18 managing diverse land uses in coastal …...in coastal bangladesh, agriculture, shrimp farming,...

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18 Managing Diverse Land Uses in Coastal Bangladesh: Institutional Approaches M. Rafiqul Islam Program Development Office for Integrated Coastal Zone Management, Dhaka, Bangladesh, e-mail: rafi[email protected]. © CAB International 2006. Environment and Livelihoods in Tropical Coastal Zones (eds C.T. Hoanh, T.P. Tuong, J.W. Gowing and B. Hardy) 237 Abstract Land use in coastal Bangladesh is diverse, competitive and conflicting. Agriculture, shrimp farming, salt production, forestry, ship-breaking yards, ports, industry, settlements and wetlands are some of the uses. Land uses have gone through major changes. Land use in the 1950s had been mainly for paddy cultiva- tion, but salinity intrusion and tidal flooding prevented further intensification. Hence, in the 1960s–1980s, the World Bank and others helped with large-scale polderization in order to boost rice pro- duction. A decade later, drainage congestion inside and heavy siltation outside the polders made the southwestern area unsuitable both for agriculture, and, in extreme cases, even for human habitation. However, as the region has a history of traditional shrimp farming, polders provided an opportunity for intensive shrimp farming. Crop land and mangroves were transformed to shrimp farming. This created social conflict. Planned management of diverse land use, including zoning, has been recommended since. This chapter focuses on the complexities of land use in Bangladesh and the adopted institutional approaches. Introduction Land uses in coastal Bangladesh 1 (Fig. 18.1) have gone through major changes over the last half century. The land is intensively used for agriculture, settlements, forests, shrimp ponds (known locally as ghers), water bodies and fisheries, salt production, industrial and infrastructure developments, tourism and preservation and management of environ- mentally important and special areas. With the continually increasing population, the following features emerge: demand for expansion in all land uses (urban area, settlement, shrimp, etc.), increasing demand for new uses (tourism, export-processing zones and others), and encroachment and conversion of land from one use to another. The above-mentioned circumstances call for planned management of land resources, including zoning. Though land zoning and regulations of land use have been advocated for a long time, actions and/or steps in this regard are almost totally lacking (Brammer, 2002). A start was made recently to bring 1 The coastal zone of Bangladesh consists of 19 southern zilas and the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone).

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Page 1: 18 Managing Diverse Land Uses in Coastal …...In coastal Bangladesh, agriculture, shrimp farming, salt production, forestry, ship-breaking yards, ports, industry, human habi-tation

18 Managing Diverse Land Uses in CoastalBangladesh: Institutional Approaches

M. Rafiqul IslamProgram Development Office for Integrated Coastal Zone Management, Dhaka,

Bangladesh, e-mail: [email protected].

© CAB International 2006. Environment and Livelihoods in TropicalCoastal Zones (eds C.T. Hoanh, T.P. Tuong, J.W. Gowing and B. Hardy) 237

Abstract

Land use in coastal Bangladesh is diverse, competitive and conflicting. Agriculture, shrimp farming, saltproduction, forestry, ship-breaking yards, ports, industry, settlements and wetlands are some of the uses.Land uses have gone through major changes. Land use in the 1950s had been mainly for paddy cultiva-tion, but salinity intrusion and tidal flooding prevented further intensification. Hence, in the1960s–1980s, the World Bank and others helped with large-scale polderization in order to boost rice pro-duction. A decade later, drainage congestion inside and heavy siltation outside the polders made thesouthwestern area unsuitable both for agriculture, and, in extreme cases, even for human habitation.However, as the region has a history of traditional shrimp farming, polders provided an opportunity forintensive shrimp farming. Crop land and mangroves were transformed to shrimp farming. This createdsocial conflict. Planned management of diverse land use, including zoning, has been recommendedsince. This chapter focuses on the complexities of land use in Bangladesh and the adopted institutionalapproaches.

Introduction

Land uses in coastal Bangladesh1 (Fig. 18.1)have gone through major changes over thelast half century. The land is intensively usedfor agriculture, settlements, forests, shrimpponds (known locally as ghers), water bodiesand fisheries, salt production, industrial andinfrastructure developments, tourism andpreservation and management of environ-mentally important and special areas. Withthe continually increasing population, thefollowing features emerge:

● demand for expansion in all land uses(urban area, settlement, shrimp, etc.),

● increasing demand for new uses (tourism,export-processing zones and others), and

● encroachment and conversion of landfrom one use to another.

