Innovations and Actions on Adaptation to Climate Change and Conservation of Biodiversity through Traditional Knowledge and Customary Sustainable Use
Case Study Session
Prof. Dr. Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, RCE Sundarbans
12th Asia-Pacific Regional RCE Meeting
4-6 June, 2019, Hangzhou, China
Wetlands of Pakistan, their Conservation & Management
Similaire à Innovations and Actions on Adaptation to Climate Change and Conservation of Biodiversity through Traditional Knowledge and Customary Sustainable Use
Similaire à Innovations and Actions on Adaptation to Climate Change and Conservation of Biodiversity through Traditional Knowledge and Customary Sustainable Use (20)
Financing strategies for adaptation. Presentation for CANCC
Innovations and Actions on Adaptation to Climate Change and Conservation of Biodiversity through Traditional Knowledge and Customary Sustainable Use
1. Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir PhD
RCE Sundarbans
Secretariat: Unnayan Onneshan
16/2 Indira Road, Farmgate
Dhaka-1215, Bangladesh, Tel: (+88 02) 58150684,
9110636 Fax: (+88 02) 58155804
E-mail: rtitumir@unnayan.org
Website: www.unnayan.org
Innovations and Actions on Adaptation to
Climate Change and Conservation of
Biodiversity through Traditional Knowledge
and Customary Sustainable Use
Presented to
12th Asia Pacific RCE Regional Meeting
Hangzhou, China, 4-6 June 2019
2. The Sundarbans
World’s largest single tract of mangroves
comprising a total area of 10000 square
kilometres placed in between Bangladesh
and India
Bangladesh part of the Sundarbans
belongs to the area of 6071 square
kilometres (62% of the total Sundarbans
area)
Declared as Reserve Forest (RF) in 1875,
where some form of resource extraction is
allowed but no one is permitted to settle,
cultivate and graze inside the forest (Need
Permit to enter or collect resources)
UNESCO has declared three wildlife
sanctuaries as 798th World heritage site in
1997
Ramsar convention in 1992 declared
Sundarbans as the 560th Ramsar site.
3. Biodiversity in the Sundarbans Degrading
Biodiversity
334 species of vegetation
41 species of mammals
(Including Famous Royal
Bengal Tiger)
58 species of reptile
339 species of bird
10 species of amphibians
210 species of fish
Traditional Resource User Groups
3.5 million people directly or
indirectly depend for livelihood
• Bawali (Wood Cutter and Nypa
Palm collector)
• Mouwali (Honey Collector)
• Jele (Fisher man)
• Chunari (Snail and Oyster
Collector)
• Prawn fry collector/ Crab farmer
4. Customary Practices Ensure Sustainability
Customary Practices in
Golpata (Nypa palm)
Collection
Harvesting is restricted in
growing season (June to
September)
Only harvest 9 inch leaves
All dead and dry leaves are
cleaned out in the time of
harvesting
The central leaf (maij pata) and
the leaf next to it (thesh pata)
must be retained
5. Customary Practices in
Wood Collection
Use axe instead of
mechanical saw
Enter into forest by putting
right leg first and do not
enter at Friday
Only cut 1 tree from a
stock of 5 or 6 tress
They do not cut young and
straight trees
6. Customary Practices in Honey
Collection
They do not urinate or
defecate inside the forest
Do not use fire in the
beehive instead use smoke
using dry leaves
Only the experienced moual
collects honey to avoid
damage to beehive
Beehives are squeezed by
hands
7. Customary Practices in
Fishing
They do not go for fishing on
Friday
Avoid fishing during spawning
periods
They do not use pernicious
techniques of fishing which
destroy larvae, carp and eggs
of the fishes
They use “rocketjaal”,“berjaal”
to catch fish that do not cause
harm to marine and coastal
ecosystem
8. Traditional Rules Followed by Different Communities
Spatial Restrictions: Temporary
closing of fishing for several months
Temporal restrictions: Restriction
for fishing on some particular days,
weeks or months
Gear restrictions: Prohibition of
some detrimental techniques or
technologies
Effort restrictions: Fishing is limited
to a particular family or community
Species restrictions: Catching of
some specific species of fish is
prohibited to increase supply later
Catch restrictions: Restriction on
fishing to mitigate wastage
9. Traditional Rules Followed by Different Communities
Water color: Six types water mass
from the Bay of Bengal: turbid, clear,
light green, green, bluish and brackish
Weather, wind direction and
current: Wind from the north and
east to west considered good for
fishers whereas the southerly wind
that blows from mid-March to mid-July
brings bish (poison)
Lunar periodicity: Tidal height
during full moon is stronger than that
of new moon
Sediment and topography: Big
fish that can withstand higher velocity
underwater currents can be found
along the deeper portion of the khari
(bed of the valley). Sandy, gravel rich,
muddy and slightly silty mud are
classified.
