Human footprints on shifting values: The changing landscape of Urpad Beel

Urpad Beel, a freshwater floodplain wetland in Assam, plays a crucial role in sustaining regional biodiversity, local livelihoods, and cultural practices. However, integrated long-term assessments linking land-cover change with socio-economic and cultural impacts remain limited for small and medium-sized wetlands in Northeast India. This study examines the spatio-temporal dynamics of Urpad Beel over two decades using a mixed-methods approach that combines multi-temporal satellite imagery and vegetation indices (normalized difference vegetation index, normalized difference built-up index, and normalized difference water index) with structured household surveys ( n = 60) and qualitative community interviews. Multi-temporal analysis reveals that vegetation cover increased from 1.99 km 2 in 2003 to 4.78 km 2 in 2023 (net gain: +2.79 km 2 ), built-up area expanded from 0.34 km 2 to 0.51 km 2 (net increase: +0.17 km 2 ), while surface water extent declined from 4.84 km 2 to 3.38 km 2 (net loss: −1.46 km 2 ) over the two-decade period. The NDVI-derived vegetation classification achieved a high overall accuracy of 96.00% (Kappa = 0.9419), and the calculated changes exceeded the margin of error, confirming their statistical significance. Socio-economic findings reveal the Urpad Beel's importance for fishing, agriculture, tourism, and cultural practices, particularly among the Rabha community, while also indicating that land use change and resource overexploitation are eroding traditional livelihoods and spiritual associations. By integrating spatial indicators with community-level perspectives, this study demonstrates how landscape transformation directly affects ecological functions, livelihoods, and cultural continuity. The findings underscore the need for balanced development policies, strengthened community-based conservation, and sustainable land use planning to safeguard the ecological, economic, and cultural integrity of Urpad Beel.