Bangladesh Wildlife authorities are declaring three areas in the Sundarbans mangrove forest as dolphin sanctuaries to protect an endangered species of freshwater dolphins from extinction.

The forestry department took the decision after studies found three areas in the UNESCO-listed Sundarbans mangrove forest, which straddles Bangladesh and India, were home to large populations of Irrawaddy and Ganges river dolphins.

“We have decided to declare river channels at Dhangmari, Chandpai and Dudhmukhi areas in the eastern Sundarbans as dolphin sanctuaries. This will help in promoting eco-tourism as well,” Tapan Kumar Dey, senior wildlife conservation official at the forest department, said.

The dolphins, known as Irrawaddy Dolphins or locally as Sushuk, live in the southern mangrove forest, the main habitat of the endangered mammal.

Began in 2002, around 6,000 river dolphins live in the area stretching from the Irrawaddy River to southern region of Bangladesh. There are only 100 Irrawaddy dolphins in the world living outside this area, near Southeast Asia’s Mekong delta.

According to conservationists, this intricate network of rivers- Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna is currently the only place in the world where both the Ganges River and Irrawaddy dolphins are found. Ganges river dolphins are found largely in the northern regions, and the Irrawaddy dolphins in the south.

The Bangladesh ministry of the environment will shortly issue official notification on the establishment of the sanctuaries and the waterways in these areas will be ‘clearly demarcated’ with signs to prevent local fishermen straying into the restricted areas. Although the animals are not targeted directly by fishermen, they often get entangled in fishing nets and die in dozens every year. They are also threatened by rising salinity and pollution.

What are Irrawaddy Dolphins?

Irrawaddy dolphins are found in the Indo-Pacific, from northeastern Australia in the south, north to the Philippines, and west to northeastern India.

The Irrawaddy dolphin is identified by a bulging forehead, a short beak, and 12-19 teeth on each side of each jaw. The pectoral fin is broadly triangular. There is a small dorsal fin, on the posterior end of the back.

When diving, this dolphin breathes at intervals of 70-150 seconds; the head appears first and then disappears, and then the back emerges, but the tail is rarely seen. Head and body length is 180-275 cm. Irrawaddy dolphins are slaty blue to slaty gray throughout, with the under parts slightly paler.

Irrawaddy Dolphins – Unexploited but vulnerable

Although the Irrawaddy dolphin is not directly exploited, it is exposed to incidental mortality in fisheries, the principal cause of depletion. Habitat degradation due to development of dams, deforestation and mining also continue to undermine the species to a lesser extent.

Conservation of this enigmatic mammal, which lives in both river and marine environments, will depend on devising and implementing sound solutions for replacing harmful fishing practices and halting or mitigating the impacts of habitat loss on Bangladesh ecology.

Bangladesh has geared up its environment conservation steps to save the world’s poorest countries from the adverse effects of global warming. Now it is turning towards green economy policies to save the degrading ecosystem.

What is green economy?

It can be explained as the economic development based on sustainable development which generates growth and improvement in human’s lives while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. Green economy in Bangladesh promotes three bottom lines – sustaining economic, environment and social well-being.

Gramin Shakti

Gramin Shakti is a nonprofit organization pioneering solar systems for homes in Bangladesh. It is linked with micro credit lender Gramin Bank. Gramin Shakti provided small loan scheme to the villagers to buy solar home system. The Solar Home Systems (SHS) cost around $135 and villagers can pay back amount in installments. Gramin Shakti aims to reach the targets of million SHS by 2015. Thus Gramin Shakti is in the forefront of pushing green economy in Bangladesh.

Solar Home System boosting Green Economy

Green Economy in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh about 70% of the population does not have access to electricity. Bringing electricity to the rural poor is one of the most important contributions that a green economy can make to developing economies thus making way for Ecotourism in Bangladesh.

Recently World Bank has approved US $172 million credit to Bangladesh to support the ongoing installation of additional 630,000 Solar Home Systems in the rural area where grid electricity is not economically feasible or hard to reach.

