Aquatic insect diversity of a protected area, Keibul Lamjao National Park in Manipur, North East India

Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP), Loktak lake Manipur, north-east India which is one of the 25 Ramsar sites of international importance and the biggest fresh water Lake in India. Macrophytes of the floating Phumdi mat environment of KLNP play an important role in the aquatic environment. An investigation was planned during the period of about three years from March, 2010 to December 2012, to study the diversity pattern of habitats of macrophytes available in six study sites of KLNP viz., 1.Kumbi, 2.Khordak, 3.Keibul, 4.Toya, 5. Nongmaikhong and 6. Sargam. All total 85 dominant plant species were recorded. Maximum plant species (49) was observed in Site-1 Kumbi (Altitude-780m) and minimum (27) in Site-3 Keibul (Altitude-772). The variation of plant species may be because of the slight variation of altitude. As the six study sites are distributed as floating aquatic environment in KLNP Loktak Lake, there is favourable place of the plants in higher altitude and altitude represents a complex gradient along which many environmental variables change concomitantly. In all the six study sites, common distribution of ten dominant plant macrophytes viz., Ageratum conizoides, Hedychium coronarium, Leersia hexandra, Oenanthe javanica, Phragmites karka, Polygonum sagittatum, Saccharum munja, Thelypteris interrupta and Zizania latifolia was noticed. Individual dominant plant was recorded in other sites also viz., Azola piñata in site-6; Xanthium atrumarium, Polygonum orientale, Dichrocephala latifolia and Cymbopogon citratus in site-2; Arundo plinii, Cuscuta reflexa, Gnaphalium luteo-album, Hydrilla verticillata, Marsilia minuta, Saccolepis interrupta, Selvenia cuculata and Utricularia spp. in site-1. Variation of IVI value of dominant plant species was observed in this study. Even though 85 dominant plants were selected for all the 6 sites, however, maximum plant richness expressed in IVI was recorded in case of Zizania latifolia (Site-5, IVI-87.5) and minimum IVI in case of Xanthium strumarium (Site-2, IVI-1.13). The diversity pattern and habitats of macrophytes in KLNP Phumdi environment might be due to water availability along the altitudinal gradient and other environmental factors suited in the study sites and expected to be an important factor affecting the survival and fecundity of plant population. We need to conserve the natural habitat of KLNP thereby maintaining the luxuriant growth of the seasonal and perennial, macrophytes, so as to maintain the natural flora and fauna of the park. These plants are the food of man and animal therefore, it needs a proper care and attention to protect them from over exploitation. Considering the diversity pattern of habitats of Macrophytes in KLNP, a floating mat Phumdi environment with high floral diversity and unique vegetation assemblage, it has been suggested that this track and adjoining sites should be declared as ecologically sensitive area not only the World Heritage Site.

Land use change due to human activity can have serious, often irreversible effects on the environment. It affects ecosystem functions and the sustainability of protected natural areas. Problems such as fragmentation, low habitat connectivity or a decline in a territory’s ability to capture carbon are some of its consequences. By studying past land use trends we can simulate future land uses, and modeling such trends is essential if a preventive approach to the management of protected areas is to be adopted. The aim of this chapter is to simulate different change scenarios in protected natural areas in the urban region of Madrid, from National and Nature Parks to Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas. To this end we study land use changes both inside and around these protected areas. CORINE Land Cover maps from 1990, 2000 and 2006 are used. Cross-tabulation techniques are applied in order to study trends in land use change. Three scenarios are designed: a baseline or trend scenario, an economic crisis scenario and a green scenario. The CLUE model (based on logistic regression) is used. LCM (based on neural networks) is also used but only in the trend scenario. Biophysical, socio-economic and accessibility factors and incentives and restrictions are considered. FRAGSTATS and GUIDOS are used to analyse the effect of infrastructure and built-up land growth on connectivity and fragmentation. In recent decades, the region of Madrid has experienced intense urban and infrastructure development (48,332 ha). Protected areas have been affected by this urbanization process. Built-up areas have grown at an average annual rate of 5.52% in protected areas and around them. According to the trend scenario, the built-up area will increase by 28,000 ha over the period 2006–2025 to 7.6% of the study area. No fragmentation processes are expected in the National Park. However, fragmentation of agricultural and natural habitats around protected areas is expected to increase by 7.2% during this period. These findings should alert land use planners and the managers of protected areas to the potential threats.