The above-mentioned circumstances callfor planned management of land resources,including zoning. Though land zoning andregulations of land use have been advocatedfor a long time, actions and/or steps in thisregard are almost totally lacking (Brammer,2002). A start was made recently to bring

1 The coastal zone of Bangladesh consists of 19 southern zilas and the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone).

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relevant agencies together to discuss anddevelop a proposal for land zoning (PDO-ICZMP, 2004a). The complexities of land useand the institutional approaches adopted todefine indicative land zoning are describedin this chapter.

Land and Land Use

Land – a declining resource

Land is the basic natural resource that pro-vides habitat and sustenance for livingorganisms, as well as being a major focus ofeconomic and livelihood activities.Bangladesh has a population of 123 millionliving on a land area of 147,000 km2 (PDO-ICZMP, 2004b). The population is increasingand the land is being converted from directlyproductive purposes, such as crop cultiva-tion, to other uses such as housing, roadsand urban development, and this trend isexpected to continue. Some of the statisticsprovide an alarming picture:

● Some 220 ha of arable land is being lostdaily to uses such as road construction,industry, houses, etc. (Islam et al., 2004).

● At least 86,000 ha of land was lost toriver/estuarine erosion between 1973 and2000 (MES, 2001), though this is compen-sated by land generated through accretion.

● Some 70% of the land of Barisal and Khulnadivisions is affected by different degrees ofsalinity, which reduces agricultural produc-tivity (Rahman and Ahsan, 2001).

● Some 50% of the coastal lands face differ-ent degrees of inundation, thus limitingtheir effective use. This situation isexpected to worsen further because of theeffects of climate change.

In the coastal zone also, the population isexpected to increase from 36.8 million in 2001to 43.9 in 2015, and to 60.8 million by 2050(PDO-ICZMP, 2005a). Present per capita agri-cultural land of 0.056 ha will decrease to 0.025ha by 2050. On top of this, about 54% of thepeople of coastal Bangladesh are functionallylandless and more than 30% are absolutelylandless. Among the landholders, 80% are

small farmers, 18% are medium farmers andonly 2% are large farmers (PDO-ICZMP,2004b). These have decisive impacts on majoreconomic and livelihood activities, on landuse and subsequently on the quality of land.

Present land use

Land use in Bangladesh is generally deter-mined by physiography, climate and landheight in relation to water level (Brammer,2002). These together make a highly complexenvironment characterized by five main landtypes related to depth of seasonal flooding:30 or more agro-ecological zones encompass-ing differences in soils, climate and hydrol-ogy; and areas with varying degrees of riskof disastrous floods, drought and cyclones.About 60% of the lands are inundated to adepth of 30 cm or more. The BangladeshBureau of Statistics publishes land-use statis-tics regularly. Emphasis is mainly on agricul-ture. Land uses are classified as net croppedarea, current fallow, current waste, forest andarea not available for cultivation. Along thisline, SRDI (Soil Resources DevelopmentInstitute) produces agricultural land-usemaps for the country identifying many dif-ferent types of agricultural land use.

In 2003, an estimate was made (Table18.1) capturing a broader perception of landuse and recognizing seasonal variations(ASB, 2003). Two complications were identi-fied: areas under river and water bodiesincreased greatly in the wet season and estu-arine/riverine wetlands (known locally aschars) cultivated during the dry season wentunder water in the wet season.

In coastal Bangladesh, agriculture, shrimpfarming, salt production, forestry, ship-breaking yards, ports, industry, human habi-tation and wetlands are some of the uses inan area of only 47,000 km2 inhabited by 36.8million people. Land use in the coastal zoneis diverse, competitive and conflicting.

Early 20th century land use

A vivid description of how modificationswere being made to the natural levees besidesome rivers was given by Mukerjee (1938):

238 M. Rafiqul Islam

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Small embankments were constructed and gapsin them were closed at high tide and opened atlow tide so as to achieve partial drainage of theland behind, along with reduced salinity. Thusthe human intervention of embankmentconstruction has interacted with the delicatelybalanced natural processes, and has drasticallyhastened the raising of riverbed levels.

