NATURAL RESOURCES

Module 2

Faculty Name: Prof. Suchitra Umalkar, MAHE Dubai

 Course content
S. No. Module Hours
Module 1: Introduction of the subject: meaning, multidisciplinary nature of environmental science/studies, applications of
environmental science /engineering in various engineering disciplines. environmental ethics, sustainable development : a
global concern. [2]
1 Basic components of the environment: Various spheres of the Earth : Atmosphere, Lithosphere, Hydrosphere - Internal
3
structure of the earth. [1]

Natural Resources: Renewable and non-renewable resources- Forests, Water- water

conservation- Rain water harvesting, watershed management & Interlinking of rivers,
2 Minerals, Air Land, Energy resources. [6] 12
Module 2: Environmental Pollution and control : Causes, effects, control - water, air, land, noise, Municipal solid waste,
biomedical waste, nuclear, Marine, e-wastes , Drinking water treatment and sewage treatment concepts. [6]
Module 3: Global environmental issues: Global warming, acid rain, ozone layer depletion- causes, effects, remedies -
green buildings, Clean technology. [4 ]
Disaster Management: Meaning, Natural & Man-made disasters- episodes/case studies, Application of Remote sensing &
GIS, GPS and Role of IT. [4]
3 Ecosystem: Meaning, structure and functions, biotic and abiotic components, Primary, secondary and tertiary producers with 15
examples - Food chain, food web with simple few examples, Ecological pyramids-meaning, Pyramids of number, biomass &
energy with examples, Tropic levels, Energy flow in an ecosystem. Types of ecosystems: Terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem –
Forest, mountain, lake, marine, Threats to ecosystem. [7]

Module 4: Environmental legislations: Environmental acts, Environmental Laws/ Policies to protect the natural resources –
water, air, Land; Pollution control Boards: Central & State- Roles and responsibilities, Environmental impact assessment(EIA).
4 [3]
3

5 Revision/ activities/ class discussions/presentations 3

 Natural Resources

Module – 2 Lecture - 7
 What is a natural Resource
 The word ‘resource’ means a source of supply or support that is
generally held in reserve. In other words ‘the natural resources are
the materials, which living organisms can take from nature for the
sustenance of their life’ or ‘any component of the natural environment
that can be utilized by man to promote his welfare is considered as a
natural resource’.
 A natural resource can be a substance, an energy unit or a natural
process or phenomenon. e.g., land, soil, water, forests, grassland etc.
Some of the resources such as soil, water, etc. are important
components of life supporting system. The natural resources are not
only sources of food, fodder and shelter, they also provide
recreational opportunities, solace and even inspiration to mankind.
What is a natural Resource
 These are the commodities that are considered valuable in
their natural form. This means that the primary activities
associated with it are extraction and purification, and not
creation.
 CLASSIFICATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES
 The quantity and quality of natural resources vary greatly in their location.
For instance particular types of forest and grassland may occur only in
certain countries. The geographical area covered by forest and grasslands,
and the quality of their produce also differ widely indifferent countries.
Depending upon the availability and abundance, natural resources are of
two types : inexhaustible and exhaustible
 It can be broadly classified as
 Inexhaustible Resources
◼ Solar energy
◼ Wind power
◼ Rainfall
◼ Power of tides
◼ Hydro power
 Exhaustible Resources
◼ Renewable : eg. Water, natural vegetation, humans, wild life etc.
◼ Non renewable: eg Minerals, fossil fuels
 Classification of Natural resources Water

Soil Fertility
Renewable Humans, wildlife
etc.
Natural
Exhaustible Vegetation

Fossil Fuels
Natural Non Renewable
Resources Minerals

Solar Energy
Wind Power
Inexhaustible
Rain Fall
Power of Tides
Hydro Power
 CLASSIFICATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES

