Highlights of Recent Projects:

1. Protection of a climate vulnerable Mangrove Sanctuary in Indian Sundarban (funded by Australian Alumni Grant Scheme)

The Haliday Island Wildlife Sanctuary in the Indian Sundarbans has undergone a dramatic ecological transformation, with nearly 94.03% of its land lost between 1975 and 2022, reducing it to less than 0.19 sq km. Designated as a Marine Protected Area (MPA), the island’s shrinking size, driven by climate-induced factors like tidal surge, sea-level rise, and lack of sediment accretion, has led to not just biodiversity loss but also ecosystem collapse. This collaborative project with the West Bengal Forest Department and the Australian Alumni Grant Scheme aimed to document these changes and assess possibilities for conservation and restoration. Surveys across eight visits recorded a rich diversity of flora—including Excoecaria agallocha, Rhizophora apiculata, and Heritiera fomes—and fauna ranging from crabs and mollusks to birds like the Eurasian Curlew and mammals such as Rattus tanezumi.

Findings highlighted severe coastal erosion, acid sulphate soil formation, and declining water quality, with dissolved oxygen dropping to 4.22 mg/l and salinity rising to 32 PPT. The discovery of rhizoconcretion-like materials and ferruginous paleo-deposits hinted at ancient mangrove ecosystems, while extensive plastic pollution underscored rising anthropogenic pressure. This survey not only reflects the island’s fragile state but also calls for immediate intervention to preserve its rapidly vanishing biodiversity and stabilize the sinking ecosystem.

2. Creation of sustainable livelihoods and employment opportunities, improving income generating capacity of local SC communities of Kumirmari Island, Indian Sundarbans, to supplement their existing income generating livelihoods

---

3. Environmental Impact of Anthropogenic Activities on Wetland Bio-Diversity of Rudrasagar lake, the Ramsar Site of Tripura (Funded by DBT (NER BPMC, GoI)

Rudrasagar Lake, formally designated as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention in 2005. Wetland functions as a critical natural breeding and feeding ground for a diverse assemblage of indigenous and endemic aquatic and semi-aquatic species, while providing essential habitat for both resident and migratory waterfowl. Despite having immense ecological significance, this ecosystem experiences severe environmental stress driven by expanding anthropogenic activities. Primary identified pressures were intensive agricultural practices, commercial fishing, livestock rearing and unmanaged tourism. Consequently, these activities have accelerated degradation of wetland ecosystem and its physical shrinkage.

To address these critical ecological concerns, this project undertakes a comprehensive assessment of anthropogenic impacts on Rudrasagar Lake. Specifically, the study evaluates alterations in water quality, sediment composition, and the surrounding aquatic biodiversity to formulate effective conservation and management strategies.

4. Spatio-temporal assessment of air quality and its health effect in Kolkata using geoinformatics: case study from Kolkata

Kolkata has been chosen because it is an area of serious concern. The traffic interactions in Kolkata are in critical state and in some cases, the problem has arisen to threatening levels. Though usage of advanced emissions controls technologies, vehicles are still primary pollutants in urban area such as Kolkata. In our study, PM10 levels (annually) in Garden Reach (118.21 ± 74.25 μgm−3) tend to be the highest amongst other areas and crossed the NAAQS levels for PM10. The observed values suggest that although the summer is believed to have lower pollutant levels due to power plants and industrial complexes near Garden Reach, Ultadanga they are categorized into high-risk areas. The observed concentrations of the gaseous pollutants in all the sites implied that Kolkata needs to take further steps to minimize its NOx emission around the eastern fringe of the Kolkata district which harbours the dumping site for all the waste generated by the population. The primary source of NO2 in ambient air of Kolkata is due to its dynamic urbanization and elevated traffic congestion along with emissions from different industrial blocks in and around the Kolkata city.

Extramural research grants (Completed and Ongoing):

Consultancy Projects:

Sl. no	Title of Project	Funding Agency	Amount	Duration	Status
1	Ecological Studies in Durgapur and Bankura Region	SGS India Ltd.	0.7 Lakhs	2010-11	Completed
2	Health Impact of house hold level air pollution	The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI)	1.6 lakhs	2014-15	Completed