Department of Environmental Studies, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007, India.
Environ Monit Assess. 2024 Nov 5;196(12):1164. doi: 10.1007/s10661-024-13303-9.
The amalgamation of Himalayan and Indo-Burmese biodiversity has made the state of Manipur, India, a unique ecosystem. In addition, the region is a strategic place for the country to establish an economic corridor to Southeast Asia. In recent times, the region has witnessed tremendous infrastructural/road development. Subsequently, forest fragmentation related to urbanization and road expansion has emerged in the Himalayan foothills. The development of roads brought rapid changes in land use and land cover (LULC) and thus subsequent environmental degradation. The current study attempts to understand how the development of road networks has impacted the natural cover in Manipur, India. A spatio-temporal analysis was performed to assess the relationship between the development of road networks and LULC changes using the Landsat satellite images over a decade (2012-2022). The results showed significant changes in the area coverage of LULC categories such as agricultural land, built-up areas, forest, and water bodies with the increase in road density. To have a holistic view, the study area was segregated into three functional zones based on their urban land use pattern, i.e., urban center, peri-urban, and urban peripheral fringes. Urban sprawl in the urban center has led to the rapid conversion of forested lands into built-up areas and agricultural lands in the peri-urban and urban peripheral fringes, respectively. The decline of forest areas to urbanization in peri-urban and urban peripheral fringes calls for conservation and restoration initiatives. The study also emphasizes how different stakeholders can be involved and empowered to strengthen public-private partnerships for conservation and restoration in such sensitive ecosystems. Urban planners and developers should be critical in making informed decisions through understanding ecological concerns in tandem with infrastructural development.
喜马拉雅山脉和印度-缅甸生物多样性的融合使印度曼尼普尔邦成为一个独特的生态系统。此外，该地区是印度建立通往东南亚经济走廊的战略要地。近年来，该地区见证了巨大的基础设施/道路发展。随后，城市化和道路扩张导致喜马拉雅山麓出现了森林破碎化现象。道路的发展带来了土地利用和土地覆盖（LULC）的快速变化，从而导致了随后的环境退化。本研究试图了解道路网络的发展如何影响印度曼尼普尔邦的自然覆盖。利用十年来（2012-2022 年）的 Landsat 卫星图像进行了时空分析，以评估道路网络发展与 LULC 变化之间的关系。结果表明，随着道路密度的增加，LULC 类别（如农业用地、建成区、森林和水体）的面积覆盖发生了显著变化。为了全面了解情况，根据城市土地利用模式，将研究区域划分为三个功能区，即城市中心、城市周边和城市外围边缘。城市中心的城市扩张导致森林地区迅速转变为建成区和农业用地，分别在城市周边和城市外围边缘。城市周边和城市外围边缘的森林地区因城市化而减少，需要进行保护和恢复工作。该研究还强调了如何让不同的利益相关者参与并赋予他们权力，以加强在这些敏感生态系统中的公私合作伙伴关系来进行保护和恢复。城市规划者和开发商应该通过理解生态问题并与基础设施发展齐头并进，来做出明智的决策。
