Sumana Bandyopadhyay (p), Prativa Karmakar

Ranita Karmakar

Wetlands comprise the most vibrant and unique ecosystem, but are declining at an alarming rate worldwide. Changes of the natural habitat structure and function due to human interferences have been threatening wetlands across regions, especially in urban centres. This paper aims to probe into changes to one of the most critical ecosystems - the deltaic wetlands - a part of the intricate water-based ecosystem adjacent to the sprawling megacity of eastern India. East Kolkata Wetlands is a unique ecosystem with international importance, being a Ramsar Site and supports numerous ecosystem services and livelihood of many urban residents. The study proposes to analyze the trend of changing dynamics of land cover and land use over a period of 40 years – and relates it to the growth of the city. Major land use transformation is mapped for the period from 1980 to 2020 using multi-temporal image classification process. Landscape metrics are calculated and analyzed through patch analyst for the years of 1980,1990,2000,2010 and2020. Mapping reveals that within this time period percentage of landscape (PLAND) of water bodies has been steadily reducing. Particularly, small patches of water bodies are noticeably undergoing conversion. Besides, the patch density of water bodies has increased and the larger waterbodies are fragmented into multiple patches. Reduction of patch size and fragmentation all are indicators of habitat loss and threaten the species that sustain the ecosystem. However, expansion of the urban area, growing land demand, changing pattern of treating the system and lack of sustained conservational attitudes of the local people are found to be negatively impacting the wetland system. It is concluded that a study of habitat structure of the selected sites can properly describe the present ecological status of the wetlands. Findings of the study may help in developing proper plans to conserve them and to reduce the gap in implementing the policies for conservation of the wetlands system in a holistic manner.

Ranita Karmakar (p), Lakshmi Sivaramakrishnan (p)

Sumana Bandyopadhyay

Many aspects of city life are reflected in Kolkata's historic buildings, close-knit neighborhoods, vibrant ghats, landscapes, monuments, noisy bylanes, and slums. While being an integral part of the city, slums showcase the extremes of the city's economic and cultural variety, from the opulent and luxurious to the dismal and decrepit. People in slums face numerous risks on a daily basis in addition to the difficulties of living in blighted housing, poor sanitation, and a lack of amenities. This research aims to find and examine numerous potential vulnerabilities brought on by natural disasters. Due to the close proximity of dwellings, fires are a constant danger in slum regions. This article focuses on the importance of disaster preparedness in low-income areas. Tangra experienced a fire in 2008; Basanti colony in 2010; Kalikapur in 2012; Tiljala and Park Circus Train Station in 2014; Dumdum Park in 2015; Brace Bridge in 2016; etc. Two slums were chosen using a purposive sampling technique with the parameter of fire resilience to see if a higher socioeconomic level is associated with higher disaster preparedness. This study examines the measures taken to make the Basanti colony fire-resistant, using parallels to the knowledge gained from the experience of another undocumented slum, the Park Circus railway colony, which is also prone to flames. As a result, we've looked at model preparation for fire hazards in great detail. The viewpoints and suggestions of slum residents are examined in light of their precarious living conditions. This model planning as suggested for fire resilience will also lead to more inclusiveness among the slum population