ANNOUNCEMENTS
In fragile transitional freshwater ecosystems, such as wetlands, the increasing anthropogenic and natural pressures, including urbanisation and climate change, have impacted their ecological health. Loktak Lake, a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance placed under the Montreux Record since 1993, signifies this and is the research focus of the thesis.
The research primarily focuses on understanding Loktak Lake's management in light of its inclusion in the Montreux Record. It examines these through threat assessment; land use land cover (LULC); Ecosystem Services (ES) assessment and institutional analysis. This involved analysing stakeholder's perceptions of the present management interventions and threats. The threat assessment involved ranking the threats using a rating scale. LANDSAT imageries and secondary data obtained from respective state and central departments for ES indicators formed the core of LULC and ES assessment. The study referred to primary documents such as Annual Administrative Reports, Evaluation Reports, Detailed Project Reports, and secondary literature. This mixed-method approach involving both quantitative and qualitative research was vital for answering the two objectives of the study. The study prioritised eight of the eleven threats based on stakeholder ratings.
Phumdi, an important LULC class, showed decreased coverage by 5.9% during 2009-2020. The ES assessment indicated an increasing trend in annual winter counts of two IUCN threatened category bird species, Common Pochard and Ferruginous Pochard, that otherwise shows a decreasing trend globally. The institutional analysis highlighted the importance of stakeholder involvement with secured financial allocation in achieving positive outcomes. It also revealed that management of the lake post-1993 indicated inadequate implementation, data gaps in crucial monitoring indicators, and followed a top-down approach.
The study provides a base line for assessing the management interventions in the lakes. It also demonstrated that threat ranking, followed by an analysis of perceptions of different groups of stakeholders, is an efficient method for formulating a management plan.
Keywords: Loktak Lake, Montreux Record, LULC, Threat Ranking, Ecosystem Services, Institutional Analysis.
