Environmental Management Natural Resources and associated problems – Forest, Water, Mineral, Food, Energy and Land

Natural Resources and associated problems – Forest, Water, Mineral, Food, Energy and Land - second part

Introduction
Human population is growing day-by-day. Continuous increase in population caused an increasing demand for natural resources. Due to urban expansion, electricity need and industrialization, man started utilising natural resources at a much larger scale. Non-renewable resources are limited. They cannot be replaced easily. After some time, these resources may come to an end. It is a matter of much concern and ensures a balance between population growth and utilisation of resources.
This overutilization creates many problems. In some regions there are problems of water logging due to over irrigation. In some areas, there is no sufficient water for industry and agriculture. Thus, there is need for conservation of natural resources.

Problems with Natural Resources
There are many problems associated with natural resources:

Forest resources and associated problems
1. Use and over-exploitation.
2. Deforestation.
3. Timber extraction.
4. Mining and its effects on forest.
5. Dams and their effects on forests and tribal people.

Water resources and associated problems
1. Use and overutilization of water.
2. Floods, droughts etc.
3. Conflicts over water.
4. Dams and problems.

Mineral resource and associated problems
1. Use and exploitation.
2. Environmental effects of extracting and using minerals.

Food resources and associated problems
1. World food problems.
2. Changes caused by agriculture and over grazing.
3. Effects of modern agriculture.
4. Fertilizer-pesticide problems.
5. Water logging and salinity.
Energy resources and associated problems
1. Growing energy needs.

Land resources and associated problems
1. Land degradation.
2. Man-induced landslides.
3. Soil erosion and desertification.

Exploitation of natural resources - History
The exploitation of natural resources started to emerge in the 19th century as natural resource extraction developed. During the 20th century, energy consumption rapidly increased. Today, about 80% of the world’s energy consumption is sustained by the extraction of fossil fuels, which consists of oil, coal and gas. Another non-renewable resource that is exploited by humans is Subsoil minerals such as precious metals that are mainly used in the production of industrial commodities. Intensive agriculture is an example of a mode of production that hinders many aspects of the natural environment, for example the degradation of forests in a terrestrial ecosystem and water pollution in an aquatic ecosystem. As the world population rises and economic growth occurs, the depletion of natural resources influenced by the unsustainable extraction of raw materials becomes an increasing concern.

Why resources are under pressure

Increase in the sophistication of technology enabling natural resources to be extracted quickly and efficiently. E.g., in the past, it could take long hours just to cut down one tree only using saws. Due to increased technology, rates of deforestation have greatly increased
A rapid increase in population. This leads to greater demand for natural resources.
Cultures of consumerism. Materialistic views lead to the mining of gold and diamonds to produce jewelry, unnecessary commodities for human life or advancement.
Excessive demand often leads to conflicts due to intense competition.
Non-equitable distribution of resources

Water Resource and Associated Problem

Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state (water vapor or steam). Water also exists in a liquid crystal state near hydrophilic surfaces.

·         Water covers 70.9% of the Earth's surface, and is vital for all known forms of life
·         On Earth, 96.5% of the planet's water is found in oceans
·         1.7% in groundwater
·         1.7% in glaciers and the ice caps of Antarctica and Greenland, a small fraction in other large water bodies
·         0.001% in the air as vapor, clouds (formed of solid and liquid water particles suspended in air), and precipitation
·         Only 2.5% of the Earth's water is freshwater
·         98.8% of that water is in ice and groundwater
·         Less than 0.3% of all freshwater is in rivers, lakes, and the atmosphere, and an even smaller amount of the Earth's freshwater (0.003%) is contained within biological bodies and manufactured products.

Water on Earth moves continually through the hydrological cycle of evaporation and transpiration (evapotranspiration), condensation, precipitation, and runoff, usually reaching the sea. Evaporation and transpiration contribute to the precipitation over land.

Fresh water is a renewable resource, yet the world's supply of clean, fresh water is steadily decreasing. Water demand already exceeds supply in many parts of the worldand as the world population continues to rise, so too does the water demand. Awareness of the global importance of preserving water for ecosystem services has only recently emerged as, during the 20th century, more than half the world’s wetlands have been lost along with their valuable environmental services for Water Education. The framework for allocating water resources to water users (where such a framework exists) is known as water rights.

Sources of fresh water

Surface water is water in a river, lake or fresh water wetland. Surface water is naturally replenished by precipitation and naturally lost through discharge to the oceans, evaporation, evapotranspiration and sub-surface seepage.
Although the only natural input to any surface water system is precipitation within its watershed, the total quantity of water in that system at any given time is also dependent on many other factors. These factors include storage capacity in lakes, wetlands and artificial reservoirs, the permeability of the soil beneath these storage bodies, the runoff characteristics of the land in the watershed, the timing of the precipitation and local evaporation rates. All of these factors also affect the proportions of water loss.
Human activities can have a large and sometimes devastating impact on these factors. Humans often increase storage capacity by constructing reservoirs and decrease it by draining wetlands. Humans often increase runoff quantities and velocities by paving areas and channelizing stream flow.
The total quantity of water available at any given time is an important consideration. Some human water users have an intermittent need for water. For example, many farms require large quantities of water in the spring, and no water at all in the winter. To supply such a farm with water, a surface water system may require a large storage capacity to collect water throughout the year and release it in a short period of time. Other users have a continuous need for water, such as a power plant that requires water for cooling. To supply such a power plant with water, a surface water system only needs enough storage capacity to fill in when average stream flow is below the power plant's need.
Nevertheless, over the long term the average rate of precipitation within a watershed is the upper bound for average consumption of natural surface water from that watershed.
Natural surface water can be augmented by importing surface water from another watershed through a canal or pipeline. It can also be artificially augmented from any of the other sources listed here, however in practice the quantities are negligible. Humans can also cause surface water to be "lost" (i.e. become unusable) through pollution.
Brazil is the country estimated to have the largest supply of fresh water in the world, followed by Russia and Canada.

