CBSE Class 10 Science Management of natural resources Notes

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CHAPTER – 16

MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

Natural resources can be broadly categorized into two types, viz. exhaustible and nonexhaustible. Management of natural resources is all about their judicious use in a way that the exhaustible resources can last for many generations to come and non-exhaustible resources can be maintained in as pristine form as possible.

CONSEQUENCES OF EXPLOITATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES

There are many consequences of exploitation of natural resources. Some examples are given below:

* Burning of fossil fuels creates air pollution. Excess amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leads to global warming. Some polluting gases; like oxides of nitrogen and sulphur lead to acid rain, which is harmful for living beings. Acid rain is also harmful for monuments and buildings.

* Excess exploitation of groundwater leads to a drastic fall in water table. This is the reason many places are experiencing acute shortage of drinking water.

* Overuse of fertilisers and insecticides leads to soil pollution and soil erosion.

* Many pollutants are directly flown into water bodies. This has resulted in water pollution in many rivers, lakes and even in oceans.

COLIFORM BACTERIA

Coliform bacteria originate as organisms in soil or vegetation and in the intestinal tract of warm-blooded animals (fecal coli). This group of bacteria has long been an indicator of water contamination and possible presence of intestinal parasites and pathogens. Coliform bacteria are relatively simple to identify, are present in much larger numbers than more dangerous pathogens, and react to the natural environment and treatment processes similarly to pathogens. By observing coliform bacteria, the increase or decrease of many pathogenic bacteria can be estimated.

Where are these bacteria found?

Sources of bacterial pollution include runoff from woodlands, pastures, and feedlots; septic tanks and sewage plants; and animals and wild fowl. Domestic animals contribute heavily to the bacterial population. Many coliform bacteria may be directly deposited into natural streams from waste in water and runoff from areas with high concentrations of animals or humans.

How could coliform bacteria enter a water system?
The most likely sources come from where the water is used—the spigot, sink, or unclean containers. Another is backflow from a contaminated source such as a sink-top carbon filter,
bucket of water, or puddle at the end of a hose. Also, reduced pressure or suction in long water lines can draw in bacteria-laden water or soil into pipes through joints. However, the presence of bacteria is not always related to illness. The water could have been contaminated through improper sampling. Children may become ill because of unsanitary conditions in the home. Who sampled the water and how? How sanitary are your practices in food handling, personal hygiene, etc.? Do the children wash regularly? These are more likely routes for contamination than the water itself.

POLLUTION OF THE GANGA
The Ganga runs its course of over 2500 km from Gangotri in the Himalayas to Ganga Sagar in the Bay of Bengal. It is being turned into a drain by more than a hundred towns and cities in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal that pour their garbage and excreta into it. Largely untreated sewage is dumped into the Ganges every day. In addition, think of the pollution caused by other human activities like bathing, washing of clothes and immersion of ashes or unburnt corpses. And then, industries contribute chemical effluents to the Ganga’s pollution load and the toxicity kills fish in large sections of the river.

GANGA ACTION PLAN (GAP)
Inertia in taking action to reduce the level of pollution stemmed largely from a widespread belief that the Ganga, as a holy river, had the ability to purify all that came into contact with it. Although there is some scientific evidence for the Ganga river’s high capacity to assimilate (i.e. biodegrade) a large level of organic waste input, including pathogens, but no river can sustain its self-purifying power with this kind of over-use, misuse and abuse of its waters. The Ganga Action Plan (GAP) originated from the personal intervention and interest of our late Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi who had directed the Central Board for the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution, now Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to do a
comprehensive survey of the situation in 1979. CPCB published two comprehensive reports which formed the base for GAP in Oct 1984 but was not presented to the nation formally due to assassination of Smt Indira Gandhi. In Feb 1985, the Central Ganga Authority (CGA) with the PM as Chairman was formed, with an initial budget of Rs 350 crore to administer the cleaning of the Ganga and to restore it to pristine condition by our late PM Sh Rajiv Gandhi. In June 1985, the Ganga Project Directorate (GPD) was established as a wing of the Department of Environment. GAP was launched on June 14, 1986 by Sh Rajiv Gandhi at Varanasi.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Development is necessary for making all around economic development. But development often comes with a price in the form of environmental damage. Sustainable development
means following certain practices which help in saving our environment from damage. This is necessary for maintaining the earth in a good shape so that future generations can also enjoy the bounty of nature.

THREE R’s (REDUCE, RECYCLE AND REUSE):
♦ Reduce: We should reduce the consumption of various resources wherever possible. For example; we can reduce the consumption of electricity by switching off lights and other appliances when they are not required. While leaving the home, one should always check for fans and lights and switch them off. This can not only help in saving electricity but also

♦ Recycle: There are many items which can be recycled again and again. Recycling is another way of reducing the demand for natural resources. For example; by recycling paper, we reduce the demand for wood and thus help in saving the forest.

♦ Reuse: Many items can be reused many times. For example; old newspaper can be used for packing many items. Old envelopes can be used for doing rough work while doing your homework. Old plastic bottles can be used for many other purposes.

INTEXT QUESTIONS PAGE NO. 269

Q1. What changes can you make in your habits to become more environment friendly?

Ans: We should try and know about how our choices affect environment. Use of renewable resources and biodegradable stuffs should be promoted. For example (a) Use of paper bags
instead of plastic, (b) Use sources of energy like LPG, alcohol, etc., which do not cause pollution, (c) Use of substances which can be recycled or can be reused.

