Situation Analysis on Biodiversity Conservation
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Situation Analysis on Biodiversity Conservation INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE Asia Regional Office 63 Sukhumvit Soi 39 Bangkok 10110, Thailand Tel: +66 2 662 4029 Fax: +66 2 662 4389 www.iucn.org/asia Bangladesh Country Office House 16, Road 2/3, Banani Dhaka 1213, Bangladesh Tel: +8802 9890423 Fax: +8802 9892854 www.iucn.org/bangladesh India Country Office 2nd Floor, 20 Anand Lok, August Kranti Marg, New Delhi 110049, India Tel/Fax: +91 11 4605 2583 www.iucn.org/india DIALOGUE FOR SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF TRANS-BOUNDARY WATER REGIMES IN SOUTH ASIA Ecosystems for Life • Inland Navigation 1 Situation Analysis on Biodiversity Conservation M D Behera Mohammad Solaiman Haider Ecosystems for Life: A Bangladesh-India Initiative Ecosystems for Life • Biodiversity 1 The designation of geographical entities in this book, and the presentation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IUCN concerning the legal status of any country, territory, administration, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The views expressed in this publication are authors’ personal views and do not necessarily reflect those of IUCN. This initiative is supported by the Minister for European Affairs and International Cooperation, the Netherlands. Published by: IUCN Asia Regional Office; IUCN Bangladesh Country Office; IUCN India Country Office; IUCN Gland, Switzerland Copyright: © 2012 IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Reproduction of this publication for educational or other non-commercial purposes is authorized without prior written permission from the copyright holder provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of this publication for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without prior written permission of the copyright holder. Citation: Behera, M. D. and Haider, M. S. (2012) Situation Analysis on Biodiversity Conservation, Ecosystems for Life: A Bangladesh-India Initiative, IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature. Coordination: Ganesh Pangare, Frank van der Valk, Bushra Nishat, Kazimuddin Ahmed Editorial design: Pradip Saha Copy editing: Pratap Pandey Cover Photo by: Shahzia Mohsin Khan Cover design by: Sheikh Asaduzzaman and A. J. M. Zobaidur Rahman Available from: IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Asia Regional Office, Bangkok Bangladesh Country Office, Dhaka India Country Office, New Delhi www.iucn.org/E4L 2 Biodiversity Conservation • Ecosystems for Life Preface Bangladesh and India share three major river systems: the Ganga, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna. Along with their tributaries, these rivers drain about 1.75 million sq km of land, with an average runoff of 1,200 cu km. The GBM system also supports over 620 million people. Thus, the need for cooperation on trans-boundary waters is crucial to the future well-being of these millions. That is precisely the motivation for the Ecosystems for Life: A Bangladesh- India Initiative (Dialogue for Sustainable Management of Trans-boundary Water Regimes in South Asia) project. IUCN wishes to promote a better understanding of trans-boundary ecosystems between Bangladesh and India, by involving civil society in both counries and by providing a platform to discuss issues common and germane to the region. The overall goal is an improved, integrated management of trans-boundary water regimes in South Asia. The Ecosystems for Life is guided by a Project Advisory Committee (PAC) of eminent persons from Bangladesh and India. This four-and-a-half year initiative is supported by the Minister for European Affairs and International Cooperation, the Netherlands. Ecosystems for Life will develop, through dialogue and research, longer-term relationships between various stakeholder groups within and between the countries. It will develop a common understanding to generate policy options on how to develop and manage natural resources sustainably such that livelihoods and water and food security improve. Inter-disciplinary research that relevant issues are holistically grasped. studies will be conducted by bringing together experts from various fields from both countries so The initiative centres around five broad thematic areas: • food security, water productivity and poverty; • impacts of climate change; • inland navigation; • environmental security; and • biodiversity conservation. BangladeshThe first phase geographic of the project focus, concentrated research gaps on and creating needs ‘situationand, ultimately, analyses’ priority on each areas thematic for joint area. research. Each analysis set identified core issues vis-a-vis a thematic area, their significance within the India- Studies were taken up in the later part of 2010 and early 2011. Authors discussed their points- was further circulated among multiple stakeholders in both countries. All outcomes of this dialogic of-view at a joint exercise; they shared their research. After due PAC review, the ensuing material are now complete and ready for publication. We will also subsequently publish summary briefs, process are incorporated in the final papers. 