular, is
typically less than 20 percent. However, most continental regions have countries where pastureland reaches close to half of the total land area. In some countries (particularly in Central Asia, including Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan) this can reach up to 70 percent. Livestock farming can take place across a range of diverse climatic and environmental regions (for example, ranging from catt rearing in temperate regions to sheep farming in hilly and semi-arid terrain). It means that this type of agriculture is potentially less geographicallyconstrained than arable farming.

Global population has more than doubled over the last 50 years. To meet the demands of a rapidly growing population on a planet with finite land resources, reducing our per capita land footprint is essential.
In the chart here we have plotted trends of the average arable land use per person across the world's regions.Overall, we see that the arable land use per capita has declined across all regions since 1961. Per capita land use is highest in North America- more than double the land use of any other region.
Land use in Asia- both in South and East Asia is lowest (5-6 times less than in North America). Rates of reduction in South Asia have been the most dramatic; per capita land use in 2014 was roughly one third of its value in 1961.

In the chart here we see the global area of land use in agriculture by major crop types, from 1961 to 2014. Overall, we see that the majority of our arable land is used for cereal production; this has grown from around 650 to 720 million hectares (an area roughly twice the size of Germany) over this period. The total land area used for coarse grains has remained approximately constant over this 50 years period and is the 2nd largest user of arable land.
- The most dramatic increase in land allocation is in the production of oil crops. The total land area used for oil crop production has increased almost 3-fold since 1961- an area just short of the size of Mexico. All other crop types take up less than 100 million hectares of global area.

In India, there is nine categories of land i.e., Forest, Land not available for cultivation, Net Sown Area, etc. as shown in figure below-

There are two major trends of Forest Land Use
- 1950-51 to 1970-71 ( Major Increase): Much of this major increase was related to increasing in the reporting area.
- After (1970-71):( Slow Increase): Outcome of conservation eff ( protected Area Network) and the afforestation drives which led to the increase in the Forest Cover. Actually, there was a certain degradation of forest land e.g., Dense forest cover was changed to moderate and low-density forests.

India- Land utilization

Forest Area: The categories include any land classed or administered as a forest under legal enactment. During 1950-51 the area under forest was only 14.2% in India. But it increased 22.5% in 1999-2000. According to National Forest Policy 1952, the reporting area of the forest must be 33.3% of the total land. During the decade of 1950-51 and 1970-71, there was maximum growth in the forest area. The proportion of the forest area is not evenly distributed in the country. As per the India state of forest report, 2019 Mizoram has the maximum (85.41%) forest cover area of the total land and if we also take UTs into account, Lakshadweep has the highest percentage of forest cover 90.33%. Whereas Punjab and Haryana have the lowest percentage of forest cover.

Land notAvailableforCultivation:

This category includes two subtypes o Non-agricultural uses
- Barren and uncultivated Land
The land used for human sett transport routes, canals, quarries, mountains, deserts, marshes, etc, are coming under this category. It accounts for 16.71o/o of the total land in India during the period of 1950-51 and this has been decreased to 14.2% in 2014-15. The largest amount in this category is in Arunachal Pradesh followed by Rajasthan, MP, and Gujarat. Whereas Dadra and Haveli, Andaman Nicobar, Sikkim are having less area under this category.

Uncultivable Land (Excluding Follow Land):

This category consists of three types of land vz. o Permanent pasture and grazing land
Land under miscellaneous tree crops and groves. o
Cultivable wasteland
Cultivable waste land denotes land considered by present judgments as cultivable but actually not

cultivated during the current year and last five years or more in succession. Permanent pasture and other grazing lands i.e., all grazing lands which may be permanent meadows and village common pasture. The area under miscellaneous trees, crops, and groves overcome all cultivable land which is not included in the net area sown but is put to some agricultural use other than seasonal cropping. In the ensuing discussion, they are considered together. This is potential agricultural land that will be available for extension of agriculture but not cultivated owing to different reasons. Under this category, 17.3% is covered during 1950-51 but till 2014-16 it has been decreased to 8.3 o/o of the total land of India.

