Journal of Resources, Energy and Development - Volume 19, issue 1-2

Authors: Ramachandra, T V | Negi, Paras | Setturu, Bharath

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Evaluation of Land Use Land Cover (LULC) changes play a vital role in understanding the landscape dynamics that have been influencing climate, biodiversity, hydrology, and ecology of a region. The information of temporal LULC aids decision-makers in framing sustainable land use policies for nature conservation. Anthropogenic pressure, especially unplanned developmental activities, has contributed towards fragmenting contiguous forests, thus affecting their structure and loss of habitat for endemic taxa. LULC changes in the Bellary district, Karnataka have been assessed through temporal remote sensing data. Classification of remote sensing data for estimating the spatial extent of land uses has been done through …supervised machine learning algorithms namely random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), and parametric maximum likelihood classifier (MLC). The performance of these algorithms was evaluated through accuracy assessments. Results reveal that RF has the highest overall accuracy (88.94%) and Kappa value (0.76) compared to overall Kappa of MLC (85.51%, 0.74) and SVM (85.47%, 0.63). Based on this, RF was considered for temporal data analyses, which highlighted the decline of forest cover from 2.61% (1973) to 0.74% (2022). The built-up has increased from 0.27% (1973) to 2.43% (2022), and agriculture from 68.21% (1973) to 84.95% (2022). Fragmentation of contiguous forests is evident from the decline in the interior or intact forests from 6.73% (1973) to 2.41% (2022) and the increase in the non-forest areas such as built-up, agriculture, etc., amounting now to 89.81%. Results highlight the need for immediate policy interventions for the conservation and protection of the remnant forest patches. Show more

Keywords: LULC, Forest fragmentation, Supervised learning techniques, Machine learning

DOI: 10.3233/RED-191201

Citation: Journal of Resources, Energy and Development, vol. 19, no. 1-2, pp. 1-18, 2022

Authors: Nallathiga, Ramakrishna | Jadhav, Suyog | Mane, Tejashri | Lohar, Aniket

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: The Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) legislation was brought in India in order to curb environmentally detrimental activities along the coastline. It is one of the controversial legislations in the country, which affected the development of cities and their infrastructure. For topographically constrained land-scarce cities like Mumbai, which also faces the challenge of a growing population and economic activities, the CRZ legislation turns out to be a bane for development. The city already has a large amount of population living in informal housing (slum and squatted settlements) due to the limited availability of land. The CRZ legislation would further limit the …land available for development in Mumbai and, thereby, affect infrastructure, development, and property prices. This article examines whether the CRZ legislation would have impacted the coastal city of Mumbai in the form of informal development, lower infrastructure availability, and dampened property prices by making use of ward-level data. The study examines multiple, sequential, and interlinked hypotheses to assess how the CRZ legislation would have affected the development outcomes in the city. The results are assertive of the broader impact of CRZ legislation on the rise of informality, lower infrastructure availability, and poorer property prices. The study results are suggestive of the need to avoid a blanket approach towards coastal regulation; rather, it requires careful consideration of the local context of cities along the coastline and consultation with local government. However, the results have to be viewed from the perspective of Mumbai city and also in the light of limited data of a few wards along the Mumbai coast, which we use to arrive at the conclusions. Show more

Keywords: CRZ legislation, Informal development, Infrastructure, Property prices

DOI: 10.3233/RED-191202

Citation: Journal of Resources, Energy and Development, vol. 19, no. 1-2, pp. 19-32, 2022

