Proceeding of the 2nd International conference on Economic and Development, Vol. 2, Issue 1, 2018, pp. 6-13 Copyright © 2018 TIIKM ISSN 2536-8338 online DOI: https://doi.org/10.17501/25368338.2018.2102 AN ANALYSIS OF FISHERIES AND OTHER ECOLOGICAL RESOURCES IN THE SEGMENT OF MEGHNA RIVER IN BANGLADESH Aminur Rahman* Department of Economics, Independent University, Bangladesh Abstract: Bangladesh is a riverine country with hundreds of rivers. All of them carry different valuable attributes. However, our present endeavor is to look into a particular segment of mighty Meghna River in Bangladesh which is rich in fishery resources and other ecological objects. It plays a vital role in supplying future water to urban area of Dhaka city also. In this connection a survey was conducted to see the pool of resources specially fisheries resources availability in the river area. It was found that several locations are abundant with fish, aquatic invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, and butterfly. A minimum 30 out of 53, red listed fish species are available in the study area which indicates the importance of the river habitat for better management in future. The river is not only rich in fisheries resources but it helps providing lot of other vital services which are important for healthy growth of these resources. However, this is not the end of the story. For proper valuation we estimated Total Economic Value (TEV) of the objects using direct values, indirect values, existence values and option values. The estimate shows a significant value in the segment and deserves proper management of these resources. Keywords: fisheries, ecology, total value, management Introduction Dhaka city is running out of ground water and surface water to some extent as well at a headlong speed. To provide Dhaka City with sufficient drinking water in the future, water from the Upper Meghna River will be used as a source of drinking water. The Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) will establish two intake points. One intake will be at Bishnandi and the other at Haria. The raw water will be transported by pipeline to treatment facilities. Around eight million people will be served with drinking water. So the main objective of the this paper is to find out how valuable is this source and by doing that we try to find the value of resources specially the fisheries and other associated resource and their total economic value. So that it draws special attention and authority takes appropriate measures to preserve it. Objective of this Study The objective of the report is to assess the economic values of the relevant section of Meghna River using total economic valuation approach. Special attention is given to the valuation of Fisheries Resources. Structure of the Report The report describes the objective at the outset followed by different segments like, study area, valuation concepts and their methods of use, different data on direct and indirect values and total economic values. Results are shown in a table with respective values of relevant items. It gives detailed description of Benefit Transfer Method and ends with conclusion and reference. Corresponding Author Email: *[email protected] Aminur Rahman / An Analysis Of Fisheries And Other Ecological Resources…… Methodology The report heavily relies on other reports (Munir 2017) and Feasibility Study for Augmentation of Water Supply to Dhaka, Volume 1 Feasibility Report,(August, DWASA 2011) generated in case of area determination, fisheries, fuel, DWASA water for direct values and all other values have been derived from other country’s experience in using Benefit Transfer Method for capturing values in the situation of nonexistence of market. Description of the Study area The segment of Meghna River under our consideration is 71KM in length and with a width of average 1.5 to 2 km. Areas between Bhairab Bridge and Meghna Bridge have been considered as the relevant segment for our purpose. There are two intake points: Bishnandi (intake point 1) and Haria (intake point 2 respectively). The map below vividly gives a picture of these two areas along with its surroundings. Fig 1: Map of the study area 7 Proceeding of the 2nd International conference on Economic and Development, Vol. 2, 2018, pp. 6-13 Economic Values on the Segment of Meghna River Since there are different values associated with the designated area of Meghna River we will concentrate on different aspects of it with emphasis on the following:(All calculations have been accomplished on annual basis). Water production by WASA Navigational use value Fuel wood (Reed) Economic values of fisheries. The value of ecosystem Tourism value, genetic material value, Education Human Habitat, watershed protection value, Protection of endangered spices value, Carbon store value Medical importance and biodiversity values. Results Table 1: Total Economic Values Direct Use Values Water Supply to WASA:USD 45.51 million USD annually (950 MLD by 2020) Navigational Services: US$32000x365=US$ 116.8 million annually