Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Participatory Rural Appraisal for Assessing Freshwater Wetland Status and Fishery Potential in West Midnapore, West Bengal, India

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
  • Published:
Proceedings of the Zoological Society Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In West Bengal, a large fraction of derelict and semi-derelict freshwater wetlands are recorded especially in the arid south-western districts. Among these, West Midnapore district holds the highest percentage of derelict and semi-derelict wetlands (45.13%). Out of the available culturable wetland areas in the district, 22.47% is not utilised for effective fish culture. Fish being a major component of diet in the state, these derelict and semi-derelict wetlands could be an important source of fish production, meeting the high fish demand of the state. With this background, a study based on participatory approach was conducted at West Midnapore, to decipher the present status of the wetlands, reasons of their degeneration and of comparatively low fishery productivity and to offer some recommendations for their better utilization. A few participatory rural appraisal techniques such as, semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, Venn diagrams, matrix ranking, rank based quotient, pairwise ranking or priority grid and strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT) analysis were employed for the purpose. The results revealed lack of proper management of the wetlands, declining water quality, inadequacy of proper scientific trainings of fish farmers and dearth of mass awareness as the major concerns. The study provided a rare opportunity to the local people to ventilate their perceptions about the issues and in turn be a part of the decision making and planning mechanism. Therefore, it is expected that the results and suggestions highlighted in the study will aid the stakeholders and policy makers not only to promote aquaculture in the district but also to ensure employment, food security and wetland restoration and conservation in future.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available in the manuscript.

References

  • Aguero, M.N. 1986. Training for fisheries management in developing countries. Naga 9(4): 14–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ballut-Dajud, G.A., L.C. Sandoval Herazo, G. Fernández-Lambert, J.L. Marín-Muñiz, M.C. López Méndez, and E.A. Betanzo-Torres. 2022. Factors affecting wetland loss: a review. Land 11(3): 434. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11030434

  • Bassi, N., M.D. Kumar, A. Sharma, and P. Pardhasaradhi. 2014. Status of wetlands in India: A review of extent, ecosystem benefits, threats and management strategies. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies 2: 1–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bera, T.K., B.C. Patra, and G.C. Rana. 2015. Socio economic aspects on paddy alternate fish culture at Moyna block, Purba Medinipur district, West Bengal India. International Journal of Current Research 7(08): 18929–18935.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cavestro, L. 2003. P.R.A.—Participatory rural appraisal concepts methodologies and techniques. Universita degli studi di Padova, Facolta di Agraria. http://www.agraria.unipd.it/agraria/master/0203/PARTICIPATORY%20RURAL%20APPRAISAL.pdf

  • Cent, J., M. Grodzi´nska-Jurczak, and A. Pietrzyk-Kaszy´nska. 2014. Emerging multilevel environmental governance—A case of public participation in Poland. Journal for Nature Conservation 22: 93–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chakraborty, S., and P.H. Mallick. 2020. Freshwater cladoceran (Cladocera: Branchiopoda) diversity of lateritic rarh belt of West Bengal, India: A review. Advances in Zoology and Botany 8(3): 188–198. https://doi.org/10.13189/azb.2020.080315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chakraborty, S., and P.H. Mallick. 2021a. Cladocera as a substitute for Artemia as live feed in aquaculture practices: A review. Sustainability Agri Food and Environmental Research. https://doi.org/10.7770/safer-V11N1-art2423.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chakraborty, S., and P.H. Mallick. 2021b. Study on diversity of cladocerans (Cladocera: Branchiopoda) in some selected wetlands of West Midnapore district, West Bengal. India. Environmental and Experimental Biology 19(3): 151–160. https://doi.org/10.22364/eeb.19.15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chambers, R. 1994. Participatory rural appraisal (PRA): Analysis of experience. World Development 22: 1253–1268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chambers, R. 2007. From PRA to PLA and pluralism: Practice and theory. Brighton, England: Institute of Development Studies.

  • Chandra, K., K.C. Gopi, D.V. Rao, K.A. Subramanian, and K. Valarmathi. 2017. Current status on freshwater faunal diversity of India—An overview. In: Current status of freshwater faunal diversity in India, eds. Chandra KC, Gopi DV, Rao Valarmathi K, and Alfred JRB, 1–25. Kolkata, India: Published by the Director, Zoological Survey of India

  • Chandra, G. 2010. Participatory rural appraisal. In: Issues and tools for social science research in inland fisheries, eds. Katiha PK, Vaas KK, Sharma AP, Bhaumik U, and Chandra Ganesh, 163:286–302. Barrackpore, Kolkata, India: Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute. (bulletin).

