Comparing Ecological Resource- Dependant Livelihood Patterns Between a Project and Non-Project Area
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COMPARING ECOLOGICAL RESOURCE- DEPENDANT LIVELIHOOD PATTERNS BETWEEN A PROJECT AND NON-PROJECT AREA by Suha Sanwar POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN WATER RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT Institute of Water and Flood Management BANGLADESH UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY March, 2010 COMPARING ECOLOGICAL RESOURCE- DEPENDANT LIVELIHOOD PATTERNS BETWEEN A PROJECT AND NON-PROJECT AREA Suha Sanwar Institute of Water and Flood Management BANGLADESH UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY March, 2010 LIST OF FIGURES PAGE SERIAL NO. TITLE NO. Figure 2.1 Impact of flood land removal on fisheries: a schematic 19 presentation Figure 3.1 (a) Map of Gopalganj district; (b) map of Tungipara 27 upazila Figure 3.2: River system of Gopalganj district 30 Figure 3.3 Very High (>3o%) incidence of Hard-core food poverty 33 in Tungipara upazila (black- circled) of Gopalganj District on Poverty map of Bangladesh Figure 3.4: 0-25% people in Tungipara are below the lower poverty 34 Figure 4.1 Location of red-circled Kakuibunia (project area) and 50 green-circled Dariarkul (non-project area) villages in Tungipara, Gopalganj; the three red-circles indicate location of three water-controlling gates under the SSWRP implemented by LGED Figure 5.1 Livelihood balance in the project area 76 Figure 5.2 Livelihood balance in the non-project area 80 Figure 5.3 Wetland ecological resource-livelihood linkages on 85 Sustainable Livelihood framework v LIST OF PLATES PAGE SERIAL NO. TITLE NO. Plate 3.1 Baira farming in Gopalganj districts in Bangladesh 47 Plate 4.1 (a) agriculture-dominated landscape in the project area 51 in Kakuibunia; (b) wetland dominated landscape in the non-project area in Dariarkul Plate 4.2 Participants drawing resource map for the project area in 54 Kakuibunia Plate 4.3 Participants drawing resource map for the non-project 54 area in Dariarkul Plate 4.4 The resource map for Kakuibunia village 55 Plate 4.5 The resource map for Dariarkul village 56 Plate 4.6 Seasonal calendar prepared by the participants in project 57 area Plate 4.7 Seasonal calendar prepared by the participants in the 57 non-project area Plate 4.8 During a Focused Group Discussion with the female 58 participants from marginal and landless farmers’ families Plate 4.9 People found busy in the open beel in different 59 professions early in a morning during the transect boating Plate 5.1 (a) Vast agricultural lands in the project area of 61 Kakuibunia; (b) van-pulling - a minor profession in the same area Plate 5.2 Chai set in water to catch fish 63 Plate 5.3 (a) An old couple setting nets for fish; (b) people 66 catching fish during Chaitra in the Baghiar beel Plate 5.4 (a) Thushi, a local instrument for snail-catching; (b) a 67 boy catching snails early in the morning in Baghiar beel near Dariarkul village; (c) his catch of snails Plate 5.5 (a) Shapla collected from beel; (b) grass under beel 67 water collected for livestock feed; (c) people collecting vi PAGE SERIAL NO. TITLE NO. waterhyacinth for livestocks Plate 5.6 (a) Two involved in boat-making; (b) Chambal tree 68 used in the making boats Plate 5.7 (a) Cutting earth from inundated land; (b) Collecting 69 it on boats to transport Plate 5.8 (a) Vast agricultural land in Kakuibunia; (b) The 70 Kakuibunia gate (from outside); (c) the gate (from inside) that controls water allowed into and out of the agricultural fields Plate 5.9 Herbs growing on roadsides, by beels useful for different 72 medicinal properties Plate 5.10 (a) Hogla growing in wetlands; (b) A woman 72 making pati (mat) using dried hogla near Dariarkul village Plate 5.11 (a) Dried dhaincha stored to be used as fuel in 73 households; (b) A woman displaying Jessorer lata good for its medicinal properties, during one FGD in Hotathgram in Dariarkul village Plate 5.12 Vegetables grown in homestead garden, roadsides by a 81 landless lady Plate 5.13 Hens and ducks reared up by Ujiran that help the family 81 meet weekly installments as well as the protein-supply Plate 5.14 Mosharraf catching fish in Baghiar beel 82 vii LIST OF ANNEXURES PAGE SERIAL NO. TITLE NO. Annexure 1 Completed and Ongoing Projects of BWDB in 93 Gopalganj district Annexure 2 Completed Sub-Projects of SSWRDSP in Gopalganj 94 District Annexure 3 Sub-Projects under the Ongoing SSWRDSP-2 94 Annexure 4 Resource map of Kakuibunia village 95 Annexure 5 Resource map of Dariarkul village 96 viii Chapter One Background 1.1. BACKGROUND Wetlands and their provisioning services are crucial to life and livelihoods. In a land of wetlands like Bangladesh, livelihoods of people, particularly those living below the poverty line, are intricately related to and sometimes depend entirely upon