A wetlandscape is a landscape characterized by the presence of numerous interconnected wetlands (Bertassello et al. 2018). Loktak located in the Manipur River basin in India is a unique wetlandscape that includes numerous floodplain wetlands and associated channels. It hosts the Loktak wetland, the largest freshwater body in the northeastern India, also designated as Ramsar site and the Keibul Lamjao National Park, the only floating national park in the world. Like any other wetlands in the world, Loktak wetlandscape is also under great threat due to the changes in the hydrometeorological conditions associated with climate change as well as the human interventions in the wetlandscape and its catchment. Loktak hydro-electric project, the major anthropogenic intervention in the wetlandscape has a huge impact on the hydrology and ecology of Loktak wetland complex and to Pumlen wetland complex to a less significant level (Trisal and Manihar 2002). This work investigates the multi- and cross-scale degradation of wetlands in the Loktak wetlandscape in a nested-framework by studying hydrogeomorphic dynamics at catchment scale, wetlandscape scale, and wetland complex scale. The catchment scale encompasses surrounding uplands and hillslopes. At the wetlandscape scale, which includes interconnected wetlands and associated channels, individual wetland boundaries are demarcated using historical Corona image and recent Sentinel-2 image. By comparing historic and recent boundaries, we found that six natural wetlands of area less than 1.5km2 have completely converted into other land use types and three small wetlands with area less than 1km2 get merged with bigger ones due to barrage-induced prolonged inundation. The wetland complex scale is a cluster of hydrologically interconnected wetlands of same or different types. Loktak wetland complex has not shown any prominent change in its extent, whereas Ikop and Pumlen wetland complexes have shrunken remarkably over time. The degradation of wetlandscape is evident from other factors such as proliferation and thinning of phumdis (floating biomass) and destruction of vegetation in the catchment. The cross-scale investigation suggests the influence of both natural and anthropogenic controls on the degradation of Loktak wetlandscape. The findings of this study and the protocols developed here will help to better understand the stressors of Loktak wetlandscape and elsewhere and could be instrumental in developing a conservation and management plan. Multi-scale management of wetlandscape include the catchment-scale measures such as afforestation, protection of hills and reducing the frequency of shifting (jhum) cultivation in hilly areas, wetlandscape scale measures such as control of waste dumping, control of channel modification for builtup and then wetland scale measures such as removal of invasive species from open water, and control of athaphum farming (method of farming using phumdis). Considering that a huge proportion of population in the valley depend on these wetlands for their livelihood, accounting their needs and making them a part of any effort for the management of this ecosystem has to be one of the primary goal.

A study on the diversity and density of aquatic insects in the lower reach of river Moirang, Manipur, India was conducted using aquatic insects as bio indicator to ascertain the pollution status of the river as it discharges into the Loktak lake (Ramsar site), the lifeline of people of Manipur. The study revealed the presence of three orders, nine families, twelve genera and eighteen species of aquatic insects in the lower reach of the river. The orders were Hemiptera, Odonata and Coleoptera. There was total absence of sensitive groups of aquatic insects like Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera. According to Engelmann’s scale, Diplonychus rusticus (Fabricius) was found eudominant followed by five subdominant and six recedent species. No species was found in the dominant range. Species diversity and evenness indices fluctuated throughout the year and Shannon H′<1 in all the months indicated a stressed and disturbed environment. This is confirmed by the record of low dissolved oxygen (DO), high biological oxygen demand (BOD) and high phosphate in the water of the river. Among the heavy metals, the ranges of both lead and mercury were found to exceed the WHO maximum permissible limit. Significant positive correlation of rainfall with pH, DO, BOD, nitrate, phosphate, Berger Parker dominance index (d) and significant negative correlation with diversity index (Shannon H′) indicated that rainfall is one of the important parameters in the ecology of the system. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) revealed that the important physico-chemical attributes of the ecosystem were air temperature, water temperature, depth, rainfall, BOD, DO, salinity, sodium, total alkalinity, iron and lead.

