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MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

Why do We Need to Manage our Resources

• The resources of the earth are limited. Because of the rapid increase in human population,
the demand for resources is increasing day by day.
• The proper management of natural resources takes into consideration long-term perspective
(or view) and prevents their exploitation to the hilt for short-term gains.
• The proper management can ensure equitable distribution of natural resources.
• For example, if some forest trees have to be cut for various purpose, then the damage to the
environment can be minimised by planting new saplings in place of cut down trees.
Q. “We need to manage our resources.” List two reasons to justify this statement.(Delhi 2014)
Ans. We need to manage our natural resources because (i) the resources of the earth are limited
and (ii) the proper management of our resources ensures their equitable distribution.
Q. How do advantages of exploiting natural resources with short term gains in mind differ
from the advantages of managing our resources with a long-term perspective?
(Delhi 2017)
Ans. The advantages of exploiting resources with short term aim is to meet the immediate basic
human needs. Short term exploitation of natural resources meets the current demand. It is
beneficial for the present generation only whereas management of resources with long
term perspective is aimed to fulfil the needs of future generations. Long term use of
resources can be achieved through their sustainable use.
Forests and Wildlife
• A large area of land on which trees and other plants grow naturally is called a forest. And the
wild animals (like lion, tiger, elephants, deer, snakes, etc.) and birds which live in a forest, are
called wildlife.
• The ‘plants’ and ‘animals’ of a forest are called ‘flora’ and ‘fauna’ respectively.
• The presence of a large number of species (of plants and animals), forests are said to be
‘biodiversity hotspots.
• One of the main aim of the management of forests and wildlife is to conserve the biodiversity
which we have inherited.
Stakeholder
A person with an interest or concern in something is called a stakeholder. These are:
• The people who live in and around the forest and are dependent to some extent on forest
produce (forest products) to lead their life.
• The Forest Department of the Government which owns the forest land and controls the
resources from the forest.
• The industrialists who use various forest products for their factories, such as wood for
making paper and furniture, and tendu leaves for making bidis, etc.
• The forest and wildlife activists who want to see the forests in their pristine form (original
condition).

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Forests and Wildlife
A. The case of Khejri Trees:
• In 1731, Amrita Devi Bishnoi led a group of 363 persons who sacrificed their lives for the
protection of khejri trees in khejrali village near Jodhpur in Rajasthan.
• The Government has recently instituted an ‘Amrita Devi Bishnoi
National Award for Wildlife Conservation’ in the memory of Amrita
Devi Bishnoi.
B. The Chipko Andolan
• The Chipko Andolan originated from an incident in a remote
village called ‘Reni’ in Garhwal, high up in the Himalayas in
the early 1970s.
• A logging contractor had been allowed to cut down trees in
a forest close to a village. The people of the village did not
want this forest to be cut down because it would have
spoiled their healthy environment.
The Chipko Andolan
One day, when the men folk of the village were out for work, the contractor’s workers came in
the forest to cut down the trees. In the absence of men, the women of the village reached the
forest quickly and clasped the tree trunks with their arms, preventing the workers from cutting
down the trees. The forest trees were thus saved. The Chipko Movement quickly spread across
all the communities and helped in the conservation of forests.
Q. The Reni village of Garhwal is famous for
(a) monocultures of pine, teak and Eucalyptus
(b) Chipko movement
(c) extensive biodiversity
(d) participation of local people in efficient management of forests. (2020)
Ans. (b) Chipko movement

Q. The major ill effect of monoculture practice in forests is on the

(a) biodiversity which faces large destruction
(b) local people whose basic needs can no longer be met from such forests
(c) industries
(d) forest department. (2020)
Ans. (a) biodiversity which faces large destruction
Participation of Local People in the Management of Forests
• People’s participation in the management of forests can help in
increasing forest produce as well as in their conservation.
• In 1972, the West Bengal Forest Department formulated a novel scheme
to revive the degraded sal forests by involving the local people.