Authors: Das, Subham | Vijayalaxmi, J

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Drought-prone villages are constantly facing the challenges of agricultural productivity, lack of alternative livelihood opportunities due to ecological vulnerability, predominance of wasteland, inadequate water supply, and absence of physical and socio-cultural infrastructure. The study aims to develop a comprehensive policy framework to mitigate the socio-economic and environmental issues against the threat. The methodology comprises an anthropological study from micro to macro level to synthesize the dynamics of drought in the economic, ecological, and socio-cultural indices of a typical agrarian village of Purulia District in West Bengal, India. The results illustrate ecological susceptibility such as extreme climatic condition, futile wasteland cover, …rocky undulating landform, top soil erosion, and human-made contingencies including deforestation, absence of water conservation practices, over utilization of existing water bodies resulting in water scarcity, loss of biodiversity, and absence of major agrarian livelihood. Lack of alternative livelihood practices such as agro-forestry and non-farm activities, appropriate knowledge regarding drought mitigation, sustainable living practices, inadequate physical infrastructure. and pressing issues in housing with population growth results in degradation of socio-economic profile of the residents, loss of natural resource. and poor socio-spatial livability quotient. It also increases the risk of habitat loss with regular drought occurrence. The study can be further adapted and strengthened according to varied rural settlements according to their geographical context, climatic vulnerability, predominant livelihood contingencies, and socio-cultural resonance. Most research in this domain focuses on the geophysical and meteorological parameters while the anthropo-geographical aspects such as local ecology, indigenous livelihood patterns, and native strategies of drought management are largely overlooked. The policy framework has been suggested to facilitate an integrated measure for the ecological and economic sustainability against drought with diversified livelihood opportunities, environmental upgradation, and augmentation of physical infrastructure. This policy can be further strengthened with retrofitting strategies of housing for future expansion and optimization of socio-cultural spaces to foster a sustainable economy, cohesive socio-cultural well-being, and resource optimization. Show more

Keywords: Anthropology, Drought mitigation, Habitat framework policy, Landscape and ecology, Rural housing, Sustainable rural livelihood, Village upgradation

DOI: 10.3233/RED-191203

Citation: Journal of Resources, Energy and Development, vol. 19, no. 1-2, pp. 33-62, 2022

Authors: Bhattacharjya, Souvik

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: The paper has attempted to bring out the importance of social enterprises (SEs) and the role they play in accelerating the 2030 development agenda. SEs are primarily hybrid organizations emanating from the area of social entrepreneurship. There are, nonetheless, challenges that these organizations encounter. The paper presents key challenges confronting the sector. These include operational issues, management conflicts and governance, inadequate regulations for raising resources, and operational transparency. In a complex socio-economic environment system with SEs certain to be an enabler towards sustainability, it is important that negative outcomes be addressed based on appropriate strategies and interventions. An enabling environment …would support SEs and related actors work together in improving institutional capabilities and bringing sustainable innovation and transformation across the complete spectrum. Show more

Keywords: Social enterprises, Social stock exchange, Socially responsible investments, Impact investing, Sustainable development

DOI: 10.3233/RED-191204

Citation: Journal of Resources, Energy and Development, vol. 19, no. 1-2, pp. 63-72, 2022

Authors: Singh, Mandavi | Kaushik, Trinayana

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Sustainable development goals have a global indicator framework that guides countries in selecting relevant indicators for the national indicator framework. It can be used by countries to track progress around specific targets. To track such progress around the plastic economy, a data-driven approach is required. Plastic waste management has long been a challenge and is considered an issue mainly due to the lack of infrastructure, technology, and efficient systems for collecting and processing plastic. However, not much importance is given to ‘how much’ that is the ‘data’ for plastics to deal with. The polymer supply chain is extremely complex due …to its multiple forms, numerous applications across sectors and products, and vast time range within which they can reach their end of life. There are only rough estimates about plastic waste generation in India without any proper methodology. Even when a certain methodology is provided it is not holistic as it does not consider the informal sector of India, leading to the debilitation of data generated. Data transparency is a must to build a circular waste value chain. It could be achieved via the unified digital platform and strengthening of extended producer responsibility. Instead of just provision of the numbers, transparency could be brought by stating the methods for data collection and its completeness which can translate to how veritable the quoted numbers are and where to fill the gaps in assumptions and calculations. Show more

Keywords: Plastic waste management, Informal sector, Data transparency, Polymer supply chain, Extended producer responsibility

DOI: 10.3233/RED-191205

Citation: Journal of Resources, Energy and Development, vol. 19, no. 1-2, pp. 73-80, 2022

Article Type: Book Review

DOI: 10.3233/RED-191206

Citation: Journal of Resources, Energy and Development, vol. 19, no. 1-2, pp. 81-84, 2022