The city of Kolkata is location-wise gifted by the existence of a wide wetland in its eastern fringe, popularly known as the East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW), where nearly 80 per cent of city sewer gets naturally treated in the shallow water bodies under abundant supply of sunshine in a hot and humid tropical climate and it provides outlet to the city’s excess rainwater run-off. During this process, the wastewater gets converted into nutrient-rich fish feed and creates favourable conditions for vocations like fisheries, garbage farming, animal husbandry, etc. However, due to aggressive urban encroachment in the buffer area of the EKW over time, the ecosystem-based livelihood practices are under threat. How that would affect the local people’s perception regarding their livelihood options in the core area of the wetlands where any change in the pattern of land use is legally prohibited? To investigate this issue, a time diary method has been applied to come up with an exhaustive listing of the types of jobs prevailing in the core area where most of the workers are employed temporarily, seasonally or sporadically, as self-employed or unpaid family worker, casual labour, home-based worker or simply home worker and where the works are so very closely tied together as part of their livelihood practices that respondents barely recognize those activities as distinct works. Entries from time diary have captured the imperceptible changes in vocational preferences across age, sex and the level of education with greater precision.
加尔各答东部湿地土地利用变化和功能转型：来自时间日志的证据
加尔各答市区位优势明显，东部边缘有宽阔的湿地，被称为东加尔各答湿地（the East Kolkata Wetlands, EKW），其中近80％的城市下水管道被自然地处理进入浅水水体，暴露在充足的阳光和炎热潮湿的热带气候中，并为城市过剩的雨水径流提供出口。在此过程中，废水被转化成营养丰富的鱼饲料，为渔业、垃圾养殖业、畜牧业等产业创造了有利条件。但是随着时间的推移，由于EKW的缓冲区域受到城市侵略性的侵占，导致基于生活实践的生态系统受到威胁。这些将如何影响当地居民有关湿地核心区的生活选择的看法，而核心区中土地利用方式的任何变化都被法律禁止了？为了研究这一问题，文中引入了“时间日志方法”，用于形成核心区主要工作类型的详尽列表。核心区中大部分工作人员是临时雇用的、季节性或断断续续工作的，例如个体户或无报酬的家庭工作人员、临时工、居家工作人员或，那里的工作是如此紧密联系在一起，已经成为他们生活实践的一部分，受访者几乎没有把这些活动视为独特的工作。从时间日志可以看出不同年龄、性别以及细分的受教育程度带来的不易察觉的职业偏好的变化。