Under river flow
Throughout the course of a river, the total volume of water transported downstream will often be a combination of the visible free water flow together with a substantial contribution flowing through sub-surface rocks and gravels that underlie the river and its floodplain called the hyporheic zone. For many rivers in large valleys, this unseen component of flow may greatly exceed the visible flow. The hyporheic zone often forms a dynamic interface between surface water and true ground-water receiving water from the ground water when aquifers are fully charged and contributing water to ground-water when ground waters are depleted. This is especially significant in karst areas where pot-holes and underground rivers are common.

Ground water
Sub-surface water, or groundwater, is fresh water located in the pore space of soil and rocks. It is also water that is flowing within aquifers below the water table. Sometimes it is useful to make a distinction between sub-surface water that is closely associated with surface water and deep sub-surface water in an aquifer (sometimes called "fossil water").
Sub-surface water can be thought of in the same terms as surface water: inputs, outputs and storage. The critical difference is that due to its slow rate of turnover, sub-surface water storage is generally much larger compared to inputs than it is for surface water. This difference makes it easy for humans to use sub-surface water unsustainably for a long time without severe consequences. Nevertheless, over the long term the average rate of seepage above a sub-surface water source is the upper bound for average consumption of water from that source.
The natural input to sub-surface water is seepage from surface water. The natural outputs from sub-surface water are springs and seepage to the oceans.
If the surface water source is also subject to substantial evaporation, a sub-surface water source may become saline. This situation can occur naturally under endorheic bodies of water, or artificially under irrigated farmland. In coastal areas, human use of a sub-surface water source may cause the direction of seepage to ocean to reverse which can also cause soil salinization. Humans can also cause sub-surface water to be "lost" (i.e. become unusable) through pollution. Humans can increase the input to a sub-surface water source by building reservoirs or detention ponds.

Uses of fresh water

Uses of fresh water can be categorized as consumptive and non-consumptive (sometimes called "renewable"). A use of water is consumptive if that water is not immediately available for another use. Losses to sub-surface seepage and evaporation are considered consumptive, as is water incorporated into a product (such as farm produce). Water that can be treated and returned as surface water, such as sewage, is generally considered non-consumptive if that water can be put to additional use. Water use in power generation and industry is generally described using an alternate terminology, focusing on separate measurements of withdrawal and consumption. Withdrawal describes the removal of water from the environment, while consumption describes the conversion of fresh water into some other form, such as atmospheric water vapor or contaminated waste water

Agricultural
It is estimated that 69% of worldwide water use is for irrigation, with 15-35% of irrigation withdrawals being unsustainable. It takes around 3,000 litres of water, converted from liquid to vapour, to produce enough food to satisfy one person's daily dietary need. This is a considerable amount, when compared to that required for drinking, which is between two and five litres. To produce food for the now over 7 billion people who inhabit the planet today requires the water that would fill a canal ten metres deep, 100 metres wide and 7.1 million kilometres long – that's enough to circle the globe 180 times.

Industrial
It is estimated that 22% of worldwide water use is industrial. Major industrial users include hydroelectric dams, thermoelectric power plants, which use water for cooling, ore and oil refineries, which use water in chemical processes, and manufacturing plants, which use water as a solvent. Water withdrawal can be very high for certain industries, but consumption is generally much lower than that of agriculture.
Water is used in renewable power generation. Hydroelectric power derives energy from the force of water flowing downhill, driving a turbine connected to a generator. This hydroelectricity is a low-cost, non-polluting, renewable energy source. Significantly, hydroelectric power can also be used for load following unlike most renewable energy sources which are intermittent. Ultimately, the energy in a hydroelectric power plant is supplied by the sun. Heat from the sun evaporates water, which condenses as rain in higher altitudes and flows downhill. Pumped-storage hydroelectric plants also exist, which use grid electricity to pump water uphill when demand is low, and use the stored water to produce electricity when demand is high.
Hydroelectric power plants generally require the creation of a large artificial lake. Evaporation from this lake is higher than evaporation from a river due to the larger surface area exposed to the elements, resulting in much higher water consumption. The process of driving water through the turbine and tunnels or pipes also briefly removes this water from the natural environment, creating water withdrawal. The impact of this withdrawal on wildlife varies greatly depending on the design of the powerplant.
Pressurized water is used in water blasting and water jet cutters. Also, very high pressure water guns are used for precise cutting. It works very well, is relatively safe, and is not harmful to the environment. It is also used in the cooling of machinery to prevent overheating, or prevent saw blades from overheating. This is generally a very small source of water consumption relative to other uses.
Water is also used in many large scale industrial processes, such as thermoelectric power production, oil refining, fertilizer production and other chemical plant use, and natural gas extraction from shale rock. Discharge of untreated water from industrial uses is pollution. Pollution includes discharged solutes (chemical pollution) and increased water temperature (thermal pollution). Industry requires pure water for many applications and utilizes a variety of purification techniques both in water supply and discharge. Most of this pure water is generated on site, either from natural freshwater or from municipal grey water. Industrial consumption of water is generally much lower than withdrawal, due to laws requiring industrial grey water to be treated and returned to the environment. Thermoelectric powerplants using cooling towers have high consumption, nearly equal to their withdrawal, as most of the withdrawn water is evaporated as part of the cooling process. The withdrawal, however, is lower than in once-through cooling systems.