Q2. What would be the advantages of exploiting resources with short-term aims?

Ans: There should be a judicious use of natural resources as they are limited in nature. We should not exploit resources for our short term gains as this would only lead to depletion of natural resources for the present generation as well as generations to come. Hence, we can say that there are hardly any advantages of exploiting natural resources for short term gains.

Q3. How would these advantages differ from the advantages of using a longterm perspective in managing our resources?

Ans: In the case of a long-time perspective in managing our resources, these resources will last for the generations to come. This management ensures uniform distribution among the people. It conserves the natural resources for many years and not just for a few years, as in the case of a short-term perspective in conserving natural resources.

Q4. Why do you think there should be equitable distribution of resources? What forces would be working against an equitable distribution of our resources?

Ans: Natural resources of the Earth must be distributed among the people uniformly so that each and every one gets his share of the resource. Human greed, corruption, and the lobby of the rich and powerful are the forces working against an equitable distribution of resources.

FOREST AND WILDLIFE
Conservation of forests and wildlife is necessary to protect the biodiversity. This is important because loss of biodiversity leads to ecological imbalance. But any conservation effort for
forest and wildlife must keep the interests of all stakeholders in mind.

STAKEHOLDERS

The stakeholders who are directly or indirectly affected by forest are as follows:

♦ People living in or around forests; as they depend on various forest produce for their livelihood.
♦ The forest department which is the owner of the forest land.
♦ Various industrialists who depend on forest for many raw materials. For example; the beedi industry needs kendu leaves as raw material. Wood is used as raw material in many
industries.
♦ The wildlife and nature enthusiasts. Before the beginning of the colonial rule in India, forest dwellers were free to utilize the resources from forests as they wished. But things changed when the British rulers took over the control of the forests in India. They restricted the access of forest dwellers to forest resources. This created huge problems for many people who had traditionally been dependent on forests for their survival. After the independence of India, the forest department took over but the interests of forest dwellers continued to be ignored for a long time. The forest was cut to obtain timber for making railways and for various construction activities. The cleared forest was replaced by planting eucalyptus trees which led to the problem of monoculture. Growing a single species is called monoculture. It disturbs the biodiversity of an area.

LOCAL PEOPLE AND FOREST CONSERVATION
There are many examples which suggest that involvement of local communities is necessary for any conservation effort. The Bishnoi community of Rajasthan is one such example. AmritaDevi Bishnoi is still remembered with reverence for the way she fought for protecting the khejri trees in Khejrali village. She; along with 363 other people; sacrificed her life for the protection of khejri trees in 1731. The ‘Amrita Devi Bishnoi National Award for Wildlife Conservation’ has been named in her honour. Another example is of the nomadic herders of the Himalayas. The nomadic herders used to graze their animals near the great Himalayan National Park. Every summer, the nomadic people brought their herds down the valley so that the sheep could get plenty of grass to eat.When the National Park was made in that area, the nomadic herders were stopped from grazing their sheep in the protected area. Now, in the absence of grazing by the sheep, the grasses grow very tall in the region. Tall grasses fall over and prevent fresh growth of grass. This shows that by excluding and alienating the local people from forests, proper conservation efforts cannot be carried out.

CHIPKO MOVEMENT
The Chipko Movement began in the early 1980s from a small village; Reni in Garhwal district. The women of the village began hugging a tree to prevent the cutting of trees by the contractors. The Chipko Movement later spread to other parts of India. It had been instrumental in stopping deforestation to a large extent.

ARABARI’S EXAMPLE OF PEOPLE’S PARTICIPATION IN FOREST MANAGEMENT
In 1972, the forest department realized its mistake while reviving the degraded sal forests of Arabari forest range. Arabari forest lies in Midnapore district of West Bengal. The earlier
methods of policing and surveillance were a total failure as they often led to frequent clashes with local people. It also led to alienation of people from the conservation programme. Then came a forest officer; named A K Banerjee; who was a real visionary. He involved the local people in the revival of 1,272 hectares of forest. In lieu of that the villagers were given
employment in silviculture and harvest and were given 25% of the harvest. They were also allowed to gather firewood and fodder against a nominal payment. Due to active participation of the local community there was remarkable revival of the Arabari sal forest. By 1983, the value of the forest rose to Rs. 12.5 crores.

INTEXT QUESTIONS PAGE NO. 273

Q1. Why should we conserve forests and wildlife?

Ans: We should conserve forests and wildlife to preserve the biodiversity (range of different lifeforms) so as to avoid the loss of ecological stability. A large number of tribes are the habitants in and around the forests. If the forests are not conserved, then it may affect these habitants. Without proper management of forest and wildlife, the quality of soil, the water sources, and even the amount of rainfall may be affected. Without forest and wildlife, life would become impossible for human beings.

Q2. Suggest some approaches towards the conservation of forests.

Ans: Various approaches are required for the conservation of forests. Afforestation is one of the most important approach. Besides this
a) Deforestation should be banned.
b) People should be made more aware about importance of forests.
(c) The protected areas should be managed by local people which would be quite efficient.
(d) National parks and sanctuaries should be formed to conserve the biodiversity.
(e) Hunting should be banned and laws should be formulated against hunting.
(f) There should be proper laws for exploitation of forest resources.

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