Coastal Zone Mapping through Geospatial Technology for Resource Management of Indian Sundarban...

International Journal of Remote Sensing Applications Volume 4 Issue 2, June 2014 doi: 10.14355/ijrsa.2014.0402.04

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Coastal Zone Mapping through Geospatial Technology for Resource Management of Indian Sundarban, West Bengal, India Ismail Mondal1, Jatisankar Bandyopadhyay2 Department of Remote Sensing & GIS, Vidyasagar University Paschim Medinipur -721102.

Department of Remote Sensing & GIS, Vidyasagar University Paschim Medinipur-721102, West Bengal

1 2

ismailmondal58@gmail.com; 2jatiban@gmail.com

1

Received 16 January, 2014; Revised 20 March, 2014; Accepted 18 April, 2014; Published 27 June, 2014 Š 2014 Science and Engineering Publishing Company

Abstract: The West Bengal part of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta, popularly known as the Sundarban delta, is a system where intricate estuarine and coastal processes are influenced by adjacent marine, terrestrial and meteorological systems and the dynamic interface amongst the three. Being the center of population growth, coastal sea, ponds/wetlands, estuarine islands in this area are to sustain the negative impact caused by society’s commercial, recreational, and residential activities. Additionally, natural forcing like sea level rise or climate change is a prime issue of concern for this vulnerable tract. Presently, this deltaic system is facing degradation due to natural and anthropogenic causes. Degradation of this littoral tract is manifested in terms of frequent embankment failures, submergence & flooding, beach erosion, siltation within embankment, saline water intrusion in the agricultural field etc. In the above perspective, viable coastal zone management options are to be adopted based on scientific approach retaining socio-economic use of the coastal zone complying with preservation of resources and nature values. Knowledge and understanding of coastal morph dynamic behavior as well as middle to long-term developments therein is essential in this respect. Lack of data pertaining to this coast makes the task all the more difficult than expected and restricts proper estimation of impacts to be caused by the different coastal variables. The present study is aimed at predicting evolution of Sundarbans estuary located at the mouth of Bay of Bengal by a set of physical mathematical model through extrapolation of observed morphological behavior of erosion-accretion. The long term goal of this study is to identify the coupling amongst the coastal processes and mainly two dimensional evolutions (shoreline change) of the form of deltaic island system of West Bengal with special reference to sea level rise which in turn is guided by climate change. This study is carried out so that a greater degree of certainty can be achieved while

applying the output as a blue print for the coastal managers and planners for this vulnerable niche. The coastal zone is under heavy pressure from land-based activities located in the catchment of rivers. Traditionally, both scientific research and framework have treated catchments and coasts as separate entities. However, it is increasingly recognized that they should in fact be treated as an integrated whole, encompassing both environmental and socio economic and political systems.

Keywords: RS & GIS; Coastal Resource and Habitats; Coastal Zone Management

Introduction: The coastal zone of world is under increasing stress due to development of industries, trade and commerce, tourism and resultant human population growth and migration, and deteriorating water quality. This region is of very high biological productivity and thus an important component of the global life system. Coastal ecosystems harbour wealth of species and genetic diversity, store and cycle nutrients, filter pollutants and help to protect shorelines from erosion and storms. Marine ecosystems play a vital role in regulating climate and they are a major carbon sink and oxygen source. The industrial development of coast has resulted in degradation of coastal ecosystems and diminishing the living resources of Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in form of coastal and marine biodiversity and productivity. Episodic events, such as cyclones, floods, pose serious threat to human life and property in the coastal zone. Human activities also induce certain

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changes or accelerate the process of change. Thus there is an urgent need to conserve the coastal ecosystems and habitats including individual plant species and communities so, settlements, recreation, environment and agriculture. In order to ensure sustainable development, it is necessary to develop accurate, upto-date and comprehensive scientific databases on habitats, protected areas, water quality, environmental indicators and carry out periodic assessment of the health of the system. The modern scientific Application of Remote Sensing & GIS and GPS are extremely valuable in development of databases and to analyst them in the integrated manner and derive management action plans. Availability of repetitive, synoptic and multi-spectral data from various satellite platforms, visa...viz. IRS, LANDSAT have helped to generate information on varied aspects of the coastal and marine environment. In India, satellite based information has been used for generating inventory on coastal Resource, habitats, landforms, coastal land use and shoreline condition, condition assessment of protected areas, exploration of marine fisheries, mitigation of coastal disasters and understanding of sediment dynamics. GIS has been used for the integrating satellite based information for identifying aquaculture sites, coastal regulation and environmentally sensitive zones.

km of shore length of total coastal length 710 km.