Household
Drinking water
It is estimated that 8% of worldwide water use is for household purposes. These include drinking water, bathing, cooking, sanitation, and gardening. Basic household water requirements have been estimated by Peter Gleick at around 50 liters per person per day, excluding water for gardens. Drinking water is water that is of sufficiently high quality so that it can be consumed or used without risk of immediate or long term harm. Such water is commonly called potable water. In most developed countries, the water supplied to households, commerce and industry is all of drinking water standard even though only a very small proportion is actually consumed or used in food preparation.
Recreation
Recreational water use is usually a very small but growing percentage of total water use. Recreational water use is mostly tied to reservoirs. If a reservoir is kept fuller than it would otherwise be for recreation, then the water retained could be categorized as recreational usage. Release of water from a few reservoirs is also timed to enhance whitewater boating, which also could be considered a recreational usage. Other examples are anglers, water skiers, nature enthusiasts and swimmers.
Recreational usage is usually non-consumptive. Golf courses are often targeted as using excessive amounts of water, especially in drier regions. It is, however, unclear whether recreational irrigation (which would include private gardens) has a noticeable effect on water resources. This is largely due to the unavailability of reliable data. Additionally, many golf courses utilize either primarily or exclusively treated effluent water, which has little impact on potable water availability.
Recreational usage may reduce the availability of water for other users at specific times and places. For example, water retained in a reservoir to allow boating in the late summer is not available to farmers during the spring planting season. Water released for whitewater rafting may not be available for hydroelectric generation during the time of peak electrical demand.

Environmental
Explicit environmental water use is also a very small but growing percentage of total water use. Environmental water may include water stored in impoundments and released for environmental purposes (held environmental water), but more often is water retained in waterways through regulatory limits of abstraction. Environmental water usage includes watering of natural or artificial wetlands, artificial lakes intended to create wildlife habitat, fish ladders, and water releases from reservoirs timed to help fish spawn, or to restore more natural flow regimes.
Like recreational usage, environmental usage is non-consumptive but may reduce the availability of water for other users at specific times and places. For example, water release from a reservoir to help fish spawn may not be available to farms upstream, and water retained in a river to maintain waterway health would not be available to water abstractors downstream.

Water stress
The concept of water stress is relatively simple: According to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, it applies to situations where there is not enough water for all uses, whether agricultural, industrial or domestic. Defining thresholds for stress in terms of available water per capita is more complex, however, entailing assumptions about water use and its efficiency. Nevertheless, it has been proposed that when annual per capita renewable freshwater availability is less than 1,700 cubic meters, countries begin to experience periodic or regular water stress. Below 1,000 cubic meters, water scarcity begins to hamper economic development and human health and well-being.
Population growth
In 2000, the world population was 6.2 billion. The UN estimates that by 2050 there will be an additional 3.5 billion people with most of the growth in developing countries that already suffer water stress. Thus, water demand will increase unless there are corresponding increases in water conservation and recycling of this vital resource. In building on the data presented here by the UN, the World Bank goes on to explain that access to water for producing food will be one of the main challenges in the decades to come. Access to water will need to be balanced with the importance of managing water itself in a sustainable way while taking into account the impact of climate change, and other environmental and social variables.

Expansion of business activity
Business activity ranging from industrialization to services such as tourism and entertainment continues to expand rapidly. This expansion requires increased water services including both supply and sanitation, which can lead to more pressure on water resources and natural ecosystems.

Rapid urbanization
The trend towards urbanization is accelerating. Small private wells and septic tanks that work well in low-density communities are not feasible within high-density urban areas. Urbanization requires significant investment in water infrastructure in order to deliver water to individuals and to process the concentrations of wastewater – both from individuals and from business. These polluted and contaminated waters must be treated or they pose unacceptable public health risks.
In 60% of European cities with more than 100,000 people, groundwater is being used at a faster rate than it can be replenished. Even if some water remains available, it costs more and more to capture it.

Climate change
Climate change could have significant impacts on water resources around the world because of the close connections between the climate and hydrological cycle. Rising temperatures will increase evaporation and lead to increases in precipitation, though there will be regional variations in rainfall. Overall, the global supply of freshwater will increase. Both droughts and floods may become more frequent in different regions at different times, and dramatic changes in snowfall and snow melt are expected in mountainous areas. Higher temperatures will also affect water quality in ways that are not well understood. Possible impacts include increased eutrophication. Climate change could also mean an increase in demand for farm irrigation, garden sprinklers, and perhaps even swimming pools. There is now ample evidence that increased hydrologic variability and change in climate has and will continue have a profound impact on the water sector through the hydrologic cycle, water availability, water demand, and water allocation at the global, regional, basin, and local levels.
There is now ample evidence that increased hydrologic variability and change in climate has and will continue to have a profound impact on the water sector through the hydrologic cycle, water availability, water demand, and water allocation at global, regional, basin, and local levels.

Depletion of aquifers
Due to the expanding human population, competition for water is growing such that many of the worlds major aquifers are becoming depleted. This is due both for direct human consumption as well as agricultural irrigation by groundwater. Millions of pumps of all sizes are currently extracting groundwater throughout the world. Irrigation in dry areas such as northern China and India is supplied by groundwater, and is being extracted at an unsustainable rate. Cities that have experienced aquifer drops between 10 to 50 meters include Mexico City, Bangkok, Manila, Beijing, Madras and Shanghai.

