Impact of Land Use Change on Climate: A Study of Tripura

Land cover (LC) change is one of the most significant and effectively discernible pointers of progress in biological system administrations and vocation emotionally supportive networks. Financial drivers can actuate changes in LC that may disturb social and cultural practices and the organizations related with overseeing normal assets, which thus expands individuals’ weakness to environmental change (Gilani et al., 2014). Urban communities are dynamic; this is on the grounds that change is unavoidable. These progressions can be credited to one factor or the other relying upon financial, political and climatic state of a given territory. In any case, one basic factor behind city change both as far as size and example continues as before for most urban communities, for example “populace development”. All things considered, different elements crediting to Land Use Land Cover (LULC) change are straightforwardly or in a roundabout way reliant on population upliftment (Kafi, Shafri & Shariff, 2014). Land use and land cover change has become a focal segment in current methodologies for overseeing normal assets and checking ecological changes. Survey the Earth from space is currently pivotal to comprehend man’s exercises on his common asset base after some time. In circumstances of quick and frequently unrecorded land use change, perceptions of the Earth from space give target data of human usage of the scene. Over the previous years, information from the Earth detecting satellites have gotten crucial in mapping the Earth’s highlights and frameworks, overseeing characteristic assets and contemplating natural change (Kaul & Sopan, 2012) Land use rehearses for the most part create over a significant stretch of time under various ecological, political, segment, and financial conditions. These conditions frequently fluctuate and directly affect land use/land cover. To all the more likely comprehend the effect of land use change on earthly biological systems, the components influencing land use change must be completely analysed. Land use and land cover (LULC) changes have become a focal segment in current methodologies for overseeing common assets and observing ecological changes (Muttitanon & Tripathi, 2008). Impact of Land Use Change on Climate: A Study of Tripura


Introduction
Land cover (LC) change is one of the most significant and effectively discernible pointers of progress in biological system administrations and vocation emotionally supportive networks. Financial drivers can actuate changes in LC that may disturb social and cultural practices and the organizations related with overseeing normal assets, which thus expands individuals' weakness to environmental change (Gilani et al., 2014). Urban communities are dynamic; this is on the grounds that change is unavoidable. These progressions can be credited to one factor or the other relying upon financial, political and climatic state of a given territory. In any case, one basic factor behind city change both as far as size and example continues as before for most urban communities, for example "populace development". All things considered, different elements crediting to Land Use Land Cover (LULC) change are straightforwardly or in a roundabout way reliant on population upliftment (Kafi, Shafri & Shariff, 2014). Land use and land cover change has become a focal segment in current methodologies for overseeing normal assets and checking ecological changes. Survey the Earth from space is currently pivotal to comprehend man's exercises on his common asset base after some time. In circumstances of quick and frequently unrecorded land use change, perceptions of the Earth from space give target data of human usage of the scene. Over the previous years, information from the Earth detecting satellites have gotten crucial in mapping the Earth's highlights and frameworks, overseeing characteristic assets and contemplating natural change (Kaul & Sopan, 2012) Land use rehearses for the most part create over a significant stretch of time under various ecological, political, segment, and financial conditions. These conditions frequently fluctuate and directly affect land use/land cover. To all the more likely comprehend the effect of land use change on earthly biological systems, the components influencing land use change must be completely analysed. Land use and land cover (LULC) changes have become a focal segment in current methodologies for overseeing common assets and observing ecological changes (Muttitanon & Tripathi, 2008).  Solanki and Aparna Joshi, J. Chem. En. Sci. A.,Vol. 6, No. 1 (2019) Escalation of agricultural exercises is the rule purpose behind land use land cover change (LULC) especially in tropical areas (Geist & Lambin, 2002). Fundamental reasons for LULC changes prompting deforestation and land corruption incorporate fast monetary turn of events, population development and neediness (Porter-Bolland et al., 2011).

Impact of Land
Tripura is located in the north eastern part of India (23.9408° N, 91.9882° E). It is flanked toward the north, west, and south by Bangladesh, toward the east by the territory of Mizoram, and toward the upper east by the province of Assam. It is among the littlest of India's states and is situated in a confined bumpy area of the nation, with different indigenous individuals or clans representing a huge bit of the populace. The State capital is Agartala, close to the Bangladesh outskirt in the north western piece of the state. The state covers a geographical area of 4,049 square miles (10,486 square km) and is home to a population of 3,671,032 people as per 2011 census data.
Tripura is one of the eight sisters among the Northeastern states of India which belongs to the rich biodiversity hotspot zone of India. However, major influx of population from neighbouring Bangladesh (erstwhile East Pakistan), before and after independence, created major change in land use/land cover pattern of this State in general. Natural forests were converted to build up areas and agricultural lands (Debnath, Das, Ahmed & Bhowmik, 2017).
Shifting Cultivation or cut and consume agriculture practices (privately called as Jhum) is the primary type of agriculture in the hilly regions (privately called as Tilla) of Tripura in the north-eastern area of India by the indigenous individuals. Jhum agriculture practices begins with cutting and consuming of trees and prompts debasement of woods or deforestation in the uneven zones where they utilized the land to do jhum. Deforestation effects nature negatively which eventually prompts environmental change which these days a matter of worldwide concern and numerous universal, national and territorial level offices are chipping away at it. Deforestation may likewise influence the greenery which is existing in the forests (Longkumer, Raj & Solanki, 2019).

