FOREST Resources
Forest resources are the utilities which we get from the forest which are of animals and humans use are termed as Forest Resources.
Uses of forest
i. Commercial Uses - Provide us large no. of commercial goods which include timber, pulp-wood, food, fodder, rubber, drugs, medicines, minerals and many more items.
ii. Ecological/ Environmental Uses - Production of oxygen, reducing global warming (wild-life habitat), regulation of hydro-logical cycle, soil conservation, pollution moderator, driving energy flow and nutrient cycling.
Reasons Of Over Exploitation Of Forest
i. Due to wood cutting and large scale logging for raw materials like:-timber, pulp, wood, fuel etc.
ii. Deforestation due to road construction.
iii. Clearing of forest to create more agriculture land to meet food demands of growing population.
iv. Environment of forest leading to destruction of about 1.3 Million hectares of forest.
v. About 78% of forest area is under heavy grazing.
vi. Mining activities leads to clearing of forest.
vii. Big hydro-power projects result in large scale destruction of forest.
Q. What are the measures causes of deforestation?
1. Shifting Cultivation
2. Fuel Requirement
3. Raw Material for industrial use
4. Development Projects
5. Growing food needs
6. Overgrazing
7. Forest Fires
Q. What are the consequences/results of deforestation?
1. It threatens the existence of many wildlife species due to destruction of their natural
habitat.
habitat.
2. Biodiversity is lost along with genetic diversity is eroded.
3. Hydro-logical cycle gets affected.
4. Problems of soil erosion and loss of soil fertility increases.
5. In hilly areas it often leads to landslides.
6. More carbon is added to the atmosphere and global warming is enhanced.
Case-Studies
i. Chipko Andolan
It began in 1970s in Uttarakhand, then a part of Uttar Pradesh (at the foothills of Himalayas) and went on to become a rallying point for many future environmental movements all over the world.
The Chipko Andolan or the Chipko movement is a movement that practiced methods of Satyagraha where both male and female activists from Uttarakhand played vital roles, including Gaura Devi, Suraksha Devi, Sudesha Devi, Bachni Devi and Chandi Prasad Bhatt, Virushka Devi and others.
ii. Bishnoi Movement
In 1730, almost 300 years after Guru Jambaji's 29 principles were recorded, the maharajah (king) of Jodhpur wanted to build a new palace. He sent soldiers to gather wood from the forest region near the village of Khejarli, where Bishnoi villagers had helped foster an abundance of khejri (acacia) trees. When the king's men began to harm the trees, the Bishnois protested in anguish but were ignored by the soldiers, who were under royal orders.
Amrita Devi was a female villager who could not bear to witness the destruction of both her faith and the village's sacred trees. She decided to literally hug the trees, and encouraged others to do so too, proclaiming: “A chopped head is cheaper than a felled tree.” Bishnois from Khejri and nearby villages came to the forest and embraced the trees one by one to protect them from being cut down. As each villager hugged a tree, refusing to let go, they were beheaded by the soldiers. This voluntary martyrdom continued until 363 Bishnoi villagers were killed in the name of the sacred Khejarli forest.
iii. Narmada Valley Project -
Originating in the Amarkantak plateau of Madhya Pradesh, the Narmada is the fifth largest river of India and the largest among the west flowing rivers of the Peninsula.
The volume of average annual flow of water is 40,700 million cubic metres, 90 per cent of which flows during the monsoon season. Only 5 per cent of this flow is utilized and 95 per cent flows unutilized to the Gulf of Khambhat.
The Narmada Valley Project aims at harnessing this flow for the economic prosperity of the concerned areas. This is going to be one of the largest river valley projects of the world because the entire project includes the construction of 30 major, 135 medium and 3,000 minor dams on the river.
The volume of average annual flow of water is 40,700 million cubic metres, 90 per cent of which flows during the monsoon season. Only 5 per cent of this flow is utilized and 95 per cent flows unutilized to the Gulf of Khambhat.
The Narmada Valley Project aims at harnessing this flow for the economic prosperity of the concerned areas. This is going to be one of the largest river valley projects of the world because the entire project includes the construction of 30 major, 135 medium and 3,000 minor dams on the river.
WATER Resources
Globally only about 60% of water withdrawn is consumed rest is lost through evaporation with increasing population pressure and Rapid development the demand for water withdrawal have increased honour Global average 70% of water withdrawn is used for agriculture.
In India 93% of water is used for agriculture. In Kuwait (a water poor country) only 4% of water is used in crop lands.
On a global average of 25% of water is used in industrial sectors in European countries more than 70% of water withdrawal is used in agriculture while it is only 5% in less developed countries.
Per capita use of water very is largely in different countries.
An average family of 4 person in USA use 1000 meter cube of water which is many time higher then in developing countries.
In India 93% of water is used for agriculture. In Kuwait (a water poor country) only 4% of water is used in crop lands.
On a global average of 25% of water is used in industrial sectors in European countries more than 70% of water withdrawal is used in agriculture while it is only 5% in less developed countries.
Per capita use of water very is largely in different countries.
An average family of 4 person in USA use 1000 meter cube of water which is many time higher then in developing countries.
Q. What are the sources of freshwater ?
1. Ground water
2. Surface water
2. Surface water
GROUND WATER
Area of segment or rock that is highly permeable and containing water is called in Aquifer.
Layers of sand and gravel are good aquafires while clay and crystalline rocks like granite are not since they have low permeability.
Aquifers may be of two types:
1. Unconfined
2. Confined
☆Unconfined aquifers which are over layered by permeable Earth material and they are recharge by water sitting down from above in the form of rainfall and snow melt.
☆Confined aquifer which are sandwiched between two impermeable layer of rock or segments and I recharged only in those area where the aquifers intersect the land surface. Sometime the recharge area is hundreds of kilometers away from the location of well.
Q. What are the effects of excess use of groundwater ?
1. subsidence
2. Lowering of water table
3. Water logging
4. Water pollution
Case Study
Kaveri River Dispute
The sharing of waters of the Kaveri River has been the source of a serious conflict between the two states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The genesis of this conflict rests in two agreements in 1892 and 1924 between the Madras Presidency and Kingdom of Mysore. The 802 kilometres (498 mi) kaveri river has 44,000 km2 basin area in Tamil Nadu and 32,000 km2 basin area in Karnataka.
Based on the inflow Karnataka is demanding its due share of water from the river. It states that the pre-independence agreements are invalid and are skewed heavily in the favor of the Madras Presidency, and has demanded a renegotiated settlement based on "equitable sharing of the waters".
Tamil Nadu, on the other hand, pleads that it has already developed almost 3,000,000 acres (12,000 km2) of land and as a result has come to depend very heavily on the existing pattern of usage. Any change in this pattern, it says, will adversely affect the livelihood of millions of farmers in the state.
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