Protected areas for conservation and poverty alleviation: experiences from Madagascar Charlie J. Gardner*, Martin E. Nicoll, Tsibara Mbohoahy, Kirsten L. L. Oleson, Anitry N. Ratsifandrihamanana, Joelisoa Ratsirarson, Lily-Arison Ren e de Roland, Malika Virah-Sawmy, Bienvenue Zafindrasilivonona and Zoe G. Davies WWF Madagascar and Western Indian Ocean Programme Office, BP738, Antananarivo 101, Madagascar; Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NR, UK; D epartement de Biologie, Facult e des Sciences, Universit e de Toliara, Toliara 601, BP 185, Toliara, Madagascar; Blue Ventures Conservation, Level 2 Annex, Omnibus Business Centre, 39-41 North Road, N7 9DP London, UK; ESSA-D epartement Eaux et Forets, Universit e d’Antananarivo, BP 175 Antananarivo, Madagascar; and The Peregrine Fund, BP 4113 Antananarivo, Madagascar

Conversion of natural habitat to other forms of land use is the main threat to protected areas and biodiversity globally. The continued trend of land use land cover change in protected areas resulted in loss of a large portion of biodiversity, overexploitation by humans, transformation of natural land to human settlement, etc. In Ethiopia, the causes for land use land cover change in many protected areas are farmland expansion, deforestation, unsustainable grazing and settlement expansion, and are leading to loss of biodiversity and negative impacts of ecosystem services. In addition, Ethiopia’s protected areas entertain escalating threats and land cover changes due to human population growth, competing claims from the surrounding communities, incompatible investment, lack of environmental law enforcement, absence of complete plan and timely update for protected areas, etc. These have affected protected areas in the country namely the Bale Mountains National Park, Chocke Mountains, Babile Elephant sanctuary, Abijata Shalla Lakes National Park, Awash National Park and others. The continued land use land cover changes are aggravating ecosystem, soil and water resources degradation in mountainous protected areas while they are leading to biodiversity destruction and loss of forest cover in lowland protected areas. In order to halt and reduce the impact of land cover change on biodiversity conservation, undertaking complete land use planning and continuous monitoring of protected areas was found to be important. Similarly, integrating protected areas into the surrounding landscapes and a broader framework of national plans, promoting income generation means for communities surrounding protected areas, promoting biodiversity conservation directly linked to poverty alleviation, involving local communities and stakeholders in land use planning and sustainable management of protected areas, enhancing sound management in vulnerable mountain protected areas and restoring abandoned lands located in and around protected areas are crucial in the proper land use planning and management of protected areas. In addition, enhancing awareness creation and promoting natural resource information of protected areas and enhancing scientific study on land use land cover change pattern of protected areas are vital to undertake effective land use planning and management of protected areas in Ethiopia.

Loktak Lake is the largest fresh water Lake in the North-eastern India. Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP) is a floating-mat (Phumdi) park inside the Lake. Study deals with the inter-related approaches: micobiological study, free-listing, participant observation and preference ranking of the six study sites of KLNP. Generally, plant collection per day was about 600 kg of Hedychium coronarium J. Koenig which were extracted from the park and found to be the most preferable species; while Persicaria sagittata (L.) H. Gross, as the least among the selected plants. Microbiological analysis of water for the six study sites recorded high pollution as evidenced by high values of Standard Plate Count (SPC) for bacteria ranging from 73,500-96,500 and microbial analysis of MPN (Most Probable Number) of coliform bacteria varies between100 and 320/100 ml and faecal coliform 95 and 200/100 ml. Free CO2 concentrations varied at the surface from 2-60 mg/l and 6-70 mg/l at the bottom of the park. In the KLNP environment the higher CO2 and lower concentrations of dissolved oxygen (DO) might be due to the floating mat (Phumdi) nature, in which light and exchange of gases does not occur as it does in the natural water bodies.