16 situation analyses related to the five thematic areas joint research is clear. based on these studies. The initiative, thus, has taken a big step; now, the agenda for meaningful IUCN hopes these publications will be useful to academics, researchers and practitioners in the GBM region. Ecosystems for Life • Biodiversity Conservation Situation Analysis 3 The Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) region River Ganga Brahmaputra Meghna Length1 (km) 2,510 2,900 210 Catchment2 (sq km) 10,87,300 5,52,000 82,000 Total area of GBM region: 17,21,300 sq km Source: 1. Average, based on various data; 2. Joint River Commission figures 4 Biodiversity Conservation Situation Analysis • Ecosystems for Life Contents BIODIVERSITY COnservation | InDIA Conservation challenges in the Sundarban 7 – M D Behera BIODIVERSITY COnservation | banGLADESh Core issues of joint research in conserving biodiversity 21 – Mohammad Solaiman Haider Ecosystems for Life • Biodiversity Conservation Situation Analysis 5 © Pradip Saha 6 Biodiversity Conservation Situation Analysis • Ecosystems for Life BIODIVERSITY COnservation | InDIA Conservation challenges in the Sundarban M D Behera he Sundarban delta region, the area under analysis, experiences a tropical to sub-tropical monsoonal climate. Rivers carrying an enormous amount of sediments contribute to its Tecological dynamism. Salinity and the hydrological gradient vary from west to east and from north to south respectively. Regulated river flow by a series of dams, barrages and embankments downstream.that divert water Human upstream population for various increase human adds toneeds the pressure. and for flood control has reduced freshwater inflow,Since increasing the study salinity site and comprises changing distinct the sedimentation ecosystems thatload, intersect so seriously and affectingoverlap, biodiversityit would be best to dis-aggregate their biophysical characteristics. We begin with the river Hooghly estuary. The Hooghly estuary is shallow, depth averaging 6 m. The river Hooghly is a part of the Ganga system and serves as a navigable waterway to Haldia and Kolkata ports. The tidal effect is noticeable in the river up to nearly 200 km from the mouth at Sagar Island. Shallow depth and intense tidal mixing ensure the Hooghly estuary is a well-mixed type and vertically homogeneous throughout the year, except for irregulara short period coastal during geometry, the southwest the presence monsoon of islands season and (June-September), navigational channels when the separated estuary byis partially shallow stratified due to high freshwater discharge (Cole and Vaidyaraman, 1966). The large tidal variations, variationzones make at thethe mouthflow quite is from complicated. 6.1 m at springs to 0.22 m at neaps. Freshwater discharge ranges from a peak Salinityvalue of intrusion 4,250 cubic is confined metres per to 70second km from to almost the mouth zero ineven the during dry season. the dry Average season. freshwater The tidal discharge is 3,000 cu m/sec during the monsoon and 1,000 cu m/sec in the dry season (November- May). Normally, freshwater discharges are regulated by the Farakka barrage, to maintain water levels at Kolkata (Hussain and Acharya, 1994). The plankton density of the freshwater zone of the Hooghly estuary ranges 34-1,204 units per here varies from 26-935 u/l. In the lower stretch of the Ganga, Bacillariophyceae followed by litre. Of this, phytoplankton form 70.9-89.2%; the rest are zooplankton. Total plankton production Ecosystems for Life • Biodiversity Conservation Situation Analysis 7 Cyanophyceae and Chlorophyceae are the dominant forms. In the estuarine stretch, the population of periphyton is lower than in the freshwater stretch. Rana is widely distributed: R. limnocharis, R. tigrina and R. cyanophlyctes The study site falls in the Ganga-Brahmaputra system, which has the third highest average are recorded in the river’s lower stretch (Gopal and Chauhan 2006). 2008).discharge The of rivers the world’s are crucial rivers, to the at about socio-economy 1,086,500 of cu the ft/sec co-basin or 30,770 countries cu m/sec. and possess The rivers’ vast combinedeconomic suspended sediment load of about 1.84 billion tons per year is the world’s highest (Islam and Gnauck, thepotential lower forGanga irrigation, basin. power generation, industrial development, fisheries and navigation. The direct linkageA