Urban Sprawl of Srinagar City and Its Impact on Wetlands- a Spatio-Temporal Analysis

International Journal of Environment and Bioenergy, 2014, 9(2): 122-129 International Journal of Environment and Bioenergy ISSN: 2165-8951 Journal homepage: www.ModernScientificPress.com/Journals/IJEE.aspx Florida, USA Article Urban Sprawl of Srinagar City and its Impact on Wetlands- A Spatio-temporal Analysis

Nissar A. Kuchay* and M. Sultan Bhat

Department of Geography, University of Kashmir

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: [email protected]

Article history: Received 5 May 2014, Received in revised form 23 May 2014, Accepted 26 May 2014, Published 28 May 2014.

Abstract: Wetlands across the whole Himalayan region are under increasing stress due to the rapidly growing population, technological development, urbanisation and economic growth, especially those wetlands that are located in and around the urban centres. To analyse the response of wetlands to urbanization, Srinagar- the largest and the fastest growing Himalayan urban centre has been taken as a pilot study. The city is facing the phenomenon of accelerated urbanization and resultant environmental degradation. It has a complex geo-ecological setup, dotted with a number of urban wetlands/lakes like Dal, Anchar, Nigeen, Babdemb, Khushalsar, Hokrasar etc. During the last century the magnitude of population growth, economic development and resultant spatial expansion of the city and its environs has increasingly assumed from significant to threatening proportions. The city has grown 12 times in terms of population and 23 times in terms of area between 1901 and 2011. The analysis has shown that increasing anthropogenic pressure coming from over exploitation, encroachment and reclamation of vast wetland areas for agriculture, commercial and residential development have led to fast shrinking of wetlands and have altered the rate and nature of wetland functions.

Keywords: Urban sprawl; wetlands; Himalayan; Dal Lake; Srinagar City.

Int. J. Environ. Bioener. 2014, 9(2) : 122-129 123

1. Introduction

Environmental resources contribute to, but are not direct inputs of economic systems, for they are goods and services provided by nature in-place, goods and services that continue as long as the ecological systems and spaces needed to generate them remain unaltered. However, excessive pollution, ecosystem destruction, and other forms of misuse degrade or destroy environmental resources (Daily, 1997). City growth and changes in land use patterns have various social and environmental impacts, including the loss of natural spaces, increased vehicular congestion, landscape fragmentation and homogenization, the loss of highly productive agricultural lands, alterations in natural drainage systems, wetland loss and reduced water quality (Pickett and Cadenasso, 1995; Breuste et al., 1998, Bella and Irwin, 2002; Burel, 1993; Pauchard et al., 2006). In addition to the many positive effects of urbanization such as economies of scale and accessibility to education and culture, there are also negative externalities such as environmental degradation and reduced quality of life. Sprawl has a considerable impact on ecosystems and other environmental resources, which provide societal and environmental benefits simply be existing and functioning. These essential biological and physical systems include wetlands that provide flood control and waste water renovation; atmosphere, forests, and grasslands that provide climate regulation; biodiversity factors that contribute to healthy, well-functioning ecosystems (Barnes, 2003). Land development results in loss of natural vegetation and open spaces and a general decline in the spatial extent and connectivity of wetlands, wildlife habitat, and agricultural lands, landscape fragmentation and biodiversity loss. While land use changes are a consequence of national growth, regional assessments of historical and contemporary land use change are needed to anticipate the impacts associated with change and contribute to an understanding of productive environmental sustainability (Tomich et al., 2004; Mahe et al., 2005). These land use changes especially in urban areas can be substantial but are difficult to grasp when they occur incrementally.

2. Materials and Methods

Recently, data from satellites has dramatically illustrated the rates at which these human- induced changes are occurring. Temporal mapping from satellite data has successfully demonstrated the utility of integrating existing historic maps with remotely sensed data and related geographic information to accurately map land characteristics for large metropolitan areas. These regional databases provide a strong visual portrayal of recognized growth patterns, and dramatically convey how the progress of modern development results in profound changes to the landscape. In the present

Copyright © 2014 by Modern Scientific Press Company, Florida, USA Int. J. Environ. Bioener. 2014, 9(2) : 122-129 124 study SoI toposheets of the year 1971 and LANDSAT-ETM satellite image of the year 2010 were processed in Arc-GIS to prepare the wetland maps of the study area. Data regarding population and areal growth of Srinagar city was obtained from Census of India and Srinagar Municipal Corporation respectively

2.1. Study Area

Srinagar city is not only the largest urban centre in the state of Jammu & Kashmir but in the whole Himalayan region. The city has been growing at an alarming pace therefore the changes in land use are very fast. The city lies 74º 43´ - 74º 52´ E longitude & 34º 0´ - 34º 14´ N latitude. It is about 5200 feet above mean sea level. The city has a unique physiographic setup with steep hills in the East and North East, low lying paddy fields falling in the flood plain of Jhelum in the South and West, the Karewas of Budgam in the extreme South and towards the North we encounter the uplands with moderate slopes. The famous Dal lake is situated in the heart of the city. There are two conspicuous physical features in the shape of Kohi-maran and Kohi-suleiman hillocks. The city of Srinagar experiences a Mediterranean type of climate. The city receives most of the precipitation in winter season in the form of rain and snow.

