Human Interventions and Consequences in the Wetlands of Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary (LWLS), Nagaon, Assam, India

Wetlands are considered as the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems that provides home to many varieties of flora and fauna. Serving as a habitat of a rich biodiversity, the wetlands of Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary (LWLS) are facing serious threat of increasing human intervention. The fringe villages of LWLS are inhabited primarily by the agriculturists who frequently enter into the wetlands and their fringes for fish, fodder and other non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for their livelihood. Many of the encroachments even developed artificial fisheries inside the Sanctuary. They also cleared some patches of marshes and swamps, and used them for rice cultivation. This study aims at highlighting the pattern and intensity of human intervention along with its impact on the wetland habitats and their fringes in the Sanctuary from a geographical perspective.