Earlier in 2009 December, World bank has provided financing of $130 million through which more than 300,000 solar home based systems have been installed. The solar component is manufactured by Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Development Project (RERED) and it is implemented by the Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL), a government- owned financial institution

“It’s the fastest expansion of solar energy anywhere in the world,” said Haq, who heads the state-run IDCOL, which provides financing for clean energy projects.

“We crossed the one million thresholds in more than 18 months ahead of schedule and we have set a new target to cross 2.5 million by 2014,” he said.

Some 60 percent of Bangladesh’s 150 million people have no access to mains electricity, with many relying on costly kerosene lamps for lighting, something which is sure to change with the application of green economy in Bangladesh.

Solar Home Systems has changed the face of remote and rural areas of Bangladesh by providing cheap, reliable electricity. It has helped in replacing kerosene – fired lanterns and reduced deforestation to a large extend. Another offshoot of the green economy is the local jobs and income opportunities which have been created. Going forward green economy ideas are going to be the way forward for Bangladesh ecology and economy.

Tea plantation in Bangladesh produces and exports a large quantity of high quality tea. Tea plantations are also the major eco tourism attractions bringing in a secondary revenue stream. Most of the 163 tea estates in Bangladesh are located in the North-eastern region. Sylhet, Srimangal Moulvibazar, Habigonj, Chittagong, Panchagarh are the main tea growing areas in Bangladesh.

Tea Plantation in Bangladesh – the Heart

The tea industry in Bangladesh annually produces about 55 -60 million kg of tea. It ranks 9th in the list of 30 tea producing countries of the world. Half of the tea produced is consumed at home and rest is exported to various countries likes USA, UK, Russia, Pakistan, Kuwait, Japan, Greece, India, France, Germany and many more. Bangladesh earns 2,000 million taka (Bangladesh Currency) every year from tea export, contributing about 0.8% of the total Bangladesh GDP. Bangladesh’s tea industry constitutes about 3.3 % of the country’s total employment by employing 0.15 million people directly in the tea industry and many more people are employed indirectly in other sectors related to tea.

Sylhet & Srimangal – the two major Tea plantation estates of Bangladesh 

Tea is the heart of Sylhet division. Situated in the north eastern part of Bangladesh, it produces over 40 million kg of tea annually from more than 150 tea estates spread over 40,000 hectares. Sylhet is known for its scenic beauty which is a prime attraction for the tourists. With annual rainfall of 5000mm, the climate in this area is mild and cool and is best suited for tea plantation. Known as “the land of two leaves and a bud”, its terraced tea gardens, eye-catching orange groves and pineapple plantations, tropical jungles and exotic flora and fauna attracts thousands of tourists, providing additional revenue as part of being the eco-tourism destination.

Srimangal is known as the tea capital of Bangladesh. Situated about 80 km from Sylhet, Srimangal is the actual center of tea plantation in Bangladesh. The Tea Research Institute is situated in Srimangal which is open to visitor all throughout the year. Lush green mountains covered with rich tea-plantations, tropical forests, waterfalls streaming down from the hills and lakes cutting through the greenery- all add to the attractions of this area.

Story of workers in Bangladesh’s Tea Plantations

The workers at the tea plantations are one of the most exploited workers with working hours ranging from morning till late night, the wagers received being only $0.47 a day. Such miserable pay severely affects the daily lives of the tea workers. If compared with wages of the Indian tea workers, the wages of Bangladeshi tea plantation workers is much lower. Nearly 300,000 workers are employed on the tea estates of which over 75% are women. Employers prefer to engage women for plucking tea leaves since they do a better job and are paid less than the men.

The tea worker communities are one of the most vulnerable people of Bangladesh. They deserve special attention of the State. But unfortunately they continue to remain socially excluded, low-paid, illiterate, deprived and disconnected. These conditions allow the profiteers from the tea industry to continue exploiting them. Deprived and exploited, the majority of the workers of tea plantation in Bangladesh live an inhuman life.