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• A far-sighted forest officer A.K. Banerjee inv olved the villagers of the area around the forest
in the protection of 1272 hectares of badly degraded sal forest.
• In return for help in protecting the forest, the villagers were given employment in both
silviculture and harvesting operations of the forest, 25 per cent of the final harvest produce,
and were allowed to collect firewood and fodder from the forest area on a nominal payment.
• With the active and willing participation of local people living around the forest, the degraded
sal forest of Arabari became thick and green within ten years.
Conservation of Wildlife
Some of the measures (or steps) to be taken for the conservation of wildlife are given below:
1. Laws should be made to impose a total ban on poaching
(killing) or capturing of any animal or bird belonging to an
endangered species.
2. Even if some type of wild animals and birds are in
abundance today, their indiscriminate killing should not be
allowed by the forest authorities.
3. The natural habitats of wild animals and birds should be
preserved by establishing National Parks and Sanctuaries
throughout the country.
4. The Government Department connected with the conservation of wildlife should conduct a
periodic survey in all the forests, National Parks and Sanctuaries to have a knowledge of the
population of all species of wild animals and birds, so that these animals can be helped in the
times of distress like floods and famines.
5. Special attention should be paid to the conservation of endangered species of wild animals
and birds to prevent their extinction.
6. The unauthorised felling (cutting) of forest trees for timber trade and fuel-wood should be
curbed (stopped) immediately.
7. In the case of Government authorised felling of forest trees, for every acre of forest cut down,
an equal area of land should be planted with saplings of trees to make up for the loss in the
long run.
Water For All
• Water is the basic necessity for all forms of life, human beings, other animals as well as
plants.
• The regions having good availability of water are
flourishing because they have good crops but the
regions having shortage of water are in the thick
of poverty because of poor crop growth.
• The various sources of water which are available
to us are: Rains, Rivers, Lakes, Ponds, Wells,
Oceans and Glaciers (Snow mountains).
• Rains in India are largely due to monsoon which
lasts for a few months.

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• This rainwater fills the lakes and ponds, and also flows into rivers.
• Some rainwater also seeps into the ground and becomes available as ground water.
• Rainwater is stored in lakes for use over a long period of time.
• Some artificial lakes have also been make at various places to store rainwater to meet the
increasing demand for water.
Despite good rains, we are not able to meet the demand for water of all the
people because:
• Our population is increasing rapidly.
• Due to lack of sufficient vegetation cover on ground, only a little rain water seeps into the
ground.
• The high yielding varieties of crops require much more water for irrigation.
• Discharge of untreated sewage and industrial wastes into rivers and lakes reduces the
availability of usable water.
• The changing life-style of people, especially in urban areas, in consuming more water.
Dams
• In order to make proper use of river water, dams are constructed across the rivers to
regulate the flow of water.
• The large reservoir of a dam stores a huge amount of water.
• Bhakra Dam is one such dam which has been-built across the river Satluj in the state of
Punjab in our country.
Uses of Dams
• Water from a dam is used for irrigation in fields through a
network of canals.
• Water from a dam is supplied to the people in towns and
cities through pipelines after suitable treatment.
• The falling water (or flowing water) from the dam is used for
generating electricity.
A. Social Problems: Due to the construction of high-rise dams,
a large of human settlements (or villages) are submerged in the water of large reservoir
formed by the dam and many people are rendered homeless.
B. Environmental Problems: The construction of high-rise dams on the rivers contributes to
deforestiation and loss of biodiversity. This is because a vast variety of flora and fauna (plants
and animals) get submerged in the water of large reservoir formed by the dam and disturb
the ecological balance.
C. Economic Problems: The opposition to the construction of Tehri Dam on the river Ganga and
raising the height of sardar Sarovar Dam on the river Narmada are due to such problems.
Before taking a decision to construct high-rise dams on rivers, or raising the height of existing
dams, it is necessary to consider its long term effects on social life and environment carefully.

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Pollution of River Water
• The pollution of river water is caused by the dumping of
untreated sewage and industrial wastes into it. For
example, the river Ganga which flows for over 2500
kilometres from Gangotri in the Himalayas to Ganga
Sagar in the Bay of Bengal is being turned into a dirty
water drain by the discharge of untreated sewage and
industrial wastes emanating from more than a hundred
towns and cities which lie along its way.
• Pollution of river Ganga is also caused by other human activities like bathing, washing of
clothes, immersion of ashes of the dead and dumping of unburnt corpses in its water.
• The contamination of river water can be usually found from tow factors:
• (i) the presence of coliform bacteria in river water, and
(ii) measurement of pH of river water.
• Coliform is a group of bacteria found in human
intestines.
• The presence of coliform in the river water indicates its
contamination by disease-causing micro-organisms.
• Coliform itself is harmless but its presence in river water
indicates that other, more harmful, intestinal bacteria
might also be present.
• The pH of river water is measured by using universal indicator paper. A multicore ‘Ganga
Action Plan’ (GAP) project was launched in 1985 to clean the river Ganga and make its water
pollution free.
Rainwater Harvesting
Rainwater harvesting is an age-old practice in India.
Khadins, tanks and nadis in Rajasthan, bandharas and tals in Maharashtra, bundhis in Madhya
Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, ahars and pynes in Bihar, kulhs in Himachal Pradesh, ponds in the
Kandi belt of Jammu region and eris (tanks) in Tamil Nadu, surangams in Kerala, and kattas in
Karnataka are some of the ancient water harvesting, including water conveyance, structures still
in use today.
Advantages of Ground Water
• The water stored in ground does not evaporate.
• The water stored in ground spreads out to recharge wells and provides moisture for crops
over a wide area.
• The water stored in ground does not promote breeding of mosquitoes
• The water stored in ground is protected from contamination by human and animal wastes.
• The water stored in ground is utilised for the benefit of local population.

