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Livelihood Adaptation in Wetland Bangladesh:

Pro-Poor Risk Reduction and Adaptation Strategies

M. Abdul Qayyum 1
National Project Director, CDMP, Govt. of Bangladesh
M. Aminul Islam 2
UNDP, Bangladesh

Abstract

More than two third of Bangladesh may be classified as wetland according to the definition
enunciated in the Ramsar Convention3. About 6.7 percent of Bangladesh is always under
water, 21 percent is deeply flooded (above 90 cm) and 35 percent experiences shallow
inundation. Bangladesh is one of the most climate vulnerable deltaic countries in Asia with the
globally highest rural population density. The country is getting prepared with strategic climate
resilient development initiatives including wetland and river restoration with focus on food
security, ecosystem services, and climate induced water risk reduction and adaptation to meet
the livelihood adaptation challenge – a source of potential threat to 70 million populations by
2070. The wetlands in Bangladesh are very rich in terms of their biological diversity and a wide
variety of dynamic ecosystems. This paper addresses the challenge of achieving poverty
reduction in the face of growing climate variability and change, which directly affect livelihoods
and health among people living in and around the wetlands of Bangladesh. Bangladesh being a
country of wetland with the highest rural population density, competition for scarce resource is
at stake in general and wetland in particular. The most critical concern is whether Bangladesh
has exceeded population-natural resources including wetland ratio to adversely affect the
ecology, environment and means to socio-economic development. Despite wetlands are the
significant sources of livelihood for the people at large in Bangladesh, all available evidence
suggests the loss of wetlands in the country. Traditionally it happened to be an important part of
community-based resource endowment providing the backbone to the private-resource based
farming system that had significantly reduced over time due to erosion in customary rights and
indigenous knowledge based management of wetland ecosystem.

1 M. Abdul Qayyum, Additional Secretary of the Govt. of Bangladesh and National Project Director of the
Comprehensive Disaster Management Project (CDMP) of the Ministry of Food and Disaster Management,
supported by UNDP, DFID, EU, SIDA, Norway Government and AusAid.
2 Dr. M. Aminul Islam is working with UNDP-Bangladesh as the Assistant Country Director and the views expressed in the
paper are those of authors personal and in no way be implicated to the organization he served. e-mail: aminul.islam@undp.org

3 The RAMSER Convention has defined wetlands as “areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or
artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of
marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters”. Thus the term wetlands groups together a
wide range of inland, coastal and marine habitats which share a number of common features (Dugan 1990; cited in
Aninun Nishat, 1993)

1
Governance of wetland management in favour of vested interest group is one of the main
factors for marginalizing the communities related to wetland due to limited right and access in
managing those resources. Wetland area is a significant determinant factor for ecological as
well as economic services factors. Perhaps no other areas deserve as much attention as the
issue of wetland toward achieving millennium development goal for the people living in those
areas in particular and Bangladesh in general. In this context, a basic requirement of any
wetland resource management strategy is a better understanding of the value of wetlands both
in use and non-use value terms. To address the problem of the sustainability of ecological
services and economic activities, we need to identify the interactions between the activities and
their environment over time.

In view of these concerns, this paper attempts to address the issue: what strategies may help
the policy as well as decision makers to achieve the goals of enhancing wetland resource base
aimed at alleviating poverty through adopting good governance toward conservation and its
wise use as well as sustainable participatory management principles. Further emphasis needs
to focus on how integrated resource management policies can avoid inter-sectoral policy
inconsistency which results intervention failure. This paper will also attempt to capture the
benefits provided by wetlands often extend beyond the boundaries of the wetland itself which
needs attention of multi-stakeholder synergy towards management of environmental
replenishment, poverty alleviation and sustainable development.