The negative of shrimp farming on Bangladesh Ecology is severe and a threat which needs to be checked. Shrimp farming has developed into a major industry in last few years and with that, serious concerns have been raised regarding its negative impact on the Bangladesh Ecology. Shrimp farming has been one of the major contributors to the GDP of Bangladesh since the 1980s. To meet the growing demand of shrimp all over the world, thousands of acres along the coastal region have been brought under shrimp farming. The easy availability of natural resources and the favorable environment of the coastal region have made it an optimum choice for shrimp farming.

Bangladesh’s ecological system has further deteriorated in the recent past years. Apart from using the mangrove swamps in the coastal regions, agricultural lands and cattle grazing fields has been also captured leaving a strong negative impact of these shrimp farm of Bangladesh’s Ecology. This has resulted in the significant drop of crop production in the region along with a shocking 21% decrease in the number of livestock. Haphazard and unplanned capturing of lands for shrimp cultivation has left a lasting negative impact on the Bangladesh ecology particularly in the districts like Cox’s Bazaar, Bagehot, Chittagong, Pirojpur, Khulan etc.

Commercial shrimp farming began in the early 1970s in the southern and south eastern coastal belt in Bangladesh when less than 20,000 hectare brackish water was under shrimp farming. In today’s scenario more than 200,000 hectares have already been brought under shrimp farming which is now disturbing the Bangladesh ecology to a threatening extent. The conversion of coastal wetlands to shrimp farms has decreased the natural breeding grounds for aquatic life. Being a profitable enterprise, Shrimp farming is soon rising to be the biggest threat to Bangladesh’s Ecology as more and more farmers are opting for Shrimp farms. In few districts of Bangladesh such as Bagehot and Pirojpur, farmers are converting their paddy fields in to shrimp farm ponds. All this has resulted in the increase of the salinity levels of the soil.

Negative impact of Shrimp Farming on Bangladesh Ecology is caused by the method used for shrimp farming

There are three methods of Shrimp Farming namely: extensive farming, semi- intensive farming and intensive farming.

• Extensive Farming Method

This is the traditional method of shrimp farming where shrimps are naturally seeded in the pond with the tidal inflow or pumping. This method of shrimp farming causes less pollution however, it has a negative effect on the ecological system. Although extensive farming does not use processed foods, harmful chemicals and antibiotic, it consumes large areas as farmlands and gives relatively smaller returns.

• Intensive and semi intensive methods give relatively large returns but it is also responsible for disturbing the Bangladesh ecology to a great extend as many chemicals, antibiotics, pesticides and processed foods are being used for shrimp farming.

Negative Impact of Shrimp Farming on Bangladesh Ecology – Destruction of Mangroves 

Mangroves are the backbone of Bangladesh and are considered a treasure. They also play a critical role in the Bangladesh ecology as well as in Eco-tourism. But now it is considered as one of the most threatened habitat in the world. More than half of the mangroves have been destroyed for shrimp farming and other purposes. Mangrove swamps are inhabited by migratory birds, turtles, dolphins etc. Loss of the mangroves has led to a drop in the fauna population as their dwelling places are lost. Apart from being the home to variety of wildlife species, mangroves also act as a buffer to large waves. Following the large scale destruction of mangrove swamps, the impact of cyclones on Bangladesh ecology has been devastating.

The Buriganga River, one of the dirtiest rivers in the world, has served as the central artery to economic life in Dhaka for centuries. The river provides access to Bangladesh’s myriad waterways for launches and country boats, promoting small and medium scale enterprises. In addition to the commercial benefits derived from the river, the Buriganga has offered Dhaka City a constant water supply, groundwater recharge, recreation and fisheries, as well as support for agricultural, sanitation and industrial purposes.

Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, with a population of almost 10 million, is built on the banks of the Buriganga. Since most of the waste is not collected by the city, it ends up in the river water, where a good many factories also discharge their chemical waste. Result: the water is so polluted that no fish can survive there. Once a catalyst for trade and a source of growth, the Buriganga River has been degraded by industrial and residential developments along its banks and in its catchments. Despite the other common utilities, Buriganga River is important to maintain the groundwater level in Dhaka.

