Ecosystem Service Changes and Livelihood Impacts in the Maguri-Motapung Wetlands of Assam, India
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Methods
2.1. Study Area
2.2. Methodology
2.2.1. Household Survey
2.2.2. Focus Group Discussion (FGDs)
2.2.3. Stakeholder Workshops
2.2.4. Key Informant Interviews
2.3. Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Ecosystem Services, Their Use and Ranking
3.2. People’s Dependency on Ecosystem Services
3.3. Drivers of Change
3.4. Impacts on Ecosystem Services and People’s Dependency
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Acknowledgments/Disclaimer
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Name of Village | No. of Households | Population | Change in Population | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2001 | 2011 | 2001 | 2011 | ||
Baghjan gaon | 701 | 872 | 3648 | 4488 | 840 |
Purani Motapung | 349 | 403 | 2033 | 2127 | 94 |
Rangara Te Natungaon | 220 | 258 | 1227 | 1348 | 121 |
Gotong Gaon | 247 | 152 | 1391 | 796 | 595 |
Na-Motapung Gaon | 210 | 195 | 1156 | 1001 | 155 |
Dhalakhat Gaon | 184 | 177 | 913 | 928 | 15 |
Total | 1911 | 2057 | 10368 | 10688 | 320 |
Ecosystem Services Category | Ecosystem Service Recorded |
---|---|
Provisioning (15) | Timber, thatch, bamboo, fuelwood, fish, livestock grazing, edible plants, medicine, macrophytes, NTFPs, Germplasm, water for drinking, irrigation, fodder, hunting |
Regulating (7) | Climate regulation, air purification, nutrient cycling, flood control, pollination, siltation control, water regulation (used for irrigation and drinking) |
Cultural (5) | Tourism, educational and research, recreational visit, bird watching, spiritual/inspirational value |
Supporting (2) | Habitat for wild flora and fauna, Nursery for fishes |
Ecosystem Services | Use | Ranking | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|
Fish (provisioning) | Food and selling in the market | 1 | 117 Fishermen (20 groups) from four villages are dependent on Maguri beel. An average of IRs 1000 fish catch per week per group |
Tourism (cultural) | Employment as guides or hotel employees | 2 | Important tourist destination. An estimated 20,000 tourists visit per year |
Habitat for biodiversity (supporting) | Supporting biodiversity of global significance | 3 | Regarded as an important habitat for wild flora and fauna by local communities |
Fuelwood (provisioning) | Cooking and heating | 4 | One bicycle-load of fuelwood sold at the rate of INR. 500–700 (USD 1= ~INR 66) |
Nursery for fishes (supporting) | Breeding ground for fish | 5 | High diversity of fish in the beel |
Livestock grazing (provisioning) | Use by local communities | 6 | Livestock is one of the major livelihood strategies in the area |
Water (provisioning) | An important source for irrigating agriculture land | 7 | |
Edible plants (provisioning) | Collection for household use and selling in the market | 8 | e.g., Bamboo shoots |
Wild animals (provisioning) | Hunting of wild animals for food | 9 | e.g., Birds such as Titra, Kalij (local names), and barking deer are hunted illegally |
Grass collection (provisioning) | Used for roofing, or weaving mats and sold in the market | 10 | Fiber grass is heavily collected for selling: the market rate of IRs 10 per kilogram; also used for mat weaving |
Drivers of Change | Direct/Indirect | Natural/Human Induced |
---|---|---|
Market forces (fuelwood collection, over collection of fish) | Indirect | Human induced |
Lack of a management plan | Indirect | Human induced |
Population growth | Indirect | Human induced |
Invasive species especially Eupatorium and Lantana across the wetland posing direct threats to natural forest regeneration | Direct | Natural/Human induced |
Siltation due to high flash flood and river cutting | Direct | Natural |
Encroachment and illegal agriculture farming is considerable | Direct | Human induced |
Unmanaged tourism. e.g., Excessive use of motor boats causing water and sound pollution in the area | Direct | Human induced |
Sewage and water contamination. e.g., Use of pesticides in tea garden and its bleaching of the wetland | Direct | Human induced |
Over exploitation | Direct | Human induced |
Fish poisoning | Direct | Human induced |
Deforestation | Direct | Human induced |
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Bhatta, L.D.; Chaudhary, S.; Pandit, A.; Baral, H.; Das, P.J.; Stork, N.E. Ecosystem Service Changes and Livelihood Impacts in the Maguri-Motapung Wetlands of Assam, India. Land 2016, 5, 15. https://doi.org/10.3390/land5020015
Bhatta LD, Chaudhary S, Pandit A, Baral H, Das PJ, Stork NE. Ecosystem Service Changes and Livelihood Impacts in the Maguri-Motapung Wetlands of Assam, India. Land. 2016; 5(2):15. https://doi.org/10.3390/land5020015
Chicago/Turabian StyleBhatta, Laxmi D., Sunita Chaudhary, Anju Pandit, Himlal Baral, Partha J. Das, and Nigel E. Stork. 2016. "Ecosystem Service Changes and Livelihood Impacts in the Maguri-Motapung Wetlands of Assam, India" Land 5, no. 2: 15. https://doi.org/10.3390/land5020015