MANAGEMENT OF LAND RESOURCES

AND MINERAL RESOURCES

Environmental Management
M3 Planning
Done by- Adhithy Menon
TCR21MUP001
LAND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
LAND AS A RESOURCE
Land is the most critical limiting factors for many aspects of life. They are key resources in all
economic activities ranging from agriculture to industry. It is globally seen not a rare resources but
its spatial distribution is uneven and hence land stress is a threat to human life in many parts of the
world UNESCO, (2006)53 The world’s land resources are under stress from rising demand due to
population growth, climate change, urbanization and industrialization (Gleick and Palaniappan,
2010)16.
The importance of the land resource in the development process, particularly of the arid and semi-arid
regions, was recognized from ancient times in different parts of the world. Land availability is an
essential component of agricultural productivity. The limited land supplies constraint present
agricultural productivity and threatens the food security of many developing countries.
Agriculture consumes more freshwater than any other human activity.

SOURCE : (PDF) LAND RESOURCE: METHODS & MANAGEMENT (researchgate.net)

Concept and Definition of Management of Land Resources

Land Resource Management can be defined as “the use of land resources,

including soils, water, animals and plants, for the production of goods to meet
changing human needs, while simultaneously ensuring the long term
productive potential of these resources and the maintenance of their
environmental functions.”
UN: Earth Summit, (1992)11 Sustainable land and water Management, (SLM) is defined
as “ the use of land and water resources, including soils, water, plants and animals, for the
production of goods to meet changing human needs, while simultaneously ensuring the
long term productive potential of these resources and the maintained of their
environmental functions” CDE, (2010)7.

SOURCE : (PDF) LAND RESOURCE: METHODS & MANAGEMENT (researchgate.net)

1. Afforestation

Planting trees is the one of the best way to overcome

the issues of land degradation, soil erosion and
desertification. Afforestation as well as deforested
areas can improve the quality of human life by
absorbing pollution and dust from the air, mitigating
global warming, establish natural habitats and
ecosystems and provide timber and non-timber forest
products.

They play essential role in diluting the effect of natural

disasters and are essential life support systems for
local and indigenous communities.

SOURCE : 5 Strategies for Sustainable Management of Land Resources (thefreshanswers.com)

2. Forest Management

It is essential that our existing forests are managed in a wise

and sustainable manner rather than sacrificing them in the
name of developmental projects. Governments across the
world need enact and implement rules and policies to protect
the existing forests and also ensure to increase the forest
cover through afforestation and reforestation. It is the
responsibility of both government and citizens to protect
existing forests from the threats of illegal logging, invasive
species, diseases and overutilization. Programs like Joint
Forest Management and Social forestry are good models
where in multiple stakeholders have worked together to
protect the forests in India and have been able to increase the
green cover. The emphasis also should be on use of
technology in order to find solutions to various threats on
forests.

SOURCE : 5 Strategies for Sustainable Management of Land Resources (thefreshanswers.com)

3. Farming Methods

New farming methods need to be constantly

devised in order to reduce the usage of
pesticides, fertilizers and excessive irrigation.
● Mixed farming
● Organic farming
● Rice fish farming
● Developing nano-fertilizers
● Improving irrigation technology to conserve
water
● Use of mulch and manure
● Using wild variety of seeds
are all ways which can be used to conserve the
fertility of soil and improve the agricultural output
as well.

SOURCE : 5 Strategies for Sustainable Management of Land Resources (thefreshanswers.com)

4. Water Management

Water is an important constituent of soil and very

important for soil formation, maintaining soil fertility and
preventing soil erosion.
Both surface and ground water need to be monitored
regularly as loss of groundwater makes the soil
susceptible to erosion and degradation.
Overutilization of groundwater needs to be addressed by
a coordinated effort of both government and the citizens
in order to prevent soil erosion, land degradation and
desertification.
Better irrigation technology, judicious crop management,
understanding soil characteristics, reducing surface
water pollution are all important steps to proper
management of existing water resources.

SOURCE : 5 Strategies for Sustainable Management of Land Resources (thefreshanswers.com)

5. Waste Management

Developing effective solid waste

management technologies and
practices are important to reduce the
dumping of waste in landfills and other
areas on land and to reduce the quantity
of non-biodegradable and other toxic
compounds mixing into the soil.

SOURCE : 5 Strategies for Sustainable Management of Land Resources (thefreshanswers.com)

MINERAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
What are Mineral Resources?
A mineral is a naturally occurring substance, representable by a chemical formula, that is
usually solid and inorganic, and has a crystal structure.

Mineral resources are the key material basis for socio-economic development. Statistical results
show that more than 95% of energy used by mankind, 80% of industrial raw materials and 70% of
raw materials for agricultural production are from mineral resources.