1.Toxic Discharge from chemical factory getting added to Buriganga through this canal. 2. Daily activities of people around Buriganga adds to the pollution level. 3. A boy swims in the polluted waters in the Buriganga river. 4. A boy collects rubbish on the river Buriganga. 5. Manual dyers are mostly responsible for river pollution as they rampantly throw leftover chemicals into the water.

Sharif Jamal is going to steer the Waterkeeper Alliance in Bangladesh initially as the Buriganga Riverkeepr. The Buriganga Riverkeeper will patrol the river Buriganga on behalf of the citizens of Bangladesh to save this life-line of Dhaka from encroachment and pollution. This ground-breaking initiative aims to organize and engage stakeholders across the social and political spectra to build public awareness and drive community action to reverse the degradation of the vital Buriganga River.

At the beginning of January2010, the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) began to clean a 3km stretch of the river. It estimates that 300,000 cubic metres of rubbish need to be removed from the water. Five bulldozers were put at work to get rid of the three-meter layer of plastic bags and food remains which lines the bottom of the river, while over a hundred people clean the rubbish-strewn banks by hand. The cost of this programme, financed by the environment ministry, comes to over 2.5 million euros.

It is now a dying river and the situation will get worse if some immediate actions are not taken urgently to reverse the trend.

Well as far as Bangladesh ecotourism is concerned very few people may be aware of its natural wealth, its flourished flora and fauna. Bangladesh ecotourism is very wide because of the fact that it is the country of huge, mostly unknown and untouched natural splendor and reserves.

Natural reserves of Bangladesh are just unique and mesmerizing. This natural world of Bangladesh ecotourism is cool, calm and collected of hills and vales, rivers, forests, lakes, sea and beaches & the evergreen landscape of Bangladesh is situated in the northeastern side of the South Asia sub-continent.

Bangladesh topography is chiefly flat. The plain is criss-crossed by the world’s 3 forceful river systems namely the Padma (which is actually the Ganges), the Meghna and the Jamuna and their innumerable tributaries. The eastern and the northeastern part of Bangladesh join India while its southeastern part is adjoining Myanmar which is primarily hilly with dense forest.

This area encompasses Chittagong and the three Hilly Districts of Rangamati, Khagrachori & Bandarban with an average elevation of 610 m running parallel to each other in the north-south direction. Also the hill slopes are generally surrounded by thick forest. Whereas along the coast of the Bay of Bengal in south and southeast of the country, lies the Sundarbans. Sundarbans are vital part of Bangladesh ecotourism and famous as a swampy tropical mangrove forest which is the home of the Royal Bengal Tiger.

Above mentioned areas are all ideal for the expansion of Bangladesh ecotourism. Bangladeshi climate comprises annual rainfall ranges from 160 to 400 cm, hot – humid summer and cool – dry winter. And the best period to enjoy Bangladesh ecotourism is November to March, when the temperature ranges between 13.3 and 26.5 Celsius

As a vacation, Bangladesh ecotourism or natural tourism is truly hard to beat. Being a small country in South Asia Bangladesh is actually covered in 144,470 square kilometers only, but there is absolutely a lot to see, enjoy and do here.

As the tiger continues to face fundamental threats to their survival, but it is another country to join the global battle to save the big cat. An estimated 300 to 500 royal Bengal tigers roam the mangrove forest extended 6,000 km square in the Sunderbans region of Bangladesh.

There are no studies, but environmentalists fear that the Royal Bengal Tigers’ numbers are declining, because they are the targets of poachers and the struggle to find food for their habitat shrinking. Now the authorities are hoping that the 300-member police force was increased by dense, tropical swamps, and the Sunderbans delta is a vast Bay of Bengal will be able to prevent the smuggling of wildlife.

Equipped with modern weapons and high speed patrol boats procured with the help of a $36 million World Bank loan, Bangladesh’s new Wildlife Crime Control Unit will penetrate deep into the jungles to track threats from poachers. Those threats are growing. In February, one man was arrested with three tiger skins and other parts – the largest haul in three decades.

Bangladesh’s chief conservationist, Tapan Kumar Dey, says lack of training and equipment had hampered efforts to prevent poaching, but he hopes this will now change. He says besides policing the forests, wildlife tracking units will be established throughout the country.

