Perception on trends and spatial changes of coastal resources in Munshigonj
WD-NACE researchers met livelihood groups from Munshigonj and discussed resource trends.
- The response was that 20 yrs ago all the resources were abundant
- Extraction started mostly from 10yrs ago and many became overexploited
Trends in different resources are summarised in the table below:
|
Resource |
20 yrs ago |
10 yrs ago |
|
The Sundarbans |
Diverse varieties of flora and fauna was found |
The biodiversity started to decrease |
|
Embankment |
Good condition of the embankment |
Started weakening, decrease width |
|
Rivers |
Big cargo was used to run through this river. Many varieties of fishes were found. The water was fresh and saline free. |
The river lost her depth and fishes and aquatic flora are lost. Water started to become saline slowly. |
|
Agriculture |
Abundant crop fields were available and rice production was sufficient. |
Crop field started reducing due to shrimp cultivation and rice production started declining fast. |
|
Shrimp |
No shrimp cultivation in this area |
Shrimp farming became popular |
|
Potable Water |
Everyone was able to drink water from ponds etc, there was no salinity |
Salinity intrusion started. Salinity was found in some places |
Acknowledgement:
This work was funded by the Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation programme (ESPA) as project number NE/I00288X/1. ESPA is funded by the Department for International Development (DFID), the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), as part of the UK’s Living with Environmental Change Programme (LWEC).