1. Context

Bangladesh is a unique country in having concentration of diverse types of wetlands. Here one
can find, vital coastal wetland, huge floodplains, brackish and fresh water wetland ecosystems
with their unique biodiversity are also home to the number of globally significant endangered
and a number of other threatened species of plants and animals. Population pressures and
weak enforcement of existing regulations have triggered the non-sustainable exploitation of the
region’s natural wealth – everything from excessive harvesting of aquatic species, use of
poisons to collect fish and shellfish, to the over-exploitation of mangrove trees for building
material and fuel wood.

Perhaps more so than for any other nation, the fate of Bangladesh—its people and its prospects
for sustainable development—is determined by its relationship with water and wetlands. During
the monsoon season, at least seven to eight million hactare, or about half of the country (and
sometimes considerably more), may be considered wetland. The country’s wide range of
wetlands includes more than 700 rivers and streams, thousands of shallow freshwater lakes and
marshes (known locally as haors, baors and beels), floodplains, inshore coastal areas and
extensive estuarine systems. A majority of Bangladesh’s 140 million people are critically
dependent on the country’s wetland systems as vital natural resources to sustain them, primarily
through agriculture, poultry and livestock rearing and fishing. Indeed, the movement of water to
the sea and associated processes of sedimentation, accretion and mangrove growth have
created much of the country’s land. Ironically, this dependence all too often turns into disaster
during Bangladesh’s annual period of flooding.

While serving as the central pillar of Bangladesh’s resource base and thus providing an
essential support for its goal of achieving sustainable human development, the country’s
wetland ecosystems also offer critical habitats for internationally important biological diversity.
Bio-geographically, Bangladesh lies at the junction of the Indian and Malayan sub-regions of the
Indomalayan Realm. It also sits at the crossroads of two major international shorebird migration

2
flyways, i.e., along the western edge of the East Asian - Australasian flyway and at the eastern
edge of the Central Asian – Indian flyway. The country’s biodiversity reflects this crossroads
character.

The Land Management Manual of 1991 elaborates guidelines for managing 10,108 Public
Wetlands (locally called –Jalmahals) vested with the Ministry of Land. The manual enumerates
the following management rules (Khan et al, p. 64):

• The fisheries measuring up to 20 acres are entrusted with the Thana Administration;

• The fisheries managed by the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock would be available and
accessible to scientists and researchers of the Department of Fisheries for investigation
and environmental information collection;

• The fisheries not being more than three acres in size would be preserved by the Union
Parishad so that people can exercise their customary rights of using the waters for
domestic and other purposes. These fisheries would not be leased to anyone;
• All other fisheries covering an area larger than 20 acres would be granted to
leaseholders through open auction.

However, the lease system has been found to lead to unsustainable resource use causing loss
of bio-diversity. Only recently environmental considerations have been brought in the scene and
12 of the wetlands (rivers, haors, beels, lakes and so on) have been declared ecologically
critical area (ECA) as per Bangladesh Environmental Conservation Act by the Department of
Environment. The Ministry of Land is supposed to hand over the ECA wetlands to the
Department of Environment. Different types of management systems are being stipulated to
ensure sustainable resource use and at the same time ensure access of the poor to the
resources. There is inter-sectoral policy contradiction which causes barrier for sustainable
development of the poverty prone people in wetland resource based livelihood.

2. Wetlands in Bangladesh

The RAMSAR Convention in 1971 defined wetlands as “areas of marsh, fen, peatland or
wasteland, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or
flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide
does not exceed six meters”. (Ramsar Convention Bureau, 1987) Wetlands may also
incorporate riparian and coastal zones adjacent to wetlands and island or bodies of marine
waters.

Wetlands of Bangladesh have characteristics of five landscape units – floodplain, freshwater

marshes, lakes, coastal wetlands and mangrove/ swamp forests. The total area of wetlands in
Bangladesh has variously been estimated at 7-8 million hectares excluding coastal wetlands,
i.e. about 50% of the total land surface, as may be seen in the following Table 1.

