Exploring the intersection of socioeconomic and environmental changes and their impact on India's lentic water systems

Climate change poses significant threats to lentic water bodies (LWBs) by altering precipitation patterns, raising temperatures, and intensifying extreme weather events. These changes deteriorate water quality, degrade habitats, and reduce biodiversity. This study examines the interplay between soci...

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Main Authors: Pooja Singh, Tanya Nema, Basant Yadav, Abhay Raj, Ilhan Özgen-Xian
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Environmental and Sustainability Indicators
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665972725001242
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author Pooja Singh
Tanya Nema
Basant Yadav
Abhay Raj
Ilhan Özgen-Xian
author_facet Pooja Singh
Tanya Nema
Basant Yadav
Abhay Raj
Ilhan Özgen-Xian
author_sort Pooja Singh
collection DOAJ
description Climate change poses significant threats to lentic water bodies (LWBs) by altering precipitation patterns, raising temperatures, and intensifying extreme weather events. These changes deteriorate water quality, degrade habitats, and reduce biodiversity. This study examines the interplay between socioeconomic and environmental factors affecting LWBs in the Indian states, namely Punjab, West Bengal, Kerala, and Gujarat, with different socio-environmental conditions from 1990 to 2020. Key socioeconomic parameters include population, literacy rate (LR), density of population (DoP), and Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while environmental factors cover rainfall, temperature, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and land use/land cover (LULC) changes. Pearson correlation and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to assess these factors' relationships with LWB ecosystems, and the coupling coordination degree (CCD) model evaluated coordinated development in the study area. The analysis reveals notable LULC changes, with urbanisation expanding at the cost of agricultural and barren lands, leading to habitat loss, fragmentation, and pollution. Gujarat showed a significant increase in LWB area, growing from 308 km2 in 1990 to 885 km2 by 2019. The CCD model indicates a shift from slightly unstable development (0.2 < D ≤ 0.5) to barely neutral development (0.5 < D ≤ 0.8), with Punjab achieving this by 2005, while West Bengal lagging until 2015. Socioeconomic progress across states generally lags behind environmental changes (ψ(s) < ψ(e)), indicating imbalanced development. This study underscores the urgent need for targeted LWB conservation strategies in India, addressing socioeconomic and environmental drivers to ensure sustainable water management and biodiversity preservation. Balanced interventions are critical to stabilising LWB ecosystem health.
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spelling doaj-art-b09094d939cc45feb22662b973ca20822025-08-20T03:09:12ZengElsevierEnvironmental and Sustainability Indicators2665-97272025-06-012610070310.1016/j.indic.2025.100703Exploring the intersection of socioeconomic and environmental changes and their impact on India's lentic water systemsPooja Singh0Tanya Nema1Basant Yadav2Abhay Raj3Ilhan Özgen-Xian4Department of Water Resources Development and Management, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, 247667, IndiaDepartment of Water Resources Development and Management, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, 247667, IndiaDepartment of Water Resources Development and Management, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, 247667, India; Corresponding author.Department of Water Resources Development and Management, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, 247667, IndiaFaculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, Technische Universität, Braunschweig, GermanyClimate change poses significant threats to lentic water bodies (LWBs) by altering precipitation patterns, raising temperatures, and intensifying extreme weather events. These changes deteriorate water quality, degrade habitats, and reduce biodiversity. This study examines the interplay between socioeconomic and environmental factors affecting LWBs in the Indian states, namely Punjab, West Bengal, Kerala, and Gujarat, with different socio-environmental conditions from 1990 to 2020. Key socioeconomic parameters include population, literacy rate (LR), density of population (DoP), and Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while environmental factors cover rainfall, temperature, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and land use/land cover (LULC) changes. Pearson correlation and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to assess these factors' relationships with LWB ecosystems, and the coupling coordination degree (CCD) model evaluated coordinated development in the study area. The analysis reveals notable LULC changes, with urbanisation expanding at the cost of agricultural and barren lands, leading to habitat loss, fragmentation, and pollution. Gujarat showed a significant increase in LWB area, growing from 308 km2 in 1990 to 885 km2 by 2019. The CCD model indicates a shift from slightly unstable development (0.2 < D ≤ 0.5) to barely neutral development (0.5 < D ≤ 0.8), with Punjab achieving this by 2005, while West Bengal lagging until 2015. Socioeconomic progress across states generally lags behind environmental changes (ψ(s) < ψ(e)), indicating imbalanced development. This study underscores the urgent need for targeted LWB conservation strategies in India, addressing socioeconomic and environmental drivers to ensure sustainable water management and biodiversity preservation. Balanced interventions are critical to stabilising LWB ecosystem health.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665972725001242Lentic water bodiesCoupling coordination degreeSocioeconomyPrincipal component analysisLULC
spellingShingle Pooja Singh
Tanya Nema
Basant Yadav
Abhay Raj
Ilhan Özgen-Xian
Exploring the intersection of socioeconomic and environmental changes and their impact on India's lentic water systems
Environmental and Sustainability Indicators
Lentic water bodies
Coupling coordination degree
Socioeconomy
Principal component analysis
LULC
title Exploring the intersection of socioeconomic and environmental changes and their impact on India's lentic water systems
title_full Exploring the intersection of socioeconomic and environmental changes and their impact on India's lentic water systems
title_fullStr Exploring the intersection of socioeconomic and environmental changes and their impact on India's lentic water systems
title_full_unstemmed Exploring the intersection of socioeconomic and environmental changes and their impact on India's lentic water systems
title_short Exploring the intersection of socioeconomic and environmental changes and their impact on India's lentic water systems
title_sort exploring the intersection of socioeconomic and environmental changes and their impact on india s lentic water systems
topic Lentic water bodies
Coupling coordination degree
Socioeconomy
Principal component analysis
LULC
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665972725001242
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