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Wetland Management in Bangladesh: A Study on Beel Bakar

Received: 27 August 2014     Accepted: 9 September 2014     Published: 20 September 2014
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Abstract

Being a riverine country, Bangladesh maintains a large volume of water by its different channels like river, canal, beel, haor, baor, lake and so on. Beel is one of the ancient types of water body in the context of Bangladesh. Among all the types of water bodies existing in Bangladesh, beel is obviously a fascinating one due to its biodiversity and ecological importance in local and national perspective as it contains and passes significant amount of water connecting with river channel which ultimately goes to the sea. The Beel Bakar is a small beel in the southern part of Jessore District of Bangladesh. This study initiated to reveal the existing situation of the aquatic biodiversity of the Beel Bakar along with identifying the past and present water management system, the socio economic aspect of the beel dependent fishermen and possible future steps. The study was carried out through mix group discussion, focus group discussion, key informants interview, direct observation and household survey. The study revealed that once this beel was rich in biodiversity and important for local fisheries. Though a considerable part of the beel and its floodplain is under gher culture, still there is scope to ensure protection and to enhance livelihoods of fisher community. In spite of the degradation of natural habitats of fishes, still 19 species of fishes were observed in the beel as well as some non fish organisms like snail, crab, mussel, frog, migratory and native birds. The study also found that excessive gher culture practice and possession of non fishermen over the water body are the main constrains of the beel. Most of the fishermen live in semi concrete house and vast majority of them have debt to bank or cooperatives. Experts and local fishermen both suggested ensuring the access of real fishermen in Beel Bakar and the Mukteswari River to improve their circumstances.

Published in Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Volume 3, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.aff.20140304.25
Page(s) 320-328
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Wetland, Beel, Ecosystem, Fisheries, Floodplain, Water Management

References
[1] Byomkesh, T., Nakagoshi, N., Shahedur, R.Md., 2008. State and management of wetlands in Bangladesh. Landscape and Ecological Engineering, 5(1):81-90. DOI: 10.1007/s11355-008-0052-5.
[2] Nishat A., 1993. Fresh water wetlands in Bangladesh: Status and issues. In: Nishat A, Hossain B, Roy M K, Karim A, eds. Freshwater Wetlands in Bangladesh - Issues and Approaches for Management. Dhaka: IUCN, 9–22.
[3] Islam, S.N., 2010. Threatened wetlands and ecologically sensitive ecosystems management in Bangladesh. Frontiers of Earth Science in China. 4(4):438-448. DOI:10.1007/s11707-010-0127-0.
[4] Banglapedia, 2012. National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Available from URL: http://www.banglapedia.org/HT/B_0429.htm.
[5] Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), 2014. http://www.bwdb.gov.bd
[6] Akonda, A.W., 1989. ‘Bangladesh’ in DA Scott ed, A Directory of Asian Wetlands, IUCN, Switzerland, 1989.
[7] Khan S M, Haq E, Huq S, Rahman A A, Rashid S M A, Ahmed H (1994). Wetlands of Bangladesh. Dhaka: Holiday Printers Limited, 1–88.
[8] Department of fisheries (DoF), 2013. DoF Magazine, Department of Fisheries, Government of People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
[9] Ahmed, I., Deaton, B.J., Sarker, R., Virani, T., 2008. Wetland ownership and management in a common property resource setting: A case study of Hakaluki Haor in Bangladesh. Ecological Economics, 68(1-2):429-436. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2008.04.016.
[10] Gnauck A, Islam S. N., 2004. The Threatened Mangrove wetlands ecosystems in Bangladesh: A case study on the Sundarbans. In: Proceedings of 7th INTECOL International Conference on Wetlands 2004, Utrecht. The Netherlands: Universiteit Utrecht Press, 109
[11] Islam S N, 2007. Water salinity and thresholds for the protection of mangrove wetland ecosystems in the Sundarbans Region. In: Ganuck A, ed. Modellierung und Simulation von Ökosystemen (Modelling and Simulation of Ecosystems Journal). Aachen: Shaker Verlag, pp.187–201
[12] Islam S N, Gnauck A., 2007a. Effects of salinity intrusion in mangrove wetlands ecosystems in the Sundarbans: an alternative approach for sustainable management. In: Okruszko T, Jerecka M, Kosinski K, eds. Wetlands: Monitoring Modelling and Management. Leiden: Taylor & Francis/Balkema, pp.315–322.
[13] Islam S N, Gnauck A., 2007b. Salinity intrusion due to freshwater scarcity in the Ganges catchment: a challenege for urban drinking water and mangrove wetland ecosystems in the Sundarbans region, Bangladesh. In: Proceedings of 6th World Wide Workshop for Young Environmental Scientists 2007, Paris. Paris: CEREVE Enpc, 20–30.
[14] Islam S N, Gnauck A., 2008. Mangrove wetland ecosystems in Ganges-Brahmaputra delta in Bangladesh. Front Earth Sci China, 2(4): 439–448.
[15] Islam S N., 2008. Cultural landscapes changing due to anthropogenic influences on surface water and threats to mangrove wetlands ecosystems: a case study on the Sundarbans, Bangladesh. Dissertation for the Doctoral Degree. Cottbus: Brandenburg University of Technology, 1–179
[16] Islam S N, Gnauck A., 2009a. Threats to the Sundarbans mangrove wetland ecosystems from transboundary water allocation in the Ganges basin: a preliminary problem analysis. International Journal of Ecological Economics & Statistics, 13(W09): 64–78.
[17] Barbier, E., Acreman, M., and Knowler, D., 1997. Economic valuation of wetlands: a guide for policy makers and planners. Ramsar Convention Bureau, Gland.
[18] Rahman, A.K.A., 2005. Freshwater fishes of Bangladesh. Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Dhaka 366pp.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Shoumo Khondoker, Md. Lokman Hossain, Khondoker Azizul Hoque Moni. (2014). Wetland Management in Bangladesh: A Study on Beel Bakar. Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 3(4), 320-328. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20140304.25