Table: 1 Distribution of Wetlands in Bangladesh

Type Area (Hectare)

Permanent Rivers and Streams 48,000
Estuaries and Mangrove Swamps 61,000

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Shallow Lakes and marshes 1,20,000
Large Water Storage Reservoirs 90,000
Small Tanks & Fish Ponds 150,000-180,000
Brackish water / Shrimp Ponds 90, 000-115,000
Seasonally Flooded Floodplains 5,770,000
Coastal Wetlands
Source: Nishat (ed.), Freshwater Wetlands in Bangladesh, IUCN, 1993.

Loss of wetlands may be picturesquely demonstrated by the loss of the historic Chalan Beel.
Hundreds of years back, the area of the Chalan Beel was 421 sq miles. In 1909, it was reduced
to 33 sq miles, in 1913; it was 12-15 sq miles. In June 1987, the beel was completely dry except
for some man-made ponds (Mustain Billah and Hannan Khan, 2000).

2.1 Haor Wetlands

According to Ramsar Convention (1971) definition, wetlands of Bangladesh have been placed
into seven categories of landscape units: estuarine, open coast, floodplains, freshwater,
marshes, lakes peatlands and swamp forests. In Bangladesh, haors, baors or oxbow lakes,
beels and jheels are commonly known as freshwater wetlands. Beels and baors are about 114
thousand hectares. Haors are floodplain lake and swamp systems, usually described as bowl-
shaped depressions between natural levees of rivers that are flooded every year by monsoonal
floods from April/May until October. Baors are lake formed in the dead parts of meandering
rivers.

Community Based Haor and Floodplain Resource Management (CNHFRM) components of the
Sustainable Environment Management Programme supported by UNDP had implemented
ecosystem based wetland habitat restoration and conservation engaging community in a way
which provides ecosystem services to the community as well. Pilot initiatives were appreciated
for achieving the target goal to achieve sustainable wetland management by addressing
location specific issues such as environmental problem, livelihood challenges, conservation
barriers and management options. These participatory initiatives started with resource
inventory, problem identification and solution recommendations accordingly, prioritization,
planning needed interventions, and follow-up implementation.

2.2 Flood Plains

Flood plains are the most ideal place for multiple resources such as fisheries in monsoon and
rice in dry season, which lead to the development of highest population density. Monsoon flood
over the land of flood plain creates the opportunity of open access resources for the people for
fisheries and other wetland based resources. Fisheries in Bangladesh in the rivers and
floodplains are common property resources.

By floodplain we mean those types of land, which remain under water for 2-4 months of the
year. These areas too are enriched with natural resources. The common property pattern of
drawing fisheries and other benefits from the floodplains have been threatened by influences of
the pervasive policy framework for land and water uses, development interventions.

Flood plains are integral parts of Bangladesh inland aquatic resource system that extends over
4.3 million ha of water bodies, such as rivers, estuaries, baors, beels and flood lands. In

4
addition, about 5.5 million ha of rice fields, which are intermittently inundated during the
monsoon to a depth of 30cm or more, form parts of the aquatic production system. Together
they form vast inland capture fisheries which offer significant livelihood opportunities to the
population and produce bulk of animal supply of animal proteins.

Fisheries along with several other food and non-food resources have traditionally been regarded
as common property, in which access rights are more or less open to all members of
communities living in and around flooded areas. Public lands, forests and water bodies provide
a safety net to the poor and landless people of the flood plains, enabling them to supplement
4
their production and income.

Increase in pressure on land for settlement and infrastructure as well as cropping intensity, flood
control and drainage projects (FCD) and flood control, drainage and irrigation projects (FCDI)
has exerted adverse impact on declining in wetland area and subsequently on environment as
well. Such unsustainable development activities are also considered as one of the major causes
of decline of common property resources. The quest for accelerated increase in crop production
has led to conversion of fishing grounds into dry season rice-lands, reducing the fish habitats. In
sum, nearly all arable lands have been privatized and brought under cultivation at the expense
of forests, wetlands and common property fishing grounds. Table 2 captures an overview of the
pre and post -green revolution and recent trend of changes in use patterns, rights and benefits
of common property flood plains in Bangladesh.

