T V Ramachandra
Energy and Wetlands Research Group,
Centre for Ecological Sciences,
Indian Institute of Science - 560012

The conservation and sustainable management of ecosystems are the vital components in the pursuit of development goals that are ecologically, economically and socially sustainable. This requires an understanding of the complex functioning of ecosystems, and recognition of the full range and diversity of resources, values and ecological services that they represent. In this regard, the current research envisages integration of the ecological, environmental considerations into administration and management of river basins, which is a major step towards an ecological audit that eventually should result in the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Ecological Carrying Capacity provides physical limits as the maximum rate of resource usage and discharge of waste that can be sustained for economic development in the region. Planning for development within the limits of carrying capacity recognises that humankind is dependent on the productive capacity of ecosystems, and therefore, a minimal level of ecosystem integrity is to be maintained for human survival. Planning for sustainable development calls for trade-offs between the desired production-consumption levels through the exploitation of supportive capacity within its regenerative capacity and environmental quality within the assimilative capacity of regional ecosystem. Assessment of the carrying capacity involves detailed study of ecology and human life in the region. Carrying capacity research in the Netravathi River basin began, through inventorying, mapping and monitoring of the vegetation and fauna. Data required for natural resource planning included spatial data such as, information of physiography of the area, land use, assets, etc. The ecological sensitivity of ecosystems refers to their ability to cope with various kinds of environmental disturbances that have the potential of adversely changing the character of the natural landscapes. Identification of Ecologically sensitive Regions (ESRs) considering spatially both ecological and social dimensions of environmental variables helps in ecological and conservation planning as per Biodiversity Act, 2002, Government of India. The current research attempts to integrate ecological and environmental considerations into administration, and prioritizes regions at Panchayat levels (local administrative unit) in Netravati River basin, Central Western Ghats, Karnataka state considering attributes (biological, Geo climatic, Social, etc.) as ESR (1-4) through weightage score metrics, corresponding to the zones of principal functions such as prohibited development zone, restricted development zone, an optimized development zone in planning. Identification of ESRs in Netravathi region would aid in sustainable planning towards the sound ecological regional development. There are 433 villages in the Netravathi river basin, of which 111 villages in ESR-1, 69 villages in ESR-2 119 villages in ESR-3 and 134 villages in ESR 4. ESR 1 and ESR 2 are to be strictly no-go area with respect to developments and ESR 4 is referred as a least possible eco-sensitive region. Degradation of these eco-sensitive region with the unplanned developmental path will only erode the sustenance of natural resources and would affect the local livelihood.
Keywords:— Biodiversity, carrying capacity, ecology, eco sensitive regions, geospatial analysis, habitat fragmentation, landscape dynamics, Multi resolution remote sensing data
NEXT