FIG: 1: LOCATION MAP

Data Used: Landsat ETM+ data of 28 February 2010 pertaining to the study area were used and it was verified by ground truthing.

Objective of the Study Area: I. II.

Socio-economic parameters:

III.

Integration analysis of both spatial and non spatial data under GIS platform to generate pragmatic data sets to provide possible alignment for Sundarban Natural Resource Management.

IV.

Socio-environmental analysis of the propose alignment

Location and General Boundaries: Indian Sundarbans has a shore length of 130 km out of the total 180 km coastal length of West Bengal. The location of Sundarbans of Indian part is between 21° to 22°-65/ N and 87°to 88°-93/ E. Indian Sundarbans is covering the area of south-eastern part of both NorthSouth 24 Parganas. Southeast extreme region of three districts namely Satkhira, Khulna and Bagerhat constitute the Bangladesh part of Sundarbans. The actual location of Bangladesh Sundarbans is between 21°to 31° N and between 89° to90° E. The entire Indian Sundarbans covers an area of 9630sq.km out of total area of 25500sq.km and the remaining part covers the area of Bangladesh Sundarbans which are bounded between estuaries of Rivers Hugli on the West to Ichamati-Raimangal in the East, Bay of Bengal. In comparison to 180 km coastal length of West Bengal, India, the fertile coastal area Bangladesh is about 710 km and extends at the edge of the Bay of Bengal from the South East to mouth of Raimangal River in the South West. The luxuriant dense mangrove forest at the Bangladesh part of Sundarbans covers about 230

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Physical Parameters-

Methodology: •

Preliminary planning and identification of alternative and prioritization of available Alternatives

•

Carrying out the required detailed field surveys and investigations covering the Landuse and Land Cover map, NDVI, Soil Salinity, Temperature Map, and Land Surface Water Index Map etc.

•

Detailed environmental management (EMP) and relief and rehabilitation plan.

•

Social impact analysis covering the sociological socio-economic impacts on people as well as measures to mitigate adverse impacts and ensure poverty alleviation etc.

plan

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•

Benefits are to be quantified under various main items like irrigation, flood control, drinking water supply, pisciculture, tourism, etc

•

A detailed discussion on the need for the bringing social, environmental and infrastructural benefits.

•

Land acquisition proposals vis-à-vis the possibilities of reduction or avoidance in view of likely impact on forest land, wetland, etc, in the study area.

Assessing the Aggregate Impact of Resource use on key natural ecosystem of Sundarban River Catchments: Assessing the status of Sundarbans natural resources and the health of its ecosystems is of paramount importance for their wise use, development and management. Benchmarks for the assessments of catchments, rivers and estuaries are based on natural conditions. These provide a basis for assessing aggregate impact and change in condition. For many extensively modified catchments, rivers and estuaries, management targets need to be defined in the context of trade-offs between natural condition, current condition and the other values provided by using these resources.

Sundarban Catchment Condition: Catchment condition is ultimately a judgment that depends on biophysical attributes in the context of social and economic values. These value judgments can be made at local to regional scales. This assessment of catchment condition, defined in terms of land, water and biota components, presents a way to make comparative assessments of catchment Biophysical condition. It provides an information input for catchment management decisions. The assessment uses an indicator approach and a geographic data compilation system to define patterns of relative biophysical condition. Priorities and opportunities for protective or remedial catchment management from a biophysical perspective can then be made.

•

individual indicators;

•

composite sub-indices for water, land biota condition; and

•

an overall composite catchment condition index

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inputs into rivers and streams, and changes to catchment hydrology, particularly impoundments.

