Silent cry of the wetlands

The date 2 January 2021 has been marked as the 50th anniversary of Ramsar Convention–an international collaboration for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. The same year comes to Bangladesh as its golden jubilee of independence.

What is the condition of flora and fauna in this independent country?

The territory of Bangladesh has been shaped with wetlands like haors, baors, beels and lakes. A haor is formed as a large bowl after tectonic subsidence, while baor is the dead arm of a river. Beel is a lake-like wetland created from a river.

Over the years, the number of wetlands across the north-eastern region has dwindled remarkably. Different studies suggest that once wetlands covered two-third of Bangladesh. Currently, the total area of wetlands has decreased to 45.87 per cent. Around 2.10 million hectares of Ganges-Brahmaputra floodplains have already disappeared due to flood control, drainage and irrigation projects.

Fifty years ago, Iran hosted the Convention on Wetlands in Ramsar. The international treaty became effective in 1975. After 14 years, wetlands of the Sundarbans were entitled as Ramsar site. The mangrove forest and its biodiversity, however, are now at grave risk due to anthropogenic causes.

The Tanguar haor in Sunamganj became a Ramsar site in 2000. The wetlands shelter more than 200 species of birds and 150 fish varieties. Although the Bangladesh government oversees conservation of the wetlands with the participation of local communities and other stakeholders, the negative impact of human activities still persist there.

A proposal for enlisting Hakaluki haor–another wetland rich in biodiversity–as Ramsar site is on the table. The hoar on 18.38 thousand hectares comprises 238 individual beels. Around 150 species of fresh water fish, 526 species of phytoplankton and 20 species of reptiles make the wetlands their habitat. During winter, around 200 species of migratory birds take shelter there.

Bird surveys find that number of migratory birds has been decreasing. Although bird trapping is being checked, poisoning birds still goes on. Marketing of poisoned birds also poses as a threat to public health.

There is no updated data on wetlands. A total of 373 wetlands in Bangladesh cover 858,460 hectares of land. Most of the wetlands are left unprotected. There is no actual information on the current state of biodiversity in there. According to studies by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), migratory birds are now mostly restricted to reserved wetlands only.

The 18A article of the Constitution directs the government to ensure reservation of the wetlands for the conservation of environment, biodiversity and natural resources. There are different wings of the government. But their activities are not much significant. Conservation of the wetlands will protect the habitats for migratory birds and other animals.

Farmers and fishermen depend on resources of wetlands. The haor areas collectively provide 72 thousand hectares of land for agriculture. Every year, haor-based farmers harvest 5 million tonnes of rice, mostly of Boro variety.

Due to discriminatory trans-boundary river water sharing, untimely flashfloods inundate the haor region. Local paddies adaptive to high tide are disappearing fast because of cultivation of high-yielding varieties. As the wetlands are being filled up, dependence on ground water is increasing.

There are 140 species of fish available in the haor region. Within the last decade, about 62 species of them are become nearly extinct. Pangash, sarputi, ritha, shishar, maha shol, ekthuti, bamosh and ghainna are among the threatened fish species.

Excessive use of chemical fertiliser also threatens the other aquatic lives. Currently, fish catches dwindle even in the peak season.

Water-logging exists for long time due to unplanned construction of dams and wetland grabbing.

Although leasing out open wetlands is prohibited by law, encroachment of wetlands continues unabated due to illegal influence. Except in Tanguar haor, the leasing business persists in all other wetlands. But the real fishermen don’t get the benefits. Earlier, small beels were kept out of leasing for fish breeding. But profit-mongering lease business now grasps everything.

A directive by the High Court entitles wetlands as living entities. This has given hope for wetland conservation. The national parliament also has passed a motion declaring a ‘planetary emergency’ to tackle impacts by climate change.

In this context, conservation of wetlands is crucial. Firstly, random leasing out wetlands need to be stopped. Fishermen may be given access of fishing at token fees. Secondly, a part of wetland can be reserved as fish sanctuary rather than bring the whole under paddy cultivation. Thirdly, dams in the haor region must get necessary repairs within February-March so that water can submerge the low land in mid-April. Fourthly, farmers and fishermen must get soft loans if they face credit crunch. Fifthly, trans-boundary waters from upstream need to be examined in order to identify the negative impact of mineral waste on aquatic life. If there is any, inter-governmental solution is a must.

Most importantly, there should be a combination of modern technology and traditional knowledge. Otherwise, the wastage of huge amount of money will continue. Local people are the integral part of ecosystem. Utilisation of their traditional knowledge will ensure conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. For example, fishermen used to catch fish in wetlands once in three years. The practice was called ‘pail’ and it helped increase fish production.

Broadly, storage and circulation are the main features of the water cycle. Anthropogenic causes imbalance in the water cycle. Biodiversity and life become threatened if water circulation is hampered. For example, construction of reservoirs cannot ensure water storage. Rather, implementation of tidal river management would be an effective solution.

Encroachment and dumping of hazardous waste narrow down the wetlands. Out of 65 canals in Dhaka city, 43 are encroached while 24 remaining are dying. Eighty percent of Dhaka WASA water supply is extracted from underground. Groundwater level has been decreasing, so as the quality of water stored in aquifers.

According to data of World Health Organisation, Unicef and Bangladesh government, 13 percent of people still are deprived of pure drinking water. Only 20 percent of Dhaka city has been brought under sewerage network. Presence of E. coli bacteria was found at 80 percent of the water supply lines. Water of ponds and tube-wells also carry harmful microbes.

Despite being neglected, wetlands still serve us silently with resources. Declaration of wetlands as living entity is a timely demand. New provisions are crucial to ensure fair management in every level of water cycle. If the discrimination in trans-boundary water sharing is resolved, environment and ecosystem at downstream will be protected. There is a need of multilateral arrangement to ensure proper river engineering, storage and circulation of water.

* Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir is a Professor of Economics in Department of Development Studies, University of Dhaka and chairperson of Unnayan Onneshan .

* This article appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Sadiqur Rahman