A resource is a source or supply from which an organization gains profit.

Typically resources are materials or other assets that are transformed to produce benefit and in the process may be consumed or made unavailable. From a human perspective a natural resource is anything obtained from the environment to satisfy human needs and wants. a resource satisfies the needs of a living organism The concept of resources has been applied in diverse realms, including with respect to economics, biology, computer science, land management, and human resources, and is linked to the concepts of competition, sustainability, conservation, and stewardship. In application within human society, commercial or non-commercial factors require resource allocation through resource management. Resources have three main characteristics: 1) Utility, 2) Limited availability, 3) Potential for depletion or consumption. Resources have been variously categorized as biotic versus abiotic, renewable versus non-renewable, and potential versus actual, along with more elaborate classifications. FOREST
Forest Resources in India relate to the distinctive topography, terrain, wildlife, climate and vegetation of the country. Forest resources in India have always been one of the richest resources. Forests provide renewable natural resources and contribute considerably to the economic development of the nation. Forest plantations comprise a vital part of the forest resources. Most of the wood produced in India is obtained from the forest reserves. The forest resources of the country are ancient in nature and composition, since the nation was once covered with dense forests. The history of forest resources in India is evident in the ancient texts all of which have some mention of these forests. The people honoured the forests and a large number of religious ceremonies focused on trees and plants. Their early reference dates back to around 4000 years. Agni Purana states that man should protect forest resources to have material gains and religious blessings. Around 2500 years ago, Lord Buddha preached that man should plant a tree every 5 years AVAILIBILITY During the early 1990s about 17% of forest resources in India land were dense forestland. However, as around 50 % of this land was infertile, total region under productive forests was nearly 35 million hectares that is around 10 % of the total land area of the country. With the increasing demand of the growing population of the country the requirement of forest resources also increased. All these resulted in the continuing demolition of forests around the 1980s, taking a serious toll on the soil. Moreover, around 1990`s several forest resources experienced heavy rainfall, and many forests were in regions with a high altitude and some of them were inaccessible. Around 20% of the total area under forests is in the state of Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. Forest vegetation is diverse and really large in the country. Like for instance, there are nearly 600 species of hardwoods, Sal and teak. These are the principal species.
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From a broader biological or ecological perspective

Conservation

The role of forests in the national economy and in ecology was further emphasized in the 1988 National Forest Policy, which focused on ensuring environmental stability, restoring the ecological balance, and preserving the remaining forests. Other objectives of the policy were meeting the need for fuelwood, fodder, and small timber for rural and tribal people while recognizing the need to actively involve local people in the management of forest resources. Also in 1988, the Forest Conservation Act of 1980 was amended to facilitate stricter conservation measures. A new target was to increase the forest cover to 33 percent of India's land area from the then-official estimate of 23 percent. In June 1990, the central government adopted resolutions that combined forest science with social forestry, that is, taking the sociocultural traditions of the local people into. The cumulative area afforested during the 1951-91 period was nearly 179,000 square kilometres. However, despite large-scale tree planting programs, forestry is one arena in which India has actually regressed since independence. Annual fellings at about four times the growth rate are a major cause. Widespread pilfering by villagers for firewood and fodder also represents a major decrement. In addition, the 1988 National Forest Policy noted, the forested area has been shrinking as a result of land cleared for farming and development programs. MINERAL
Mineral resources in India like Bauxite, limonite, and iron ore are considered as some of the crucial elements that are required for the country s growth and development. Mineral resources in India are adequately rich, widespread and are of huge varieties which provide the nation with a strong industrial base. The most important mineral resources that India possesses include Manganese Ore, Coal, Bauxite, Mica, Iron, Monazite, and Salt. Further, there other varieties too that are not found in abundance. For instance, Petroleum, Chromites, Gypsum, Tin, Mercury, Copper, Nickel, Lead and Zinc are not found in sufficient amount. India is mostly rich in iron resources. Iron and coal, actually forms the basis of the machine age. As per estimation, India possesses virtually world?s one fourth of iron ore resources. Its capital is rich not only quantitatively but also qualitatively. A further significant mineral required by the ferrous industries is manganese, and it is also found in abundance in India. It is used to manufacture steel alloys.