 Inexhaustible Resources. These resources are present in unlimited

quantity in the nature and they are not likely to be exhausted by
human activities. Some inexhaustible resources remain unaffected by
human activities, while many others may show some changes in their
quality. Solar energy, wind power, tidal power, rainfall, and even
atomic energy are classified as inexhaustible resources.
 These resources cannot be exhausted significantly at global level due
to human activities.
 Some resources may sometimes be affected locally by human
activities. e.g. the quality of air is changed due to pollution
 CLASSIFICATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES

 Exhaustible Resources. These resources have limited supply on the

earth, and are, therefore, liable to be exhausted if used
indiscriminately. Exhaustible resources are of two types : renewable
and non-renewable.
 Renewable Resources. These resources have the capacity to reappear or
replenish themselves by quick recycling, reproduction and replacement
within a reasonable time. Soil, water and living beings (i.e. plants, animals
and micro-organisms) are renewable resources. The growth and
reproduction of living beings can be successfully managed so that these
resources are continuously regenerated. However, if the consumption of
these resources continues to exceed their rate of renewal, not only their
quality becomes affected, they may even totally exhausted.
CLASSIFICATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES

 Non-Renewable Resources. These resources lack the ability of recycling and

replacement. The substances with a very long recycling time are also
regarded as non-renewable resources.
 Many abiotic resources are non-renewable. The fossil fuels (coal, petroleum
and natural gas) and metals once extracted cannot be regenerated at the
place of extraction. After unlimited extraction and use, the fossil fuels will
definitely get exhausted. Some biotic resources are also non-renewable. The
biological species, which have evolved in nature during the coarse millions of
years are considered non-renewable. A biological species which becomes
extinct from the earth cannot be created again
Natural Resources – Water

Water clock is
ticking
 Water availability on the planet
 About 97% of
the total water Ocean water
Glaciers
available on Ground water, lakes reservoirs, soil moistuer & atmosphere
earth is found in
oceans and is
too salty for
drinking or
irrigation. 2.0%
1.0%
 The remaining 97.000%
3% is fresh Total potable
water on Earth
water. Of this
2% is locked in
ice caps or
glaciers. Thus
only 1%
 Water Resource
 Water is the main constituent of hydrosphere and is a renewable resources.
Water is needed for daily use by organisms, for irrigation, navigation,
industrial use, electricity production and domestic use.
 About three-fourth of the earth surface is occupied by oceans which contain
about 97 per cent of the earth’s water in strongly saline condition. The rest 3
per cent is fresh water and all of this is not available for direct human
Consumption.
 Most of the fresh water is permanently frozen as polar or glacial ice.
Remaining fresh water occurs as groundwater , water in lakes and rivers, soil
and atmosphere.
 Thus, only a small fraction of fresh water is available for human consumption.
 The distribution of fresh water is geographically uneven varying greatly from
country to country and even within a country from one region to another
 Various Forms of fresh water

1. Ground Water
I. Unconfined
Aquifer
II. Confined Aquifer
2. Surface Water
1. Streams
2. Rivers
3. Waterfalls
4. Lakes
5. Ponds
 Water Use
 Water is prerequisite for the existence of life. Human beings,
animals and plants can not survive without water and the human
body itself is mostly water.
 Water is used for drinking, irrigation transportation, washing,
disposal of industrial wastes and as a coolant for thermal power
plants.
 The rate of consumption of water varies among different countries.
 Agriculture uses maximum amount of water in the world, which is
estimated to about 70 per cent of the total consumption.
 In most cases of water use, there is no substitute. Though, we can
reuse it many times.
 Over Extraction of water
 Water is the most critical limiting factor for many aspects of life
like economic growth, environmental stability, biodiversity
conservation, food security and health care.
 A rapid rise in population and expansion in industry and
agriculture have increased the demand for water manifold.
 The use of water has increased 4–8 per cent per year since1950.
 Only about 1.1 per cent is used for domestic and municipal
supplies, and the rest is used by various industries such as
pharmaceutical, cement, mining, detergent, textile and leather
industries.
Over Exploitation of water
 Freshwater withdrawals have tripled over the last 50 years.
Demand for freshwater is increasing by 64 billion cubic meters
a year (1 cubic meter = 1,000 liters)
 The world’s population is growing by roughly 80 million
people each year.
 Changes in lifestyles and eating habits in recent years are
requiring more water consumption per capita.
 Energy demand is also accelerating, with corresponding
implications for water demand.
 Water Consumption and Waste

