Linking bio-diversity with poverty alleviation: Bangladeshi context

Linking bio-diversity with poverty alleviation: Bangladeshi context

By dr.fourkan Ali

The territory of Bangladesh is mostly covered by the Bengal Basin. It is a landscape of mysteries. It has the highest density of rural population as well as that of natural water channel in the world. It also but of the most diverse tropical eco-systems, But in its variety it is b perhaps the least understood, The combination of deltaic landscape with abundance of water; rich bio-climatic resources, diverse agro-ecological zones, and coastal belt and the zone of brackish water has dined the country with a lot of bio-diversity.

Where is the Highest Carrying Capacity of Nature?

Floodplains and Wetlands:

Along the floodplains and wetlands where water meets life, one can find the highest population density in Bangladesh. More than 50 per cent of the territory in Bangladesh, including the coastal area, may be considered floodplains and wetlands. Such fringe areas with land and water interaction are the habitats of a wide range of terrestrial, amphibious and aquatic biodiversity. This vast variety of life has an intrinsic value as bio-diversity provides various 'eco-system services’ and there are plenty of economically useful things to exploit from it, ranging from sources of nutrition, household needs, anti-cancer drugs to eco-tourism. During the monsoon most of the low-lying crop fields go under water and are treated as the common property or capture fishery which is the main protein source for the poor people at large in rural Bangladesh.

Mangrove:

The Sundarbans mangrove forest is located in the south-west coast in Bangladesh which provides a habitat for many plant and animal species. Mangrove provides resources for livelihood of the local people, ringing various items of food, fish, fiber, fuel, fodder and construction materials. Mangroves are the breeding ground and habitats for many Br and shellfish that contribute to the diet of poor people and earns second highest export revenue for the country The Sundarbans mangrove forest has about 285 species of fish, 229 species of crustaceans and 211 species of molluscs. Mangrove forests are also the essential spawning and nursery areas for many species of marine fish. The Sundarbans region includes the World Heritage Site, as well as reserve forests and protected areas. This vital coastal wetland with its unique bio-diversity is also home to the endangered Royal Bengal Tiger and a large number of other threatened species of plants\and animals. Over 3 million people live in the Sundarbans in Bangladesh. Population pressures and weak enforcement of existing regulations have triggered the non-sustainable exploitation of the region's natural wealth -everything from excessive honey collection and use of poisons and explosives to catch fish and shellfish, to the over -exploitation of mangrove trees (and other species of trees) for building material and fuel wood. Households surveyed in 32 villages along the Sundarbans in Bangladesh showed an over-all participation rate of 78% in resource harvesting at the innermost (0-Z km) band and 64% at the outermost (8-10 km§ band.

People at the centre

People are considered to play the central role in the search for solutions to the problem of the drastic reduction of bio-diversity as they are closely linked to social, cultural, economic and political issues. What is required is a multi-stakeholder analysis for adopting a comprehensive approach to the over-all management of the biodiversity sites. Poverty for example, is both a cause as well as a consequence of the reduction of bio-diversity due to over-extraction of natural resources. Action must be centred on solutions that address the need for viable livelihoods for the affected people. Threats to bio-diversity simply cannot be halted by measures like conservation, regeneration, tree planting and habitat restoration. It is far more cost-effective to manage the bio-diversity in a sustainable manner through stakeholders' participation than it is to regenerate an already damaged land. Increasingly, therefore, efforts have been refocused to tackle the systemic, root causes of the problem. The frontline troops in the battle against the threats to bio-diversity are the farmers, fishermen, and women and children struggling to scrape a living from a hostile environment. This reflects t e Convention's insistence on community involvement and the bottom-up approach.

Value of Bio-diversity and Alternative Livelihood Options

The loss of bio-diversity has been taking place since human’s first leaned to harvest natural resources and to manage the land to increase its productivity Depletion of natural resources and rapid loss of bio-diversity took place over time to meet the basic needs of the growing population. These changes in most cases are irreversible. In view of this alarming scenario, it is important to ascertain whether the conversion of natural resources to alterative uses is more or less beneficial to mankind than’ the preservation of bio-diversity Putting a value on bio-diversity is one of the methods of assessing comparative benefits and loses out of habitat conversion, destruction or conservation either in the long term or medium tern. Such assessment of the value of bio-diversity is often based on the value of products derived from genetic variation, Agricultural crops are some of) the few species for which the benefit of genetic diversity can be given a precise commercial value. The financial value of plants and their derivatives to the pharmaceutical industry can also be quantified. Many habitats and species possess multiple values simultaneously A tropical forest, for instance, is valuable directly in terms of its timber indirectly in terms of watershed protection, sewing as a shield to protect life and resources from cyclones and tidal surges, and being a vast carbon sink and consequently improving air quality its numerous species have potential future uses as food, construction materials and medicines.

Concluding Remarks

Bangladesh is far behind in raising public awareness of the ecological, economic and socio-cultural value of biodiversity and promoting local community participation in its sustainable conservation and management programmes. Bio-diversity -being a major source of food, fibers, fuel, fodder and other useful thing -needs adequate attention and increased knowledge for its conservation and wise use in a sustainable manner. Sustainable management and conservation of eco-specific bio-diversity through the poor peoples’ active participation can contribute substantially to poverty alleviation in the context of environmental conservation. Poverty alleviation programmes should be aimed at creating common property management such as common history, common horticulture, common fruit gardens, and community-based common wetlands management for conserving aquatic bio-diversity Agricultural biodiversity and the identification of medicinal plans are some of the initiatives worthy of mention.