Local landlords, since the 17th century, con-structed small dykes or embankments aroundindividual land to limit saline water overflowand prevent crop damage. This traditionalmechanism of construction of embankmentsthrough local efforts practically ceased in 1947.Land use, at that stage, was for paddy cultiva-tion, especially low-yielding locally adaptedvarieties. In very limited areas of the south-west, traditional shrimp culture was practised.

Land use in the 1950s–1960s

In the 1950s–1960s, existing embankmentsdeteriorated for lack of proper maintenanceso that salinity intrusion and tidal surges

caused routine crop damage. Crop failurescaused by saline inundation or monsoonflooding were reported in most areas onceevery 3 years (Nishat, 1988). The GreenRevolution at that time called for more inten-sive rice cultivation. Hence, the governmentrecognized the need for protection of thecoastal areas and construction and develop-ment of embankments started in 1961. TheCoastal Embankment Project (CEP) wasestablished, with assistance from the WorldBank, in 1967. The Dutch term ‘polder’ wasused to designate areas that are surroundedby dykes or embankments, separating themhydrologically from the main river systemand offering protection against tidal floods,salinity intrusion and sedimentation. Theembankments include regulators and otherstructures to control water intake anddrainage of the empoldered area.

The primary purpose of empoldermentwas to increase agricultural production.During the first phase, 92 polders were con-structed with 4022 km of embankments and780 drainage sluices. The gross polder area

Managing Diverse Land Uses in Coastal Bangladesh 239

Fig. 18.1. Map of the coastal zone of Bangladesh.

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protected by June 1971 was 1.01 million ha(Talukder, 1991). Though no evaluation ofthe impact of the CEP on agricultural pro-duction has been performed, it becameapparent that empoldering has increased thescale of production. Crops were saved fromsalinity and flooding; some yields increasedby 200–300% (Nishat, 1988). The dominantland use during this period was paddy culti-vation, primarily traditional local varieties.Modern paddy varieties and technologicalpackages were introduced. Other usesremained the same: salt production, man-grove forest and traditional shrimp farming.

Land use in the 1970s–1980s

In the 1970s–1980s, the World Bank and otherdonors helped to continue large-scale polder-ization of coastal Bangladesh. Polders

became part of the natural setting of coastalBangladesh (Fig. 18.2), with a total of 123coastal polders implemented (PDO-ICZMP,2004b). To further enhance agricultural pro-duction, it was soon realized that internalwater management had to be establishedwithin these polders. Changes in land useoccurred because of the intensification ofpaddy cultivation with the attempted expan-sion of modern varieties and conversion ofagricultural land to non-agricultural use(Sereno, 1981). During this time, coastalafforestation started with the objective of pro-tection from cyclones and foreshore erosion.

Land use in the 1990s

In the 1990s, southwestern coastalBangladesh experienced drainage congestioninside and heavy siltation outside the pold-

240 M. Rafiqul Islam

Table 18.1. Land use in Bangladesh showing seasonal variation (from ASB,2003).

Classification Area (km2)

Dry season Wet season

Rivers 6,400 7,700Main rivers 2,860 3,940Rivers in Sundarban 1,660 1,660Other rivers 1,880 2,100

Standing water bodies 4,245 9,500Haors 450 3,700Beels 177 1,500Baors 55 60Ponds, tanks, ditches 3,000 3,500Kaptai Lake 563 740

Forest 19,610 19,610Cultivated 77,600 73,500

Field crops 51,000 17,140Tree crops 4,900 4,900Seasonal fallow 17,000 16,760Current fallow 4,100 4,100Seedbed only 600 600

Brackish-water aquaculture 1,900 1,900Salt beds 50 0Rural build-up 7,000 7,000Non-cropped village land 8,400 8,400Urban 7,000 7,000Infrastructure 2,100 2,100Estuarine area 8,600 8,600Total 147,570 147,570

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ers because of extensive polderization of thehydro-dynamically active delta, and subse-quently the achievements from polderizationgradually evaporated. The area becameunsuitable both for agriculture and, inextreme cases, even for human habitation.This was termed a ‘man-made disaster’(Rahman, 1995). Poverty and out-migrationfrom the area occurred. The Khulna–JessoreDrainage Rehabilitation Project was con-ceived, with emphasis on structural solu-tions, including the construction of largeregulators. Local people did not support astructural solution and resorted to wide-scale protest. The traditional system ofallowing natural siltation under the conceptof ‘tidal river management’ was adopted andland became suitable again for cultivation.

