An Assessment of Cyclone-induced Vulnerability and Change in Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) of G-Plot in Patharpratima C. D. Block of South 24 Parganas District, West Bengal

Abstract

The Sundarban is a region of complex diversities both in terms of its physical and cultural environments. Three very important issues in the Sundarban are poverty, embankment and transport-communication. All of these issues are related to natural calamities. Cyclonic hazards are very common in the Bay of Bengal, as it severely damages lives and properties in the region. The principal objective of this study is to assess cyclone induced vulnerability and change in land utilization pattern in a coastal location of the humid tropics, for which G-Plot of the Indian Sundarban has been selected as the case study area. Both primary and secondary data have been used to analyse the same using quantitative as well as qualitative methods. Field survey was conducted by administering semi-structured questionnaires among 10 households from each mouzas of G-Plot, thus totalling 90 households for the entire area were randomly surveyed. With the adverse effects of mostly the cyclones, the nature of land use and land cover has changed significantly in the area. Out of 5 land cover features, the amount of area under mangrove and non-mangrove land (area covered by all the natural vegetation except mangrove trees) has decreased, while fallow land, water body and sandbar have increased. Settlement is one of the most important land uses, and it is found to be decreasing in the southern part of G-plot, but it has been increasing in the northern part, which can be a testimony of cyclonic effects. Based on vulnerability indices, this study indicates that the mouzas located in the southern portion of G-plot are highly vulnerable to cyclonic hazards compared to its northern counterpart.