ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE : NATURAL RESOURCES 71
(a) There are nearly 1200 thousand sheep and goats in alpine areas of U.P.
(b) Besides nearly 25,000 migration graziers visit the area.
(c) There are also about 5 to 7,000 buffaloes owned by Gujaras.
It is estimated that in absence of suitable checks, growing forestry stock will decrease
from 13.79m^3 /head in 1981 in 2001; and reduction in annual availability of grass will be
from 3.60t/cattle unit in 1981 to 0.90t/cattle unit in 2001. Existing forests may thus not be
able to meet out wood and fodder requirements of mankind and livestock respectively.
They Menace
(1) The annual loss of soil nutrients in this way is of the order of 5.37 million tones
of NPK valued at about Rs. 700 crores.
(2) Besides, the expenses of soil removal, which gets silted in irrigation tanks, reservoirs,
sea and riverbeds, are also quite high.
(3) Overgrazing is a major hazard afflicting pastures, forests and mountains.
(4) There are huge semi-arid zones in India used for grazing. But grazing destroys the
little covers and enhances wind and erosion.Suggestions
(1) There must be development crops for arid regions. For example, there are some
plants, which yield hydrocarbons (substitute for oil), and grow well in arid conditions.
These include jojaba, a plant that yields a sap like diesel oil and milkweed.
(2) The Jidhpur Arid Zone Rea Institute is already experimenting with such varieties.
(3) In overgrazed areas there should be grown fodder trees like Ku-babul, which in
irrigated condition gives enough green fodder per acre to maintain six cows.
(4) Most villages should be asked to grow such plants instead of grass on panchyyati
pastures.
(5) Goats and sheep should be kept in enclosures and fed with tree fodder, through
which many more calories will be converted into meat and wool. These animals
waste huge quantities of calories roaming on pastures. Ku-babul can supply the
high quality feed.MODERN AGRICULTURE: EFFECTS OF
With a view to feed rapidly increasing new mouths and to cope with the necessity of
providing sufficient food to the people, various techniques and methods have been applied
in the field of agriculture.
(1) Agriculture Census
The Department of Agriculture and Cooperation has been conducting agriculture census
in each of the plan period since 1970-71. Census in 1970-71 and 1980-81 were organized as
part of the World Agricultural Census Programmes sponsored by the Food and Agriculture
Organisation of United Nations. They were conducted on a complete enumeration basis in
most States/Uts. The other two census with agriculture years 1976-77 and 1985-86 as reference