Pollution and water protection
Water pollution is one of the main concerns of the world today. The governments of numerous countries have striven to find solutions to reduce this problem. Many pollutants threaten water supplies, but the most widespread, especially in developing countries, is the discharge of raw sewage into natural waters; this method of sewage disposal is the most common method in underdeveloped countries, but also is prevalent in quasi-developed countries such as China, India and Iran. Sewage, sludge, garbage, and even toxic pollutants are all dumped into the water. Even if sewage is treated, problems still arise. Treated sewage forms sludge, which may be placed in landfills, spread out on land, incinerated or dumped at sea. In addition to sewage, nonpoint source pollution such as agricultural runoff is a significant source of pollution in some parts of the world, along with urban stormwater runoff and chemical wastes dumped by industries and governments.

Water and conflict
Competition for water has widely increased, and it has become more difficult to conciliate the necessities for water supply for human consumption, food production, ecosystems and other uses. Water administration is frequently involved in contradictory and complex problems. Approximately 10 % of the worldwide annual runoff is used for human necessities. Several areas of the world are flooded, while others have such low precipitations that human life is almost impossible. As population and development increase, raising water demand, the possibility of problems inside a certain country or region increases, as it happens with others outside the region.
Over the past 25 years, politicians, academics and journalists have frequently predicted that disputes over water would be a source of future wars. Commonly cited quotes include: that of former Egyptian Foreign Minister and former Secretary-General of the United Nations Mr. Ghali, who forecast, “The next war in the Middle East will be fought over water, not politics”; his successor at the UN, Kofi Annan, who in 2001 said, “Fierce competition for fresh water may well become a source of conflict and wars in the future,” and the former Vice President of the World Bank, Ismail Serageldin, who said the wars of the next century will be over water unless significant changes in governance occurred. The water wars hypothesis had its roots in earlier research carried out on a small number of transboundary rivers such as the Indus, Jordan and Nile. These particular rivers became the focus because they had experienced water-related disputes. Specific events cited as evidence include Israel’s bombing of Syria’s attempts to divert the Jordan’s headwaters, and military threats by Egypt against any country building dams in the upstream waters of the Nile. However, while some links made between conflict and water were valid, they did not necessarily represent the norm.
The only known example of an actual inter-state conflict over water took place between 2500 and 2350 BC between the Sumerian states of Lagash and Umma.  Water stress has most often led to conflicts at local and regional levels. Tensions arise most often within national borders, in the downstream areas of distressed river basins. Areas such as the lower regions of China's Yellow River or the Chao Phraya River in Thailand, for example, have already been experiencing water stress for several years. Water stress can also exacerbate conflicts and political tensions which are not directly caused by water. Gradual reductions over time in the quality and/or quantity of fresh water can add to the instability of a region by depleting the health of a population, obstructing economic development, and exacerbating larger conflicts.

Shared water resources can promote collaboration
Water resources that span international boundaries, are more likely to be a source of collaboration and cooperation, than war. Scientists working at the International Water Management Institute, in partnership with Aaron Wolf at Oregon State University, have been investigating the evidence behind water war predictions. Their findings show that, while it is true there has been conflict related to water in a handful of international basins, in the rest of the world’s approximately 300 shared basins the record has been largely positive. This is exemplified by the hundreds of treaties in place guiding equitable water use between nations sharing water resources. The institutions created by these agreements can, in fact, be one of the most important factors in ensuring cooperation rather than conflict.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) published the book Share: Managing water across boundaries. One chapter covers the functions of trans-boundary institutions and how they can be designed to promote cooperation, overcome initial disputes and find ways of coping with the uncertainty created by climate change. It also covers how the effectiveness of such institutions can be monitored.

Land
Definition - The part of the Earth that is not covered by water.
Drylands, areas with low amounts of water in the soil
Land may refer to:
Landscape
Landform, physical feature comprises a geomorphological unit
Land (economics), a factor of production comprising all naturally occurring resources
Land law
Real estate, a legal term for land, used in regard to ownership
Real property, a legal term similar to real estate

A physical entity in terms of its topography and spatial nature. This is often associated with an economic value, expressed in price per hectare or in some unit at ownership transfer. The broader, integrative or holistic view takes into account the physio-biotic and socio-economic resources of the physical entity.

"Land is a delineable area of the earth's terrestrial surface, encompassing all attributes of the biosphere immediately above or below this surface including those of the near-surface climate the soil and terrain forms, the surface hydrology (including shallow lakes, rivers, marshes, and swamps), the near-surface sedimentary layers and associated groundwater reserve, the plant and animal populations, the human settlement pattern and physical results of past and present human activity (terracing, water storage or drainage structures, roads, buildings, etc.)."

Natural resources, in the context of "land" as defined above, are taken to be those components of land units that are of direct economic use for human population groups living in the area, or expected to move into the area: near-surface climatic conditions; soil and terrain conditions; freshwater conditions; and vegetational and animal conditions in so far as they provide produce. To a large degree, these resources can be quantified in economic terms. This can be done irrespective of their location (intrinsic value) or in relation to their proximity to human settlements (situational value).

