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The environment includes natural and social dimensions. The natural environment refers to the biophysical context that includes geographical area, climate, natural resources, and so on, whereas the social environment indicates the total social relationship of an individual, cultural background, and the group to which he belongs. In this regard, water is an essential component of nature, required for the existence of life on earth. But the freshwater is continuously being polluted and also reduced in various ways. Water pollution is known as the biological or chemical change in the quality of water due to the presence of contaminants in water. Moreover, the pollution of water affects humans not only in the context of health but also in many realms of social life. To examine this issue, samples of water have been collected from different sites of the Mahananda River in Siliguri to check the physio-chemical properties of water and also its corresponding effects on human society have been recorded. This study aims to investigate the means of connectivity among natural and social environments and human beings as a part of it as well as how water pollution is affecting social beings and society.

Keywords: Environment, Society, Water Pollution, Physio-chemical parameters.

Rural tourism has emerged as a means that is employed by many countries to facilitate economic and cultural development and to assist in the protection and preservation of ethnoecological heritage. The article is an attempt to explore the ethnoecological potential of an off-beat destination named Tuti (Toti) Jharna, a perennial waterfall located in the Ranchi district of Jharkhand state, India. The article tries to explore the main socio-cultural issues in promoting ethno-eco-tourism in the selected destination with regard to the conservation of eco-cultural heritage that needs to be addressed through more effective tourism planning. To integrate understanding a mixed method of research has been adopted. The study expects that the findings could be used by tourism sectors, planning agencies, the business community, ethnic minority organizations and research institutions in planning, managing, and developing ethno-eco-tourism.

Keywords: Cultural heritage, Ethno-ecotourism, Perennial Waterfall, Toti Jharna (waterfall).

The people of Buxa Hill and their surroundings are significant in terms of their sociocultural considerations. The historical background of the Buxa fort, centring on which habitats are enjoying the feelings of attachment and togetherness, finding a way of representing the self-identity, as every history does, is towards extinction. To preserve their rich history and the deed of historiography, they are much waiting for being in the least recognition, which speculates and extends the philosophical ground of the paper and tries to analyze their marginal condition. The ecosystem without humans is being formed through hypernaturalism in the name of ecosystem preservation and collaborating with different forces of globalization, implementing different programs and policies, and offering tourism activities to outsiders, a packaged field of entertainment that has reduced the human quality of life of the insiders. Unemployment, regional disparity, and state indifference push them into more marginal conditions. Only the third party defines and imposes development and other relevant processes; neither nature nor the concerned group can speak. Such a setting and the underlying reality broaden the sociological field and merit attention. The study attempted to illustrate the respondents’ marginalization by recounting their perspectives and investigating the topic.

Keywords: Compartment, Ecosystem, Globalization, Historiography, Naturalism.

In South Africa, fertility transition is a continuum and their contextual determinants are concerns to the government and other stakeholders. The South African Demographic Health Survey (SADHS) 2016 data was used to examine the role of three classifications of variables (individual, household and community characteristics) in determining fertility transition among Black South African women of childbearing age. Based on the Social-ecological (SEM) and Easterlin’s micro-economic theories, analysis was carried out at the bivariate and multivariate levels. These were performed using the Chi-squared test and the Poison logistic regression model to obtain associations, respectively. The study revealed that close to half (48.1%) of these women had low fertility levels (1-2 children). Those in rural areas had higher fertility levels compared to those in urban areas in most cases. Factors such as the mother’s age, employment and wealth status, owning a house with water and electricity, access and distance to health facilities (Gynaecologist/health workers), etc., were strongly associated (significant) at different model classifications (p<0.05). As such, it underscored the significance of these factors in explaining fertility transitions among the study populations in South Africa. It also highlights the importance of looking beyond the influence of individual-level factors only in the enquiries of associated factors of fertility transition, especially among the study sample. Overall, the study concludes that contextual factors matter. Therefore, recommended that these findings be considered in all programme and policy developments around the issue in South Africa.

Keywords: Fertility transition, Poison regression, Association, Contextual factors, household, Community, Black South African, Cross-sectional.

The paper presents the profile of Monpa as a cultural people in relation to their resource management practices. The Monpa people have a very close relationship with their surrounding environment and biodiversity like any other indigenous community. However, the friendly co-existence with nature and natural resources is shifting due to changes in social economic and political administration, for example, renouncing Buddhism over the indigenous faith called Bon, Chinese aggression in 1962 and changes in the political system brought colossal transformation in economy and livelihood of the Monpa community. The present study is an attempt to understand the changes and continuity in the indigenous resource management practices among the Monpa community.

Keywords: Monpa, Bon, Buddhism, resource management, social evolution, changes and continuity.