Tropentag, September 10 - 12, 2025, Bonn "Reconciling land system changes with planetary health"

Ecosystem services and livelihood importance assessment for wetland conservation in Haor regions of Bangladesh

¹Bangladesh Agricultural University, Agricultural Economics, Bangladesh
²Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited, Bangladesh

Abstract

Ecosystem services of Bangladesh have come under severe threat due to climate change and anthropogenic environmental impacts. The major contribution of the present study is that the study explored the trends of different ecosystem services and their livelihood significance on the local people of the Mithamoin and Itna Haor of Kishoreganj district in Bangladesh. The study conducted through evaluating perceptions of local experts and community people including five unions of Mithamoin and Itna upazilas of Kishoreganj district. To achieve study objectives, five different Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were conducted during January 2025 including a total of 50 participants, of which each FGD consisted 10 participants. There are 34 species of different groups such as fish, plant, annelid, mollusk, amphibian, reptiles were included for the assessment of their existence over the years considering three time frames, 1990-2000, 2001-2010 and 2011-2024. Results from statistical analysis showed that among 34 species of different groups a very few were locally extinct. Most of the species were sufficient in the 19^th century after that it is decreasing over time and now the existence of these species are decreasing in an alarming rate. The study results also revealed that ecosystem services satisfied the subsistence, semi-commercial, commercial and other requirements of the haor communities which are now negatively affected due to decreasing trend of biodiversity. Therefore the local people’s livelihood has also come under threat. It is found that over exploitation of the species using illegal ways and use of excessive synthetic fertiliser in the crop fields are destroying the ecosystems of the wetland. The people were also asked to answer how they can save their ecology. Conservation attitudes revealed that 54% percent of the respondents replied that they are willing to give their efforts in terms of working hours voluntarily but not in terms of money, 26% don’t want to give even efforts and rests of them were neutral. The study suggests that appropriate policies are essential for wetland conservation through utilising volunteering efforts of the local people.

Keywords: Bangladesh, ecosystem, Haor region, livelihood, wetland conservation

Contact Address: Shamima Akhter, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Agricultural Economics, Mymensingh, Bangladesh, e-mail: s.akhter_bauyahoo.com