Status and socio-economic significance of wetland in the tropics: a study from Bangladesh

Abstract

© iForest -Biogeosciences and Forestry IntroductionThe term "haor" denotes the bowl-shaped large tectonic depression that receives sur face runoff water by rivers and canals, and consequently, becomes very extensive water body in the monsoon and dries up mostly in the post-monsoon periods (Alam & Hossain 2004). In Bangladesh haors are found mainly in the north/eastern region covering the parts of greater Sylhet and Mymensingh. Hakaluki haor is the largest inland freshwater wetland ecosystem in Bangladesh and one of the largest in south Asia (CNRS 2002, Ahmed et al. 2008. It is composed of 6 000 beels (small freshwater lakes) and covers up to 18 000 ha of area during rainy season in the periods of mid-May to mid-July (DoE 1999). While the beels have several inlets, such as the rivers -the Juri, the Kantinala, and the Kuiachari -there is only one outlet, the Kushiyara River (Ahmed et al. 2008). Hakaluki haor is located in the north-eastern part of Bangladesh, between the districts of Sylhet and Moulvibazar. It supports a wide variety of agricultural and horticultural crops and fast growing introduced timber species (Khan et al. 2004). A significant number of medicinal plants are also found in the haor. This haor ecosystem supports at least 73 species of wetland vegetation, which is nearly half of the national total of 158 spe cies of vegetation (Choudhury & Faisal 2005). It is a critical habitat and breeding ground for fish and other aquatic species and considered one of the four major "mother fisheries" in Bangladesh (Karim 1993). More than 100 fish species are available in the haor, one third of which are listed as en dangered (Ahmed et al. 2008, Choudhury & Faisal 2005. The haor is also the home for globally significant waterfowl especially large number of' migratory duck species that pass the winter season there. There was an estimation of wintering population of ducks in 1960s at between 40 000 to 60 000 (CWBMP 2004). There are a number of varieties of mammals and reptiles including snakes, frogs, turtles, toads, tortoises, squir rel, and the gangetic dolphin inhabiting in and around the haor.About 200 000 people live around Hakaluki haor; all of them, more or less, are dependent on its resources for their liveli hoods (Choudhury & Faisal 2005). As the haor floods annually, settlements are clustered along its slightly raised fringes. Fisheries and agriculture are the two major livelihoods for local people living in and around Hakaluki haor (CNRS 2004). The haor once was with plenty of wildlife and aquatic resources and covered with swamp forest, which in the recent time has become a fast-degraded landscape facing increased pressure and threats (Ahmed et al. 2008). The forest resources (swamp and reed land plants) in the haor area have no proper con servation and management technique, for which those are declining gradually. Such rapid degradation of the wetland ecology is causing devastating consequences on the community people living in, around and downstream of the haor who for generations were dependent fo...

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Determinants of households’ livelihood diversification strategies to adapt with natural disasters: Evidence from ecologically vulnerable haor region of Bangladesh

“…The wetlands have various ecological, economical, and commercial importance to the residents as they are rich in biodiversity having rich ora and fauna (Kamruzzaman and Shaw 2018). The unwavering natural resources are land, forest, and water in the haor areas (Rana et al 2009). Natural grazing land (grassland) and large water basins are made available to the haor community for income-generating, livestock rearing, and sheries activities (Rana et al 2009;Rabby et al 2013).…”