Wetland management

This report has been developed through a collation and analysis of reliable, up-to-date data, using an interdisciplinary approach and also recognizing that wetland ecosystems should be conserved and developed in a sustainable manner.

At the occasion of the 9th Conference of Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (8-15 November 2005), Uganda took great pride in sharing its experiences in wetland management with the world. These experiences are based on a partnership between the Government of Uganda, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the Royal Netherlands Embassy, who collaborated for more than ten years to develop policies, build institutions and financing mechanisms, implement management approaches and em

The main objective of this report is to provide hydrological inputs that include inflow and outflow routes of water, identification of various rivers, beels and khals functioning within the Hakaluki haor region, current hydrological and hydraulic characteristics, soil characteristics of the area and land use pattern as governed by hydraulic regimes, information on natural resources like flora and fauna and suggestions on development of a Community-based Haor Resources Management Project.

IUCN Bangladesh has undertaken this initiative in association with Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS) under the Sustainable Environment Management Programme (SEMP) in the Madhumati Floodplain. Under this project one of the interventions is to promote alternative livelihood options. Baira farming was one of the options suggested by the people of that area.

The overall objective of the project was to improve environmental quality of the degraded canals/beels/rivers to allow for proper functioning of migratory routes for fish and other organisms, to increase the crop production by facilitating irrigation and thereby effect socio-economic uplift of the local communities, especially for the women and the disadvantaged. This report shows how this was accomplished.

This aim of this report was to show how restoration activities in some degraded and silted wetlands, identified by the community people enhanced fish populations and aquatic habitats, increased agricultural production by ensuring adequate irrigation facilities, facilitated fish migration, and increased the water holding capacity of the wetlands area.