  • Cherry, J.A. 2011. Ecology of wetland ecosystems: Water, substrate, and life. Nature Education Knowledge 3(10): 16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chislock, M.F., E. Doster, R.A. Zitomer, and A.E. Wilson. 2013. Eutrophication: Causes, consequences, and controls in aquatic ecosystems. Nature Education Knowledge 4(4): 10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, N.C. 2014. How much wetland has the world lost? Long-term and recent trends in global wetland area. Marine and Freshwater Research 65(10): 934–941. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF14173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dixon, A.B., and A.P. Wood. 2007. Local institutions for wetland management in Ethiopia: Sustainability and state intervention. In Community-based water law and water resource management reform in developing countries, 130–145. Wallingford UK: CABI.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • DMCDS. 2019. District disaster management plan, Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal, India. http://wbdmd.gov.in/writereaddata/uploaded/DP/DPPaschim%20 Midnapore81896.pdf. Accessed 05 June 2022.

  • DoA, and F.W. GoI. 2022. Agriculture contingency plan for district: Paschim Medinipur. Department of agriculture and farmer welfare, Government of India. https://agricoop.nic.in/sites/default/files/WestBengal%2014-Paschim%20Medinapur-31.12.2011_0.pdf. Accessed 10th September 2022.

  • DoF, WB. 2016. Hand book of fisheries statistics 2015–2016. Department of fisheries and directorate of fisheries, Government of West Bengal, India.

  • DoP and S, WB (2014). District statistical handbook, Paschim Medinipur. Department of planning and statistics, Government of West Bengal, India. http://wbpspm.gov.in/publications/District%20Statistical%20Handbook. Accessed 10th September 2022.

  • EPCN. 2008. The pond manifesto. European pond conservation network. https://freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/EPCN-MANIFESTO.pdf

  • Ghosh, S., R.A. Singh, and D.K. Kundu. 2003. Preferential ranking technique to prioritize constraints of canal irrigation in Orissa. Journal of Water Management 11(1): 38–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henriksson, P.J.G., M. Troell, L.K. Banks, B. Belton, M.C.M. Beveridge, D.H. Klinger, and N. Tran. 2021. Interventions for improving the productivity and environmental performance of global aquaculture for future food security. One Earth 4(9): 1220–1232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hudson, S., M. Beckie, N. Krogman, and G. Gow. 2019. Establishing sustainable food production communities of practice: Nutrition gardening and pond fish farming in the Kolli Hills, India. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development 8(4): 137–151.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jayasankar, P., B.B. Sahu, H.K. De, N. Rajesh, N. Panda, U.L. Mohanty, and P.R. Sahoo. 2014. Problems in aquaculture development in Odisha a participatory assessment. Journal of Aqua 22: 1–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jeffries, M. 2005. Small ponds and big landscapes: The challenge of invertebrate spatial and temporal dynamics for European pond conservation. Aquatic Conservation 15: 541–547.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khatun, R., and S. Das. 2022. Exploring ecosystem health of wetlands in Rarh tract of West Bengal through VOR model. Ecological Informatics 72: 101840.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kisku, S., D.S. Chini, M. Bhattacharya, A. Kar, S. Parua, B.K. Das, and B.C. Patra. 2017. A cross-sectional study on water quality in relation to fish diversity of Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal, India through geoinformatics approaches. The Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research 43(4): 283–289.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koralagama, D.N., M. Wijeratne, and W.N. De Silva. 2007. Emergence of participatory rural appraisal (PRA) technique as a strategy towards sustainable development: A Sri Lankan experience. Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tropics and Subtropics (JARTS) 108(2): 149–160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maiti, A., D.S. Chini, M. Bhattacharya, A. Kar, A. Bera, T. Dutta, and U. Sar. 2019. Socio-economic and production characteristics of Pacific White Shrimp, Litopenaeus Vannamei (Boone, 1931) culture in Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, India. International Journal of Advanced Research 7: 1044–1052.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mascarenhas, J. 1991. Participatory rural appraisal: Proceedings of the february 1991 Bangalore PRA trainers workshop, RRA Notes, London, 13.

