Wetland Resource in Bangladesh
Wetland Resources in Bangladesh
Saroar M. Mustafa
Concept, Types and Status of Wetlands in Bangladesh:
The Ramsar Convention (1971) has defined wetlands as - areas of marsh, fen, peat-land, or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres. The Ramsar definition of wetlands lumps together a wide range of contrasting habitats like fluvial, coastal and marine. Nevertheless, the Ramsar definition has been adopted and being used in Bangladesh. Wetlands of Bangladesh are classified on the basis of their hydrological and ecological functions and land types. Broadly wetland in Bangladesh is divided into estuarine and freshwater systems, which again further subdivided by soil type and plant life. Thus wetlands include areas of marsh, fen, bog, flood plain, and shallow coastal areas. Wetland area is characterized by sluggish or standing water that can create an open water habitat for wildlife.
As I mentioned earlier wetlands in Bangladesh are represented by both inland freshwater and estuarine/tidal salt-water wetlands. Flood plains, beels (low-lying depressions in the flood plain), haors and baors (oxbow lakes) represent the inland freshwater wetlands (Khan et al. 1994). The haors are bowl-shaped natural depressions between the natural levees of the river subject to monsoonal flooding every year. While the haor itself is a seasonal water body formed during the monsoon, the beels are low-lying depressions of the haor system retaining water even during the dry months of the season. Thus, the haor system is a complex of both lacustrine and palustrine wetlands depending on the hydraulic behavior in different seasons. The ecology of the haor system is principally driven by seasonal hydraulics. During the monsoon, the entire haor system becomes a single body of open water linked to the river
Saroar M. Mustafa
Concept, Types and Status of Wetlands in Bangladesh:
The Ramsar Convention (1971) has defined wetlands as - areas of marsh, fen, peat-land, or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres. The Ramsar definition of wetlands lumps together a wide range of contrasting habitats like fluvial, coastal and marine. Nevertheless, the Ramsar definition has been adopted and being used in Bangladesh. Wetlands of Bangladesh are classified on the basis of their hydrological and ecological functions and land types. Broadly wetland in Bangladesh is divided into estuarine and freshwater systems, which again further subdivided by soil type and plant life. Thus wetlands include areas of marsh, fen, bog, flood plain, and shallow coastal areas. Wetland area is characterized by sluggish or standing water that can create an open water habitat for wildlife.
As I mentioned earlier wetlands in Bangladesh are represented by both inland freshwater and estuarine/tidal salt-water wetlands. Flood plains, beels (low-lying depressions in the flood plain), haors and baors (oxbow lakes) represent the inland freshwater wetlands (Khan et al. 1994). The haors are bowl-shaped natural depressions between the natural levees of the river subject to monsoonal flooding every year. While the haor itself is a seasonal water body formed during the monsoon, the beels are low-lying depressions of the haor system retaining water even during the dry months of the season. Thus, the haor system is a complex of both lacustrine and palustrine wetlands depending on the hydraulic behavior in different seasons. The ecology of the haor system is principally driven by seasonal hydraulics. During the monsoon, the entire haor system becomes a single body of open water linked to the river
References: Syed, A. Sattar . 1998. Introduction to Environmental Laws of Bangladesh. Dhaka: Ace Data Products. Fattah, 1979. Protection of marine environment and related ecosystem of St.Martin 's Island. Proceedings of the National Seminar on Protection of marine Environment and Related Ecosystems, Dhaka,27-29 November,1979,pp 104-108. Harvey, W.G. 1992. Birds in Bangladesh. Dhaka: University Press Limited. Hussain, M.G. 1997. “Stock Improvement and Genetic Resource Conservation of Floodplain Fishes.” In Tsai, Chu-fa and M. Youssouf Ali, Eds. Openwater Fisheries of Bangladesh. Dhaka: The University Press Limited. IUCN (The World Conservation Union). 1989. A Directory of Asian Wetlands. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. Khan, Salar M., et. al., Eds. 1994. Wetlands of Bangladesh. Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies & Nature Conservation Movement. Khan, S. 1998. Genetic Resources. In Bangladesh Environment: Facing the 21st Century. Ed. Philip Gain.Society for Environment and Human Development, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Tsai, Chu-fa and M. Youssouf Ali, Eds. 1997. Openwater Fisheries of Bangladesh. Dhaka: The University Press Limited.