IMPORTANCE OF AQUA-TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEM AND DEVELOPMENT OF AN IFS MODULE IN WATER MONITORING, PRODUCTIVITY AND SUSTAINABILITY

Water is one of the integral and key inputs of natural resources, endowed in India with a rich and vast bio-diversity. The quantity of water in the earth is fixed; only the form is changing time to time through different ways and means, amounting to about 1,384 million km 3 , while, in India it is about 400 mham, should be conserved and used in a sustainable manner for its generations. Through project sources, suitable IFS (Integrated Farming System) model was developed utilizing aqua-terrestrial ecosystem through some need-based renovation programmes at farmer’s level with the aim of developing multi-purpose production system in the regions. It created and facilitated for conserving runoff water during wet months, utilized properly through integration of “rice-cum-fish culture-cum-vegetables” for enhancing total productivity and livelihood development of rural farming community as well. In lands, plants (especially cocoanut on bunds or boarders), which produces from 4-5th year onwards, other trees plantation developed, especially on boarder areas, which will be valuable approximately after 25-30 years, and over all, utilized water of watershed basins as live-saving irrigation to adjacent arable crops done suitably and precisely. This system approach was economically viable, even to the resource-poor fish-farm families, exhibited >2.5 folds and it gained at its viable level of the regions. However, it needs more study and developing awareness for its sustainability.