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    ACS Style

    Shoumo Khondoker; Md. Lokman Hossain; Khondoker Azizul Hoque Moni. Wetland Management in Bangladesh: A Study on Beel Bakar. Agric. For. Fish. 2014, 3(4), 320-328. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20140304.25

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    AMA Style

    Shoumo Khondoker, Md. Lokman Hossain, Khondoker Azizul Hoque Moni. Wetland Management in Bangladesh: A Study on Beel Bakar. Agric For Fish. 2014;3(4):320-328. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20140304.25

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  • @article{10.11648/j.aff.20140304.25,
      author = {Shoumo Khondoker and Md. Lokman Hossain and Khondoker Azizul Hoque Moni},
      title = {Wetland Management in Bangladesh: A Study on Beel Bakar},
      journal = {Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries},
      volume = {3},
      number = {4},
      pages = {320-328},
      doi = {10.11648/j.aff.20140304.25},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20140304.25},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.aff.20140304.25},
      abstract = {Being a riverine country, Bangladesh maintains a large volume of water by its different channels like river, canal, beel, haor, baor, lake and so on. Beel is one of the ancient types of water body in the context of Bangladesh. Among all the types of water bodies existing in Bangladesh, beel is obviously a fascinating one due to its biodiversity and ecological importance in local and national perspective as it contains and passes significant amount of water connecting with river channel which ultimately goes to the sea. The Beel Bakar is a small beel in the southern part of Jessore District of Bangladesh. This study initiated to reveal the existing situation of the aquatic biodiversity of the Beel Bakar along with identifying the past and present water management system, the socio economic aspect of the beel dependent fishermen and possible future steps. The study was carried out through mix group discussion, focus group discussion, key informants interview, direct observation and household survey. The study revealed that once this beel was rich in biodiversity and important for local fisheries. Though a considerable part of the beel and its floodplain is under gher culture, still there is scope to ensure protection and to enhance livelihoods of fisher community. In spite of the degradation of natural habitats of fishes, still 19 species of fishes were observed in the beel as well as some non fish organisms like snail, crab, mussel, frog, migratory and native birds. The study also found that excessive gher culture practice and possession of non fishermen over the water body are the main constrains of the beel. Most of the fishermen live in semi concrete house and vast majority of them have debt to bank or cooperatives. Experts and local fishermen both suggested ensuring the access of real fishermen in Beel Bakar and the Mukteswari River to improve their circumstances.},
     year = {2014}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Wetland Management in Bangladesh: A Study on Beel Bakar
    AU  - Shoumo Khondoker
    AU  - Md. Lokman Hossain
    AU  - Khondoker Azizul Hoque Moni
    Y1  - 2014/09/20
    PY  - 2014
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20140304.25
    DO  - 10.11648/j.aff.20140304.25
    T2  - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
    JF  - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
    JO  - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
    SP  - 320
    EP  - 328
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-5648
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20140304.25
    AB  - Being a riverine country, Bangladesh maintains a large volume of water by its different channels like river, canal, beel, haor, baor, lake and so on. Beel is one of the ancient types of water body in the context of Bangladesh. Among all the types of water bodies existing in Bangladesh, beel is obviously a fascinating one due to its biodiversity and ecological importance in local and national perspective as it contains and passes significant amount of water connecting with river channel which ultimately goes to the sea. The Beel Bakar is a small beel in the southern part of Jessore District of Bangladesh. This study initiated to reveal the existing situation of the aquatic biodiversity of the Beel Bakar along with identifying the past and present water management system, the socio economic aspect of the beel dependent fishermen and possible future steps. The study was carried out through mix group discussion, focus group discussion, key informants interview, direct observation and household survey. The study revealed that once this beel was rich in biodiversity and important for local fisheries. Though a considerable part of the beel and its floodplain is under gher culture, still there is scope to ensure protection and to enhance livelihoods of fisher community. In spite of the degradation of natural habitats of fishes, still 19 species of fishes were observed in the beel as well as some non fish organisms like snail, crab, mussel, frog, migratory and native birds. The study also found that excessive gher culture practice and possession of non fishermen over the water body are the main constrains of the beel. Most of the fishermen live in semi concrete house and vast majority of them have debt to bank or cooperatives. Experts and local fishermen both suggested ensuring the access of real fishermen in Beel Bakar and the Mukteswari River to improve their circumstances.
    VL  - 3
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Fisheries and Marine Bioscience, Jessore University of Science and Technology, Jessore 7400, Bangladesh

  • Department of Global Change Ecology, Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Geosciences, University of Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany

  • Ulashi Sreejony Sangha, Jessore 7400, Bangladesh

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