These attributes all relate to land use intensity. To fulfill the objectives of this study, five types of approaches have been attempted, such as interpretation of multi-date optical Remote Sensing data for detection and mapping of changes in coastal Resource Management, environment in Coastal Landuse/Land cover, Coastal Salinity etc.

Result and Discussion: Coastal Land Use and Land Cover Mapping: The present land use in the area is mainly determined by the depth and duration of seasonal flooding and the availability of soil moisture in the dry season, the effect of salinity, the topography and also by the local agricultural practices. Depending on the depth of monsoon season flooding and the availability of dry season irrigation, rice can be grown in Aus, Aman and Boro seasons. When the land is only shallow flooded or water can be kept on the land by small bunds, farmers grow Aus paddy followed by transplanted Aman. If sufficient dry season soil moisture is available a second or a third dry land crops can be raised. In the moderately saline areas, a single crop of transplanted Aman can be grown whereas; in saline and toxic soils only mangrove forests. Sundarban which is almost level swamps crossed by many tidal creeks are tidally flooded with salt water, except where embanked and reclaimed. This area is under mangrove forest and the reclaimed land is mainly used for salt production in the dry season and shrimp farm is the main Landuse of the study area.

and

The assessment finds that biophysical condition can be described using relatively few key attributes-change in vegetative cover, native vegetation fragmentation,

FIG: 2: LAND USE AND LAND COVER MAP

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TABLE 1: NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Normalized Differences Vegetation Index Mapping: The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is a simple graphical indicator that can be used to analyze remote sensing measurements, typically but not necessarily from a space platform. This is the basic index for measuring the 'greenness' of the earth's surface. To determine the density of green on a patch of land, researchers must observe the distinct colors (wavelengths) of visible and near-infrared sunlight reflected by the plants. By combining the two channels in a ratio or difference, and vegetation growth The method, developed by NASA is known as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and is given by the equation: NDVI= (NIR-RED/NIR+RED) Where RED and NIR correspond to channels 1 and 2 respectively The NDVI is more widely used than the Simple NDVI. However, because it scales between -1 (for snow and 106

ice) and +1 (for complete vegetation cover) In ETM+ image of study area (Indian Sundarban) apply NDVI modeler to detect the greenness of the area. It is clearly shown that the high range in mangrove swamp area of eastern-southern part is deep mangrove forest and also in domestic area where vegetation are founded.

Medium range is also representing the plantation area found in Southern part. And first two classes are not classified as vegetation coverage so no vegetation coverage is found in different type of wetland and water content area (Bay of Bengal).

Surface Water Temperatures of Sundarban: The surface water temperatures in Sundarban have shown significant rising trends for both pre-monsoon and monsoon periods.

Quantitatively, these temperatures have risen by 6.14% in the western sector and by 6.12% in the eastern sector over the past 30 years (1978-2008) at a rate of approximately

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0.05°C/year (Mitra et al., 2009). In another study, the annual composite sea surface temperature of Bay of Bengal near Sagar Island during the period 2003-2009 varied from 28.023°C in the year 2004 to 29.381°C in the year 2009. During the period the sea surface temperature showed rising trend at the rate of 0.0453 °C per year (Hazra, 2010). This observed rate was found to be in conformity with the estimation done by Singh (2002), which estimates a decadal rate of about 0.4°C to 0.5°C. Rising sea surface temperature is directly related with the increased frequency and severity of cyclonic storms and depression in the Bay of Bengal. It is also reported that increasing trend in SST may result in changes to the chemical composition of sea water, leading to increased acidification & decreased dissolved Oxygen level. In the study area, Landsat ETM+ Satellite image is capture 28 February 2013.

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overtopping.

FIG: 4: TEMPERATURE MAP

FIG: 3: NDVI MAP

So this area is the highest temperature 23°C to 32°C and medium temperature 21°C to 23°C and lowest temperature 16°C to 20°C in that time.