10. Traditional Rules Followed by Different Communities
Traditional celestial
navigation: Use of practical skills
like identifying location based on
position of stars
Birds and animals: In some
areas pigeons, black headed gulfs
and some other hunter birds are
regarded as indicators of getting big
fish. Fishermen of south-west of the
Bay of Bengal use otters as fish
catcher.
Fishing sites: Fishermen detect
some specific fishing sites for
catching fish, e.g. caste-based
Hindu fishermen have an age old
territorial management system
called faar through which fishing
entitlements over certain fishing
spots are granted to community
members
13. Community Based Biodiversity Monitoring
Objectives:
To know the current status of
biodiversity in Sundarbans
area
To increase awareness of local
community regarding
biodiversity conservation
To inform community on
various benefits of biodiversity
To develop participatory
strategies to halt biodiversity
loss
17. Community based Mangrove Agro Aqua Silvi (CMAAS)
Culture
The CMAAS culture refers to the
practice of integrated cultivation of
some mangrove faunal species -
crabs, oyster or fishes and floral
species – golpata(Nypa_fruticans),
keora (Sonerati_aapetala), goran
(Ceriops_decandra) etc. at the same
time on any swampy land of brackish
water
CMAAS culture is in fact an
alternative practice to the
Commercial Shrimp (CS) culture
which has negligible or no adverse
impact on the Sundarbans
ecosystem and has been invented by
the local people
21. Economic Returns of CMAAS Culture
CMAAS
Economic
Returns(Benefits>Cost)
Mangrove Cultivation
(flora):
Total income (per
bigha/per year): BDT
56,250
Total cost (per bigha/per
year):
BDT 1,800
Net benefit: BDT 54,450
Cost Benefit Ratio: 1:32
Mangrove Aqua Farming
(fauna):
Total income (per
bigha/per year):
BDT 183, 000
Total cost (per bigha/per
year):
BDT 14,750
Net benefit: BDT 173,250
Cost-Benefit Ratio: 1:12
22. Ecological Comparison between CMAAS and
CS culture
Criteria CS culture CMAAS Culture
Salinity Increases salinity in soil (in farmland
and in adjacent lands)
No use of saline water; no salinity
intrusion
Use of lands Used ponds exhaust usefulness
within three to six years of
construction. So, destruction of
mangroves occurs to make room for
more ponds.
Homestead adjacent fallow lands are
used, and no conversion of forest
lands into cultivation lands.
Use of chemical fertiliser,
pesticides, insecticides
Chemical fertiliser, insecticides etc.
are used, causing pollution.
No usage of chemical fertiliser or
insecticides,natural feeding, and
therefore, no pollution.
Impact on agricultural productivity Restricts crop production in
agricultural land (by increasing salinity
of lands) and conversion of
agricultural lands to shrimp farming
ponds reduces land availability.
Does not affect the agricultural
productivity.
Impacts on the Sundarbans (in
particular)
Eradication of natural mangrove
vegetation, and pollution of aquatic
resources (negative).
Eases and reduces the increasing
anthropogenic pressures, making an
alternative source of livelihoods for
the local people who are dependent
on the Sundarbans.
Adaptation to climate change Increases the vulnerability to climate
change.
An innovative adaptation method to
climate change for the vulnerable.
23. Ecological
Milieu
Biotic
Components
Abiotic
Components
Stock of Natural Resources
•Symbiotic relationship
•Production of Resources
•Consumption of Resources
Appropriation
•Customary Rights
•Usufruct
Expropriation
•Alienation
•Accumulation by dispossession
•Usurp
Traditional
Knowledge
and
Practices
Institutional
Fragility
Sustainable Utilization and
Production of Biodiversity Resources
Yield > Harvest
Unsustainable Biodiversity
Resources Extraction
Harvest > Yield
Human-Nature-Sociality Framework Sustainable
Utilization, Customary rights (Appropriation &
Expropriation)