CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF LOKTAK LAKE AND ITS IMPACTS ON LOCAL PEOPLE’S LIVELIHOOD

Abstract

Changes in landscape in wetland area of Loktak Lake have brought considerable impacts on the environment and livelihood of local community. The current study investigates the changes occurring in the livelihood of people in Loktak Lake in the aftermath of the commissioning of hydropower plant. The primary changes taking place in the area include inundation of agricultural land, frequent floods in the fringe lands, loss of biodiversity, occupational change, etc. Floods are associated with wide scale devastation in the agricultural fields, residential areas, home garden, and aquaculture lands. During the last 10 years majority of the houses in the study area experienced floods more than once. About 76% of the households experienced occurrence of floods with the magnitude and severity that submerged the basement of their houses. In the past, livestock have been an integral part of the rural livelihood and a source of household income. However, the number of livestock in the areas has shown a declining trend in the last few decades. Taothabi, a tall traditional variety of rice that thrives well in swampy ecosystem is almost locally extinct, while other traditional paddy varieties have been replaced to near total by improved varieties. Increasing costs incurred by the changing land use and livelihood opportunity lost due to resources degradation leads to increasing marginalization of the population.