Fuel Wood: Reed:1000 decimal x average price Tk (Taka)115= USD14375 annually Fisheries: 25000kg (2500 ton) xTk500= USD15625000 (1USD=Tk80). Annually Tourism: USD 53250 annually Genetic Materials USD 75540 annually Education: USD 77,000 annually Human Habitat: USD 41376 annually Indirect Use Values Watershed protection of fisheries: USD575100 annually Protection of Endangered Spices (Dolphin, Turtle etc.) USD 575100 annually Carbon Store USD 3195000 annually Option Values Future Uses: Medical Importance: USD 170400 annually Existence Values Biodiversity: USD 223650 annually Total Economic Value: USD 182.935791 million Valuation Method and Rationale Basic Idea of Valuation Natural resources provide both goods and services. A river, for instance, may provide fish, different type of spices, watershed protection, irrigation water, drinking water, bathing water, medical plants, food and forage for animals, navigational facilities, recreation and so many visible and invisible things. But all of them cannot be traded in conventional prices and in conventional markets. However, they have values to take into account. For quantification and ultimate monetization of these values economists have devised different techniques for 8 Aminur Rahman / An Analysis Of Fisheries And Other Ecological Resources…… calculating these different values to give this natural resource a true value in the form of total economic value. Besides direct values there are option values and existence values also. Option values and Existence values are derived from the potential use of these resources. Values of this type refer to non-use value. Thus the key concept of values from a natural resource is composed of calculation of Total Economic Value (TEV) as: TEV = Direct Values +Indirect Values + Option Values + Existence Values Use values (direct + indirect values) refer to the situation in which values are derived by using the resources as well as getting benefits from the natural ecosystem. For Example the forest wood and other non-forest wood products are termed as direct benefits while the flood protection activities of forest together with other attributes are termed as indirect benefits. In short, existence values are used to capture some Willingness To Pay (WTP) for resources which is not connected with current or future use. It simply captures the expectation of the existence of the resources. An example may be Dolphins in Meghna Basin. Someone or some group of person home or abroad may be interested in the preservation of these spices and willing to pay for it even though they would know that it will not give them any direct benefits. However, their mere existence has some values to them. Bequest values (for idea only, not used here in any calculation) refer to the situation which measures people’s willingness to pay for some resources which can be used by the offspring of prayers. Option values are those values where an individual expresses his willingness to pay for the option of using an asset so that it can be used in future. Our next concern is how to capture these values. Economists have developed different approaches to the economic measurement of environmental impacts. In general the following valuation methods are usually applied in capturing total economic values of our interest. For conventional markets the methods of valuation are Dose Response and Defensive Expenditure Method, etc. In the care of surrogate or implicit markets, the Travel Cost Method and the Hedonic Price Method are usually used. However, in the case of hypothetical markets, experimental methods are used where experiments are done in two ways; the contingent valuation Method and the Contingent Ranking Methods. The Dose Response Method is used when a given level of pollution is associated with changes in output. The lost output can be valued at market or shadow prices – for example, fish production losses due to water pollution. Here dose is pollution and response is loss of fisheries output. The Defensive Expenditure Method is used to assess the cost of preventing damage apparently causes by environmental deterioration. The cost of having filters for water in case of contaminated water can be termed as defensive expenditure. The Travel Cost Method is capturing the value of ecotourism, for example. To calculate this, expenditure on the travel needed to the site of interest can be interpreted to give an estimate on the benefit arising from the recreational experience. The Hedonic Price Method is used to separate the environmental attributes from other values such as property. This method can be used in case of property prices in a less polluted area than polluted one. The hedonic price approach measures the quality of environmental attributes by detecting the price of implicit goods affected by environmental conditions. 9 Proceeding of the 2nd International conference on Economic and Development, Vol. 2, 2018, pp. 6-13 The Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) is considered to be directly involved in revealing the preferences of the people.