“We will involve all law enforcement agencies, police, customs, border security force and other agencies in illegal trade of wildlife. We are going to post some officers in seaport, in airport and also some in the point through which illegal wildlife is trafficking throughout the region,” he said.

Conservationists say depleting food reserves also pose a huge challenge to the Royal Bengal tiger.

The head of the Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh, Anwarul Islam, says deer and other prey which tigers depend on are being increasingly hunted down by villagers on the periphery of the Sunderbans. This forces tigers to emerge out of the forest in search for food, and it is estimated that three are killed on average every year when they stray into villages.

Islam says an initiative has been launched to tranquilize tigers that enter villages and put them back into forests – a practice already followed in neighboring India. He says a 24-hour hotline has been established to alert wildlife officials and volunteers about tigers that come out of forests.

“In 29 villages around the Sunderbans we now have 200 village tiger response teams, and they are volunteers,” said Islam. “Once stray tigers come into the villages, their main job is to manage the crowd, that is the main problem. Once people know there is a tiger, thousands of people flock together, they come out with sticks and what not….We need to develop confidence among local people that forest department and their partners have capacity to manage stray tigers.”

But this is not always an easy task. In February, conservationists celebrated when, for the first time, a tiger that strayed out of the forest was tranquilized and put back into the wild. But the same animal emerged out of the forest again, and was killed by villagers.

Wildlife officials are calling for stiffer penalties and longer jail terms for killing tigers. They hope a tough, new law will be drafted this year and help curb poaching of an animal that is worth millions of dollars when it is killed.

The Sunderbans forest straddles India and Bangladesh, and is among the habitats of tigers the most densely populated in the world, with about one tiger per 20 square kilometers. Environmentalists say Bangladesh can make a decisive contribution to the fate of the tiger, whose numbers worldwide have declined to about 3200.

If you have ever been to Bangladesh then would have had all foggy mornings in Bangladesh.  Climate in Bangladesh is a tropical monsoon-type climate. Climate in Bangladesh is with a hot and rainy summer always. Bangladesh Climate & ecology experience a pronounced dry season in the cooler months.

You might know that as per climate in Bangladesh January is the coolest month of the year, with temperatures averaging near 26 deg C (78 d F). Also Bangladesh climate has April the warmest month, with temperatures ranging between 33 deg and 36 deg C (91 deg F and 96 deg F).

The Bangladesh climate is one of the wettest in the world. Most places in Bangladesh receive more than 1,525 mm (60 in) of rain a year, and areas near the hills receive 5,080 mm (200 in). Most rain falls during the monsoon (June-September) and little during the dry season (November-February).

Cyclones in the climate of Bangladesh are just inseparable.

The coastal districts of Bangladesh, particularly those flanking the Meghna estuary are susceptible to serious damage from cyclones, which cause major losses of life and property. In the early summer (April and May) and late in the monsoon season (September to November) storms of very high intensity often occur. They may create winds with speed of 100-150 miles per hour piling up the waters of Bay of Bengal to crests as high as 20 feet that crash with tremendous force onto the coastal areas and offshore islands. Since the early 18th century, when records were first kept, more than one million people have been killed in such storms –815,000 of them in three storms occurring in 1737, 1876 and 1970. Severe storms also occurred in May 1985 and April 1991. Lesser hazards in the region are hailstorms, particularly in March and April, and tornadoes.

Floods

Bangladesh is one of the most flood-prone countries in the world. Essentially, it’s the flood plain where two huge rivers–the Ganges and the Brahmaputra–carry spring snowmelt from the towering Himalayan Mountains to the sea. When rivers flood, then Bangladesh also floods. Nobody can forget Bangladesh Floods in the year 1998.

Impact of Sea-level rise

Bangladesh is mostly shaped of the Gangetic delta. There is a serious impact of Sea-level rise. Bangladesh is thus impacted severely if sea-levels rise as a result of the greenhouse effect. You can have more info about climate in Bangladesh & climatic impact on Bangladesh on nationalized sites & channels.

