ABSTRACT
The active lower part of the Ganga delta shelters world’s largest mangrove forest – the Sundarban, shared by Bangladesh (6017 km–1) and India (4200 km–1). A partial reclamation was done in the colonial period by placing marginal dykes, giving way to revenue-generating farmlands. As estuarine conditions are ideal for fisheries, pond-based aquaculture (bheris) was initiated alongside paddy cultivation. The ‘Sundarban system’, with a delicate combination of physical-biotic-human elements, has borne the effects of climate change through higher temperatures, increasing cyclone frequency, sea-level rise, siltation and salinity intrusion. With salinity increase aided by embankment breaching, aquatic biodiversity dwindled and year-round commercial shrimp farming became effective. Tempted by huge profits, mangrove destruction and cropland conversion became rampant. Unplanned poly-culture of fish, along with over-reliance on shrimp in smaller-sized farms (ghers), had far-reaching environmental impacts. Over time, the productivity and profitability of brackish-water shrimp aquaculture declined due to overexploitation and climate change. In Bangladesh, the agriculture–aquaculture transition is most prominent in the coastal polders of Satkhira, Khulna and Bagerhat districts. Following the devastation by cyclone Aila (2009), similar trends have also been observed in pockets of the Indian Sundarban. This chapter evaluates the viability of aquaculture in impeding the socio-environmental crisis caused by climate change and assesses in what way the livelihood shift creates a greater rich-poor divide – further marginalizing ecological refugees and how implementation of fisheries regulation can balance the situation. A study on the experiences of Bangladesh can provide better insight into the issues of sustainability and conservation imperative for preventing the occurrence of biological desertification.