  • Mishra, S.S., S.K. Acharjee, and S.K. Chakraborty. 2009. Development of tools for assessing conservation categories of siluroid fishes of fresh water and brackish water wetlands of South West Bengal India. Environmental Biology of Fishes 84 (4): 395–407.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mohanty, R.K., A. Mishra, S. Ghosh, and D.U. Patil. 2011. Constraint analysis and performance evaluation of participatory agri-aquaculture in watersheds. Indian Journal of Fisheries 58(4): 139–145.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mondal, S., D.R.P. Abraham, and S. Chatterjee. 2021. Implications of land use land cover transformation for gendered livelihoods: Insights from Moyna basin of Purba Medinipur, West Bengal India. Asia-Pacific Journal of Rural Development 31 (2): 249–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MoSPI (2022) State wise water resources of India, Annexure 3.1. The Ministry of Statistics and programme implementation, Govt. of India. https://mospi.gov.in/documents/213904/0/11_Annexure+3.1+to+3.13-+Water.xlsx/d3cf83e2-6d64-b019-a7ee-17df1ecbca1b?t=1602852329744

  • Mukherjee, N. 1995. Participatory rural appraisal and questionnaire survey (comparative field experience and methodological innovations). Delhi, India: Concept Publishing Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nandi S (2015) Socio economic and political status of fisherwomen community of West Bengal: A Study of Purba Midnapore and south 24 Parganas District. Final minor research project report. Kolkata: Kshudiram Bose Central College.

  • Ndah, H.T., A. Knierim, and O.A. Ndambi. 2011. Fish pond aquaculture in cameroon: A field survey of determinants for farmers’ adoption behavior. Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension 17(4): 309–323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • NWA. 2011. National Wetland Atlas, SAC/EPSA/ABHG/NWIA/ATLAS/34/2011, space applications centre (ISRO), Ahmedabad, India, 310p. https://vedas.sac.gov.in/en/National_Wetland_Inventory_and_Assessment_(NWIA)_Atlas.html

  • Olivares, B., and E. Franco. 2015. Agrosocial diagnostic of the indigenous community of Kashaama: An empirical study in the state of Anzoategui Venezuela. Revista Científica Guillermo De Ockham 13(1): 87–95. https://doi.org/10.21500/22563202.1691.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patra, M.K., S.K. Acharjee, and S.K. Chakraborty. 2005. Conservation categories of siluroid fishes in North-East sundarbans India. Biodiversity and Conservation 14(8): 1863–1876. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-004-1041-0.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paul, R. 2006. Participatory rural appraisal (PRA) manual. Food and agriculture organisation (FAO), St Lucia. https://himachal.nic.in/WriteReadData/l892s/15_l892s/1499233403.pdf

  • Ponnusamy, K., and P.S. Swathilakshmi. 2011. Farmers’ perception of critical factors for success of indigenous shrimp feed in India. Fishery Technology 48(1): 95.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rahaman, S.M., B.K. Bera, and G.S. Ananth. 2013. A study on problems and constraints in production and marketing of fish in West Bengal. Journal of Crop and Weed 9(1): 110–113.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rana, S., M.N. Hasan, A. Al Bari, S.A. Shimul, S.I. Ahmed, and S.A. Al Nahid. 2022. Problems and prospects of fish farming in the Chattogram Hill tracts of Bangladesh: Community-based aquaculture might be a right choice. Aquaculture and Fisheries. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aaf.2022.04.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • RCW (Ramsar Convention on Wetlands). 2018. Global wetland outlook: State of the world’s wetlands and their services to people, 5–6. Gland, Switzerland: Ramsar Convention Secretariat.

  • Robinson, E.H., Johnson, S.K., and J.T. Davis. 1985. Guidelines for selecting feeds and techniques of feeding fish. Leaflet/Texas Agricultural Extension Service no. 2121.

  • Roy, A., and U. Bhaumik. 2010. Low-profitability in fish production : A problem cause analysis in Birbhum district of West Bengal. Journal of Inland Fisheries Society of India. 42: 60–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sabarathnam, V.E. 1988. Manual on field experience training for ARS scientists, National Academy Research Management, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, Telangana, India.

