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

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

11. Conservation and Sustainable Usage of Biodiversity
Resources

12. Community Initiatives
Community Vulnerability Mapping

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

14. Knowledge Sharing

15. Collective Understanding to Collective Actions

16. Community Mangrove Forestry
Mangrove – Aquaculture

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

18. Model of a CMAAS Culture Farm

19. Schematic Diagram of General Farming Procedure of the
Mangroves in CMAAS Culture

20. Production Cycle of Aquatic Species in CMAAS Farm

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)

24. Thank You!

25. UNNAYAN ONNESHAN
16/2, Indira Road, Farmgate
Dhaka - 1215, Bangladesh
Tell: + (880-2) 8158274, 9110636
Fax: + (880-2) 8159135
info@unnayan.org
www.unnayan.org
RCE SECRETARIAT