Pollutants and Water Management. Группа авторов

wetland.

      2.3.7 Socio‐Economic Dependence and Anthropogenic Pressure

      The economy of the nearby population is significantly dependent on the wetland resource. It was recorded that 70.1% of the population was directly involved in agricultural activities inside the wetland area during the lean period. Sometimes, their activity extended throughout the year if there was no flooding. The major crops cultivated were sugarcane, sorghum, maize, wheat, and paddy. During agriculture, a large number of chemical fertilizers of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium (NPK), biofertilizers, and different chemicals including pesticides/insecticides and herbicides were commonly used. The range of chemical fertilizer application varied from 170.97 to 864.85 kg/ha, while biofertilizer application was recorded between 350 and 635 kg/ha. Chemical fertilizers were used two to three times for each cultivated crop, whereas biofertilizers were used once at the time of cultivation. However, the maximum cultivators (61.22%) were not satisfied with the yield of crops.

      The activity of bird poaching, practices to drain out the water, young fish dying due to pollution, and overexploitation of other resources like water, fish, and land were commonly recorded during the survey. The range of vegetation biomass collection was in the range of 75–210 kg/day/head, while the fish catch was highly variable with the season, ranging from 20–60 kg/day/head.

      2.3.7.1 Demographic Status and Literacy

The change in village‐wise population and number of households among ten villages between 2001 and 2011 is summarized in Table 2.6. The increase in population and number of households were largest at Kanausi and smallest at Manikpur villages. Whereas, the annual rate of increase in population and number of households among the ten villages in a decade were largest at Manjhaul and least at Jaimangalgarh (Table 2.6). The literacy rate (%) among the villages is shown in Figure 2.11. The maximum (51.75%) and minimum (39.15%) literacy rates were in Narayanpiper and Jaimangalpur, respectively.

      2.3.7.2 Resource User Groups and their Socio‐Economic Status and Dependency

All the responses of the questionnaire survey were summed up and RUGs were decided on a ranking basis (Fisher 2004). The Kanwar wetland resource users were categorized into three groups, namely Landowner, Laborer, and Business. The maximum (53%) respondents belonged to the labor group, followed by the landowner (27%) and small‐scale business (20%) groups. The landowners had their registered land of a good amount (>20 katha, i.e. 0.3 ha), whereas the other two groups did not have registered land. These groups used to get land on lease from landowners. The labor group population was deprived in education, pakka housing, and land (Table 2.7). Their annual income was in the range of INR 12 500–25 000 household/year, which was less than the landowners (INR 25 000–125 000 household/year) and business (INR 15 000–50 000 household/year). The source of income of all RUGs was mainly based on agricultural yields. Most of the RUG population was unemployed and directly dependent for their livelihood on different materials from the wetland (Table 2.8).

Table 2.6 Changes in village‐wise population and number of households.

S. no.	Village	Population	Number of households
		2001	2011	Change	% change	Rate (per year)	2001	2011	Change	% change	Rate (per year)
1	Manjhaul	31 261	35 905	4644	14.86	465	5336	7372	2036	38.16	204
2	Jaimangalpur	1774	2309	535	30.16	53.5	373	507	134	35.92	14
3	Jaimangalgarh	538	731	193	35.87	20	130	175	45	34.62	5
4	Ekamba	4803	6923	2120	44.14	212	793	1471	678	85.50	68
5	Parora	4251	6353	2102	49.45	211	792	1275	483	60.98	49
6	Narayanpiper	5396	7451	2055	38.08	206	1015	1541	526	51.82	53
7	Sakra	3354	4416	1062	31.66	107	591	973	382	64.64	39
8	Rajaur	4420	6075	1655	37.44	166