A project research on Bangladesh Ecology, Bangladesh Behavior and Conservation of Some Bangladesh Wildlife is towards an end now. This research in the area of wildlife, ecology, behavior and conservation was done under the bilateral collaboration between the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and the University Of Chittagong (UCHIT) (Chittagong, Bangladesh). It was funded by the Norwegian Cooperation Program for Development Research and Education (NUFU).

As prefixed the duration mentioned for the project was 2007-2011. They were primarily interested to look at the relationship that is there between the biodiversity & the ecology of wildlife and the effects of habitat adaptation and disintegration on conservation of species in Bangladesh. There were 4 PhD Researchers, 4 Mphil and 3 MSc students.

The most important intentions of the project were:

- To build human resource and institutional capacity in the areas of natural science, and

- To increase the ability to demonstrate a critical awareness and reflection on research-based information as a basis for problem solving and practice in professional contexts; to interpret and report research findings in areas of natural science; to formulate research questions and problems, design and carry out small scale research projects and present findings in academic conferences.

The chief doings of the project were as follows:

- To develop realistic international standard course curricula, research laboratory, organizing training and supervising for PhD and Masters study in the areas of natural science;

- To produce research based dissertation and publications and arrange seminars, symposiums and workshops or conferences to disseminate research-based information;

- To establish the linkage or networking with relevant disciplines or departments or research institutions at home and abroad.

Funding of the whole Ecology, Behavior and Conservation of Some Bangladesh Wildlife project was done by:

- Norwegian Cooperation Programme for Development Research and Education (NUFU)

- Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund (Lånekassen).

Such researches & studies create awareness not only towards some endangered Bangladesh Wildlife species which need to be conversed but also the care nature life & ecology need from human life.

Fertiliser dealers in Nilphamari district refrained from receiving delivery of urea from Parbotipur buffer stock for the second day yesterday, much to the worry of farmers.

Following a call by the Nilphamari unit of Bangladesh Fertiliser Association (BFA) to realise their three-point demand, all the 75 dealers of the district stopped withdrawing fertiliser from the buffer stock in adjacent Dinajpur district for an indefinite period from Tuesday afternoon.

Their demand includes stopping supply of China made ‘low quality’ fertiliser to the local dealers from Parbotipur buffer stock, setting up a buffer stock in Nilphamari, which is a major paddy producing area of the country, and allowing the fertiliser dealers to take delivery of locally produced good quality Jamuna variety of urea fertiliser under ‘district quota’ from factory gate.

“Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) has recently imported low quality urea from China and the buffer stock officials at Parbotipur are compelling us to receive it. As a result we have to incur monitory losses,” said district unit of BFA President Abdul Wahed Sarker.

“To realise our three-point demand, we handed over a memorandum to the BCIC chairman through the deputy commissioner of Nilphamari one month ago but to no effect,” he said.

Nitrogenated urea, most important fertiliser for cultivating paddy, is supplied to Dinajpur and Nilphamari districts from the buffer stock at Parbotipur in Dinajpur district, fertiliser dealers said.

When the farmers are busy in planting ‘amon’ seedlings, the fertiliser dealers’ programme may cause setback in cultivation, as specific doses of urea is to be sprayed in paddy fields three times at certain intervals till harvest, said several farmers.

Many farmers, anxious about availability of fertiliser in days ahead, yesterday crowded the shops of fertiliser dealers and retailers in different markets of the district to purchase urea.

The district unit president of BFA said they have a good stock of urea that can meet the farmers’ demand for about a week.

“But if the authorities concerned fail to meet our demand within a short time, continued agitation programme may create problem in future,” he said.

In July, the government has allocated 2600 tonnes of urea for the district but only a small portion of it was withdrawn before the agitation programme started.

“The fertiliser dealers of Nilphamari stopped withdrawing urea from Tuesday alleging that the urea imported from China is of low quality. I have informed the higher authority of BCIC of the matter,” said Md Shahjahan, the in-charge of Parbotipur buffer stock.

Nilphamari Deputy Commissioner’s Office sources said they are in close contact with the fertiliser dealers and trying to resolve the problem.