Environmental resources are taken to be those components of the land that have an intrinsic value of their own, or are of value for the longer-term sustainability of the use of the land by human populations, either in loco or regional and global. They include biodiversity of plant and animal populations; scenic, educational or research value of landscapes; protective value of vegetation in relation to soil and water resources either in loco or downstream; the functions of the vegetation as a regulator of the local and regional climate and of the composition of the atmosphere; water and soil conditions as regulators of nutrient cycles (C, N. P. K, S), as influencing human health and as a long-term buffer against extreme weather events; occurrence of vectors of human or animal diseases (mosquitoes, tsetse flies, blackflies, etc.). Environmental resources are to a large degree "non-tangible" in strictly economic terms.
In the framework of an integrated, holistic approach to land use planning, the distinction is somewhat artificial, as environmental resources are part of the set of natural resources. However, it still serves to group the tangible from the non-tangible components, and the directly beneficial at local level from the indirectly beneficial components of human life support systems.
Accepting the broad definition of land as including "human settlement patterns", a third important set of resources has to be taken into account. The set of social or human resources should be defined in terms of density of population groups, their occupational activities, their land rights, their sources of income, the standard of living of households, gender aspects, etc.

Land as Resource

Land resources are critical to the well being of everyone.  Whether a person lives in a city or in a rural area, they rely on crops and other goods produced using the world's vast quantities of land.
Humans need to have significant portions of land for crops, forests, rangeland, watersheds, and estuaries.  Without land available to be used for these purposes, people would lack the things they need to survive.
Crop land is one of the most important resources people have.  Without the ability to grow food, people throughout the world would not be able to survive.
About one-third of the planet is covered by forests.  Forests provide wood that can be used in buildings, paper, and heating and cooking.  A great variety of natural processes also occur in forests.  Without these processes, many environmental problems would be created.
Rangelands are being used to allow domesticated animals to feed.  About 40% of rangelands are now used for this purpose.  These areas are beginning to be affected by overgrazing, and the quality of the land is decreasing.
To protect the country's land resources, the United States has set aside over a third of its land for public ownership.  It has created National Forests, National Resource Lands, National Wildlife Refuges, National Parks, and National Wilderness areas.
Land usage will be a major factor in the future.  As the food problem becomes even more severe, those areas with sufficient land and the proper land conditions for sustaining life are likely to thrive.

Land use planning and physical planning
Every year 19.5 million hectares of agricultural land is converted to spreading urban centres and industrial developments, often forcing farmers onto shrinking and more marginal lands. The uncontrolled expansion of human settlements constitutes a challenge for sustainable land planning and management. Particularly the concentration of people and cities in coastal areas increases the demand for limited land resources. Coastal areas are among the most crowded regions in the world. Demands on land resources and the risks to sustainability are likely to intensify.
Population growth, economic development and urbanization are driving demands for food, water, energy and raw materials; the continued shift in human diet from cereal to animal products, requiring a higher input in land and water resources, and the recent move towards biofuels add to the demand for farm production, all of this with implications for land uses.

As for any form of agriculture, expanded biofuel production may threaten land and water resources as well as biodiversity, and appropriate policy measures are required to minimize possible negative effects. The impacts will vary across feedstocks and locations and will depend on cultivation practices and whether new land is converted for production of biofuel feedstocks or other crops are displaced by biofuels. Expanded demand for agricultural commodities will exacerbate pressures on the natural resource base, especially if the demand is met through area expansion. On the other hand, the use of perennial feedstocks on marginal or degraded lands may offer promise for sustainable biofuel production, but the economic viability of such options may be a constraint at least in the short run.

Land-use (or Land Resources) Planning
Land-use (or Land Resources) Planning is a systematic and iterative procedure carried out in order to create an enabling environment for sustainable development of land resources which meets people’s needs and demands. It assesses the physical, socio-economic, institutional and legal potentials and constraints with respect to an optimal and sustainable use of land resources, and empowers people to make decisions about how to allocate those resources.

These are matched through a multiple goal analysis and assessment of the intrinsic value of the various environmental and natural resources of the land unit. The result is an indication of a preferred future land use, or combination of uses. Through a negotiation process with all stakeholders, the outcome is improved, agreed decisions on the concrete allocation of land for specific uses (or non-uses) through legal and administrative measures, which will lead eventually to implementation of the plan.

For the purposes of this discussion physical planning is the designing of the optimal physical infrastructure of an administrative land unit, such as transport facilities - roads, railways, airports, harbours; industrial plants and storage of produce; mining and power generation, and facilities for towns and other human settlements - in anticipation of population increase and socio-economic development, and taking into account the outcome of land use zoning and planning. It has both rural and urban development aspects, though the latter usually predominates.

Physical planning is normally carried out by the state, or by local government organizations for the general good of the community. The purpose is to take a more nearly holistic or overall view of the development of an area than can or would be taken by individuals. Physical planning has two main functions: to develop a rational infrastructure, and to restrain the excesses of individuals in the interests of the community as a whole. This latter function usually leads to physical planning being associated with a system of laws and regulations.
Land use planning should be a decision-making process that "facilitates the allocation of land to the uses that provide the greatest sustainable benefits" (UN Agenda 21). It is based on the socio-economic conditions and expected developments of the population in and around a natural land unit. These are matched through a multiple goal analysis and assessment of the intrinsic value of the various environmental and natural resources of the land unit. The result is an indication of a preferred future land use, or combination of uses. Through a negotiation process with all stakeholders, the outcome is decisions on the concrete allocation of land for specific uses (or non-uses) through legal and administrative measures, which will lead eventually to implementation of the plan.
Land use planning is mainly related to rural areas, concentrating on the use of the land in the broadest agricultural context (crop production, animal husbandry, forest management/silviculture(Forest Cultivation), inland fisheries, safeguarding of protective vegetation and biodiversity values). However, peri-urban areas are also included where they directly impinge on rural areas, through expansion of building construction onto valuable agricultural land and the consequent modification of land uses in the adjoining rural areas.

