Transitional Peri-urban Landscape
and Use of Natural Resource
for Livelihoods
Mrinalini Goswami and Sunil Nautiyal
Abstract Peri-urban landscapes are highly dynamic with regard to their land use,
social, economic and ecological constructs. Urbanization has its impact outside its
boundary and is determined by the types of services and resources provided by the
peripheral areas to the city. Increasing pressure on the natural resources to meet
the urban and peri-urban needs leads to jeopardized ecosystems which adversely
affect the livelihoods of natural resource dependent peri-urban and rural population.
This paper intends to look into the general environmental concerns in the context of
Indian peri-urban areas. It analyses the pattern of natural resource use for acquiring
livelihoods and unsustainable practices in a peri-urban landscape of Guwahati city,
northeast India. A cross-sectional analysis, dividing the landscape into three sections
with differential urban impacts have shown that, there have been degradation of
resources although increase in income from a few natural resources, particularly
aquatic resource. The collection of forest resources other than the non-timber forest
products (NTFPs) found decreasing in all the three sections of the landscape. The
study findings have implications for landscape planning which concludes that the
impacts of unplanned urban activities affecting the natural resources in the fringe
areas have been realized by the local population. Although expansion of the city has
acknowledged the area as eco-sensitive zone, further policy revision is essential to
conserve ecosystem and to ensure sustainable and enhanced ecosystem services to
cater the needs of both rural and urban population.
M. Goswami · S. Nautiyal (B)
Centre for Ecological Economics and Natural Resources (CEENR), Institute for Social and
Economic Change (ISEC), Nagarabhavi, Bangalore 560 072, India
e-mail: nautiyal_sunil@rediffmail.com
S. Nautiyal
Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Eberswalder Str. 84, 15374
Müncheberg, Germany
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
N. Roy et al. (eds.), Socio-economic and Eco-biological Dimensions
in Resource use and Conservation, Environmental Science and Engineering,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32463-6_22
435
and Use of Natural Resource
for Livelihoods
Mrinalini Goswami and Sunil Nautiyal
Abstract Peri-urban landscapes are highly dynamic with regard to their land use,
social, economic and ecological constructs. Urbanization has its impact outside its
boundary and is determined by the types of services and resources provided by the
peripheral areas to the city. Increasing pressure on the natural resources to meet
the urban and peri-urban needs leads to jeopardized ecosystems which adversely
affect the livelihoods of natural resource dependent peri-urban and rural population.
This paper intends to look into the general environmental concerns in the context of
Indian peri-urban areas. It analyses the pattern of natural resource use for acquiring
livelihoods and unsustainable practices in a peri-urban landscape of Guwahati city,
northeast India. A cross-sectional analysis, dividing the landscape into three sections
with differential urban impacts have shown that, there have been degradation of
resources although increase in income from a few natural resources, particularly
aquatic resource. The collection of forest resources other than the non-timber forest
products (NTFPs) found decreasing in all the three sections of the landscape. The
study findings have implications for landscape planning which concludes that the
impacts of unplanned urban activities affecting the natural resources in the fringe
areas have been realized by the local population. Although expansion of the city has
acknowledged the area as eco-sensitive zone, further policy revision is essential to
conserve ecosystem and to ensure sustainable and enhanced ecosystem services to
cater the needs of both rural and urban population.
M. Goswami · S. Nautiyal (B)
Centre for Ecological Economics and Natural Resources (CEENR), Institute for Social and
Economic Change (ISEC), Nagarabhavi, Bangalore 560 072, India
e-mail: nautiyal_sunil@rediffmail.com
S. Nautiyal
Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Eberswalder Str. 84, 15374
Müncheberg, Germany
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
N. Roy et al. (eds.), Socio-economic and Eco-biological Dimensions
in Resource use and Conservation, Environmental Science and Engineering,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32463-6_22
435