2.3 Coastal Wetland / Mangrove Belt

The risk of climate change-induced damage to human and economic development in coastal
areas of Bangladesh is increasing at an alarming rate. The combined effects of sea-level rise,
beach submergence and subsidence, changes in upstream river discharge, increased
frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones and erosion of coastal embankments pose a serious
threat to the natural resource base and livelihood opportunities of coastal communities. The
existing disaster management framework in Bangladesh is largely organized to deal with
recurrent and rapid onset extreme events, whereas coastal zones in Bangladesh are also
confronted with a range of “creeping” climate risks, such as increasing frequency and magnitude
of cyclones / tidal surge, increasing salinity trends in coastal freshwater resources, growing
drainage congestions, dynamic changes in coastal morphology and a decline in the functioning
of protective ecosystems. In order to address this issue Comprehensive Disaster Management
Programme (CDMP) has planned to incorporate disaster risk reduction and climate change
adaptation while conducting the Community Risk assessment in all the coastal vulnerable
Unions.

It is important to give adequate attention to explore community strength in indigenous

knowledge and experience on many different technologies available in different localities and
share these survival options with the vulnerable coastal community to support adaptation to
climatic hazards initiatives. These location and vulnerability specific technologies can also play
an important part in reducing vulnerability to climate change in coastal zones as and where
applicable. Modern technologies are available to develop information and awareness for
adaptation in coastal zones, to plan and design adaptation strategies, to implement them, and to

4Chu-fa-Tsai and M. Yusuf Ali (ed), Open water Fisheries of Bangladesh, 1997, BCAS and published by the
University Press, p. 89-98

5
monitor and evaluate their performance. This paper focuses on immediate and priority steps to
meet the local climate change risks and way forward for the coastal communities.

Climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, livestock, forests and marine resources
are economically particularly important and because coastal areas are relatively backward and
have limited human, institutional, and financial capacity to anticipate and respond to the direct
and indirect effects of climate change. Many sectors providing basic livelihood services to the
poor are not able to cope even with today’s climate variability and stresses. The frequent
occurrence of extreme weather events such as the tidal surges, floods and tropical cyclones in
coastal areas can set back development in the area for decades. Many of the coastal sites are
already experiencing increasing stresses from climate variability and extremes and this trend is
increasingly threatening the life and livelihood over time.

There are many benefits of effectively managed coastal ecosystems by engaging the
communities. Coastal ecosystems play a vital environmental regulating role by trapping carbon
and other minerals and converting these into essential nutrients that form the primary building
blocks of healthy and vibrant coastal resource base. Fisheries, tourism and other coastal
resource-based industries form an important part of local and regional economies while
providing a primary source of food security for millions of people.

Coastal ecosystems act as buffers against extreme weather conditions and natural disasters
thereby reducing the vulnerability of coastal communities and investments. Social and economic
changes have had, and continue to have, direct impacts on and implications for natural resource
management and local livelihoods increasingly depend upon the natural resource base in three
ways.
ƒ First, poor and asset less people pushed to live in the vulnerable zone have limited
option for access to resource other than mangrove as their source for livelihood.
ƒ Second, there is now an increasing trend of higher level of dependence on coastal
resources for subsistence as people have had to diversify their production and sources
of earning to sustain their livelihood.
ƒ Third, people are now getting increasingly aware that mangrove areas provide
opportunities for economic diversification, particularly in support of tourism, but also in
handicrafts, apiculture (honey), agriculture, shrimp, and medicinal plants.