Planning and management
As stated before, land resources planning is the process of evaluation of options and subsequent decision-making which precedes implementation of a decision or plan.
Land resources management is the implementation of land use planning, as agreed between and with the direct participation of stakeholders. It is achieved through political decisions; legal, administrative and institutional execution; demarcation on the ground; inspection and control of adherence to the decisions; solving of land tenure issues; settling of water rights; issuing of concessions for plant and animal extraction (timber, fuel wood, charcoal and peat, non-wood products, hunting); promotion of the role of women and other disadvantaged groups in agriculture and rural development in the area, and the safeguarding of traditional rights of early indigenous peoples.

Zoning, resource management domains, allocation
In the urban planning sphere the word is commonly used in a prescriptive sense; for example, the allocation of peri-urban land for specific uses such as housing, light industry, recreation, horticulture or animal big-industry, in each case with the appropriate legal restrictions to land markets.
In the original agro-ecologic zoning concept the word denotes an earlier stage of rural planning. It is a subdivision of the rural lands on the basis of physical and biological characteristics (climate, soils, terrain forms, land cover, and to a degree the water resources), and is used as a tool for agricultural land use planning. At regional inter-country level, it was one of the tools to assess the potential human population supporting (or "carrying") capacity of a country. This is inasmuch as it depends on the producing capacity of the land at different levels of input and technology, discounting industrial, trade or mining activities.

Links between rural, peri-urban and urban land use planning
URBAN needs
RURAL needs
Prevention of mass-influx of rural poor
Availability of labour for agricultural activities (cropping, forestry, fisheries)
Potentially synergistic: socio-economic support mechanisms for stable and equitable income of rural population
Affordable food, especially for the poorer segments of the urban population
Substantial and stable market for agricultural produce, at above-cost prices
Antagonistic: food aid from outside the country
Synergistic: promotion of credit and markets for locally produced food
Good access/communications with the hinterland (transport of raw materials; tourism)
Good access/communication with the urban centres (transport of agricultural inputs and outputs)
Synergistic
Energy from water reservoirs
Rural water resources for irrigation, agricultural produce processing
Antagonistic: flooding of agricultural or forest land by reservoirs
Synergistic: water storage for both energy and irrigation
Steady and good quality water supply for human and industrial use
As above, and disposal of agricultural drainage water (salinity; some excess fertilizer input, pesticides, etc.)
Antagonistic: limitation of water quantity for upstream rural use; degradation of water quality for downstream urban use
Synergistic: afforestation; more efficient agricultural inputs use
Household fuel (charcoal) and wood-based shelter materials (timber)
Vegetative protection of upper catchments and river banks to prevent degradation of agri- cultural land
Antagonistic, unless effective land market control
Synergistic: afforestation and protection of vulnerable ecosystems
Disposal of solid and liquid waste and storm water
Protection of valuable natural ecosystems; replenishment of plant nutrients stock
Antagonistic: degradation of down stream agro-ecosystems
Synergistic: reuse of treated waste on pert-urban agricultural lands
Expansion of settlement and industrial area and (peri) urban infrastructure (harbours, airports) and associated free land markets
Protection of prime agricultural- land and safe agricultural land tenure in pert-urban areas
Antagonistic, unless effective land market control

An integrated approach
Integration, or "the act of combining or adding parts to make a unified whole" (Collins English dictionary) refers to all parts that make up a land unit as defined before. In combination with the word "approach", it should also refer to participatory and comprehensive cooperation between all institutions and groups at national, provincial and local levels - all "parts", partners or stakeholders - that relate to and deal with land resources planning and the management of such planning.
UN Agenda 21 calls for mechanisms aiming to promote a constructive and productive dialogue between the full range of stakeholders. These include ministries, provincial and municipal government departments and their policy development entities, research and resources data base development institutes such as a topographic service or statistics institutes, organizations in the executive sphere such as national irrigation boards or town water supply companies, and public-interest organizations (NGOs) at both national and local level, such as nature conservation societies, farmers associations and community groups.
This implies the need to create an enabling environment in the legislative and administrative sphere, leading to negotiation platforms for decision making at all relevant levels, to solve conflicting demands on the use of the land, or components of it, such as freshwater resources. These platforms should both be horizontal between ministries, provincial or municipal governing bodies, and vertical between governing bodies and local, actual or potential users of the land resources, all together linking in both top-down and bottom-up directions.

Mineral resources
A 'Mineral Resource' is a concentration or occurrence of material of intrinsic economic interest in or on the earth's crust in such form, quality and quantity that there are reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. Mineral Resources are further sub-divided, in order of increasing geological confidence, into inferred, Indicated and measured Categories.
Inferred Mineral Resource is that part of a mineral resource for which tonnage, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a low level of confidence. It is inferred from geological evidence and assumed but not verified geological/or grade continuity. It is based on information gathered through appropriate techniques from location such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes which may be of limited or uncertain quality and reliability.
Indicated resources are simply economic mineral occurrences that have been sampled (from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits and drillholes) to a point where an estimate has been made, at a reasonable level of confidence, of their contained metal, grade, tonnage, shape, densities, physical characteristics.
Measured resources are indicated resources that have undergone enough further sampling that a 'competent person' (defined by the norms of the relevant mining code; usually a geologist) has declared them to be an acceptable estimate, at a high degree of confidence, of the grade, tonnage, shape, densities, physical characteristics and mineral content of the mineral occurrence.
Resources may also make up portions of a mineral deposit classified as a mineral reserve, but:
Have not been sufficiently drilled out to qualify for Reserve status; or
Have yet to meet all criteria for Reserve status

