Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

Threats and Opportunities of Ecosystem Services: A Geographical Study of Purbasthali Oxbow Lake

Mehedi Hasan Mandal, Giyasuddin Siddique, Arindam Roy

Journal of Geography, Environment and Earth Science International · pp. 1–24 · Published 11 Aug 2018

10.9734/JGEESI/2018/43229

Abstract

Natural wetlands are most productive and most threatened ecosystems on the Earth’s surface. They provide various ecosystem services beneficial for the local environment and economy. The Purbasthali Oxbow Lake, a palaeochannel of the Bhagirathi, is considered as the case for investigation. This paper attempts to examine the instrumental forces responsible for the deterioration of the ecosystem and the possible measures to be adopted for sustainable utilisation of the ecosystem services by using SWOT analysis. Reduction of surface area and increasing turbid zones has been identified by GIS environment. Ecosystem services like flood control, groundwater recharge, the habitat of biota along with the direct use of the oxbow lake by nearby people in eleven ways have been identified. Human intervention in forms of agricultural expansion, the establishment of brick kilns, illegal trapping and hunting of birds pose serious threats to the health of the lake ecosystem. Present Strength and Weakness and probable Opportunities and Threats associated with the ecosystem services have been identified and sustainable alternatives have been formulated for future development of the area. It can be concluded that despite the various threats posed by the human population, the wetland still has the potentialities to extend various future benefits to the nearby social groups.

Ecosystem services palaeochannel sustainable utilization SWOT analysis wetland

Cited by 8

Late Holocene rapid terrestrialization of abandoned channels and vulnerability in the Himalayan Foreland basin area in India

Jiarul Alam, Deepak Kumar Mandal, Sanjoy Barman · Journal of Cleaner Production · 2025

Assemblage of wetland bird Species in Purbasthali Oxbow Lake, West Bengal, India: Implications for Management

Mehedi Hasan Mandal, Arindam Roy, Subhendu Ghosh · Ornis Hungarica · 2021

Hydrological Change Detection Mapping and Monitoring of Ramganga Reservoir, Pauri Gharwal, Uttarakhand, Using Geospatial Technique

Manish Rawat, Ashish Pandey, Basant Yadav · Water Science and Technology Library · 2021

Spatial dynamics in people-wetland association: an assessment of rural dependency on ecosystem services extended by Purbasthali Wetland, West Bengal

Mehedi Hasan Mandal, Arindam Roy, Giyasuddin Siddique · Environment, Development and Sustainability · 2020

Ecosystem Services of Chariganga and Arpara Beel in Nadia District, West Bengal: A Geographical Enquiry

Mehedi Hasan Mandal, Anup Kumar Dey, Arindam Roy · Space and Culture, India · 2020

Changes in The Demographic and Social Profile of The Char Dwellers Due to The Meander Cut-Off in The River Bhagirathi, West Bengal

Daizy Dhara, Dr. Sanat Kumar Guchhait · International Journal of Latest Technology in Engineering Management & Applied Science · 2025

A geographical assessment of Chariganga and Arpara Beel (wetlands) of Nadia, West Bengal as a habitat of wetland birds

Mehedi Hasan Mandal, Arindam Roy, Giyasuddin Siddique · Journal of Threatened Taxa · 2021

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

0

Page views

0

PDF downloads

0

Outbound clicks

8

Citations

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

No views recorded yet.

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

No traffic recorded yet.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.