With this background in view, vision is to conserve and restore coastal mangrove ecosystems
as the key resources for improved food and livelihood security, disaster preparedness, and
climate change adaptation. In conformity to this vision following policy, programme and
management objectives related problems needs to be analyzed, reviewed and defined some of
which are outlined as follows:

Policy and Institutional

1. Analyze, review and define the existing policy/regulatory framework (policies,
regulations, Acts, rules and standards)
2. Identify the institutions / jurisdictions and their analysis:
a. Authority & mandates
b. Roles and responsibilities
c. Specific initiatives (including goals)
d. Decision making mechanisms (including consultation requirements)
3. Explore and identify availability of resources (staff, budget, information, models,

Ecological/biophysical

6
 1. Define the planning and management area
2. Identify key indicators & describe their current status & future trends
3. Identify issues – differentiate between short term vs. long term
4. Identify risks & uncertainties

Socio-economic
1. Describe the key linkages with local economic activity and social values
2. Identify key indicators & describe their current status & future trends
3. Identify issues – differentiate between short term vs. long term
4. Identify risks & uncertainties

3. Policy Strategies for Creating Wetland based livelihood Opportunities

The idea captured in this paper is aimed at empowering wetland dependent ultra poor
households who have, over time due to new commercial leasing of the wetlands lost their
access to the only resource system they have always harvested on a sustainable basis for their
livelihood. Such forms of short-term commercial leasing of the wetlands are resulting in
intensive resource extraction and consequent depletion and throwing out local occupational
groups who have maintained the resource base by harvesting on a renewable basis. This
paper suggests building the capacity of the wetland poor to alleviate poverty through (i)
community based institutional arrangement for strengthening empowerment of the poor by
introducing concept of environmental governance which addresses participatory natural
resource management, establishment of CPR management and participatory local level action
planning and management and (ii) activating local government and other local organizations to
provide and attach to more responsive services to the local communities through multi-sectoral
interventions with the facilitation of the professional NGOs and (iii) establish public-private
partnership in the framework of co-management concept of bigger wetlands management with
engagement of poor people around the wetlands.

Environmental governance as an approach for ensuring livelihood security is a way of putting

people at the centre of development, whereby increasing the effectiveness of support aimed at
alleviating poverty and sustaining the environment. Access to wetland resources with legal
support is a critical factor in strengthening poor people’s livelihoods. Creating opportunities for
expansion and enhancement of common property resources for the target poor population in
critical eco-specific sites as well as tackling inequitable and insecure access to natural
resources that will encourage sustainable management, is the most important action needed to
reduce poverty and improve environment and natural resource condition.

Social capital formation initiative includes group strength, cooperative action, the membership of
in/formal groups, and the networks that increase people’s ability to work together and access
institution and organizations. This initiative in turn will increase access to groups and networks
to improve the ability of poor people to access other assets including natural resources, to
negotiate better transaction costs, and to influence decision-making processes. This social
capital formation will lead to the formation of natural capital which includes natural resources
stocks from which resource flows and services useful for livelihoods derived.

Empowering poor residents in large wetland region (locally known as 'Haor') in North East
Bangladesh to lease Haor areas (seasonally) and harvest the products through group formation
which will do savings as well and have some principles (like Grameen Members) about social
development. In a country like Bangladesh where competition for scarce resource is extremely
high, it is recommended that creation of common property resources to be managed and owned

7
by the community which will in turn ensure sustainable livelihood. A base-line survey at the
beginning needs to be conducted including economic valuation of wetland resources,
community mobilization initiatives to be undertaken for group formation and savings program
with facilitating role of relevant professional organizations to add value to the endeavour
following the social development principles for greater empowerment of the poor.

8
4. Impacts of wetland loss – A threat to Livelihoods

Reduction of fish resources: One direct casualty of the loss of wetlands has been reduction of
fish resources. Free-floating fishery has dwindled tremendously due to reduction in floodplain
area, which used to get inundated regularly. Moreover, unplanned road network prevents fish
migration routes. Many fishers have lost their livelihood, or have diverted to river fisheries. The
unplanned and uncoordinated flood control measures often cause conflicts between fishers and
farmers. An evaluation of the Chandpur irrigation project manifests that it caused 35%
decrease in total fish catch within first two years of its operation. In another project, Karnchar
beel in Sunamganj, harvest of Ruhi fell by 85%, kalibaus by 98.7% and ghania by 97.4 %(
Mustain Billah and Hannan Khan 2000).