the sustainability of these wetlands. Water development interventions, in its different forms, is accelerating in recent times; the aim being to harness and enhance the potentiality of wetlands in contributing towards poverty-stricken peoples’ livelihoods. The outcomes of these interventions on ecological resources of wetlands and subsequently, on the dependency of poor peoples’ livelihoods demand some review. Wetlands of Bangladesh have great ecological, economic, commercial and socio- economic importance and values. These have substantially been contributing to the lives of millions of people of rural Bangladesh by providing opportunities of employment, food and nutrition, fuel, fodder, transportation, irrigation etc. They contain very rich components of biodiversity, both flora and fauna of local, national and regional significance. Traditionally livelihoods and cultures of people living in and around these wetlands developed based on these wetlands and its numerous resources over time. The provisioning service of wetlands are particularly important for Bangladesh as they cover 35 percent of the country’s land area and it has been estimated that 80 percent of people in rural Bangladesh depend on wetland areas for fish and other aquatic resources (USAID, 2007). Of these, Gopalganj-Khulna beels are one of the most important freshwater wetlands located in the low-lying basins of south-western hydrological region of the country. Gopalganj, characterized by beels, baors and peat-muck lands, is a perfect example of floodplain ecosystems. These freshwater ecosystems sustain life and provide economic goods and services of enormous value. On the other hand, water supplies are dependent on the protection and sustainable use of ecosystems that naturally capture, filter, store and release water - such as wetlands, forests and soils - and their biodiversity. However, Background 2 poverty induces people to focus on satisfying immediate needs rather than achieving future security in resources for their own livelihoods. Understanding livelihoods require examining the interrelations between the processes, which operate at various scale or levels that impinge on livelihoods. Variability in resources seasonality, availability and accessibility set peoples’ livelihood and their day-to-day activities at different levels. Human interference in wetlands in the form of massive physical infrastructures, conversion to agricultural lands or unsustainable use, lease systems have been damaging to the fragile ecosystem and to the long-term sustainability of the wetlands which is bound to impact the livelihoods of people in the areas. In recent years due to consistent decline in inland capture fisheries, agriculture has emerged as the overwhelmingly dominant sector of the economy in these areas. The navigation system has been either closed or substantially reduced which have caused significant shifts from livelihoods based on boat-making, repairing and transportation to others, mainly as agriculture labor. Thus any unprecedented intervention in development of water resources may harm the existing harmony in a society through interruption or complete diversion of common peoples’ livelihood activities, in a cyclic manner. Imhoff et al. (2004) pointed out that the ongoing growth and consumption pattern in Bangladesh is likely to impoverish local ecosystems and diminish the important services they provide. To date, South Asian development process, including those in Bangladesh, has been environment-intensive and environment-depleting (Alauddin, 2004) and the demand for ecosystem services is projected to increase significantly in the future from the currently high but non-inclusive growth trajectories of many countries in the region. The degradation of ecosystems is likely to be a significant barrier to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) related to reduction of poverty, hunger and disease in the region and hence, the livelihoods. People interact with and are dependent on a number of what may conventionally be termed ecosystems. Taking a sustainable livelihoods approach (DFID, 1999), predominantly sedentary, rural poor communities may depend upon goods and services provided simultaneously from several biotic communities within the landscape e.g. freshwater and forest communities may provide different seasonal contributions (fish and fuel) to livelihood. An ignorance of important ecosystem linkages is often the primary reason behind failures of resource management policies in the region. What is the Background 3 relationship between ecosystem services and poverty alleviation? Finding answers to this question is vital if resources are to be used sustainably and to alleviate poverty. However, this is a question that has not received enough attention in Bangladesh. Changes in the flow of ecosystem services affect the wellbeing of the poor, directly or