Current World Environment

Introduction

Loktak Lake lies in the southern part of the Imphal valley of Manipur state and is located between 93°46' and 93°55' E and from 24°25' to 24°42'N. Length of the lake is 26 Km and breadth is 13 Km and the lake is oval in shape. Its depth ranges between 0.5 to 4.58 m with average depth measuring 2.7 m. Loktak lake has been considered as lifeline of the people of Manipur because the lake plays an important role in the socio-economic and cultural life of the people of the state. The lake plays a significant role in providing ecological and financial security to the state and is the largest natural freshwater lake in the northeastern region of India. People residing in the periphery of the lake depends upon the resources of the lake for survival.  In the year 1990 under Ramsar Convention the lake has been designated as a Wetland of International Importance and is rich in biodiversity.¹ The study area comes under sub-tropical monsoon climate and yearly rainfall ranges from 982.21 mm to 1980.8 mm. The area experiences rainy season from April to September months.  In July month the maximum rainfall is recorded. The mean daily minimum temperature recorded was1°C and maximum temperature recorded was 29°C. ² There are two types of soil found in Loktak lake and its surrounding areas. They are the Residual poor sandy soil and Transported alluvial soil.³

As one of the most productive and resourceful areas wetlands supply food, non-edible aquatic resources and maintain the ecological balance for the local people and also for the country.^4,5  A number of economic, social and ecological benefits are supplied by wetlands.^4,5,6  Due to the availability of various types of bioresources people residing  around the wetlands are traditionally self-reliant and have subsistence-oriented economy and livelihoods.⁷ Loktak Lake is considered as the lifeline of the people of Manipur due of its importance in their socio-economic and cultural life. The lake provides ecological and financial security to the people. For their sustenance a large inhabitants residing in the periphery of the lake depends on its resources. ¹ Locally known as phumdis (floating islands) are seen in the lake covering with vegetation and is the characteristic feature of the Loktak lake.⁸ Because of farming practices, urbanization, massive destruction by people, and poorly planned developmental activities wetlands from large portion of the globe have disappeared.⁹

Around the globe several workers have studied on the utilization of the bioresources of the wetland by the people residing in the periphery and its conservation.  Some of those studies are highlighted here. Dahlberg (2005)¹⁰ explored competition over natural resources where fibrous plants plays main role to local women who make craftwork for the increasing tourist market through a case study in the Mkuze Wetlands, South Africa, Leima et al., (2008)¹¹ conducted a study to analyze the socio-economic status of the communities residing in six villages situated nearby the Keibul Lamjao National Park, Manipur and their dependence on the park and found that collection of aquatic vegetation from the park, fishing in and around the park contributed to the average annual household income. Rana et al., (2009)⁷ found that surrounding community in the Hakaluki haor,  Bangladesh were dependent on the haor with a different types of income earning activities such as fishing, rearing of duck and cattle, collection of firewood, extraction of sand and collection of reed and the haor was found a poverty stricken region. Singh and Moirangleima (2009)¹² reported that the people residing in the periphery of the Loktak lake use the lake for drinking and household uses, hydro-electricity power generation, irrigation, bio-diversity, recreation etc. and the people had undertaken fishing, fish farming, fish marketing, agriculture and ferrying, weaving items of the lake etc. Turyahabwe et al. (2013)¹³ noted that the role of wetland products to food security and factors influencing utilization of wetland products in Uganda is characterized as food insecure. Bakala et al., (2019)¹⁴  also identified that wetlands in Southwestern Ethiopia offer different uses such as livestock grazing, irrigation, recreation, grass and fodder harvest, water supply for livestock and domestic uses, fish harvesting and fuel wood collection but found that they are under pressure due to human activities. Das et al., (2020)¹⁵ found that the majority of the inhabitants living around the wetland in Mursidabad, West Bengal (India) by engaging in agriculture or fishing activities are relied on the wetland for their survival and income generation but the health status of the wetland ecosystem were degraded by anthropogenic activities, like high density of population, growth rate of urbanization and density of the road, resulting in the depletion of health of the wetland. Reasonable works relating to the ecology and bioresources of the Loktak lake has been done by workers like Singh and Singh,1994; Singh, 1997; Kosygin and Dhamendra, 2009; Kangabam et  al., 2015; Devi and Singh, 2017. ^{16,17,18,19,20}

