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w Supporting campaigns and government initiatives for consumption of alternate sources of energy.
w Going for Reduce, Recycle, Repurpose, Refuse and Reuse of the available resources.
Food Conservation
Natural Resources used as food for the living organisms are called Food Resources. Conservation of food resources will
help retain the nutritional value of food and avoid its wastage. It serves to feed mankind in times of adverse conditions
like war, natural calamity, food shortage due to climatic change, etc.
The given methods for conserving food are used at different stages of food transfer from producer to consumer level:
• Cooling: Certain varieties of food can be refrigerated, while others can be frozen to stop the growth of harmful
microorganisms like bacteria, mould, fungi, etc. on the food, thus preventing it from being unfit for consumption.
• Heating: Microorganisms are destroyed by heat at specific temperature. This process includes pasteurisation,
cooking, and sterilisation.
• Removing moisture from food: This will hinder the growth of microorganisms on food by drying, salting, pickling,
sugaring, and smoking food.
• Use of preservatives: Food preservatives like Sodium Benzoate, Parabens, Formaldehyde, etc. are used to increase
the shelf life of food items by keeping it fresh for a long time.
Forest Conservation
Forest is an important renewable resource and is made up of living and non-living components. It has plants in the
form of trees, shrubs, climbers, grasses, and herbs. It provides us food, fodder, fibre, fruits, and fuel. It also regulates
the temperature of a place and helps in conservation of soil. To conserve this natural vegetation that exists from
thousands of years, follow the given methods:
• Control deforestation: Due to rapid urbanisation and the construction of dams, forests are cut to clear land. Cutting
should be regulated by :
w Clear cutting method: If the same types of trees are available over a large area, then trees of the same age group
can be cut down in a selected area and then marked for replantation.
w Selective cutting method: Only mature trees are selected for cutting.
This process is to be followed in rotation.
w Shelter wood cutting method: Trees are cut on the basis of their utility
of providing timber. Trees of lesser importance are cut first, followed
by trees of moderate importance and at the end the best trees are
considered.
• Control forest fire: Fire in forests sometimes occurs due to natural
processes like lightning strikes or friction between trees during high-speed winds. Sometimes, intentional or
unintentional human activities may also cause fire in forest. Precautions must be taken for such incidents like making
fire lanes, spreading chemicals to control fire, clearing out dry leaves and trees, etc. There must be a trained staff
of fire-fighters to control the fire.
• Afforestation and Reforestation: Afforestation is the process of planting more trees on land with few or no trees
i.e. creating a new forest. Reforestation is the process of planting more trees in an existing forest with less number
of trees due to forest fire or excessive cutting. These two methods will help restore the natural vegetation which is
important for maintaining the ecological balance.
Russia has the largest number of trees in the world, estimated at 642 billion trees. Next
is Canada with 318 billion trees, and Brazil with 302 billion trees.
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