Changing Land Use / Land Cover Analysis in Contai (Kanthi) Coastal Belt, West Bengal and Odisha

Land is the basic resource for human life on which many of other human activities are based. Land use and land cover change is always caused by multiple interacting factors. The mix of driving forces of land use/land cover change varies in time and space and according to specific physical and human environment conditions. The rapid increasing population and socio-economic needs crate pressure on land use/land cover, and this pressure results in unplanned and uncontrolled growth. Land use/land cover changes are usually caused by growth of rural and urban land uses, mismanagement of agriculture, forest and water bodies, which lead to several environmental problems. Present study is an attempt to explore the salient features of spatio-temporal changes in the complex land use system of Contai coastal belt from a geographical perspective. The study is based mainly of secondary sources. General land use characteristics of the area for two different periods, namely 2000 and 2015 are taken into consideration for present study. Water body, vegetation and fallow land area have been decreased due to population growth, expansion of agricultural field, increasing of settlement area etc.