Supporting Urban Sustainability

Location: Guwahati, India

Focus Ecosystem: Deepor Beel Ecosytsem

Ecosystem type: Wetland

Core team: Simanta Kalita, Dr. Bhupen Das, Dr. Wazir Alam,

Mr. Punna Das, Mr. Uttam Teron, Ms. Tanvi Ahmed

Introduction• Location: South-west of Guwahati city, in Kamrup

district of Assam, India between 91o35’-91o43’E longitude, 26o05’-26o11’N latitude

• Wetland type: permanent freshwater lake, in an abandoned channel of the Brahmaputra River.

• Total area: about 10 sq. km • There is no Special Management Authority and

District Administration is looking after the affairs• It is Ramsar site listed in November 2002• It is also a IBA site and part of it is a Wildlife

Sanctuary

Map of Kamrup district showing

location of Deepor

Introduction

• Sanctuary part is controlled by the Forest Department

• Depth: At maximum flooding, it is about four metres deep. During the dry season, the depth drops to about one metre.

• Feeding of water: Basistha and Kalmani rivers and local monsoon run off between May and September.

• Link to Brahmaputra: The Beel drains into the Brahamputra river five km. to the north, through the Khonajan channel. Also connected through Bharalu river

Land tenure and land use

• Land tenure: Till recent past the site was owned by the Fishery Department of the Government of Assam. Now District Administration is looking after. The surroundings are in private property, except for the Gorbhanga Reserve Forest which is state-owned.

• Land use: The wetland is used for fishing, domestic water supply, collection of natural products, fodder and food supply, transport, and recreation. Traditionally, the Beel provides fodder to cattle and food to the local people.

Ecosystem services

• Fishing (74 species recorded recently) • Waterway for transportation• Fodder for domestic cattle• Agriculture• Eco-tourism• Birding site (70 + migratory birds) • Hydrological Services : (groundwater recharge,

flood control, sediment trapping, shoreline stabilization, etc.).

Livelihood support

• The wetland is reported to provide, directly or indirectly, its natural resources for the livelihood of fourteen indigenous villages (about 1,200 families)

• Most common human dependance are for –– Fishing– Wet paddy culture– Fodder – other aquatic products like Euryl ferox

Livelihood of the Villagers:

• 22.63% households depend fully on the bioresources of the wetland (commercial fishing)

• 17.33% households partially dependant. • 56.45%families depend on the wetland for

fodder. • Agriculture is the chief source of occupation of

16.71% households • 14.86% households obtains their daily bread by

working a s a labour • 11.31% of the households relies on business as

source of income

Problems of the ecosystem• No clear cut boundary • A railway line along the Southern Boundary of

Deepor Beel bisect the ecosystem• Industrial growth and pollution• Real estate activities in the water retention area

of the wetland• Brick Kiln and soil cutting within the beel

ecosystem• Destruction of the catchment area – stone

quaries, sealing of gullies, obstruction of elephant movement etc.

• Over exploitation of bioresources including fishes• Waste dumping

Conservation measures taken

• The Government of Assam vide Gazette Notification No. FRW.1/80/26 declared 414ha of the beel area as a Sanctuary (Dipor Beel Sanctuary) in 1989.

• It has been declared as a IBA site in 2004

Our Research Question

• How can we conserve Deepor beel through community participation and diversified livelihood? – How to get community participation?– What are the acceptable alternative livelihood

options?– How can we arrange funding for the livelihood

projects?

The process we are following

• Meeting advisory team members• Visiting Govt offices, universities to collect

secondary info• Community consultations as a VISUALIZATION

PROCESS• Interviewing key stakeholders • Mapping (TISS)

The enquiry model

Advisory teamCore team

Community

We look forward to get more support from you

Thank you