Fig. 1: Location map of study area

According to the Census of India (2011) the city of Srinagar has a total population of 12.2 lacs persons, with 54 per cent male and 46 per cent female population. The population of the city is projected to cross 23.5 lacs mark by the year 2021(Master Plan 2001-21). Such a huge population is likely to cause increased pressure on the resource base and if proper environmental conservation strategies are not formulated, there are apprehensions that our fragile natural assets may be damaged

3. Results and Discussions

3.1. Expansion of Srinagar City

In the valley of Kashmir, unprecedented population growth coupled with unplanned developmental activities has resulted in rapid but skewed urbanization. This has posed serious implications on the resource base, access to infrastructure and the development of the region. Srinagar- the primate city of the region has enjoyed its primacy throughout the ages. The city is not only the largest urban centre both in terms of area and population size but is also experiencing the highest sprawl and growth rate in whole Himalayan region. Vertical expansion being restricted, due to challenging geophysical setup of the region, has fueled the problem of horizontal sprawl of the city (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2: Population growth of Srinagar city (1901-2011)

During last fifty years or so increasing population and migration for better livelihood opportunities have paved way for rapid expansion of this urban centre. The table 1 shows the increase in the area of the city during last hundred years. It is clear from these figures that there has been a slow expansion of the city during first fifty years and a very fast expansion after 1970’s as the total area of the city has increased from 12 Km2 in 1911 to 82 Km2 in 1971 and 278.1 Km2 in 2011. A detailed analysis of the population growth (Fig. 2) and spatial expansion (Fig. 3) of the city reveals that growth of the city has been an exponential one.

Table 1: Srinagar city- Population growth and areal expansion (1901 – 2011) Year Area Population Absolute Decadal Density/Km2 (Km2) Variation Growth Rate 1901 12.8 122618 ------9579 1911 12.85 126344 3726 3.04 9832 1921 14.48 141735 15391 12.18 9788 1931 17.6 173573 31831 22.46 9862 1941 17.6 207787 34212 19.71 11806 1951 29.52 246522 38735 18.64 8351 1961 41.44 285257 38735 15.71 6884 1971 82.88 403413 118156 34.31 4867 1981 208.9 606002 202589 40.13 2912 1991 N.A N.A N.A N.A N.A 2001 278.1 995806 389804 64.32 3581 2011 278.1 1225837 230031 23.13 4407 Source: Srinagar Municipal Corporation, Town planning Organization Srinagar.

Fig. 3: Areal expansion of Srinagar city (1901-2011)

3.2. Changing Spatial Status of Wetlands (1971-2010)

It is evident from table 2 that there has been large scale loss in terms of spatial extant of lakes during the period under analysis. Hokersar and Anchar lake have been the worst hit. More than half of

Copyright © 2014 by Modern Scientific Press Company, Florida, USA Int. J. Environ. Bioener. 2014, 9(2) : 122-129 127 the area of Anchar lake has been lost between 1971 and 2010 as it covered an area of 2.49 Km2 in 1971 against 1.15 Km2 at present. Siltation is the most important cause of such huge loss of open water area of Anchor lake as Sindh- one of the important tributaries of Jhelum flows through this wetland. Similarly Hokersar has been reduced from 1.63 Km2 in 1971 to 0.29 Km2 in 2010 with a total loss of 1.34 Km2. Dal being the only exception, where management strategies seem to have met some success in preserving the spatial extant of open water area of the lake. Present analysis has shown that the open water area of the Dal lake has remained almost same from 1971 till date.

Table 2: Changing spatial status of Lakes around Srinagar city (1971-2010) Lake Area (Km2) 1971 Area (Km2) 2010 Net Loss (Km2) Dal lake 11.34 11.11 0.23 Hokersar pond 1.63 0.29 1.34 Anchar lake 2.49 1.15 1.34 Nigeen lake 0.76 0.65 0.11 Source: SoI Toposheets (1971) and LANDSAT-ETM (2010)

The analysis of multi-date areal coverage of wetlands as presented in table 3 reveals that there have been drastic changes in the areal extant of the wetlands. All the wetlands have witnessed a negative change in their areal coverage. During the analysis period Hokersar, Dal littorals, and Anchar wetland have registered a net loss of 11.2 Km2, 6.90 Km2 and 6.26 Km2 respectively. In addition to this the wetland of Khushalsar and Batmalun Nambal have been lost completely and transformed into residential and commercial land usese.