The gray band represents the difference between the amount of water extracted and that actually consumed. Water may be
extracted, used, recycled (or returned to rivers or aquifers) and reused several times over. Consumption is final use of water,
after which it can no longer be reused.
 Water Scarcity
 The demand for water has been going up sharply, the available amount has
been going down.
 Exploding population, rapid industrialization, and increasing irrigation needs
in the wake of green revolution.
 The rapidly increasing pollution of rivers, lakes as well as the ground water is
reducing the usable water supply. Pollution has made many water sources
unfit for use.
 At many places the rates of extraction of groundwater for irrigation are so
high that ancient aquifers are getting depleted. As a result, water tables are
falling, notable in India, China and US. The major rivers of the world are
drained dry before they reach the sea. For example, the Yellow River in
China, the Ganga in India, the Amu Darya in Central Asia, the Nile in Egypt,
and the Colorado in US are getting dry.
 Distribution of the available water is also uneven over space and time. Some
areas of the world get too much water, while other places get too little. The
transport of water over long distances is impractical.
 Water Scarcity
 In addition, there is a gross inequity in the allocation of water
resources. The urban areas draw a great deal of water from the
surrounding areas depriving the poorer rural people of their needs.
Even if a city gets good rain, the water is not retained in the area,
buildings, paving and roads cover most of the land and the rainwater
does not percolate into the ground.
 Currently, less than 20 percent of urban waste water world wide is
treated for sense. The increasing use of flush toilets also results in
enormous wastage of portable water. Further, in many big cities more
than half the available supply is lost through leakage from rotting
pipelines.
MLA (Modern Language Assoc.) APA (American Psychological Assoc.)
Sharma, J. P. (2016). Environmental Studies : For Undergraduate Classes in Science,
Commerce, Humanities, Engineering, Medicine, Pharmacy, Management and Law
 World water department Report – A bleak future

 The UN World Water Development Report (WWDR), 2009, which is

published every three years paints a grim picture of the water situation in the
world. The main conclusions of WWDR, 2009 were–
 Freshwater withdrawals have tripled over the last 50 years, while the area under
irrigation doubled during the same period.
 Water demand for agriculture worldwide would increase 70–90 per cent by
2050,even though a number of countries are already reaching the limits of their
water resources.
 About 47 per cent of world population will be living in areas of high water stress.
By2020, in Africa alone, between 75 to 200 millions people may experience
increased water stress due to climate change.
 Globally, 700 million people could be displaced in the coming decades because
of a water scarcity.
 About 67 per cent of the world population may still be without improved
sanitation in 2030. About half a billion people now lack access to adequate
sanitation in Africa alone.
 Almost 80 per cent of diseases in developing countries are associated with water,
causing some three million early deaths due to water borne diseases like diarrhea,
dysentery and jaundice.
 Problems associated with water
resource
❑ Floods
❑ Floods have been serious environmental hazards for centuries
❑ It becomes more damaging as people have deforested catchments and started
using the plains that once acted as safety valves.
❑ The wetlands in flood plains areas act as nature’s flood control system.
❑ Deforestation also causes floods for eg. in Himalayas in which human lives are
impacted, damaged the crops and destroyed homes.
 Problems associated with water
resource
❑ Floods
❑ River changes its direction during floods and tons of valuable soil is lost to the sea.
❑ As the forest are degraded, rainfall no longer percolates slowly into the subsoil and sweeps
away large amount of topsoil to the seas.
❑ During floods rivers swell, burst their banks, and flood water spread to engulf people’s
farms and homes causing large scale death and destruction.
 Problems associated with water
resource
 Drought
❑ A drought is a period of below-average precipitation in a given region, resulting in
prolonged shortages in the water supply, whether atmospheric, surface water, or ground
water. A drought can last for months or years, or may be declared after as few as 15
days.
 Problems associated with water
resource
 Drought
❑ In many regions of the world, rains are unpredictable. It leads to the situation
when there is a scarcity of water to drink, use in farms or provide for industrial
use.
❑ These areas frequently face irregular periods of famine (a severe shortage of
food, as through crop failure or overpopulation).
 While it is not possible to prevent the failure of monsoon but good environmental
conditions can reduce its ill effects.
 Major factor for this drought is deforestation.
 When hill slopes are bared, rain water, instead of percolating into the subsoil,
rushes down the rivers and streams and is lost.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
How green is the water we drink ?
 Dams
 A dam is a structure built across a river or stream to hold back water. People have used different
materials to build dams over the centuries. Ancient dam builders used natural materials such as
rocks or clay. Modern-day dam builders often use concrete.
 Manmade dams create artificial lakes called reservoirs. Reservoirs can be used to store water for
farming, industry, and household use. They also can be used for fishing, boating, and other
leisure activities. People have used dams for many centuries to help prevent flooding.
 Dams

