Village Ecosystem - Kangapur

Background and Objective

ó India is predominantly a rural country with 638,588 villages in India according to the 2001 census

ó The size of village varies considerably in India with some villages having fewer than 50 residents and some having more than 10,000 residents.

ó This study focuses on the small village ecosystem –Kangapur – in the Konkan region in the state of Maharashtra and issues faced by these ecosystems

Kangapur – Location

Kangapur village is located in the Rajapur Taluka of Ratnagiri district in Maharashtra. It is located around 70 km from Ratnagiri city at 16.41.226°N 73.20.845°E. It is located Western Ghats to the east and Arabian Sea in the west

Kangapur Demographics

ó Population – 100

ó Occupation pattern – Kangapur is typically a agricultural village comprising of farms, fruit cultivation and agro forestry. Livestock rearing though practiced is not a major contributor

ó Rainfall – Greater than 100 inches annually

ó Climate – It is a coastal area and hence climate is warm and humid and is favorable for fruit cultivation.

Ecosystems Study

Village Ecosystem

Water Ecosystem

Farm Ecosystem Agro Forestry

Social and Economic

Method of Data Collection

ó Primary data collection through household survey –crop pattern, utilization of water resources, usage of fuel and other social and economic factors

ó Secondary data relating to the rain, population

Village Ecosystem – Interdependent Ecosystems

Water Ecosystem

Results

ó Multiple sources of water – Well and small stream

ó Threat of depletion of catchment area

ó Village is self sustainable

ó Fragmented land and link to Market is very weak

ó The demand for second home and resorts is on rise

ó Government has planned two major projects in the area of around 5 to 10 km, namely –Nuclear Power Plant and Shipyard.

Water Ecosystem Farm and Agro Forestry Ecosystem

Social and Economic

ó Families shifting to urban areas for various reasons and hence traditional knowledge is not passed on to newer generations.

ó Lack of awareness among villagers about the linkages between various ecosystems the dangers of not protecting them are not well understood.

Recommendations

ó Creating awareness among villagers about the linkages between various ecosystems and dangers of not protecting them

ó Alternative revenue streams like community based fruit cultivation thus increasing the economic status in a sustainable way

Future area of Research

ó Viability of small village ecosystem

ó Impact of shipyard construction

Refrences

ó Singh, Abhishek , Chakraborty, Sandip and Roy, Tarun K.(2008) 'VILLAGE SIZE IN INDIA', Asian Population Studies

ó Good Ecology is Good Economics – Sustainability of Food Security – Deepa Varma