Availability of minerals
The coal deposits in India mostly belong to the Gondwana age. Nearly three-fourths of the coal deposits in the country are situated in the Damodar River Valley. The places that are well connected with coal deposits are Jharia, Giridih, Raniganj, Bokaro and Karanpura. Minerals are basically exhaustible sources and thus they need to be preserved. The proficient utilisation, recycling as well as application of enhanced technology for withdrawal and refinement will help in preserving minerals. The other river valleys in India that are connected with coal deposits are Godavari River, Mahanadi River, Son River and Wardha River. Other significant coal mining areas of the country are in the Satpura mountain range and in Chhattisgarh plains of Madhya Pradesh. The coalfields of Singreni in Andhra Pradesh, Chanda in Maharashtra and Talcher in Orissa are also very large. In India, Petroleum is found in Gujarat, Assam and Bombay High. Other areas like Manipur, West Bengal, Kutch, the Andamans, Tamil Nadu and Punjab are also considered as potential oil bearing

regions. In Assam the major oil producing areas are Digboi, Sibsagar, Naharkatiya, Rudrasagar, Badarpur, Masinpur and Pallharia. Ankleshwar, Kheda, Vadodara, Khambat, Broach and Kalol are the chief areas in Gujarat. Moreover, oil has recently been unearthed in Godavary and Krishna basin, Khambat basin, Kaveri basin, etc. conservation

The need for minerals continues to influence international relations today. Many countries must import large amounts of various minerals. The United States, for example, imports almost all of the sheet mica and strontium it uses. In addition, the United States imports more than half of its chromium, cobalt, fluorine, manganese, nickel, platinum, and tin. Mining and refining minerals often destroys scenic lands and habitats for animals and plants. It can also pollute air and water. One method of copper mining, for example, leaves large open pits on the surface of the land. Fumes from copper smelters, iron and steel mills, and other refineries pollute the air and kill many plants. Some refineries discharge wastes in lakes and streams.

We can conserve minerals in a number of ways. Industries can reduce waste by using more efficient mining and processing methods. In some cases, industries can substitute plentiful materials for scarce ones. Some mineral products can be recycled. Aluminum cans are commonly recycled. Although bauxite is plentiful, it can be expensive to refine. Recycling aluminum products does not require the large amounts of electric power needed to refine bauxite. Products made from many other minerals, such as nickel, chromium, lead, copper, and zinc, can also be recycled.
WATER India is full of affluent and huge variety of natural resources, including water are regarded as one of the most essential properties. Its improvement and control largely affects in agricultural output. For a stable environmental and economic development, management of water resources should be integrated as per the National Water Policy, 2002. An annual rainfall of around 4000 km3 occurs in India. The rainfall in India shows very high sequential and spatial inconsistency, though Mousinram in Cherrapunjee gets the world`s highest rainfall, yet it also experiences water shortages during the other seasons. The Indian rivers receive a total average annual flow of 1953 km3 per year. It is estimated that entire annual usable ground and surface water resources is around 396 km3 and 690 km3. With improvements in standard of living and growing number of population, demand for water resources has also increased along with reducing availability of water through out the nation. Moreover, due to rising pollution levels, the quality of water resources is also declining. Thus the change in climatic conditions, might affect the annual rainfall and availability of water. In India, the monsoon period is generally lasts for around three to four months. A vast portion of the nation faces shortage of surface water resources for most part of the year. Even areas like Konkan and Meghalaya, which receive adequate rainfall, face deficiency during winter and summer months. Although in the coastal and northern plains, water resources are abundant, other regions supply is remarkably insufficient. In general, in particular areas, ground water can be drained from a depth of

almost 15 metres. Even water resources that are safe for ingestion can not be provided to most of the villages in the rural areas.

Availability of water Moreover, canals, rivers, ponds, reservoirs, tanks and other small water bodies form Inland Water resources in India. These are mostly present in the regions of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Orissa, amongst others. The entire length of canals and rivers are 31.2 thousand km in Uttar Pradesh and Orissa has the highest total area for salty water bodies. Around 9.7 million hectare-metres of water was available for agricultural reasons before 1951. But by 1973, almost 18.4 million hectare-meter of water resources was being supplied for agriculture and irrigation. In India, the utilisable ground water resources are considered to be approximately around 40