Salinity in the Sundarbans: In Sundarban, inhabited islands are protected by manmade embankments against the ingression of saline water. This makes agriculture and aquaculture possible in the islands (Danda, 2007). In Indian Sundarban out of total 3500 km of embankment, 800 km is vulnerable to breach during high intensity weather events. Present trend in sea level rise will have serious impacts on the embankments making these more vulnerable and the susceptible to breach &

FIG: 5: LAND SURFACE WATER MAP

The earthen embankments constructed in mid 19 century have already been worn out in several locations at the same time the river beds are raised through continuous siltation. The water level during high tide in most of the rivers remains above the adjacent inhabited areas. The crest height, slope including bottom & top width, alignment and materials used for maintenance of the existing embankments are not considered to be the proper defense to the rising trend in sea level and to save the 107

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inhabited islands from inundation. The condition of today is alarming as any moderate east wind having speed of 30-40 km/hr at the ebb tide sequence can damage several km of embankments and overtopping with sea water. There can be total wash out during cyclonic and storm surges. During such occasion, the river water rushes into the islands and ruins almost everything within minutes and incurs irreparable loss of assets, lives and livelihoods of the people. The adverse effects of increased salinity on the ecosystem of the Sundarbans are manifested in the dying of tops of Sundari trees, retrogression of forest types, slow forest growth, and reduced productivity of forest sites and agriculture. . In the study area Landsat ETM+ Satellite image is capture 28 February 2010. So this area is the highest salinity zone 77ppt to 154ppt of western part of Saguar Island and lower southern part of Sundarban and medium salinity zone of Bakkhali and Lothian Island 69ppt to 77ppt and lowest salinity zone middle part of Sundarban 69 ppt to 61ppt.

industrial purposes III) Exploration and sustainable use of living resources.

1)

Shoreline protection

I) Identification of vulnerable areas including eroded areas and developmental activities.

II) Planning and implementation of coastal protection work (erosion, flood protection, salt water intrusion, etc.)

III) Impact of engineering structures and dams on coastal processes of erosion, deposition and sediment Transport.

IV) Suspended sediment dynamics. v) Changes in bottom topography.

2)

Coastal Hazards and Climate Change

I) Cyclones, storm surges, sea-level rise and possible effect II) Emergency response plans for natural disasters such as cyclones, sea level rise, or anthropogenic activities such as oil spills.

3)

Coastal development

I) Appropriate site selection for industries, landfall points, aquaculture, recreational activities, etc.

II) Assessment of conditions in regulation zones, areas under construction setback–lines, megacities, etc.

Aila Affected for Sundarban Resource Management:

FIG: 5: SALINITY MAP

Application of Remote Sensing and GIS in Coastal Zone Mapping: Coastal Ecosystems and Marine Living Resources: I) Generation of reference or baseline data, conservation and restoration of vital and critical habitats such as Mangroves, coral reefs, sea-grass beds, etc.

II) Reclamation of wetland for agricultural and

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Cyclone Aila hit the Sundarban in the Indian sub continent near Bay of Bengal on the afternoon of 2326th May, 2009, with gale-force winds up 120 kmph, and torrential rain. As it crossed over the coastline of South 24 Parganas district in West Bengal, Aila temporarily strengthened to a Category 1 cyclone. Aila ripped through 17 districts in West Bengal, of which South and North 24 Parganas was one of the affected.

Storm surged at the coast flooded agricultural areas with saline water. High winds and high tide became a devastating combination. According to UNDMT and media reports, Aila was one of the worst cyclones in decades, in which about 6.3 million people were affected and nearly half a million homes were lost or damaged Environmental Impact of Aila: Sundarbans meaning "beautiful forest" in Bengali is known as the largest single block of tidal mangrove

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forest on earth, and a world heritage site. What is less known is that Sundarbans is home to over a million people, who live in a vulnerable environment, with constant threat of rising sea levels, seasonal flooding and water scarcity, diseases and loss of livelihood.

Land mass in this delta region is fragmented into thousands of hard-to -access islands. Most of these are below the sea level, ringed by bunds [traditional embankments], to keep the salt water away. While this provides precious land for human habitation, most areas have to do without electricity, motorable roads, or drinking water connections. People use diminishing underground resources to meet some of their drinking water needs, and harvest rainwater in shallow ponds for all other purposes.

