Wetland resource management in Bangladesh: Implications for marginalization and vulnerability of local harvesters

Abstract

In Bangladesh, the state has the legal ownership and absolute control over natural resources, including the public land, forests, animals, water and fishes upon which local communities, consisting of fishers, farmers, daily labourers and other workers, rely heavily for their livelihoods. There is a system in place for fisheries or waterbodies, known as jalmohal administration. Under this system, the real control remains in the hands of the leaseholders. The evolution of wetland resource management approaches and their impact on actual harvesters are of particular interest in the study. By examining the implications of the top-down management regimes and the recent experimentation with the community-based resource management approach, this study analyses the trajectories of marginalization and consequential vulnerabilities of Hakaluki haor area local communities located in the northeastern region of Bangladesh. The framework of transfer of property rights, that is, leasing of wetlands as jalmohals (fishery estate), not only encourages individual gains and exploitations by the powerful elites, but also accelerates both the marginalization process and the vulnerability of local fishers to various types of shocks, including natural and health hazards.

Keywords:

• access
• Bangladesh
• management approach
• marginalization
• property rights
• vulnerability
• wetland resource