CARRYING CAPACITY ASSESSMENT FOR BENAULIM VILLAGE, GOA

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) defines Carrying Capacity (CC) as the maximum number of people that can use a site without an unacceptable alteration in the physical environment and without an unacceptable decline in the quality of the experience gained by visitors. Even though there are many definitions, the CC is essential because it helps determine the limits within which development and human activities can occur without causing irreversible damage to environmental resources, infrastructure systems, and community well-being.Carrying Capacity Assesment (CCA) is important as it prevents environmental degradation by ensuring that natural resources like water, land, and biodiversity are not overused or destroyed. It helps balance human needs (like tourism or housing) with ecosystem health. Prevents overcrowding, stress on infrastructure, and cultural disruption for residents thus protecting local communities. This work adopts the Driver–Pressure–State–Impact–Response (DPSIR) framework as the primary analytical model for assessing the CC for Beanulim village Panchayat.

The DPSIR framework, developed and widely applied by the European Environment Agency, provides a structured approach to understand the interactions between human activities and environmental systems. It enables the identification of causal relationships between socio-economic drivers, environmental pressures, changes in system state, resulting impacts, and policy or management responses.To enhance the robustness of the analysis, the DPSIR framework is integrated with a multi-criteria decision-making approach using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). AHP facilitates the assignment of weights to selected indicators based on their relative importance, allowing for a systematic and quantitative evaluation of carrying capacity across different zones.

The study will generate a comprehensive understanding of the CC of Benaulim Village Panchayat by integrating environmental, infrastructural, and socio-economic dimensions. A Carrying Capacity Index (CCI) will be developed for the Panchayat, providing a quantitative measure of the sustainability limits of different zones. This index will help in comparing spatial variations and identifying areas where resource use and infrastructural demand exceed sustainable thresholds.