Recently the lake and its ecosystem are degrading because of several anthropogenic pressures. The objective of the present work is to examine different bioresources of the Loktak lake linked to the consumption purpose and household financial earning of the people. The present study on the livelihood dependency on bioresources among the communities residing in the periphery of the lake has been taken up to understand the significance of this lake as an ecological service provider and also generate awareness among the users and the concerned authorities to take up certain steps for sustainable use of the natural resources. The study involved five villages located in and around the Loktak lake i.e., Nongmaikhong, Phoubakchao, Laphupat Tera, Karang and Ithing. The livelihood of the local people of these five villages depended on fishing, collection of prawn, mollusca, mussel, vegetable items, fodder, fuelwood, thatch grasses, medicinal plants and handicrafts materials from the Loktak lake.

Materials and Methods

Table 1 represents the dependence of the five study villages on Loktak lake for livelihood purposes. Around the Loktak lake there are fifty five villages and towns with an overall inhabitants of one lakh. ²² More than ten thousand community residing in the periphery of the lake largely depend on it for their survival and income generation.¹⁶ Every fifty five villages depend on the bioresources of the lake either for sustenance or income generation. Among the 55 settlements located in and around the Loktak lake 3 villages i.e. Ithing, Karang and Thanga are island villages and the remaining are lakeshore villages. 5 villages out of 55 were selected purposively for the study as within a limited time frame and resources available it is not possible to cover all the villages around the lake. The villages were also selected purposively for this present study based on their large scale dependency on the lake and also the accessibility of these villages.

Table 1: Respondents (%) Carrying Out Various Activities In and Around Loktak Lake.

Source: Laishram and Dey, 2013 ²¹
 

Figure 1: Map of the Loktak Lake Highlighting the Case Study Villages in Blue Oval Shape. Click here to view Figure

The 5 villages were chosen following purposive sampling technique considering the objective of this investigation. To conduct an intensive study on the villages and every household and all the family members is difficult within a limited time frame and limited resources available. Hence 25% of households were selected for the study purposively from each of the 5 villages to make a comparison between the villages according to the objective of the study. The households were selected based on their occupational diversity, categorical and religious diversity and their dependency on the Loktak lake for sustenance. The households were chosen to cover the total area of the village. From the selected household the head of the family or any other adult member of the household 20 years of age and above was selected as respondents.

This study is mainly based on the household questionnaire survey with the communities residing in the five selected villages located around the periphery of the Loktak lake. The selected study villages are - 3 lakeshore villages namely Nongmaikhong, Phoubakchao, Laphupat Tera and 2 island villages namely Karang and Ithing. The questionnaire in this study was designed in English and asked in Manipuri, the local language of Manipur. The questionnaire was designed to collect information on the different bioresources of the lake like fishes, prawn, mollusca, mussel, vegetables items, fodders, fuelwoods, thatch grasses, medicinal plants and handicraft materials linked to the livelihood of the people. It also provides background profile of the respondent households like religion, category, educational level, occupation, income and total landholdings.

Purposive sampling technique of about 25% of households ^23,24 were conducted resulting in the selection of a total of 300 households. The number of household selected in each village were 40 households were selected from Nongmaikhong village, 100 from Phoubakchao village, 80 from Laphupat Tera village, 50 from Karang village and 30 from Ithing village. The questionnaire sought to obtain information of different bioresources of the Loktak lake linked to the consumption and household financial earning of the people. It was prepared referring ^23,25 and in consultation with other relevant literatures. It was pretested and modified to meet the purpose of the study and adapted to suit local conditions of the targeted communities. Specific interviews with intellectual persons of the villages were then conducted and the information collected was verified with the published literatures.^16,1

For identification of species the local names and specimen of the bioresources used by the respondents was collected and cross checked with the published literatures^26,27,28,29 and identified with the help of experts of Loktak Development Authority (LDA), Manipur. For the correct nomenclature of plant species International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ³⁰ and the Plant List ³¹ websites were referred. Fish species were identified by using website such as https://www.fishbase.in ³². The data obtained from the survey was compiled and interpreted. Villagewise response percentage and overall percentage of the five villages was calculated for all the questions using Microsoft Excel.