A mineral is a pure inorganic substance that occurs naturally in the earth’s crust. More than
two-thousand minerals have been identified and most of these are inorganic, which are formed by
the various combination of elements. However, a small proportion of the earth’s crust contains
organic materials, consisting of single elements such as gold, silver, diamond, and sulfur.
Types of Mineral Resources Characteristics of Mineral Resources

● Quantity and quality of mineral resources are

inversely related i.e. if we get good quality of a
mineral then it is likely that we will not get enough
quantity of the resource.

● Mineral resources are exhaustible by nature. They

take a long time to develop but take less time to
be used so as a result there is net depletion of
these resources. And hence they need to be used
in a sustainable way so that they get enough time
to develop and hence remain conserved.

● Mineral resources are crucial in the development

of a country. Large scale industries or the
manufacturing sector are more often than not
dependent on mineral resources.
Use and exploitation
The main uses of minerals are as follows:
● Development of industrial plants and
machinery
● Generation of energy
● Construction, housing, settlements
● Defense equipments, weapons,
armaments
● Transportation means
● Communication - telephone wires,
cables, electronic devices
● Formation of alloys for various
purposes
● Agriculture

SOURCE : Mineral Resources And Their Conservation (indiastudychannel.com)

Negative consequences of mineral extraction for the environment

Some of the negative consequences of modern mining for the environment , which turn out to be the most important,
are the following:

● Changes in the morphology of the terrain : the extraction of minerals on the surface of the earth gives rise to
large excavations. In addition, large areas of land are deforested, resulting in loss of soil due to erosion, loss of
habitats of many forms of life, loss of biodiversity or alteration of some biogeochemical cycles such as water.
● Air Pollution: Mineral extractions release dust and other toxic gases into the environment, which originate from
explosions that break up rocks. These gases can cause serious respiratory problems for humans and animals that
live in nearby areas. In addition, they are gases that can rise into the atmosphere and cause the greenhouse
effect, contributing to climate change and its terrible consequences.
● Pollution to surface waters: sometimes, the chemical materials that are used or released during the extractions,
are not treated correctly and can accidentally leak into the surface waters, contaminating them and causing
serious damage to their fauna and flora such as their loss. Animals, in many cases, that feed by filtration, so that
the toxic compounds can pass through the trophic chains.
● Groundwater contamination: mine waste is usually washed by rainwater and is sometimes carried and filtered
into groundwater reservoirs, contaminating them.
● Damage to flora and fauna: damage that occurs as a result of the above points. The number of species is
diminished, they are displaced from their habitat, and so on.

SOURCE : How mineral extraction affects the environment | AgroCorrn

Negative consequences of mineral extraction for the environment

SOURCE : (PDF) Mineral Resources and Sustainable Development (researchgate.net)

Conservation of minerals
Minerals are formed by inorganic processes of long duration. Minerals are exhaustible and
non-renewable resources. Extraction of minerals has increased at large scale to meeting the ever
increasing population of country. Due to improper and excessive use, minerals in certain regions
are on the verge of extinction. Hence, there is a need of conservation of minerals. Following
measures are necessary for the conservation of minerals:
• Control population growth to reduce demand for minerals.
• Create social awareness regarding conservation of minerals.
• Reuse and recycle minerals.
• Avoid use and acceptance of minerals which are not essential.
• Modern technology plays an important role in the conservation of minerals.

SOURCE : Mineral Resources And Their Conservation (indiastudychannel.com)

Management of mineral resources
Recycling activities continue to gain in importance as the demand for raw materials and energy savings increases.
Recycling in a broad sense, including re-use, is a major component of sustainable development.
It is a complex domain, because the technical possibilities for recycling are very different between the various
materials.
Some metals have high recycling rates: transition elements, such as copper or iron, as well as precious metals,
gold, platinum- group metals and silver. They are relatively easy to melt and refine because of their chemical
stability.
Most materials are, in fact, inherently recyclable: the stocks used by our society can result in “urban mines” from which
metals and other mineral materials can be reclaimed (Ciacci et al. 2017).

However, unless future end-of-life recycling rates are dramatically stepped up and the price of raw materials is
high enough, the recycling rates of rare elements – such as the rare earths, zirconium, and tantalum – may
continue to be desperately low, which currently applies to some metals used in minute quantities in mobile phones,
computers, battery packs or fuel cells. There is a consensus that it should be a requirement to include the concept of
recycling at the design stage of modern high-tech products, which would make it possible to recover genuine
“secondary raw materials” at the end of a product’s lifetime.

SOURCE : Mineral Resources And Their Conservation (indiastudychannel.com)

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