In Asian Region, quite a few, only five countries had introduced National Parks and protected areas system before World War II including Japan, whose first National Parks, Kirishima, Setonaikai and Unzen were designated on March 16th 1934 as the first National Parks in Asian Region as well. Indonesia followed with the designation of Berbak National Park (Sumatra) in 1935, then India’s Corbett National Park (Uttar Pradesh) in 1936, Sri Lanka’s Ruhuna and Wilpattu National Parks in 1938, and Malaysia’s world famous Taman Negara National Park in 1939. These were all 14-18 years prior to gaining independent state-hold from former suzerain states of the Netherlands or the United Kingdom. The National Parks Act, enforced in 1933, prescribed that the Director of the Forestry Service would be appointed to the authority of National Parks management in the Philippines, and the Government of Japan nominally designated National Parks in Taiwan prior to and during the period of World War II, however according to the present official records the Philippines established five Natural (not National) Parks in 1996-97 and Taiwan designated its first park, Kenting National Park, in 1982 followed by its second park, Yushan National Park, in 1985. In terms of the first designation/establishment of National Parks, South-East Asian (ASEAN) countries can be divided into four groups excluding Singapore as a city-state: i.e. 1) prior to World War II; Indonesia and Malaysia, 2) in response to the 1st World Conference on National Parks in 1962; Thailand and Vietnam, 3) in response to the global trends of environmental issues during 1980s; Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Myanmar and the Philippines, and 4) still no designation/establishment; Lao PDR, with the exception of National Biodiversity Conservation Areas in response to the World Summit in Rio de Janeiro. In relation to the ASEAN member countries with their earliest designation/establishment of National Parks and protected areas, this article attempts to analyze mainly the present state and perspectives on National Parks and protected areas in this particular sub-region, putting special emphasis on tropical natural and remaining forests using data on natural forest areas from 1995, and annual deforestation rates from 1981-1990 and from 1990-1995 by IUCN, among others. Deforestation has continued steadily within ASEAN countries, except in Thailand. There might exist correlations among National Parks areas and all categories of Protected Areas in ASEAN countries. It should be pointed out that Thailand has remarkably high percentages of both National Parks area per natural forest area (47%), and of all categories of Protected Areas per natural forest area (76%). Particular emphasis on international cooperation should be considered and assistance should be given to Lao PDR and Myanmar (in quantity; establishment of protected areas), and Cambodia & Vietnam (in quality; management of protected areas).

An in-depth understanding of carbon dynamics and ecosystem productivity is essential for conservation and management of different ecosystems. Ecosystem dynamics and carbon budget are assessed by estimating net ecosystem production (NEP) across different global ecosystems. An ecological productivity assessment of forest and floating meadow ecosystems in Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP), Manipur, North East India, was conducted using the multi-criteria decision-making process namely, gray relational analysis (GRA). The analysis was performed on 24 selected criterions classified either as "higher-the-better" or "lower-the-better" based on their degree of influence on the carbon budget. Floating meadows exhibited a higher production of aboveground and belowground biomass and a higher total mortality and decay. Furthermore, the study found that floating meadows exhibited a higher soil organic carbon (SOC) and net soil organic matter (SOM) than the forest ecosystem. The forest ecosystem showed higher total respiration (RT), heterotrophic respiration (RH), and autotrophic respiration (RA) than floating meadows. Floating meadows exhibited a higher net primary productivity (NPP) of 616.49 ± 33.87 gCm-2year-1 than the forest ecosystem, which has a NPP of 566.64 ± 65.26 gCm-2year-1. Similarly, floating meadows have higher NEP (495.25 ± 36.46 gCm-2year-1) than forest ecosystems (418.39 ± 65.76 gCm-2year-1). These characteristics have a significant influence on the carbon budget in floating meadows as compared to forest ecosystems, as shown by larger values of gray relational coefficient (GRC) in GRA. The floating meadows ecosystem (0.82) obtained 54.72% gain in gray relational grades (GRG) value with the forest ecosystem (0.53). This study might help in improving KLNP and other adjutant areas for conservation and management policies from the vital information given on the importance of wetlands in carbon dynamics and ecosystem productivity.

Ramsar Sites, wetlands of international importance, are an international category of protected wetland areas recognized under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Protected areas around the world are not achieving the conservation objectives for which they were established, often due to a lack in effective management practices. Hence, protected area management effectiveness and its assessments are crucial elements of achieving responsive and pro-active management. Ramsar Sites that are not recognized as a protected area under the national park and wildlife conservation act in Nepal are often ignored for such assessments and receive little attention in terms of conservation and management. This study aimed to fill this gap by assessing Jagadishpur Reservoir Ramsar Site, which falls into the above category. The Ramsar Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool was used to assess the management effectiveness. Transformed into the global standard reporting format, the overall management effectiveness was 0.27 on a 0 to 1 scale. This score is considered to be in an inadequate range, requiring significant conservation intervention from government with support from conservation partners. This first assessment of Ramsar Site outside of protected area in Nepal and its comparison to global and European regional-level assessments provides the benchmark for future evaluation to track progress in management effectiveness. In conclusion, Ramsar Sites outside formally protected areas are often neglected and intermittent projects, and ad hoc implementation of small-scale activities seems inadequate to improve management effectiveness.

Odonata larvae were collected from Keibul Lamjao National Park, Manipur, northeastern India during 2009-2011. The study recorded 15 species of Odonata larvae belonging to the anisopteran families Aeshnidae, Libellulidae and zygopteran families Calopterigidae, Lestidae and Coenagrionidae. The study revealed that there is a need for a detailed study of Odonata fauna of the national park as thorough knowledge of the important species of a conservation area is very essential for proper management.

Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP), a floating park in Loktak Lake, Manipur (India) was studied from Winter (WIN) to Post Monsoon (POM) for its zooplankton composition and some selected water parameters. The resultant data were subjected to multivariate techniques–Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA). Analyses of water parameters with PCA revealed that the first PC axis (PC1) accounts for maximum variance in the seasonal data, explaining a variability of 91%. The PCA revealed that the seasonal variability in water parameters was due to the wet and dry cycle of seasons and the stations were distinguished on the basis of transparency and turbidity. Zooplankton abundance was dominated by copepods followed by cladocerans. Temporally, abundance of copepods reached a maximum during Post-monsoon (POM) (3 880 ind./L). Spatially, S6 was found to be most abundant of the other stations in zooplankton. Copepodites and nauplii larvae were the major components of zooplankton. The Rotifera were the least abundant among the three zooplankton groups. Brachionus formed the major component of Rotifera zooplankton at all the stations during the study period. In the Cladocera, Macrothrix was present during all the four seasons, while Pleuroxus, Oxyurella, Kurzia and, Diaphanosoma were rare. The CCA shows that maximal temporal variability in zooplankton abundance was explained by temperature and rainfall. ANOVA revealed no significant diff erence in mean zooplankton abundance among the seasons, but there was a statistically significant diff erence among the sites.

Making Parks Work: a Thought‐Provoking Argument, but Not a Guide

Benthic aquatic insects receive the most direct impact when surface waters are perturbed. However, scarce data and understanding about activities’ effects on surface water ecosystems remain a critical challenge for water resource managers and policymakers in tropical regions. In this study, we surveyed the implications of deteriorating physical and chemical parameters on aquatic insects’ structural assemblage to ascertain the ecological health of River Hadejia in North-Western Nigerian. We sampled aquatic insects and physicochemical parameters in three stations influenced by various land-use activities such as informal settlements and agricultural activities for six months. The two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed physicochemical parameters such as transparency, depth, and nitrate were not significantly affected by sites’ land-use activities (p > .05) in the six months sampled. However, mean electrical conductivity was lowest in Station 3 (104.3 ± 8.04 µS/cm). Dissolved oxygen (DO), five days biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) values recorded portray a relatively perturbed water system. We recorded four aquatic insects orders belonging to 11 families and taxa. Dytiscus sp. was the most abundant taxon in the study area. A total of 44, 37, and 35 individuals of aquatic insects were recorded in stations 1, 2, and 3 in the river. The Post hoc test performed for all the diversity indices were not significantly different between the studied stations (p > .05). Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) revealed poor relationship between the physicochemical parameters and the aquatic insects. However, Gyrinus sp. was positively affected by increased water depth, showing a strong negative association with depth. Cluster analysis revealed that aquatic insects’ assemblage structures were mainly grouped by temporal factors (months) rather than spatial differences between the sites. Overall, this study provides further insights and understanding regarding land-use impacts on the ecological health of the River Hadejia, and we recommend more stringent regulations to control human pressure on the river systems within the studied area to enable surface waters in the area to sustain the provision of desired and valued ecosystem services.

The Sangai deer (Rucervus eldii eldii) is an endangered species which is found only in KeibulLamjao National Park, Manipur (India) with an area of 40 km2. Selection of observation point and direct observation method were utilized to record certain behavioral pattern shown by the Sangai deer. Determination of food resources were carried out to identified feed species during the observation hour. The finding of the present study shows that the behavioral activities were notice more in the morning (dawn) than evening (dusk). The most favorable food by Sangai deer were Zizania latifolia (Kambong), Pragmitis karka (Tou), Saccharum munja (Khoimom), Carex cruciata (Humdang), Learsia hexandra (Hup), Alpinanigra (Pullei) and Hydechiumcoronarium (Loklei). Amongst the favorable food species, the most preferable food by the Sangai deer is Zizania latifolia while some of the individuals were seen consuming ashes (Tanggoi) during the observation. Intrusion of domestic animals within the park area may lead to severe calamities which then lead to the spread of many harmful diseases to Sangai deer and its inhabitants. Shyness of animal and sensitive behaviors of Sangai deer was observed. Questionnaire surveys were carried out among 40 respondents. The result suggested that the status of feeding must be taken care so that there should not be any alteration or changes in their behavior due to intrusion, local vegetables collector and disturbances.