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Rainwater Harvesting in Urban Areas (City Areas)
Roof tops aren properly cleaned,used to collect rain water which is directed through pipes to
large underground pucca storage tanks which are sealed off from all sides except for a small
opening used for cleaning and withdrawal purpose. In cities such as Dwarika, Gujarat. People
use this collected water for drinking and cooking purpose for most of the year.
Q. What is watershed management system? List two benefits derived by the communities that
participate’ in this system. (AI2014)
Ans. Watershed management emphasises scientific soil and water conservation in order to
increase the biomass production. The aim is to develop primary resources of land and
water so that they can be used to produce secondary resources of plants and animals
without causing the ecological imbalance. Benefits derived from watershed management
are:
• It identifies degraded area of land and emphasises the need of the improvement of
quality and quantity of clean water to the local community and thus ensures their
participation.
• Construction of a series of long trenches and mounds to hold rain water and allow it to
percolate into the ground, thus increasing the groundwater.
Uses of Coal & Petroleum
• Coal and petroleum are called fossil fuels.
• Coal is used as a fuel as such in homes and in industry, or it is used to generate electricity at
Thermal Power Plants.
• Petroleum products such as petrol and diesel are used as fuels in transport to run scooters,
motorcycles, cars, buses, trucks, trains, ships and aeroplanes.
• Kerosene and LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) obtained from p etroleum are used as domestic
fuels for cooking food.
Coal & Petroleum in Earth are Limited
It has been estimated that at the present rate of consumption, the known petroleum reserves of
the earth will last us for just about 40 years more and the coal will last for about another 200
years only. Once exhausted, coal and petroleum will not be available to us in near future.
Steps to Reduce the Consumption of Coal & Petroleum
1. Switch off the lights, fans, television and other electrical appliances when not needed. This
will save a lot of electricity.
2. Use energy efficient electrical appliances to save electricity. This can be done by using
compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) and fluorescent tube-lights instead of traditional filament-
type electric bulbs.
3. Use stairs to climb at least up to three floors of a building instead of taking a lift.
4. Pressure cookers should be used for cooking food to save fuels like kerosene and LPG.
5. Good quality stoves should be used to burn fuels like kerosene and cooking gas (LPG) so as
to obtain maximum heat.
6. Solar cookers should be used to cook food whenever possible.

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7. The use of biogas as domestic fuel should be encouraged in rural
areas.
8. Bicycles should be used for covering short distances to save
precious fuel like petrol.
9. Public transport system (local bus and train service) in the
cities should be improved so that people do not commute in
their personal vehicles.
10. Fuel efficient engines of motor vehicles should be designed to
reduce the consumption of petrol and diesel.
Pollution Caused By Burning Coal & Petroleum Based Fuels
• When coal, and petroleum based fuels (like petrol and diesel) are
burnt, the products of combustion are: Carbon dioxide, Water,
Sulphur dioxide and Nitrogen oxides.
• Sulphur dioxide attacks the lungs causing bronchitis and other
diseases. Sulphur dioxide also dissolves in rainwater making it
acidic.
• Just like sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides attack the
breathing system and also cause acid rain.
• Carbon monoxide is a very poisonous gas. If carbon
monoxide gets into our blood stream, it stops red blood
cells from carrying oxygen from lungs to the rest of the
body causing suffocation.
• Though carbon dioxide is not a poisonous gas but it is a
greenhouse gas which traps sun’s heat energy falling on
the earth. The burning of more and more of fossil fuels is
increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causing increased greenhouse
effect leading to global warming.
The Three R’s to save the Environment
1. Reduce: Reduce means that we use less of the natural resources by cutting down on those
practices which lead to their wastage. For example, we can reduce the wastage of electricity
by switching off unnecessary lights and fans. Saving electricity means that we are reducing
the use of coal (because coal is used to produce electricity).
2. Recycle: Recycling means that we should collect the used and discarded items of paper,
plastic, glass and metals, and send them to the respective industries for making fresh
paper, plastic, glass or metal objects.
3. Reuse: Reuse means that, if possible, we should use the same things again. For example,
the plastic jars in which we buy various food items like jams and pickles, etc., can be used
later on for storing things like salt, spices, sugar, tea-leaves and pulses, etc.