Fallow Land

The term "Fallow" is applied to lands not under cultivation at the time of reporting, but which have been

sown in the past. The duration of the period for which land remains fallow is different in different parts of the study region.

This land use category consists of:

o Other fallow lands o Current fallow land

Current fallow means the lands left unsown during the current agricultural year only to regain fertility

and also that which remained uncultivated in the short term for want of moisture and economic reasons. Other fallow lands comprise all land which was taken up for a period of not less than one year and not more than five years. This type of land is mainly found in Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. The area under this category also decreased from 1950-51 to 2014-15.

Cultivated Land

India is the only country in the world that has maximum land under this category of its total land. The net sown area is the land that is being actively filled for the raising of crops. The net area sown is the actual area under crops counting areas sown more than once in the same years only once. Net area sown represents the extent of the cultivated area actually sown during the agricultural year. It may be referred to as net cropped area also. 41.77% of the total land is covered under net shown area during the period of 1950-51 while in 2014-15 it became 45.5%

Problems of Land Use in India Population change:

India has the second largest population in the world but scarce land resources. In 2011, India's
population reached 121 crores, about 17 percent of the world population while the net sown area was about 140 million ha in 2012-13, about 0.12 ha per capita, and less than half of the world average of
0.23 ha.
This problem of limited availability of land has been compounded by the growth in population, urbanization, and diversion of productive agricultural land for non-agriculture purposes.
During the last two decades, India's population has increased by about 18.4 crores, while the total agricultural land has decreased by about 3.2 million ha.

Loss of Agricultural Land

According to the recent Land Use Statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, a total agricultural land of nearly 3.16 million ha (1.5 lakh ha per year) was lost to other sectors in the years between Triennium Ending (TE) 1991- 92 and TE 2012-13.
On the other hand, the area under non-agricultural uses has increased by over five million ha (21.3
million ha to 26.4 million ha) during the same period.
Taking into account the additional area added by reclamation and rehabilitation of culturable wastelands (about 2.4 million ha), it is estimated that a total net sown area of about 4 million ha (1.8 lakh ha per year) has been lost during the last two decades. This loss of agricultural land is mainly due to rapid economic and industrial development, infrastructure expansion, rising population, urbanization, landdegradation, etc.

Growth

India has been experiencing rapid urbanization over the last few decades, which accelerated during the last decade. In 1981, the proportion of the urban population in the country was 23.4 percent, which marginally increased and reached 25.7 percent in 1991 and 27.8 percent in 2001. However, between 2001 and 2011, the proportion of the urban population increased from 27.8 percent to 31.2 percent (an increase of 3.4%, the highest ever during the last four decades).

Industrial Growth

In order to give a boost to manufacturing, increase exports and create employment opportunities, the government announced the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) policy in April 2000 and the Special Economic Zones Act. 2005 was passed by the Parliament in 2005. Aft the SEZ Act in 2005, 491 formal approvals have been granted for setting up of SEZs, out of which 352 have been notified and are at various stages of operations. Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh account for nearly 85 percent of the SEZs approved so far. About 56,067 ha of land has been acquired for formally approved SEZs in the country as of December 31, 2014.

However, some concerns have been expressed about the land acquisition for SEZs. For example, the Comptroller and Auditor General Performance Audit Report on Special Economic Zones has categorically mentioned in the report that land appeared to be the most crucial and att component of the scheme as out of nearly 45,636 ha of land notified for SEZs, less than half of it (42.9%) has been utilized and remaining area is lying vacant in the processing area. In addition, developers have also de-notified the land purchased for SEZs. For example, out of 39,246 ha of land notified six states, about 14% was de-notified and diverted for commercial purposes in several cases.

Infrastructure Growth

High economic growth during the two decades has also spurred growth in rail, road and port traffic, necessitating further infrastructure improvements and therefore demand for more land. For example, total road length has increased by about 45 percent, from about 3.37 million km/s in 2001 to nearly 4.87 million km in 2012. Moreland is required for the development of roads, railways, ports, airports, and other rural infrastructure but the acquisition of land is becoming a major issue and needs to be addressed by the Center as well as the States.