Displacement of human occupation: Continued loss of wetlands, reduction of biodiversity and

decline of food and material resources have led to the gradual displacement of human
occupation and socio-economic activities based on wetland common property (Sadeque and
Islam 1993).

Ecological degradation: Apart from the threat of fertility decline due to intensive cultivation in the
wetlands, irreversible ecological degradation is likely to occur with the genetic erosion of
indigenous strains of rice and other crops as well as animal, fish, and bird species. Thousands
of local varieties of rice and other commercially important plants, including plants having
pharmaceutical value, are grown in the swampy floodplain. These are invaluable gene pools for
the development of future disease resistant crop varieties. As a result of HYV rice cultivation,
many of these are now extinct (e.g. local varieties of boro rice such as batak, jagli, joal bhanga,
foni boro, begunbichi, lakhya, rata, and kaliboro)

About 150 species of waterfowls in the wetlands of Bangladesh were available. Presently over
70 are rare. A large number of species such as grey leg goose, Brahminy duck and comb duck
have virtually disappeared. Following matrix shows the situation of wetland, floodplain and
biodiversity in Bangladesh.

9
10
 Functions/Services of the most threatened wetland types and priority needs

Major Wetland Functions/Services Priority Management Needs

Types
Flood Plains Flood storage; flood protection; fish, Proper EIA is a mandatory
aquatic flora and fauna, wildlife before any infrastructural or
habitats; nutrient cycling/ storage and physical intervention. Land
related pollution control; landscape use control measures.
value; agriculture; storage of ground Regeneration of lost habitats
water and recharge. for biodiversity. Climate
Change impact assessment.
Coastal Wetlands Shoreline protection, storm damage Coastal land use zoning.
buffer zone, recreation, extended food Case specific protected area
web control, salinity balance, aquatic under peoples participation.
resources both commercial and wild; Salinity increase, frequency of
landscape value cyclone and storm surge
needs to be considered in the
planning process.
Fresh water inland High biodiversity, migratory birds Community based wetland
natural depression habitat, flood storage; fish, aquatic flora resource management,
/ Wetland (Haor) and fauna, wildlife habitats; nutrient regeneration of swamp forest,
cycling/ storage and related pollution fish sanctuary declaration of
control; landscape value; agriculture; the bottom part of “haor”
storage of ground water and recharge. where water body remains for
year round. One of the
wetland (Hail Haor) declared
as the Ramsar site and the 6
other wetland bodies are
declared as the Ecologically
Critical Area under
Conservation Act..
Mangroves / Richest biodiversity, cyclone protection Part of the Sundarbans under
Swamp Forest as the largest forest wind shield; habitat World Heritage site
for both aquatic and terrestrial wild management. Global
resources, source of valuable food significant species including
(including honey), fiber, fuel, medicinal the Tigers need special
plant, habitat for global significance attention for conservation.
species including Royal Bengal Tiger.

5. Strategic Analysis for appropriate Management of Wetland Ecosystem

5.1 Bangladesh Government’s Management Strategy under Ecological Critical Area:

Environment Policy, 1992: The Environment Policy adopted in 1992 gives due importance to
wetlands and related issues. The Policy includes, inter alia, the following aspects:

11
 ™ rivers, canals, ponds, lakes, haors, beels, baors, and all other water bodies
and resources should be kept free from pollution;
™ wetlands should be conserved for the protection of migratory birds;
™ activities which diminish the wetlands/ natural habitats of fish should be
prevented and rehabilitative measures encouraged;
™ existing projects on water resources development, flood control and irrigation
should be examined to determine their adverse impact on fisheries, and;
™ environmental impact assessment (EIA) should be conducted before
undertaking new projects for water resources development and management;

5.2 Declaration of Ecologically Critical Areas

(1) If the Government is satisfied that due to degradation of environment the ecosystem of
any area has reached or is threatened to reach a critical state, the Government may by
notification in the official Gazette declare such areas as Ecologically Critical Areas.
(2) The Government shall specify, through the notification provided in Sub-clause (1) or by
separate notification, which of the operations or processes cannot be initiated or contiued in
the Ecologically Critical Area (Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act, 1995) (Abdus
1998).