Combined Effects of Climate and Land Use Change
Changing land use is one of the important drivers for climate change of a given reason. The combined effect of land use with some more drivers impact the biodiversity which further responsible for climate change in a long run (Oliver & Morecroft, 2014). Mantyka-Pringle et al. gathered 1319 examinations on the impacts of living space misfortune from around the world and led a meta-investigation on associations between living space misfortune impacts and atmosphere (Mantyka-pringle, Martin & Rhodes, 2012). Normal aggravation systems, for example, disintegration, flooding, and fierce blazes are totally influenced by anthropogenic land use. For instance, deforestation decreases soil solidness prompting expanded soil disintegration rates (ZHENG, 2006).
The main objective of this research paper is to analyse the decadal land use change of Tripura and its relation with other north-eastern states and its implication on climate. The research is based on secondary data collected from various governmental and non-governmental websites.

Study Area
Tripura, province of India. It is situated in the north eastern part of the subcontinent (23.9408° N, 91.9882° E). It is circumscribed toward the north, west, and south by Bangladesh, toward the east by the territory of Mizoram, and towards northeast by the province of Assam. It is among the littlest of India's states and is situated in a segregated hilly area of the nation, with different indigenous people groups or clans representing a noteworthy bit of the population. The capital is Agartala, close to the Bangladesh outskirt in the north western part of the state. Area 4,049 square miles (10,486 square km). Population (2011) 3,671,032.

Changing Land-Use of Tripura
The land-use of Tripura has undergone quite interesting changes in the last 22 years from 1995 to 2017. On one hand, there has been an increase in the forested area in the State, the area under culturable wasteland, on the other hand, has also increased greatly especially due to the shortening of the jhum cycle which has been reduced to 2-3 years from previously 20-30 years (Das & Das, 2014).
The area put to non-agricultural use was 134500 hectares in 1995-96 which had increased to 147413 hectares in 2016-17, thereby, registering a growth rate of 9.6 per cent and adding a total area of 12913 hectares during a period of 21 years.  Table 2). The total cultivated area in Tripura had shown a decline of -8.48 per cent as there has been a decrease in the area under this landuse by 23918 hectares during the study period. The net shown area had declined by 22510 hectares (-8.10 per cent) while the area sown more than once had increased by 38050 hectares (19.31 per cent) resulting into an increase of 15540 hectares in the total cropped area, thus, growing nominally by 3.27 per cent. The increase in area sown more than once had also improved the intensity of cropping in 2016-17 (192 per cent) by 12.28 per cent over 1995-96 figure (171 per cent, Table 2). North-east India is the home to largest forest cover in the country and exhibits the most pristine environment. A substantial portion of the Total Geographical Area (TGA) in the eight states of this region is under forest cover. The total forested area in north-east India has increased from 638879 km 2 in 1995 to 708273 km 2 in 2017, thereby recording an increase of 69394 km 2 with a growth rate of 10.86 per cent over a period of 22 years.
Tripura had witnessed a remarkable increase in the forest cover to the tune of 2188 km 2 over a span of 22 years. However, when analysed temporally, this period can be divided into two parts -the period of increase in the forest area (1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005) followed by the period of decline in the forest cover (2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017). The forest cover, which was 5538 km 2 in 1995, increased to 8155 km 2 in 2005, leading to an increase of 2617 km 2 in forested area whereas, it registered a constant decline in area since 2005. In 2017, the total area under forest cover was 7726 km 2 , leading to a decline of 429 km 2 in forested area during 2005-2017. Despite of this, the state registered an overall growth rate of 39.51 per cent in forest cover during the period 1995-2017 which is highest among all the north-eastern states of India, followed by Assam, Meghalaya and Sikkim (Table 3). On the other hand, the states recording negative growth rate in forest cover are Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Manipur which lost 1802 km 2 , 1657 km 2 , 390 km 2 and 212 km 2 of area, respectively during the same period. As is well known, the north-eastern states of India have very thick forest cover occupying a substantial portion of the respective state area. Tripura has displayed a significant improvement in the percentage of the forest cover with respect to the Total Geographical Area (TGA) of the state. However, the analysis of the percentage of forest cover to the Total Geographical Area (TGA) during 1995-2017 revealed that the state of Tripura gained 20.87 per cent points of forest cover in this period although the maximum forest cover was recorded in 2005 from whereon the state lost 4.09 per cent points of forest cover in the next 12 years to reach 73.68 per cent of the total geographical area in 2017 (Table 4). Apart from Tripura, only three more states of north-eastern India witnessed an increase in forest cover in the same period, namely, Meghalaya (6.39 per cent points), Assam (5.15 per cent points) and Sikkim (3.06 per cent points). On the other hand, the most significant loss of forest cover was seen in the Nagaland followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Manipur which was 10.87 per cent points, 1.98 per cent points, 1.85 per cent points and 0.94 per cent points, respectively. The land use land cover changes directly related with the climate of Tripura as natural disaster like flash floods, landslides, heavy downpour etc are become a common issue for their people. In the year 1995 to 2014, the most extreme yearly temperature recorded as 39.4 degree centigrade and it has seen in the year 2014 where the greatest temperature recorded as 33 degree centigrade in the year 1997. The pattern esteem has watched the expanding pattern of yearly temperature and it has expanded to 37 degree centigrade from 32 degree centigrade. The pattern of yearly temperature which is expanding a seemingly endless amount of time after year and it isn't the acceptable heading for future. The preparatory advances are to be taken in a matter of seconds by the peak authority with the end goal of controlling the pattern of expanding temperature (Bhowmik, 2019