  • Sari, D.K., and A.Y. Rahmayanti. 2022. Fishery cooperatives and sustainable blue economy: Scoping review from a business perspective. Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute Proceedings 83(1): 30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarkar, S., A. Kumar, D. Kumar, L.N. Sethi, M.M. Hazarika, and G. Das. 2015. Optimal size of fish pond for socio-economical development of Cachar (Assam). International Journal of Agriculture, Environment and Biotechnology 8(2): 405.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sarkar, U.K., P. Mishal, S. Borah, G. Karnatak, G. Chandra, S. Kumari, and B.K. Das. 2020. Status, potential, prospects, and issues of floodplain wetland fisheries in India: Synthesis and review for sustainable management. Reviews in Fisheries Science & Aquaculture 29(1): 1–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sarkar, U.K., G. Karnatak, L. Lianthuamluaia, M. Puthiyottil, B. Das Ghosh, C. Johnson, and B.K. Das. 2022. Combining stakeholder perception and ecological approaches for assessing vulnerability of floodplain wetlands in changing climate: A regional study. International Journal of Biometeorology 66(7): 1415–1427.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shyam, S.S., R. Narayanakumar, R. Sathiadas, U. Manjusha, and B. Antony. 2017. Appraisal of the socio-economic status of fishers among the different sectors in Kerala, south-west coast of India. Indian Journal of Fisheries 64(1): 66–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shyam, S.S., R. Sathiadhas, and R. Narayanakumar. 2014. Literacy, income and health of fishers in India. In: Livelihood status of fishers in India, 283–311. Kochi: Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute.

  • Sikwebu, N., E.M. Zwane, and M.A. Ramashala. 2021. An Investigation on the application of the participatory rural appraisal approach in determining farmers’ needs of Winterveldt community, Tshwane municipality South Africa. Sciences 10(12): 36–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tacon, A.G.J., and M. Metian. 2015. Feed matters: Satisfying the feed demand of aquaculture. Reviews in Fisheries Science 23(1): 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsing, A.L., J.P. Brosius, and C. Zerner. 1999. Assessing community based natural resource management: A conference report. Ambio 28(2): 197–198.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tumwesigye, Z., W. Tumwesigye, F. Opio, C. Kemigabo, and B. Mujuni. 2022. The effect of water quality on aquaculture productivity in Ibanda district Uganda. Aquaculture Journal 2(1): 23–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verma M (2001) Economic valuation of Bhoj wetlands for sustainable use. EERC Working Paper Series: WB-9. Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal.

  • Vignesh, K., S. Kumar, M. Rajakumar, P. Chidambaram, V. Kanaga, P. Pasupathi, and P. Rajarajan. 2017. An analysis of socioeconomic profile and constraints of the Indian Major Carps (IMC) seed rearing farmers in Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu. International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Studies 1(3): 6.

  • World Bank. 1992. World development report 1992: Development and the environment. The World Bank.

  • Yeasmin, M.S., M.J. Hoque, and M.Z. Rahman. 2013. Training needs of the fish farmers on integrated fish farming. Progressive Agriculture 24(1–2): 181–189. https://doi.org/10.3329/pa.v24i1-2.19171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the local people for their voluntary participation in the study and the field assistants for the survey works. The authors are grateful to the infrastructural facility at Department of Zoology, Vidyasagar University, West Midnapore and would like to express their sincere thanks to the Teacher-in-charge, Parimal Mitra Smriti Mahavidyalaya, Malbazar for kind cooperation during the work. The authors are also thankful to the anonymous reviewers for their valuable feedback on the work.

Funding

The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Parimal Mitra Smriti Mahavidyalaya, Malbazar, Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, 735221, India

    Souraditya Chakraborty

  2. Department of Zoology, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore, West Bengal, 721102, India

    Souraditya Chakraborty, Priyanka Halder Mallick & Suvashree Kundu

Authors
  1. Souraditya Chakraborty
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Priyanka Halder Mallick
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Suvashree Kundu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

The research concept and research design were conceptualised by S.C. and P.H.M. Data collection was done by S.C. and S.K. Data analysis and manuscript preparation were done by all the authors. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Souraditya Chakraborty.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Ethical Approval

Not applicable.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chakraborty, S., Mallick, P.H. & Kundu, S. Participatory Rural Appraisal for Assessing Freshwater Wetland Status and Fishery Potential in West Midnapore, West Bengal, India. Proc Zool Soc 76, 134–145 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12595-023-00477-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12595-023-00477-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation