Assam Government Launches Sustainable Management Initiative for Riverine Islands

Sustainable Management Framework for Brahmaputra Islands

Guwahati, May 2: The Assam government is taking significant steps to address the challenges posed by unchecked settlement growth, land scarcity, and ecological degradation threatening the Brahmaputra's riverine islands. A new initiative aims to create a robust, science-based framework for the sustainable management of these vital landscapes.

With approximately 971 identified islands, Assam has 8.5% of its area covered by rivers and islands, which support around 2.7 million residents—about 10% of the state's population—on just 4.6% of the land. This situation highlights the intense pressure and vulnerability faced by these communities.

The char-chaporis are dynamic ecosystems influenced by erosion, flooding, and seismic activity, characterized by high population densities (up to 1,666 individuals per square kilometer), ambiguous land ownership, and increasing human pressures such as unregulated settlements, deforestation, chemical farming, and sand mining, all contributing to ecological decline and heightened disaster risks.

A policy draft developed by the Brahmaputra Board and INTACH categorizes the islands into three groups: sparsely populated islands in Arunachal Pradesh and Upper Assam, densely populated chars in Lower Assam, and Majuli Island, recognized as a unique cultural landscape.

The policy's objectives include clarifying land ownership, regulating land use, resolving jurisdictional issues, harmonizing laws, ensuring human safety, and conserving biodiversity and ecosystem services.

According to the draft, existing cultivation or occupancy rights may be acknowledged but should not lead to private ownership to avoid unregulated construction and land markets. The islands are intended to maintain a rural character, balancing cultivation with wilderness. While current agricultural practices may continue, expansion is not allowed, and islands without cultivation should remain wild or be rewilded. Sand mining is strictly prohibited.

The proposal also includes a freeze on settlement expansion, promotion of fully organic farming practices, low-impact eco-tourism under stringent regulations, and a ban on deforestation and land clearing activities.

Majuli Island requires a comprehensive master plan, limiting built-up areas to just 0.5% of its total area.

“The goal is to protect the riverine ecosystem. Preserving these islands will help maintain the river's course. We have circulated the draft to several departments for feedback,” stated Chief Secretary Ravi Kota, who recently reviewed the draft with officials.

Growing population pressures, land shortages along riverbanks, and increasing urban and agricultural demands have escalated human settlement in these islands.

“If these trends continue, we risk environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity, pollution in the river, and unsafe settlements in flood-prone areas. The islands are particularly susceptible to seasonal flooding, erosion, seismic events, and soil liquefaction. Their constantly changing geography makes permanent structures unsafe, necessitating context-sensitive land use,” the draft further elaborated.

The initiative promotes nature-based solutions, such as riparian grass buffers for erosion control. Relevant provisions from the Indian Forest Act, Biological Diversity Act, and Environment Protection Act are suggested for application where suitable.

This framework connects policy development with implementation through legal alignment, annual surveys, land-use management, biodiversity assessments, island naming conventions, and district-level reporting.