Government Policies and Initiatives for Saving the Forest Cover
One of the most important and recent strategies adopted for Jhumia rehabilitation in Tripura is the raising of rubber plantations. The rubber plantation project was conceived to provide a lucrative alternative to Jhum cultivation. By the time of the 9th five-year plan, the raising of rubber plantation had become one of the main strategies for rehabilitation of Jhumias through the World Bank Aided India Rubber Project (Das, Choudhury & Roy, 2012).
Here the Central Government, Rubber Board and Bank had come together to aid the Tripura government to raise rubber plantations and development itself as the "Second Rubber Capital of India".
A proposal to amend a land reforms act to keep rubber plantations out of tea estate land and prescribe a ceiling for land holding has generated a lot of heat with 1,184 people and 40 organisations, including indigenous people and political parties, filing objections to the draft bill. While the tea planters have opposed the amendment on the ground that it will vest in government the surplus or uncultivated land in the tea gardens, that they use profitably for cultivating rubber, the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra (INPT) is worried that it will affect the land rights of the indigenous people. The genesis of the unrest, which has seen land use change over the years, lies in the 10th amendment of the Tripura Land revenue and Land reforms Act, 1960.

Conclusion
Problems relating to Shifting cultivation or slash and burn agriculture (locally called as Jhum) are not new in Tripura. As early as 1876, W.W. Hunter in his book, 'Statistical Account of the Hill Tipperah' had marked that the "regression of forests had already started in hills because of shifting cultivation practiced by almost the whole population numbering less than 50000 who were all tribals".
However, one can without much of a stretch comprehend that this training is pervasive for the most part because of absence of feasible elective business openings. Jhumias are innate individuals who work on shifting cultivation or jhumming. In Tripura more than 10,039 hectares of land is under jhum development 10 years prior. Throughout the years the jhum economy has experienced numerous changesland accessible for jhumming has diminished; prompting a shortening of the jhum cycle and a fall in wages. For this it is suggested that government needs to provide for alternate source of income by extending MGNREGA opportunities along with continued emphasis on rubber plantation. Allowing the use of the empty stretches of tea estates to grow rubber plantations will not only augment the income of the tea estates especially the ones under financial burden but will also provide financial support to the tribal population.
Land use/land cover effects must be assessed thoroughly as partof all future temperature change assessments. This includes not only climate effects within the regions where land use/land cover occurs, but also their role in altering hemispheric and global atmospheric and ocean circulations at large distancesfrom the placement of land use/land cover. We also conclude thata regional focus is far more appropriate so asto better understand the human effects on climate, including LULCC. it's the regional responses, not aglobal average, that produce drought, floods, and other societally important climate impacts.

Suggestions
• Alternate Source of Income by extending MGNREGA opportunities. • Continued emphasis on rubber plantation. • Allowing the use of the empty stretches of tea estates to grow rubber plantations which will not only augment the income of the tea estates especially the ones under financial burden but will also provide financial support to the tribals.