Mineral reserves/Ore Reserves
Mineral reserves are resources known to be economically feasible for extraction. Reserves are either Probable Reserves or Proven Reserves.
A Probable Ore Reserve is the part of Indicated resources that can be mined in an economically viable fashion, and in some circumstances, a Measured Mineral Resource. It includes diluting material and allowances for losses which may occur when the material is mined. A Probable Ore Reserve has a lower level of confidence than a Proved Ore Reserve but is of sufficient quality to serve as the basis for decision on the development of deposit.
A Proven Ore Reserve is the part of Measured resources that can be mined in an economically viable fashion. It includes diluting materials and allowances for losses which occur when the material is mined.
A Proven Ore Reserve represents the highest confidence category of reserve estimate. The style of mineralization or other factors could mean that Proven Ore Reserves are not achievable in some deposits.
Generally the conversion of resources into reserves requires the application of various modifying factors, including:
mining and geological factors, such as knowledge of the geology of the deposit sufficient that it is predictable and verifiable; extraction and mine plans based on ore models; quantification of geotechnical risk—basically, managing the geological faults, joints, and ground fractures so the mine does not collapse; and consideration of technical risk—essentially, statistical and variography to ensure the ore is sampled properly:
metallurgical factors, including scrutiny of assay data to ensure accuracy of the information supplied by the laboratory—required because ore reserves are bankable. Essentially, once a deposit is elevated to reserve status, it is an economic entity and an asset upon which loans and equity can be drawn—generally to pay for its extraction at (hopefully) a profit;
economic factors;
environmental factors;
marketing factors;
legal factors;
political factors; and
social factors

Sustainable use of non-fuel mineral resources
In the United Nations (U.N.) Report, “Our Common Future,” commonly called the “Brundtland Report,” sustainable development is defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Brundtland, 1987, p. 8). This has become the most accepted definition internationally. It has been expanded by the U.N. Environment Programme, which added that the concept also requires the maintenance, rational use, and enhancement of the natural resources base that underpins ecological resilience and economic growth and that it implies progress toward international equity (United Nations Environment Programme, 1989).
The next steps were the Rio Declaration at the U.N. Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and Agenda 21, which stress three objectives of sustainable development—(1) to conserve the basic needs of life, (2) to enable all people to achieve economic prosperity, and (3) to strive toward social justice.

Guidelines for Sustainable Development
In contrast to guidelines for the use of renewable resources, guidelines for nonrenewable resources are more difficult to develop. In 1993, the Enquete Commission on Protection of Man and the Environment, set up by the German Federal Parliament, formulated four general rules for the sustainable development of natural resources (Enquete-Kommission Schutz des Menschen und der Umwelt, 1993); these rules can be applied worldwide. Rules 1 and 2 concern resources, and rules 3 and 4 concern the resilience of the environment.
Rule 1. Use of renewable resources.—The rate of consumption of renewable resources should not exceed the rate at which they can be regenerated.
Rule 2. Use of nonrenewable resources.—The consumption of nonrenewable resources should not exceed the amount that can be substituted by functionally equivalent renewable resources or by attaining a higher efficiency in the use of renewable or nonrenewable resources.
Rule 3. Material and energy input.—Material and energy input into the environment should not exceed the capacity of the environment to absorb them with minimal detrimental effects.
Rule 4. Rate of anthropogenic input and environmental interference.—The rate of anthropogenic input and environmental interference should be measured against the time required for natural processes to react to and cope with the environmental damage.

Let us consider why we need natural resources. With a few notable exceptions, potassium and phosphate used as fertilizers in agriculture, it is not the metal or raw material as such that is important, but a function that can be fulfilled by the material properties of the commodity (for example, the electrical conductivity of copper). Other commodities, sometimes using a totally different technology, also can perform these functions. For example, copper telephone wires are used for transmitting information. These have been extensively replaced by fiberglass cable made of silica, whose availability on Earth is limitless. Another solution to the problem of transmitting information is wireless transmission using directional radio antennae or satellites. Each solution requires different materials.

The efficiency of production and utilization of mineral raw materials will have to be increased. This improvement requires investments in research and development, which can be much more easily undertaken in the relatively rich industrialized nations than in the relatively poor developing nations. Moreover, industrialized nations start much higher on the learning curve for efficient use of natural resources than do the developing nations. After development by industrial nations, more efficient technologies then can be adopted by the developing nations to meet the natural resources needs of their growing populations. Such development and application of technology allow us to extend the three-cornerstone concept in the Rio Declaration of 1992 to a four-cornerstone concept by adding the need for research and technology to achieve a higher efficiency in the use of natural resources. In the long run, including research and technology is the only possibility for achieving sustainable development globally.
The three-cornerstone concept of the 1992 Rio Declaration (economy, ecology, and social justice) extended to a four-cornerstone concept that includes research and technology to achieve sustainable development globally.

