Divya GEHLAWAT, Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University, India
Bindhy Wasini PANDEY, Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University, India
Forest survey of India in 2015 reported loss of 268-kilometer square of forest area between 2013-15 to forest fragmentation and degradation because of climate change in Garhwal Himalayas. This is attributed to extreme anthropogenic climate events that have impacted the socio economic and ecological conditions of Bhagirathi River basin. Depleting natural forest resources, changing land use patterns and loss of livelihood is threat to sustainability to the fragile ecology of this region. The dependency of livelihood patterns of local population to this ecological resource extends from fulfilling their livestock feed requirements, fuelwood, medicinal use, fruits and other minor forest produce to indirect contribution of forest resources for agriculture (preserves soil fertility, prevents erosion). The paper analysis about how anthropogenic activities and the resultant climate change has drastically impacted these ecological landscapes particularly in these middle altitudinal zones of the Bhagirathi basin. Research paper uses both quantitative and qualitative methods to assess the level of dependency on forests. Landsat images from USGS are used to establish the temporal change in patterns of forest cover depletion. Primary data from the basin has been collected to study the level of dependency on forests and the impact of legislative and institutional measures in devising alternative socio economic parameters for alternate livelihood generation and adaptability of the locals through questionnaire method, Focus group Discussions (FGD). The data through statistical analysis manifested in underlining the importance of mitigative and adaptive ability of locals for better and sustainable resilience towards such catastrophic climatic events. The study concludes that increasing dependence on alternate fuels like LPG, social forestry and sustainable forest management strategies and local capacity building are effective solutions for effective forest governance.
Mots clés : Climate change|Forest|Livelihood|Sustainable|Bhagirathi River basin
A104167DG