Environmental Change: Environmental change is a major problem of the world. Coastal Environment of Sundarban has been changed on different issues and aspects of environmental change. The extensive farming systems requiring large land areas have contributed most to encroachment of agriculture land and mangrove clearance with increased intrusion of salinity, degradation of land and destabilization of coastal ecosystems impact of shrimp while the others focus on both environmental and social issues. The mainstream literatures argue that shrimp farming in Sundarban has many negative environmental impacts including Stalinization of soil and water, loss of wild and domesticated flora and fauna, mangrove destruction, change in cropping patterns and species composition.

tidal and young estuarine floodplains, may impede drainage from interior floodplain areas, thus tending to restore the perennially wetland areas of deltaic interfluves, 7.

In the shallower channels of the delta plain, undercurrents and wave dash activities are increased,

8.

Enormous reduction in tidal prism and hydraulic adjustment with such problem causing shoreline erosion at present,

9.

Potential capacity of the embankments is decreased to prevent tidal flooding (through branches) into the polders.

Major Threats to the Ecosystem: Apart from the waste generated by Sundarbans, untreated wastes, domestic waste per day reach the Sundarbans area from the Calcutta Municipal Area.

•

Gradual clearance of the forest area has occurred due to the increase in need for fuel wood, construction activities, etc.

•

Sundarbans is also highly susceptible to natural disasters. Violent storms occur during the Southwest.

•

Monsoon and early post monsoon period, causing severe erosion to the coastal zone.

•

In the changed situation, the salination of lands and water in the inhabited areas of Sundarban may bring more areas under brackish water aquaculture (Bheries) given the decreasing viability of fresh water aquaculture and agriculture sectors, thus presenting an opportunity for this sector to capitalize on the changes posed by climate change.

•

Discharge of oil from mechanized boats and oil tanker wash is also increasing. The Hooghly River, which forms the western boundary of the Sundarbans, has been subjected to great stress from increased industrial & domestic sewage pollution.

•

Intensive agriculture activities with more and more fertilizer and pesticide along with changed land-use pattern have an impact on the ecosystem.

•

Due to the increase in population, the demand for forest and marine resources has also increased resulting in over-exploitation of the resources and causing threat to the ecosystem.

Reclamation of Land – The Sundarbans: 1.

Diversity of the surface level by silt-laden inundation and silt-free inundation,

2.

Active river channels are silted up and directly affected by thalweg shifting,

3.

Natural levees and open tidal floodplains (unprotected areas) are building up regularly by alluvial sedimentation to match the increased height of seasonal river floods,

4.

At the same time the depth of seasonal flooding by rain water (silt-free) is increasing over the saucer shaped lowland in which the high tidal inflow or river flooding is prevented by coastal embankments,

5.

Existing channels are being enlarged or laterally migrating by significant bank erosion,

6.

Elevation of the downstream levels and of the

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major fuel and ii) at Sagar islands using solar energy. Electricity generated through nonconventional energy sources is produced and distributed under the supervision of WBREDA (West Bengal Rural Energy Development Agency).

Socio-economic Conditions Prevailing in Sundarbans: Approximately, a population of 3.2 million inhabits this vast saline tract, which consists of 54 of low-lying conglomeration of islands interconnected through tidal rivers, creeks and marshes. People are poor and they subsist on single crop agriculture, fishing, honey and wood collection from the forests. In the absence of any alternate employment, they depend on traditional skills to earn their livelihood and depend largely on forest resources like firewood, timber wood, honey, bee wax, Golpata (Nypa sp) and tend to resort to illegal practices like poaching and felling. They collect tiger shrimp seeds in large numbers thereby causing damage to juvenile fish stock and mangroves. Studies conducted in Villages around Sundarbans reveal that there is a close relation between Sundarbans mangroves and Socio-economics of the local people where fishing, forestry and agriculture dominate occupation structure. Agriculture is highly unbalanced and mostly monoculture and the daily income of the local people are involved in agriculture. A sizeable number of people depend on illicit wood cutting and honey collection from the forests. So, the fishermen, honey collectors and cutters enter the deep forest area in search of livelihood, ignoring the threat from tiger attacks.