BECA serves to partially counteract the often-conflicting goals of various sectoral laws such as
the Forest Act (1927), Protection and Conservation of Fish Act (1950), State Acquisition and
Tenancy Act (1950), Wildlife (Preservation) Act (1977), the Haor Development Board Ordinance
(1977) and the Wildlife Act (1992). Some of the threats to wetland biodiversity stem from a
failure to act on provisions in this legislation. For example, the Wildlife Act prohibits hunting of
wildlife, but has rarely been enforced. Other threats result from potential conflicts among the
legislative provisions which, for example, promoted the conversion of wetlands to agriculture.
While the goal of conservation is enshrined under the provisions of BECA, further harmonization
of legislation and policies is needed.

In April 1999, the authority granted under BECA was utilized for the first time, as the Director
General of the Department of Environment (DOE) officially declared nearly 40,000 ha, within six
separate wetland areas, as ECAs. These included each of the four component sites within the
present project—Hakaluki Haor, Sonadia Island, St. Martin’s Island, and Teknaf Peninsula—but
not their buffer zones, all of which were deemed to meet the ‘urgency criterion’ required by
BECA, i.e., they were “threatened to reach a critical state.” 5 This Declaration was prepared in
the context of the UNDP-GEF project preparation to demonstrate ECA Management and further
development of rules and regulations.

6. Concluding Remarks

This paper attempted at defining the policy and strategies for promoting sustainable livelihood in
the coastal mangrove region with a vision for the community living in those vulnerable to climate
change and variability. This vision leads to identify a number of priority programmes and actions
as well as recommendations. This strategic development plan has been defined based on the

5 It should be noted that none of the sites, however, was considered to have already reached a critical or otherwise
irreversible state.

12
recent studies and action plans such as the National Action Programme of Adaptation to
Climate Change, Community based Adaptation to Climate Change through Coastal
Afforestation and National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. This paper focused on the
issue on the challenge of achieving poverty reduction in the face of growing climate variability
and change, which directly affect livelihoods and health among people living in and around the
wetlands of Bangladesh which could be managed in a meaningful way in consultation with the
following points:

• A successful management strategy should be guided by (1) a framework of defined pro-poor

climate resilient policy, planning and implementation management instrument options which
should be based on informed decisions achieved through; (2) a full cycle of scientific
investigation from inventory, appraisal, assessment, management action plan with pro-poor
management principle, prioritization and follow-up actions to be assessed through (3)
monitoring and evaluation with due consideration of (4) wetland value, functions and
services, the sources of land use conflict and the severity of land use activities impact and
(5) participation of the wetland communities. The policy instruments package should be
need responsive, to redress the poor’s access to wetlands resources and reduce loss
context being experienced and identified. In this regard wetland degradation and loss
recovery strategy could be more appropriate if it is done based on a comprehensive
inventory from the ecosystem perspective and accordingly classify by types of risks and
threats and accordingly reach to a stakeholder consensus for effective management
strategy.
• Considering the rising trend of population pressure and emerging encroachment and
threats, it would be wise to brought all the natural wetland under special type of protected
area of participatory management. Wetland protected area concept may also become an
effective tool in sustaining our aquatic resources including fisheries by protecting key habitat
and nursery areas.
• Given that wetlands are often open access resources, it is imperative that communities be
charged with the responsibility of managing them to reduce over utilization.
• The envisaged policy implication is to take into account household welfare besides
institutional innovations and hybridizations as part of the policy package towards sustainable
use of wetlands.

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