Land Fragmentation

In addition to declining availability of agricultural land, farmland fragmentation, as a demographically

induced change in landholding structure, and declining farm size are other major problems of Indian agriculture. The average farm size has declined to 1.15 ha in 2010-11 as compared to 2.28 ha in 1970-

71. The small and marginal holdings (below 2.00 ha) accounted for over 85 percent in 2010-11 as against 69.9 in 1970-71 and the operating area at 44.6 percent in 2010-11 compared with 20.9 percent in 1970-71.

The proportion of marginal holdings (<1.00 ha) increased from 51 percent to 67.1 percent during the

last four decades. Agricultural land is fragmented in many states and the problem of land fragmentation has been identifi a long time ago.

The average number of parcels per holding has been declining but fragmentation is still a problem in

many states. For example, theaverage number of parcels varied from about 1.2 in Punjab, Kerala, Gujarat, and many north-eastern states to 4.62 in Himachal Pradesh, 4.42 in Uttarakhand, 4.09 in Chhatt and 3.24 in Jammu & Kashmir, with a national average of about 2.22.

The average area per parcel in 2005-06 was 0.26 ha on marginal farms and 0.54 ha on small farms

Desertification:

It is a process through which land becomes unsuitable for cultivation or to support vegetation.

Data:

Currently, 97.85 million hectares (mha) of land-an area 2.5 times the size of India's largest state Rajasthan-has already been degraded. Of this, 3.32 mha-an area 22 times the size of Delhi-has been added in the 15 years between 2003-05 and 2018-19.
- Around 23.95% (2011-13) and 23.64% (2003-05) of desertification/land degradation with respect
- The most significant process of desertification/ land degradation in the country is Water Erosion
to the total geographical area is contributed by Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana in descending order. All other remaining states are contributing less than 1% (individually) of desertification/land degradation.

(10.98% in 2011-13 and 10.83% in 2003-05). The second most significant process is Vegetation Degradation (8.91% in 2011-13 and 8.60% in 2003-05), which is followed by Wind erosion (5.55 %

in 2011-13 and 5.58 % in 2003-05).

Major causes of land degradation of India

Excessive Population Pressure on Land: India's population of over 1350 million people is more than that of the whole world prior to the Industrial Revolution.
Deforestation: India loses 1.3 million hectares of forests per year. One of the major causes of

desertification is the cutting down of trees. According to the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), India had less than 11.4% of the area under forest as per the 1992 observation. But the more recent satellite pictures show that the forest cover is now less than 10%.

Erosion: Loss of vegetative cover has made land more susceptible to erosion. Agents of erosion like

wind and water have left vast tracts of land barren. Water erodes topsoil to an extent of around 12,000 million tonnes (mt ) per annum. The loss of topsoil represents a permanent depletion of the resource base. The annual loss caused by the erosion of topsoil through water comes to Rs.12,000 Crores.

Over-Irrigation: Big irrigation projects no doubt have brought prosperity to millions of farmers. But,
due to over-enthusiasm, many farmers have resorted to successive cropping and over-irrigation, thereby leading to water-logging and consequent salinization and alkalinization. This situation mainly arises due to poor drainage.
Floods and Droughts: It is ironic that in India both floods and droughts occur regularly and alternately.
35% of the land is drought-prone and receives rainfall of less than 750 mm. Another 18.5% of the land receiving 750-1000 mm. falls in the transitional zone. The remaining 46.5% receiving rainfall of over 1000 mm. falls under the humid zone.
- The impact of drought leads to a shortage of fodder, shortage of drinking water, loss in agricultural production, and a general decline in living standards.
- Drought is both man-made and environment-induced. Man has played a key role in the creation of drought-prone areas due to his over-exploitation of natural resources like forests, degradation of grazing lands, excessive withdrawal of groundwater, silting of tanks, rivers, etc.
- Floods, on the other hand, are caused by heavy rains in a very short period. Each situation could have been altered had there been good vegetal cover. Vegetation helps in reducing run-off increasing infiltration, and reducing soil erosion. The land area prone to floods has doubled from 20 million hectares to above 40 million hectares in the last ten years.
Grazing: India possesses an area that is just a fortieth of the total land area of the world supporting
197 million cattle and ranking first in the world for cattle population. To support such an immense cattle population, we have only 13 mha, as pastureland.
- This has led to serious problems as animals have encroached into forest lands and even agricultural lands. Due to lack of green fodder, animals are pushed to the fringes of reserve forests and are thus destabilizing the forest vegetation.
- Land degradation due to overgrazing leads to desert-like conditions which, in turn, reduce animal productivity and increase the economic pressure on human beings who depend on animals for their livelihood.
- Grazing would not be a problem if the dung of the animals is left as fertilizer. Unfortunately, it is removed to be used as fuel, to be sold to intensively farmed areas, etc.
Pollution: Pollution of land is caused by the disposal of solid waste, refuse from domestic, industrial,
and agricultural sectors.
- Industrial wastes are: (i) Chemical residues, (ii) Fly ash from thermal power stations, (iii) Plastics,