Two main points here are (1) Finding new substitutes (2) Improving recycling

The process of continually finding new solutions for the replacement of our nonrenewable resources is governed by the prices of these commodities and, for mineral resources, is affected by the cycle of supply and demand and the effects of learning. In the opinion of the authors, this process so far has worked in our market economy to provide a dynamic balance between resources supply and demand. There is no reason to believe that the process will not continue to function in the future. Concerning the environmental aspects and the sink issue, one can be optimistic that improved technologies will find the necessary solutions.
A more pressing problem for humanity lies in another area—food for an ever-increasing population. Freshwater and soil are needed for growing food. In many arid and semiarid areas today, fossil water is being used. Such water must be considered a nonrenewable resource when its slow recharge is measured against its rapid depletion. Huge quantities of soil, which likewise must be considered a nonrenewable resource, are lost every year to erosion by water and wind, thus reducing the amount of arable land. These growing resource constraints, in combination with an increasing population, are significantly reducing the amount of arable land per capita worldwide. This is an historic paradox, where humanity must be more concerned in the future with the availability of nonrenewable resources than with renewable ones.

Energy

Energy is the lifeline to prosperity and growth of infrastructural development in any country. The energy thus would need to be ensured for its availability on sustainable basis. The demand of energy is growing at a very fast rate and the energy sources are becoming scarce and costlier day by day.
Among the various strategies to be evolved for meeting energy demand, efficient use of energy and its conservation is by far the least cost option. The steps to create sustainable energy system begin with the optimal use of resources. Energy efficiency improvement is the mantra that leads to achieving sustainable energy systems.
The Electricity Act, 2003 and the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 are the Government’s major Legislative initiatives towards creating an enabling framework for a sustainable and more efficient future management of our primary and secondary energy resources. Government of India has accorded high priority to the Energy Efficiency and Energy Conservations measures and launched the Campaign on Energy Conservations in 2004. In order to maintain the momentum of energy conservation campaign and to make all the energy users to realize their potential role in promoting energy conservation in the country, Ministry of Power and Bureau of Energy Efficiency have decided to continue the National Campaign on Energy Conservation, which was launched last year. The main goal of the campaign is to reduce energy costs by reducing demand for energy and help individual citizen to make small behavior changes that collectively will make a big difference.

STRATEGIES FOR THE TARGETED SECTOR
Industrial Sector
Nearly 50% of the total conventional energy available is consumed in the Indian industries. The large and medium scale industries have taken up many programmes in past to conserveenergy. To maintain the tempo, the current awareness programme will focus on this sectorthrough the organisation of sector specific workshops on energy conservation. The focussector in this year campaign will be cement, pulp & paper, aluminium, petrochemical andrefineries. The workshops and conferences willbring together people from across the country who are committed to helping the nation develop a long-term, sustainable energy direction.
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency plans to undertake life long learning programme on energy conservation for certified energy managers and energy auditors. A large number of industrial units have also come forward to participate in the national campaign and organize various activities and programmes to create awareness among their employees. Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) plans to request the top Management of Industry to declare their Energy Management Policy. Already 44 industries and commercial establishments have declared their energy management policies, during the campaign 2005. This has already given a much required momentum to energy efficiency improvements drive in the industry. Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) coordinates all the planned awareness campaign activities for this sector.
Commercial Sector
The issue in this sector can be addressed effectively through print media by insertions on tips to save electricity. Organizing of workshops, and symposiums, demonstration of energy efficient lighting system in the Trade Fairs, etc. does contribute in achieving the objective in effective manner. Bureau of Energy Efficiency has the primary responsibility of creating the awareness through print & electronic media in this sector.
Commercial buildings owners will be requested to undertake awareness creation programmes for their employees. The newly introduced energy conservation award scheme for Commercial and Government buildings will be expended to include shopping malls and offices as well, in the modified EC Award scheme.
Domestic Sector
Domestic Sector being in the category of unorganized sector, it requires a mix of strategies for a sustainable energy conservation awareness campaign. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency will be releasing insertions on regular basis on ‘simple trips’ on how to save electricity in the lighting, refrigerators , air-conditioners and other electrical appliances. Bureau also plans to launch Voluntary Labeling Scheme, to start with, on refrigerators and fluorescent tube lights. This would provide and facilitate the consumers to make an informed choice of the various consumer goods. A large number of industrial units have also taken initiatives and come forward to create awareness amongst the residents of their townships and neighborhood areas through organizing various energy conservation programmes, posters, quiz and slogan competitions and other such activities
Agricultural Sector
Regular insertions would be made by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency in the print media on simple tips to save energy in the electricity and diesel operated agricultural pump sets. Further, manufactures of these pump sets are being involved in demonstrating the improved energy efficiencies in the modern designs of agricultural pumps in various Trade Fairs, seminars, workshops etc. as well as local Fairs. Some of the industrial units have already committed to organize awareness programme for the farmers and villagers.
Educational Institutes
In the campaign, organized this year thrust is placed on the messages that can stimulate active involvement of the young to attitudinal changes in regard the energy saving habits since their childhood. The objective is to make energy saving practices as part of their involuntary actions of their daily life. The effort is also intended to expand the campaign impacts by involving the school children so as to spread the energy conservation messages through their friends, parents and other relatives. The major activity, which is planned to be undertaken in this regard, is the continuation of ‘Painting Competition on Energy Conservation’ for the children at School, State / UT and National Level. The continuation of this activity will not only make aware the children about the need of conserving energy, but at the same time, would necessarily educate and involve their parents in the above cause. The identified activity is one of the measures, which can help in creating awareness in the domestic sector. The painting competition also aims to motivate the children towards energy conservation and offer them a chance to explore their creativity and in turn help the nation in SAVING ENERGY.