Notes-NCERT-Class-8-Social Science-Chapter-1-Natural Resources and Their Use-CBSE

Caselets:

(i) Overexploitation of Groundwater: A Caselet from Punjab:

Punjab, once a leading state in India's Green Revolution, is now facing a serious groundwater crisis.

• The introduction of high-yielding crop varieties in the 1960s increased the demand for irrigation, leading to excessive extraction of groundwater.
• This problem was worsened by the provision of free electricity to farmers, encouraging uncontrolled use of water pumps.
• Additionally, the widespread use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides has polluted the groundwater, creating health hazards for the population.
• Today, nearly 80% of Punjab’s land is classified as ‘over-exploited’, with groundwater levels falling to depths of around 30 metres in some areas.
• Although these practices helped achieve short-term food security, they have caused long-term environmental damage.

Immediate and sustainable measures are needed to restore groundwater levels and ensure future water availability.

(ii) The Case of Cement:

Cement, widely used in construction, is one of the most polluting industries, releasing dust that harms human health, crops, soil, and water.

Regulatory Measures : Although pollution control guidelines exist for factories, the environmental impact remains significant.

Sustainable Alternatives :

• To reduce cement usage, alternatives such as stone, mud, plant-based materials, and recycled waste plastics are being promoted.
• These eco-friendly methods combine traditional building practices with modern technology, reduce pollution, and create local employment opportunities.
• They are also well-suited to local climatic conditions, making construction more sustainable.
• By adopting such alternatives, it is possible to balance infrastructure development with environmental protection.

(iii) A Caselet from Sikkim:

Problem: Pema’s family farm faced declining yields and rising debts due to chemical pesticides.

Policy Intervention: State government promoted organic farming.

Adoption: Farm switched to compost, natural pest repellents, and crop diversification.

Short-term Effect: Initial drop in yields as soil recovered.

Long-term Outcome:

• Farm became productive and sustainable.
• By 2016, Sikkim became India’s first fully organic state.

Benefits:

• Increased biodiversity (beneficial insects and birds returned).
• Boosted tourism.
• Farmers’ incomes rose by 20%.

Significance: Today, Sikkim serves as a global model of successful and sustainable agriculture.

Glossary of Text Book Key Terms :

• Biodiversity Loss: The decline in the variety of life on Earth.
• Cornerstone: An essential or basic part of something.
• Deft management: Skillful and effective use of resources.
• Ecosystem Functions: Inherent natural processes by which an ecosystem operates (e.g., trees producing oxygen, forests filtering water).
• Ecosystem Services: The benefits that humans receive from ecosystem functions (e.g., clean water, protected farmland, pollinated crops).
• Exploitation (of Natural Resources): In the context of this text, it refers to the extraction, utilization, and consumption of natural resources.
• Extraction: The act of getting something from its natural source.
• Holistic: An approach that looks at the whole, not just separate parts.
• High-yielding: Producing more crops than usual, but often needing more water, fertilisers, or care.
• Judiciously: Using something carefully and wisely to make it last longer and cause less harm.
• Lokasangraha: An idea from the Bhagavad Gītā that emphasizes transcending personal desires to act for the well-being of all.
• Micro hydel plant: A small-scale hydroelectric power plant that generates electricity from the flow of water.
• Mulching: The practice of covering soil with things like leaves or straw to keep moisture in and improve soil health.
• Natural Resource Curse (Paradox of Plenty): A phenomenon where regions with abundant natural resources experience slower economic growth and development, often due to a failure to diversify their economies or convert raw resources into higher-value products.
• Natural Resources: Materials and substances that occur in Nature and are valuable to humans for sustenance or consumption.
• Nature: The totality of life and non-life forms that are part of our environment but have not been created by humans.
• Non-renewable Resources: Natural resources that are created over long geological periods and cannot be replenished at the rate they are consumed by humans (e.g., fossil fuels, certain minerals).
• Offshore oil rig: A platform located at sea used for drilling and extracting oil from beneath the ocean floor.
• Regenerative Economy: An economy that operates in harmony with nature, repurposing used resources, minimizing waste, and replenishing depleted resources, mimicking nature's cycles.
• Regeneration: Nature's ability to create new life and the conditions for thriving, going beyond mere restoration.
• Rejuvenation: The act of making something fresh or full of energy again.
• Renewable Resources: Natural resources that can be replenished or restored over time through natural processes, provided their natural rhythm of restoration and regeneration is not disturbed (e.g., solar energy, timber, flowing water).
• Replenishes: To refill or restore something to the way it was before.
• Rhythm: A regular, repeated pattern in nature.
• Resource: An element of Nature that humans use for sustenance or to create new things for consumption, provided it is technologically accessible, economically feasible, and culturally acceptable.
• Restoration: The process of returning something to its original healthy state if it has been degraded or damaged.
• Spawning Season: Time when fish or other animals lay eggs to reproduce.
• Stewardship: The responsible oversight and protection of something considered worth caring for and preserving, in this context, natural resources.
• Sustenance: Things that we need to stay alive, like food, water, and air.
• Technologically accessible: A resource that can be used with the technology we have today.
• Vṛikṣhāyurveda: An ancient Indian botanical science focused on the study and care of plants and trees, providing detailed recommendations for sustainable agricultural practices.
• Wootz steel: A high-quality steel produced in ancient India, known for its advanced metallurgy.

Cast of Characters :

• Christiana Figueres: Co-author of 'The Future We Choose'. A social scientist concerned with moving towards a regenerative economy that operates in harmony with nature, minimizes waste, and replenishes resources.
• Tom Rivett-Carnac: Co-author of 'The Future We Choose'. A social scientist concerned with moving towards a regenerative economy that operates in harmony with nature, minimizes waste, and replenishes resources.
• Surapala: Author of Vṛikṣhāyurveda around the 10th century CE, which formalized ancient Indian botanical science.
• Pema: A farmer in Sikkim whose family transitioned to organic farming after the state government's policy change. Her farm initially experienced declining yields but thrived after about five years, selling premium organic produce and demonstrating the success of sustainable agricultural practices.