(iv) Rubber, (v) Glass, (vi) Discarded Metal

Agricultural residues are: (i) Pesticides and (ii) Fertilizers
- Another major source of pollution not known to the public is the creation of derelict land due to mining. Roughly 0.8 mha of land in India is despoiled due to open or surface and underground mining activities.

Impacts:

Soil Erosion: Soil erosion by water is one of the most serious degradations in the Indian context. Soil erosion was taking place at an average rate of 16.35 tonnes/ha/yr totaling 5334 Million tonnes/yr.
- The land degradation due to wind erosion is limited to arid and semiarid regions of India, including the states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat, and Punjab. Removal of natural vegetative cover resulting from excessive grazing and the extension of agriculture to the marginal areas are the major human-induced factors leading to accelerated wind erosion.
  - Salinization and Alkalization: The net irrigated area in India has increased from about 22 M ha in
  - Acidity: The largest areas covered by acid soils in India belong to laterites and various latosol. e. g.,
  - Soil Organic Carbon Losses: Alfisols, Ultisols, and Oxisols are prone to chemical deterioration owing
  - Nutrients: Nutrient losses could occur in many ways, i.e., via emission to the air as NH3, N2O, NO, and
1950 to about more than 51 M ha at present. In most of the expansion, the area is increased under canal irrigation that leads to a rise in groundwater table resulting in the soil deterioration through the accumulation of salts. These soils contain excessive amounts of either soluble salts or exchangeable sodium or both affecting crop yields and crop production.
Ferruginous red soils, ferruginous gravelly red soils, mixed red and black, or red and yellow soils. It is reported that about 6.98 M ha area is affected by acid soils, which is about 9.4% of Total geographical area. These soils formed due to excessive leaching of cations with high rainfall, resulting in lowering of pH and loss of soil fertility.
to nutrient depletion due to pedogenic processes for soil development. The base saturation of these soils is very less especially in Ultisols and Oxisols as compared to Alfisols. In India, nearly 3.7 M ha is deteriorated due to the depletion of organic matter.

N2, and discharge to the water through runoff, leaching, and erosion

Pollution/Contamination by Toxic Substances: Both geogenic and anthropogenic factors cause pollution/contamination of soil and water resources. However, their impact varies with rainfall pattern, depth, and geology of aquifer. There are naturally occurring minerals in aquitards in different regions, which control the concentration of geogenic pollutants, such as arsenic (As), uranium (Ur), fluoride (F), boron (B), and selenium (Se) in alluvial aquifers.

Land Degradation World Scenario:

Globally, about 25 percent of the total land area has been degraded. Scientists recently warned that 24 billion tons of fertile soil were being lost per year, largely due to unsustainable agriculture practices. If this trend continues, 95 percent of the Earth's land areas could become degraded by 2050.
Globally, 3.2 billion people are aff by land degradation, especially rural communities,

smallholder farmers, and the very poor.

The problems are particularly severe in the driest parts of the planet. Dryland landscapes cover approximately 40 percent of the world's land area and support two billion people. The vast majority of people who depend on drylands live in developing countries, where women and children are most vulnerable to the impacts of land degradation and drought.

Geography

Geography

Geography

Geography

Geography