Notes End

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 Important NCERT Questions
Q. List two items which can be easily recycled, but we generally throw them in the dust-bins.
(AI 2014)
Ans. Newspapers and tin cans are the two items that can be easily recycled.
Q. How do advantages of exploiting natural resources with short term gains in mind differ
from the advantages of managing our resources with a long-term perspective?
(Delhi 2017)
Ans. The advantages of exploiting resources with short term aim is to meet the immediate
basic human needs. Short term exploitation of natural resources meets the current
demand. It is beneficial for the present generation only whereas management of
resources with long term perspective is aimed to fulfil the needs of future generations.
Long term use of resources can be achieved through their sustainable use.
Q. Why is an equitable distribution of resources essential in a society? List two forces which
are against such distribution. (AI 2017)
Ans. Equitable distribution of natural resources is necessary so that all and not just a handful
of rich and powerful people use them. Two forces against equitable distribution of
resources are :
• Industrialisation
• Profit makers who want to make profit from these resources.
Q. “Reuse is better than recycling of materials”. Give reason to justify this statement.
(Delhi 2016)
Ans. Reuse is better than recycling because the process of reuse does not require any energy
as in the case of recycling. I lie reuse strategy comprises using things again and again. For
example, used envelopes can be used again to make notes.
Q. What is sustainable development? State its two main objectives. (Foreign 2016)
Ans. Sustainable development can be defined as management of available resources and
development of new techniques for use ol natural resources to meet the changing basic
human needs, at the same time preserving the resources for the need of future
generations. The two main objectives of sustainable development are:
• To reduce the dependence on the conventional sources and adopt non-conventional
sources of energy.
• Evolving new technology and conserving natural resources.
Q. (a) Why do we need to manage our resources carefully?
(b) Why management of natural resources requires a long term perspective?
(Delhi 2015)
Ans. (a) The resources of earth are limited and their demand is increasing day by day with
ever growing population. So, we have to avoid their wastage and should properly manage,
conserve and replenish our natural resources.
(b) Management of natural resources requires a long term perspective so that they can
last for generations to come and may not be merely exploited for short term gains.
Q. What is meant by “sustainable management”?
Why is reuse considered better than recycling? (Delhi 2015)

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Ans. Sustainable management means managing the use of natural resources in a way that they
fulfill the needs of present generation and are also conserved for future generations.
Reuse is considered better than recycling because reusing products reduces the amount
of waste and saves energy needed to recycle it.
Q. Why is sustainable management of natural resources necessary? Out of the two-reuse
and recycle-which, in your opinion is better to practise? Give reason. (AI 2015)
Ans. Sustainable management of natural resources is necessary because:
(i) The resources of the earth are limited and because of the rapid increase in human
population, the demand for resources is increasing day by day. Proper management can
ensure that the natural resources are used judiciously so that they fulfill the needs of
present generation and also last for the generations to come.
(ii) It also takes into consideration long-term perspective and prevents exploitation of
natural resources for short-term gains.
The process of ‘reuse’ is better than that of ‘recycling’ because some energy is used to
recycle old objects but no energy is required during reuse.
Q. What is meant by three types of ‘R’ (3Rs) to save the environment? Explain with examples
how would you follow the 3Rs in your school to save the environment. (Foreign 2015)
Ans. 3Rs to save tire environment are reduce, recycle and reuse. For sustainable use of
resources, the three Rs can be practised in school in following ways:
Reduce : Switching off unnecessary lights and fans when not in use, avoiding wastage of
food, closing of over flowing taps.
Recycle : Students should segregate the wastes generated in classroom and should
discard them in separate dustbins for their proper disposal. Reuse : Certain items can be
reused like old books should not be thrown instead can be given to junior students for
their use.
Q. Write two advantages of sustainable management of natural resources. Out of the two –
reuse and recycle – which is better and why? (Foreign 2015)
Ans. Two advantages of sustainable management of natural resources are :
(i) It avoids wasteful use of natural resources.
(ii) Benefits of the resources are conserved for present as well as future generations.
Of the two, reuse and recycle, reuse is better because reusing an item helps to conserve
energy that may be required to recycle it.
Ab Phod Do!

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