Land-use Change and Vocational Transition in East Kolkata Wetlands

Abstract

The city of Kolkata is location-wise gifted by the existence of a wide wetland in its eastern fringe, popularly known as the East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW), where nearly 80 per cent of city sewer gets naturally treated in the shallow water bodies under abundant supply of sunshine in a hot and humid tropical climate and it provides outlet to the city’s excess rainwater run-off. During this process, the wastewater gets converted into nutrient-rich fish feed and creates favourable conditions for vocations like fisheries, garbage farming, animal husbandry, etc. However, due to aggressive urban encroachment in the buffer area of the EKW over time, the ecosystem-based livelihood practices are under threat. How that would affect the local people’s perception regarding their livelihood options in the core area of the wetlands where any change in the pattern of land use is legally prohibited? To investigate this issue, a time diary method has been applied to come up with an exhaustive listing of the types of jobs prevailing in the core area where most of the workers are employed temporarily, seasonally or sporadically, as self-employed or unpaid family worker, casual labour, home-based worker or simply home worker and where the works are so very closely tied together as part of their livelihood practices that respondents barely recognize those activities as distinct works. Entries from time diary have captured the imperceptible changes in vocational preferences across age, sex and the level of education with greater precision.