❑ Today there are more than 45000 large dams around the world
which play an important role in communities
❑ Current estimate suggest that about 30-40 % of the irrigated land

worldwide relies on dams

❑ The world’s two most populous countries- China and India have built
around 57 % of the world’s large dams.
❑ India’s increasing demand for water for intensive irrigation, for

generating electricity and for consumption in urban and industrial

centers has been met by creating large dams.
❑ Area under irrigation has increased from 40 million ha in 1900 to
100 million ha in 1950 to 271 million ha by 1998.
 Dams
❑ Advantages of Dams
✓ Ensure year round supply of water for domestic, agricultural, and
industrial use.
✓ Help in increasing the availability of potable water.
✓ Help in the reclamation of un-irrigated land there by increasing the
agricultural productivity & alleviating poverty.
✓ Generation of hydroelectricity.
✓ Controlling floods.
✓ Managing droughts.
✓ Replenishing the under ground water.
✓ Improving the local climatic conditions.
 Dams

Problems caused by Dams

 Fragmentation and physical transformation of rivers, alter river
flows, change nature’s flood control mechanism such as wetland and
flood plains.
 Serious impacts on riverine ecosystem.
 Social consequences of large dams due to the displacement of
people living in the region of submergence.
 Water logging and salination of the surrounding lands.
 Emission of green house gases from reservoirs due to rotting
vegetation.
 Disruption of fishing and waterway traffic.
 Destroy the natural habitats of large numbers of animals and plants
and often cut off the migratory routes of many animals.
 Watershed
 Watersheds are
important because
the stream flow and
the water quality of
a river are affected
by things, (human-
induced or not)
happening in the
land area above the
river-outflow point.

Image : Lake County Watersheds

 Watershed & Watershed Management

 Watershed:
 A watershed, also called drainage basin or 'catchment area‘, is an area of land
where precipitation collects and drains off into a common outlet, such as into
a river, bay, or other waterbody.
 The drainage basin includes all the surface water from rain-runoff, snowmelt, and
nearby streams that run downslope towards the shared outlet, as well as
the underground water.
 Drainage basins connect into other drainage basins at lower elevations in
a hierarchical pattern, with smaller sub-drainage basins, which in turn drain into
another common outlet.
 Larger watersheds contain many smaller watersheds. It all depends on the outflow
point; all of the land that drains water to a given outflow point is the watershed for
that outflow location.
 Ridges and hills that separate two watersheds are called the drainage divide. The
watershed consists of surface water-lakes, streams, reservoirs, and wetlands-and all
the underlying ground water.
Watershed

