Spatio-temporal Change of Drainage Network at Human-Nature Interface and Its Future Implication to the Estuarine Environment in Gosaba Island, Sundarban, India
Abstract
Gosaba C.D. Block is an active tidal island of the Indian Sundarban. In this island, human-induced modification of the natural drainage system poses serious threats to the estuarine environment. It was started during the British colonial period through the construction of embankment to protect the reclaimed coastal land from saline water ingression. The rapid growth of population over the last few decades has triggered the changes in the drainage network and also altered the land use land cover of the study area. The human encroachment on the drainage area has hampered the sedimentation process as well as water circulation in the delta. As a result, the island is gradually transforming into saucer-shaped form, which aggravates various coastal threats like flood inundation, waterlogging and embankment breaching during extreme environmental events. To study the spatio-temporal change of the drainage network pattern from 1955 to 2018, different multi-temporal satellite images, US Army Toposheet, Census of India Report (2001 and 2011) and Human Development Report (2014) have been used as a source of secondary data for the analysis in ArcGIS environment. In addition to this, instrumental surveying has been done to measure the slope direction in relation to land use land cover and a questionnaire survey was conducted to understand the livelihood status of people influenced by various coastal threats and risks due to the drainage congestion. The study reveals that population density has gradually increased in recent decades and is negatively correlated with the drainage density on the island. The choking of the surface drainage canals has increased the problem of waterlogging in agricultural fields, which affected their productivity. Therefore, a strategy for management of the drainage network needs to be urgently implemented in order to protect the life and livelihood of rural people from various coastal threats.
About the Authors
Soumen Ghosh
Department of Geography, The University of Burdwan
India
Bardhaman,West Bengal 713104
India
Bardhaman,West Bengal 713104
Biswaranjan Mistri
Department of Geography, The University of Burdwan
India
Bardhaman,West Bengal 713104
India
Bardhaman,West Bengal 713104
References
1. Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Regional Research Station, Canning Town, West Bengal, India, Coastal Soils of West Bengal – Their Nature, Distribution and Characteristics, Bulletin No. 1/2003 by B. K. Bandyopadhyay, M. Maji, H. S. Sen, N. K.B. Tyagi, 2003.
2. Bandyopadhyay S. (2000). Coastal changes in the perspective of long-term evolution of an estuary: Hugli, West Bengal, India. In: V. Rajamanickam and M.J. Tooley (Eds.), Quaternary Sea Level Variation, Shoreline Displacement and Coastal Environments, New Delhi: New Academic Publishers, 103-115.
3. Banerjee A. (1998). Environment, Population and Human Settlement, New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company, 27-32.
4. Census of India (2011). Provisional Population Totals. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi, India. Available at: https://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/dchb/DCHB_A/19/1917_PART_A_DCHB_SOUTH%20TWENTY%20FOUR%20PARGANAS.pdf [Accessed on 15 March 2019].
5. De K. (2006). Environmental impact of human Interface in the Sundarban Region of West Bengal. Burdwan: The University of Burdwan. Available at http://hdl.handle.net/10603/64002 [Accessed 16 December 2019].
6. Danda A.A. (2007). Surviving in the Sundarban: Threat and responses- An analytical description of life in an Indian riparian commons. The Netherlands: University of Twente. 1-195. ISBN: 90-365-2566-4.
7. District Human Development Report South 24 Parganas, 2009. Development & Planning Department, Government of West Bengal. 1-20 Available at: http://www.undp.org/content/dam/india/docs/hdr_south24_parganas_2009_full_report.pdf. [Assessed on 12 November 2019].
8. Das K. (2016). Sundarban embankments – a study along Suryaberiya River, Sambhunagar Island, Gosaba, West Bengal. International Journal of Current Research, 8(5), 32187-32195.
9. Dhara S. and Paul A.K. (2016). Status of agriculture -a case study at Patharpratima Block of South 24 Parganas district. International Journal of Innovative Science, Engineering & Technology, 3(2), 239-246.
10. Federal Geographic Data Committee (1998). Geospatial positioning accuracy standards. Part 3: national standard for spatial data accuracy. USA: U.S. Geological Survey. Available at https://www.fgdc.gov/standards/projects/FGDC-standards-projects/accuracy/part3/chapter3 [Accessed on 16 December 2019].
11. Gray D.M. (1965). Physiographic Characteristics and the Runoff Patterns: Proc.of Hydrol. Symp. No. 4, Research Watershed, National Research Council of Canada, 147-164.
12. Halder A. and Debnath A. (2014). Assessment of climate induced soil salinity conditions of Gosaba Island, West Bengal and its influence on local livelihood. In: M. Singh et al. (Ed.), Climate Change and Biodiversity: Proceedings of IGU Rohtak Conference, 1, Advances in Geographical and Environmental Sciences Japan: Springer, 27-44, DOI: 10.1007/978-4-431-54838-6_3.
13. Hazra S., Ghosh T., Das Gupta R., Sen G. (2002). Sea level and associated changes in the Sundarban. Science and Culture, 68(9), 309-321.
14. Kanjilal T. (2000). Who killed the Sundarban. Calcutta: Tagore Society for Rural Development.
15. Mistri B. (2014). Construction of Closure on tidal creeks and its effects: A case study of Patharpratima C.D. Block of Sundarban. Nature and Sustainable Development-Impact of Green Accounting, Published by Academic Staff College, The University of Burdwan. 111-124.
16. O’Mally L.S.S. (1914). Rivers of Bengal, Bengal District Gazetteers. Calcutta: The Bengal Secretariat Book Depot.
17. Mandal J. (1995). Implementation of Integrated Rural Development Programme – A Case Study of Sundarban, West Bengal. New Delhi: Jamia Millia University.
18. Paredes-Hernandez C.U., Salinas-Castillo W. E., Guevara-Cortina F. and Martinez-Becerra X. (2013). Horizontal positional accuracy of Google earth’s Imagery over rural areas: a study case in Tamaulipas, Mexico. Boletim de Ciências Geodésicas, 9(4), 588-601, DOI: 10.1590/S1982-21702013000400005 [Accessed on 22 December 2019].
19. Sanyal P. (1999). Global warming in Sundarban delta and Bengal Coast. In: Guha Bakshi DN, Sanyal P, Naskar KR (eds), Sundarbans Mangal, Kolkata: Naya Prokash, 111–112.
Review
Supporting agencies: This study is a part of the M. Phil research work submitted to The University of Burdwan, West Bengal, India. The first author wishes to express his sincere gratitude to the University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi for providing fellowship assistance to continue the research work. The authors are also thankful to the anonymous reviewers and respected editors for providing valuable suggestions and constructive ideas to improve the standard of the manuscript. The authors would like to acknowledge local villagers of Gosaba Island for their heartfelt support and response during the field survey.
For citations:
Ghosh S., Mistri B. Spatio-temporal Change of Drainage Network at Human-Nature Interface and Its Future Implication to the Estuarine Environment in Gosaba Island, Sundarban, India. GEOGRAPHY, ENVIRONMENT, SUSTAINABILITY. 2020;13(4):148-158. https://doi.org/10.24057/2071-9388-2020-63
Views: 513
Email this article 