Development: 1.

Improved farming system and showing of high yielding variety of seeds support sustainable development in the field of agriculture.

Specially betel leaf farms are now well to do financially.

2.

The State Government distributaries vested lands among farmers having no lands. Farmers cultivate on their own land at present.

3.

Major portions of the agricultural lands are now protected by the construction of brickstudded stable embankments and sluices by the Sundarbans Development Board. Excavation of tanks and khals and renovations of these water bodies are now helpful in minor irrigation.

4.

5.

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Means of Communications are presently improved by Government bus services up to the gateways of Sundarbans conducted by CSTC, SBSTC, CTC, NBSTC, and surface Transport.

Electricity is now generated using nonconventional energy sources in two islands particularly at i) Gosaba using wood as the

6.

Mangrove afforestation programme has been accelerated through showing of mangrove seeds thrown from the helicopter at the river banks, point bars, mudflats of tidal creeks, inlets etc at Sundarbans region by the Sundarbans Development Board.

This programme was initiated in 1991. The Sundarbans region including surroundings of human habituated islands is now densely vegetated mangrove forested area.

Conclusion: Evidences of climate change are numerous in Sundarban. Broadly the changes are: increase in air and water temperature, rise in sea level, enhanced erosion of land, amplification in frequency and intensity of extreme weather events like cyclone and storm etc. During cyclone and storm surge, saline water of the river rushes into the islands by breaking the embankments and incurs irreparable loss / damage of assets, lives and farmlands. These are putting enormous stresses, both biotic and abiotic on live and livelihood of the people of Sundarban. Sea levels are rising faster than the global average and high intensity events such as severe cyclones and tidal surges are becoming more frequent. As land-based livelihood activities get impacted due to these factors, more and more people are exploiting the living resources of the ecosystem in a manner that will be difficult to sustain over the long term. The situation has the potential to erode ecosystem integrity due to over exploitation of natural resources. Moreover, the loss of land is now a reality, causing human dislocation. •

Prospect of alternative species is to be examined where the existing species is misfit.

Introduction of salt tolerant freshwater species with better growth rate in the freshwater aquaculture areas is prone to saline water inundation.

•

Providing prompt information on extreme weather events like cyclone, depression, storm surges, tsunami etc. to the farmer directly through mass media / local media and guiding them for taking suitable decisions.

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•

•

•

•

•

•

More integration among the farmers, aquaculture experts, climate scientists and extension workers is necessary.

Repairing of age-old embankments and construction of new embankments wherever necessary to protect the island from the aggression of saline water during the period of high-tides accompanied by cyclonic storms.

Better utilization of rainwater harvest ponds through scientific fish farming and integrating with livestock and crop production.

Land shaping, reclamation and re-excavation of sweet water sources including step-cutting or terracing on inward-slopes of the ponds. These steps or terraces can be used for vegetable cultivation during dry periods.

Integrated fish farming with livestock and agriculture can be popularized for more employment generation, better economic returns and less risk.

Development of alternative climate adaptive livelihood options for the fish farmers which will match to their skill and capacity.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

properties in the Indian Sundarbans (northwestern Bay

The Paper is modified and enlarged version of the round table discussion on the ”Coastal Zone Mapping through Geospatial Technology for Resource Management”. The author is grateful to Dr. J. Bandyopadhyay, Assistant Professor, Department of Remote Sensing & GIS, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore for valuable suggestions in preparation of the manuscript. Sincere thanks of Dr. P. Chakrabarti, Former Chief Scientist, Dept. of Science and Technology, Govt. of West Bengal, India for according permission to publish the paper

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1.

Mr. Ismail Mondal, Research Scholar

2. Dr. Jatisankar Bandyopadhyay, Assistant Professor , Department of Remote Sensing & GIS, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore721102, West Bengal, Telephone 03222276554/276555/276557/276558, Extn. 488 Fax: 03222-275329, Mobile No 0947551958109433455107, e-mails: ismailmondal58@gmail.com,

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