Impact of land use land cover change on ecosystem services in catchment area of lake pichola, Udaipur

Abstract

Ecosystem services are defined as the benefits that we obtain from an ecosystem. Rapid urbanisation has led to over utilization of resources which has led to degradation of ecosystems in turn affecting the services we obtain from them. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment identifies 3 broad ecosystem services namely Provisioning (food, freshwater, fuel, fibre etc.), Regulating (climate regulation, hydrological regimes, reduction of natural hazards, pollution control etc.), and Cultural Services (spiritual and inspirational, recreational, aesthetics). Ecosystem services contribute to economic welfare in two ways – through contributions to the generation of income and wellbeing and through the prevention of damages that inflict costs on society. Even after this, these services are not generally considered within policy appraisal at present and represent an area where a greater and more systematic focus would be very useful. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of land use and land cover change on ecosystem services for incorporating them into decision making process in order to enhance their delivery. This is achieved by analysing the changes in land use and land cover within the catchment, assessing the changes in ecosystem and their services, analyse the inter relation between land use land cover change and ecosystem services and then doing an economic valuation for the same. The underlying case for the valuation of ecosystem services is that it will contribute towards better decision-making, by ensuring that policy appraisals fully take into account the costs and benefits to the natural environment and by highlighting much more clearly the implications for human wellbeing, while providing policy development with new insights. The changes in land use land cover is estimated by comparing the Landsat images of the year 1977, 1997 and 2017. For analysing the changes in ecosystem services, a primary villager’s perception survey was carried out to understand the ground realities. The information gained from it, coupled with data from secondary sources formed the basis of analysing the degradation in the study area. The economic valuation too forms a part of this analysis which helps us in understanding the monetary loss that we have undergone due to depletion of these services. Deriving from this, the proposals aims at suggesting methods for incorporating these services into decision making. The methodology used here, allows a shift in emphasis from a focus mainly on valuing environmental damage to highlighting the value of changes in the services provided by the natural environment. This in turn will help in establishing the need of incorporating these services in policy/ decision making ensuring their uncompromised delivery.