Table 3: Changing spatial status of Wetlands around Srinagar city (1971-2010)

Wetlands Area (Km2) 1971 Area (Km2) 2010 Net Loss (Km2)

Anchar 17.50 11.24 6.26

Dal littorals 20.53 13.63 6.90 Hokersar 20.7 9.50 11.2 Nambli-Narkara 3.42 2.61 0.81

Source: SoI Toposheets (1971) and LANDSAT-ETM (2010)

Wetlands of the city have been considered as the wasteland by the residents of the city. The spatial status of the wetlands and lakes around the city has been presented in Fig. 4. Once famous throughout the world, the wetlands like the littorals of Dal, Khushalsar, Babademb, within the city and

Anchar, Shalbugh, Hokersar and Narkara wetlands along the periphery of the city have mainly been transformed into residential colonies. Certain posh colonies such as Mehjoor Nagar, Cooperative Colony, Gulburg Colony, Shah Anwar Colony etc. along the national highway in the south and south- west of the city have come up mainly at the cost of precious wetlands. This in turn has resulted in a higher vulnerability to floods of these areas to the floods

(Source: SoI toposheets, 1971 and LANDSAT-ETM, 2010) Fig. 4: Changing spatial status of wetlands and lakes around Srinagar city (1971-2010)

4. Conclusion

Urban sprawl has a considerable impact on ecosystems and other environmental resources, which provide societal and environmental benefits simply by existing and functioning. These essential biological and physical systems include, among others, the wetlands and lakes that provide water for drinking and irrigation purposes, flood control and wastewater renovation. The city of Srinagar has experienced a burgeoning population growth and resultant areal expansion during past four decades. This in turn has resulted in large scale transformation of land from natural green categories to built-up environment. The precious wetlands of the city with tremendous ecological, economic and aesthetic importance have suffered the highest. Wetlands that covered an area of 5.21 percent in 1971 are now reduced to 2.6 percent only. More than half (50.20%) of the area under wetlands has been lost during the last four decades recording a negative growth rate of 1.32 percent per year. Unfortunately the wetlands around the Srinagar city have been considered as wastelands by common masses and transformed into other uses such as residential, commercial and agricultural activities. The encroachment and fragmentation of wetlands and waterways has made the city highly susceptible to the floods. The wetlands have been fragmented and many interconnecting water channels filled up.

Therefore, due to the vanished interconnectivity which they enjoyed, these wetlands and water ways are no longer in a position to act as sponges at the times of inundation. Neither can they absorb enough water to regulate the water supply for agriculture and other domestic activities at the times of water shortage and droughts.

References

Barnes, J. (2003), Natural History of the Albany Pine Bush, Albany and Schenectady Counties, NYS Museum Bulletin, New York, NY, p. 502. Bella, K. P. and Irwin, E. G. (2002), Spatially explicit micro level modeling of land use change at the rural-urban interface, Agricultural Economics, 27:217-232. Breuste, J., Feldmann, H. and Uhlmann, O. (1998), Urban ecology. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Germany. Brueckner, Jan K (2000) Urban Sprawl: Diagnosis and Remedies, International regional Science Review, 23(2):160-171 Burel, F., Baudry, J. and Lefeuvre, J. C. (1993), Landscape structure and the control of water runoff, In: Bunce, R. G. et al (eds.), Landscape Ecology and Agroecosystems Lewis, Boca Raton, pp. 41-47. Daily, G. C. (1997), Nature’s Services: Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems. Washington D. C. Island Press. Donnay, J. P., Barnsley, M. J. and Longly, P. A. (2001), Remote sensing and urban analysis, Taylor and Francis, London and New York. Fu, B., Gulinck, H. and Masum, M. Z. (1994), Loess erosion in relation to land use changes in the Ganspoel catchment, central Belgium, Land Degradation & Rehabilitation, 5(4) : 261-270. Gong, P., Pu, R. and Chen, J. (1996), Mapping ecological land systems and classification uncertainties from digital elevation and forest-cover data using neural networks, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, 62: 1249-1260. Mahe, G., Paturel, J. E. and Servat, E. (2005), The impact of land use change on soil water holding capacity and fiver flow modelling in the Nakambe River, Burkina-Faso. Journal of Hydrology, 300(4): 33-43. Pickett, S. T. A. and Cadenasso, M. L. (1995), Landscape ecology: spatial heterogeneity in ecological systems, Science, 269: 331-334. Tomich, T. P., Chomitz, K. and Francisco, H. (2004), Policy analysis and environmental problems at different scales: asking the right questions, Agric. Ecosyst. Environ., 104(1) : 5-18.