Source: US EPA website

 Watershed management
 Watershed management has been defined as ̳the integrated use of land,
vegetation, and water in a geographically discrete drainage area for the
benefit of the people, with the objective of protecting or conserving the
hydrologic services which the watershed provides and of reducing or
avoiding negative downstream or groundwater impacts‘ (World Bank,
2007).
 The watershed management implies, the judicious use of all the resources
i.e. land, water, vegetation in an area to alleviate drought, moderate
floods, prevent soil erosion, improve water availability and increase food,
fodder, fuel and fiber on sustained basis. The task of watershed
management includes the treatment of land by using most suitable
biological and engineering measures in such a way so as to make it
economic and socially acceptable.
 It encompasses water supply, water quality, drainage, storm water run off,
water rights, and the overall planning and utilization of watersheds.

Source - MLA (Modern Language Assoc.)APA (American Psychological Assoc.)

Vaughn, J. C. (2010). Watersheds : Management, Restoration, and Environmental Impact.
New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
 What is Rain water Harvesting
 Rainwater harvesting is collecting the run-off from a
structure or other impervious surface in order to store it for
later use.
 Traditionally, this involves harvesting the rain from surface
run offs or from roof tops.
 The rain that falls on the roof tops is collected in gutters
that channel the water into downspouts and then into some
sort of storage vessel.
 Rainwater collection systems can be as simple as collecting
rain in a rain barrel or as elaborate as harvesting
rainwater into large cisterns to supply your entire
household demand

Source : https://www.watercache.com
 Rain water Harvesting
 As our world faces serious water shortages, every drop of water we can use
efficiently becomes of great value. One method is to manage rain water in such a
way that it is used at the source. If as much water as possible is collected and
stored this can be used after the rainy season is over.
 In many parts of the world especially in very dry areas this has been traditionally
practiced.
 However the stored water has to be kept pollution free and clean so that it can
be used as drinking water. Stored water can grow algae and zooplankton
(microscopic animals). This can be pathogenic and cause infections. Thus keeping
the water uncontaminated is of great importance.
 In cities, much of the rain that falls on buildings, roofs, roads, and other hard
landscaping does not percolate into the soil and is instead directed into storm
sewers for disposal.
 Impermeable surfaces cause urban flooding in many areas and generate
contaminated unusable water that is directed away from potable water resources.
 Recharge
Ground
Goals Of Rainwater
Harvesting Water

Reduce Improve
Soil living
erosion condition

Goals

Substitute Reduce
ground Flood
water Risk
 Why of Rainwater Harvesting

1. It arrests the groundwater decline and augment groundwater table.

2. It improves water quality in aquifers.
3. Conservation surface water runoff during monsoon.
4. Reduction of soil erosion.
5. It helps in inculcating the culture of water conservation.
 PROCESS OF RAIN WATER HARVESTING

 A rainwater harvesting system comprises of various stages such as

transporting rainwater through pipes or drains, filtration, and
storage in tanks for reuse or recharge. The common components
of a rainwater harvesting system involved in these stages are
1. Collect

2. Store

3. Use

4. Recharge, if there is excess

 HOW TO HARVEST RAINWATER
Broadly there are two ways
1. Surface runoff harvesting
Surface runoff water harvesting is the collection, accumulation, treatment or
purification, and storing of storm water for its eventual reuse.

2. Roof top rain water harvesting

Rooftop Rain Water Harvesting is the technique through which rain water is
captured from the roof catchments and stored in reservoirs. Harvested rain
water can be stored in sub-surface ground water reservoir by adopting
artificial recharge techniques to meet the household needs through storage in
tanks
 Surface runoff harvesting :
Rainwater flows
away as surface
runoff. This runoff
could be caught
and used for
recharging aquifers
by adopting
appropriate
methods.
Surface runoff harvesting
Rooftop Rain Water Harvesting
 Rooftop Rain Water Harvesting is the technique
through which rain water is captured from the roof
tops and stored in reservoirs after filtration.
 Harvested rain water can be stored in sub-surface
ground water reservoir by adopting artificial
recharge techniques to meet the household needs
through storage in tanks.
 The Main Objective of rooftop rain water
harvesting is to make water available for future use.
Rooftop Rain Water Harvesting
Roof top rainwater harvesting

