26. Study of Gumti Wetland in Connection with Its Socio-Economic Status: A Step Towards Sustainable Management Practices

Wetlands are the essential equipment of our natural environment which is both ecologically and economically quintessential system due to their excessive yield. About half of global wetlands have been abolished from earth surface and most of the remaining is showing environmental degradation due to natural as well as anthropogenic causes. So the restoration of the degraded wetlands along with their sustainable management is an emergent issue now a days. Gumti wetland is one of the important wetlands of Tripura and has occupied special place in the state wetland scenario for its zoological, ecological, botanical, hydrological, and limnological importance. In this paper a study has been carried out for conservation and sustainable use of this valuable wetland based on its bio-diversity and also for Socio-economic importance. A total 100 households have been chosen for the primary data collection. Systematic random sampling method has been adopted for our current study for which concentration has been given to trace out the Socio-economic factors along with perception about the conservation of the stakeholders. A linear regression model has been designed by choosing different Socio-economic attributes as model variables for getting idea about WTP of the households for estimating the economic value of this wetland which is very beneficial for farming the activities following the improved conservation program and sustainable management of this wetland. This paper comprehensively describes the importance of Gumti wetland for citizenry towards achieving sustainable environment in a very simple, manageable, and cost-effective way.