million hectare-metres. Yet only 10 million hectare-metres are being utilised currently. The residual 30 million hectare-metres are stocked in pipelines for employment.
Waterconservation The most important step in the direction of finding solutions to issues of water and environmental conservation is to change people's attitudes and habitsthis includes each one of us. Conserve water because it is the right thing to do. We can follow some of the simple things that have been listed below and contribute to water conservation. Try to do one thing each day that will result in saving water. Don't worry if the savings are minimalevery drop counts! You can make a difference. Remember to use only the amount you actually need. Form a group of water-conscious people and encourage your friends and neighbours to be part of this group. Promote water conservation in community newsletters and on bulletin boards. Encourage your friends, neighbours and co-workers to also contribute. Encourage your family to keep looking for new ways to conserve water in and around your home. Make sure that your home is leak-free. Many homes have leaking pipes that go unnoticed. Do not leave the tap running while you are brushing your teeth or soaping your face. See that there are no leaks in the toilet tank. You can check this by adding colour to the tank. If there is a leak, colour will appear in the toilet bowl within 30 minutes. (Flush as soon as the test is done, since food colouring may stain the tank.) Avoid flushing the toilet unnecessarily. Put a brick or any other device that occupies space to cut down on the amount of water needed for each flush. When washing the car, use water from a bucket and not a hosepipe. Do not throw away water that has been used for washing vegetables, rice or dalsuse it to water plants or to clean the floors, etc You can store water in a variety of ways. A simple method is to place a drum on a raised platform directly under the rainwater collection source. You can also collect water in a bucket during the rainy season.
LAND Indian land resources are segmented into varied relief features, 43% of land area is plain region; Indian mountain region constitutes 30% of the area, where as plateaus account for 27 % of the total surface area on the nation. In spite of sufficient accessibility of landed topography, population pressure in the country is excessive and that makes space for both food production and the real estate market. However, land resources in India are both essential and at shortage in present days. Land resources in India are considered as non-renewable energy reserve. Further, they are associated with a host of several other elements such as agrarian base of rural as well as urban economy, accessibility of water, and other factors. Speedy urban expansion and the rising land usages have changed because of the increasing population growth and economic development in some selected landscapes is being observed in India.

AVAILIBILITY OF LAND

India occupies a land area of around 3,287,263 sq km. There are different types of land in India, of which 54.7 % of it is civilised land. Majority of the population of India are engaged in agricultural and allied activities and thus agricultural land accounts for near about 56.78 % of the total land area of the country. In India, the total cultivable area is 1,269,219 sq km. Moreover, land is also used in India for grazing and as permanent pastures. Land resources in India also include vast barren lands. They are mostly found in states like Rajasthan, parts of Leh and Jammu as snowfall prevents any major cultivation here. Real Estate lands are growing at an incredible rate in India. Havelis in Rajasthan Commercial land is becoming more expensive with passing years. There is a strong competition in acquiring the best of farmlands, as they can be nestled in the lap

of picturesque valleys replete with streams, private piece of beach in Goa, Puducherry or private havelis in Rajasthan conservation According to Natural Resources Management Division, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, we can conserve our land resources by adopting the following measures: 1. By educating, informing and sensitizing all landholders about various aspects of this precious resources and their sustainable use. 2. Contour ploughing is another measure to conserve our land. By this method, the fields are ploughed, harrowed and sown along the natural contour of the hills. 3. By terracing method: A series of wide steps are made along the slop following the contours. This method is very common in rice growing regions. 4. Under the afforestation and reforestation programmes, planting of trees, bushes and grass help to check the soil erosion,

5. Strict actions are taken to check reckless felling of trees and overgrazing. 6. Shelter belts (rows of trees) are planted on the margins of desert areas to check the fury of wind. 7. Construction of dams and gully-trap inculcate the water-harvesting.
WILDLIFE Wild life resources include all animals, which grow and propagate naturally without any sort of human interference. They remain in wild form without any sort of friendly association with man. Invariably they are in forests. Wildlife serves as a resource to maintain the ecological balance as well as source of entertainment besides acting as source to produce the meat, skins and other animal products. The animal species like lion, tiger, cheetah, deer, bear, jackal and number of wild birds are included in wild life wealth. Wild life resources form important natural resource of a nation. Preserving the wild life is on prioritized agenda of many nations, including India. Each species of wild life enjoys specific climate and specific agro ecological situation and therefore more acclimatized to such situation. Most of wild animals are confined to specific situation. Their breeding and feeding habits are adjusted to such situations.

Endangered Species-Their numbers have been reduced to a critical level

pushing them to near extinction. They may become extinct very shortly. 81 species of mammalians, 38 species of birds, 18 species of amphibians / reptiles are identified as endangered species in India. Some of them are Nilgiri langur, clouded leopard, snow leopard, wolf, Himalayan brown bear, red panda, Asian elephant, one horned rhinoceros, Asiatic wild ass, wild buffaloe, Kashmir stag, slender loris, musk deer, peacock, hornbill, great Indian Bustard, Reticulated python, Indian rock python, Olive ridley sea turtle.

Vulnerable Species-Their population is still abundant but their habitat is

adversely affected. They may become endangered if their habitat continues to be affected. Examples: Leopard and golden langur.

Rare Species-They are such species - whose population is very thinly populated on
a wide geographical area - affecting their natural reproduction. Examples: Snow loris, Indian desert cat and wild yak.