Filter
 Roof top rainwater harvesting
It is a system in
which roof is a
catchment. It
can be stored in
a tank. This is
less expensive
and very
effective and is
a successful
model.
 BENEFITS OF RAINWATER HARVESTING

1. Reduced dependency on water storage dams.

 Reduced amount of stress on the dams and the elimination to expand upon them.
2. Reduced dependency on municipal water.
3. The collected rainwater can be used for many different purposes→ laundry,
washing dishes and more.
4. This would prevent groundwater depletion.
5. GW quality - Dilution
6. Rainwater harvesting systems are cost effective, provide high quality
water, reduce dependence on wells.
7. High quality water which is soft and low in minerals.
8. Helps to reduce soil erosion as by capturing rainwater
9. Prevents flooding.
10. Reduces pumping costs.
 BENEFITS OF RAINWATER HARVESTING

 Rainwater is a relatively clean and absolutely free source of water

 It is socially acceptable and environmentally responsible
 It helps conserve water
 It reduces storm water runoff from homes and streets
 It uses simple technologies that are inexpensive and easy to maintain
 It can be used as a main source of water or as a back up source to wells
and municipal water
 The system can be easily retrofitted to an existing structure or built
during new home construction System are very flexible and can be
modular in nature, allowing expansion, reconfiguration, or relocation, if
necessary
 It can provide an excellent back-up source of water for emergencies

Source : https://www.watercache.com
 Interlinking of Rivers in India - Introduction

 The concept has been envisaged on the premise that Indo-Gangetic

Rivers are perennial and are fed from rain waters and other glacial
sources of Southwest monsoon.
 On the other hand peninsular rivers are rain fed and are heavily
dependent on south west monsoon. Hence, Indo-Gangetic plains
witness devastating flood whereas peninsular states suffer from
severe droughts.
 If this excess of water is transported to the peninsular rivers the
issues of drought can be addressed. Thus interlinking of rivers will
provide for equitable distribution of river waters.
 The project calls for transfer of water from the ‘water surplus’ basin
to ‘water deficit’ basin by interlinking of 37 rivers across the nation
through building of canals, dams etc.
Interlinking of Rivers in India
 This Scheme is divided in four major parts.
1. Interlinking of Mahanadi-Godavari-Krishna-Palar-Pennar-
Kaveri,
2. Interlinking of West Flowing Rivers, North of Mumbai and
South of Tapi,
3. Inter-linking of Ken with Chambal and
4. Diversion of some water from West Flowing Rivers
Interlinking of Rivers in India – Proposed Inter basin
links
Interlinking of Rivers in India – Proposed Inter basin
links

 Himalayan Rivers Development Component under which 14 links

have been identified. This component aims to construct storage
reservoirs on the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers, as well as their
tributaries in India and Nepal. The aim is to conserve monsoon flows
for irrigation and hydropower generation, along with flood control.
The linkage will transfer surplus flows of the Kosi, Gandak and
Ghagra to the west. A link between the Ganga and Yamuna is also
proposed to transfer the surplus water to drought-prone areas of
Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
 Peninsular Rivers Development Component or the Southern Water
Grid, which includes 16 links that propose to connect the rivers of
South India. It envisages linking the Mahanadi and Godavari to
feed the Krishna, Pennar, Cauvery, and Vaigai rivers. This linkage
will require several large dams and major canals to be constructed.
Besides this, the Ken river will also be linked to the Betwa, Parbati,
Kalisindh, and Chambal rivers.
Interlinking of Rivers in India – Advantages &
Disadvantages
Narmada Canal network- Linking Par–
Tapi–Narmada rivers.
Canal network – Interlinking of rivers
Canal network – Interlinking of rivers
Canal under construction