Results and Discussion

In this study a total of 300 respondents were interviewed from the selected households in the five villages. Female respondents were very few in number. Main community in the villages were Hindus followed by Muslims and Christians. Category wise, OBC (Other Backward Class) was found to be the major group for all the villages along with Schedule caste and General population. Most of the respondents were illiterates and very few were Graduates. All of them were fishermen and some were farmers, weavers and small businessmen. Their earnings were found to be low. In the five villages, the highest annual income level was found in the range of “Rs. 30,001 to 60,000/-” and only very few were found earning income level of “Above Rs. 90,000/-”. Maximum number of the respondents have total landholding area in the range of < 1 acre and very few have 2-5 acres of land. The results of the interview as reported by the 300 respondents on the bioresource from the Loktak lake used as food and other bioresources used from the Loktak lake in the five villages are presented in Table 2 and Table 3. In all 38 type of fishes, 1 type of prawn, 2 type of mollusca, 1 type of mussel, 16 type of vegetable items, 8 type of fodders, 6 type of fuelwoods, 3 type of thatch grasses, 12 type of medicinal plants and 2 type of handicraft materials were found used by the people from Loktak lake.

Table 2 presents bioresource from the Loktak lake used as food. In all the five villages fishing was the major activity and a total of 38 species of fishes were found caught from the lake during the study. Overall Monopterus albus (Ngaprum) with 64.33% was caught in highest percentage followed by Labeo rohita (Rohu) with 60.33%. 87.5% of the respondents from Nongmaikhong village caught Monopterus albus (Ngaprum) which was highest. 0.33% of the respondents do not catch fishes from the lake. LDA and WISA (2003) ³³ reported 53 types of fishes from the Loktak lake which is more than the present finding.

60% of the respondents were found to collect a prawn species (Macrobrachium dayanum) from the lake. The highest percentage of Macrobrachium dayanum (Khajing) caught from the lake was in Ithing village (86.67%).

Table 2: Bioresource from the Loktak Lake used as Food.

Numbers inside the brackets represent the percentage of the particular bioresource collected

V₁= Nongmaikhong, V₂=Phoubakchao, V₃= Laphupat Tera, V₄=Karang, V₅=Ithing

Overall, 2 species of freshwater mollusca i.e. 29.33% of Pila globosa (Labuk tharoi) and 27.67% of Angulyagra oxytropis (Tharoi Ningkhabi) were found to be used by the respondents. The highest percentage of both the species of molluscas i.e. Angulyagra oxytropis (Ningkhabi) and Pila globosa (Labuk tharoi) was collected in Nongmaikhong village which was 55% each. 67.67% of the respondents does not used mollusca. As observed by Kumar (2013)³⁴ for supply of water, for the supply of water to land or crops, for household uses, catching fishes, catching of migratory waterbirds for sale, for wild rice collection and edible invertebrate, Pila globosa and plant product which are edible such as Singhada (water chestnut), Makhana (foxnut) the Kabartal wetland has been used.

Overall 2.33% of the respondents collected 1 species of mussel i.e. Lamellidens marginalis (Kongreng) and 97.67% of the respondents did not use mussels. The highest percentage of collection was found in Nongmaikhong village (5%).

It is seen from the above that in some villages mollusca and mussels were not collected as they were considered as secondary items in comparison with other resources mainly fishes and vegetable items which provides them with more self sustenance and higher income generation. Besides, species of mollusca and mussels are degrading from the part of the lake adjoining the villages.

16 species of vegetable items were used by the respondents. Overall, Oenanthe javanica (Komprek) with a percentage of 77.33%, Alpinia nigra (Pullei) (75.67%), Ipomoea aquatica (Kollamni) (65%) etc. were the most harvested vegetables. Among all vegetables Hedychium coronarium (Loklei) was harvested in highest percentage (89%) in Phoubakchao village. 15% of the respondents did not use any vegetable items. Singh (2002) ³⁵ also identified 54 species of plants available on the Phumdis of Loktak lake, Manipur, India having importance to the local people for their livelihood and were found to be used for edible, cultural, medicinal, fodder, house making and biofertilizer purposes.

Table 3: Other Bioresources used from the Loktak Lake.

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