Emergence of commercial shrimp farming

Around the same time, increased demandand a high price for shrimp on the interna-tional market occurred. As the southwest

had a history of limited-scale traditionalshrimp farming, polders provided an oppor-tunity for intensive shrimp farming. Manycoastal polders constructed to protect agri-cultural land from inundation of salt waterwere turned into large shrimp ghers. The pri-ority was reversed and salt water was will-ingly being allowed in the ghers to raiseshrimp. Land previously used for agricultureand mangroves was transformed, oftenforcibly, to shrimp farming. Wide-scale land-use conflict emerged and created socialunrest. Shrimp farming is now established asan important industry, contributing 5.2% toGDP, and the second-highest foreignexchange earner of the country. Shrimp areasexpanded from 51,812 ha in 1983 to 137,996ha in 1994 and to 141,353 ha in 2002 (DoF,1995, 2003).

Land-use Conflicts

Most coastal lands are suitable for more thanone use. Hence, the many diverse uses of

Managing Diverse Land Uses in Coastal Bangladesh 241

Fig. 18.2. Polders in coastal Bangladesh.

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limited land have created conflict. Manystudies have highlighted these conflicts,especially between shrimp farming andother uses (Nuruzzaman, 1979; Karim andStellwagen, 1998). In addition, one land useor another has manifold implications forsocio-environmental conditions. The intro-duction of shrimp farming has graduallychanged the land-use patterns of the sur-rounding farms, transforming agricultureand mangrove areas into shrimp-farmingareas (Haque, 2004 and Fig. 18.3). Severalstudies reported a reduction in land for cattlegrazing (Maniruzzaman, 1998), death oftrees and other vegetation (Alauddin andTisdell, 1998), increased salinity of soil andwater and a reduction in the drinking-watersupply because of the introduction of shrimpfarming.

Firoze (2003) and Majid and Gupta (1997)elaborated upon the social and environmen-tal impacts of commercial shrimp culture. Asagricultural lands were turned into shrimppolders, the share-croppers and landlesswage labourers found themselves losingtheir livelihoods, and began movements toresist the introduction of shrimp in theirareas. This often resulted in violence. Duringthe last two decades, more than 150 people

have been killed and thousands injured inshrimp-related violence (Firoze, 2003).Influential and rich shrimp farmers, toharass leaders of the anti-shrimp move-ments, also initiated thousands of courtcases, many of which are still pending.

Brackish-water shrimp cultivation, on acommercial scale, has brought large-scaleenvironmental degradation. Shrimp poldersretain saline water for months at a time, andthe salinity seeps on to adjacent farms andspreads soil salinity. The loss of mangroveareas to aquaculture is a common feature,with Chakoria Sunderban being the classicexample (Chowdhury et al., 1994; Brown,1997). From 1967 to 1988, the total area ofChakoria Sundarban mangroves decreasedfrom 7500 ha to only 973 ha (Fig. 18.4)(Chowdhury et al., 1994).

Management Approaches

To accommodate diverse land uses, changedpatterns of land use and land suitability, zon-ing has been proposed as a managementapproach. Hossain and Lin (2002) suggestedthat, to reduce social conflicts and promoteeffective and sustainable resource use, land

242 M. Rafiqul Islam

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Fig. 18.3. Induced changes in land use around a farm, before and after the introduction of shrimp (fromHaque, 2004).

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should be zoned on the basis of suitability:the most suitable zone, a moderately suitablezone and an unsuitable zone. Zoning canalso be coupled with time-sharing: for exam-ple, shrimp farming during monsoonmonths and salt production during summermonths. This will minimize the unplannedhorizontal expansion of any land use, partic-ularly shrimp farming or salt production,and maximize productivity from smallerareas through vertical integration. In thesouthwest, the pattern emerging is inte-grated rice–shrimp/fish farming. This willimprove the socio-economic condition of thepeople as well as maintain the ecological bal-ance in the coastal region.

Land suitability: specific research results

Several studies have dealt with comparativeland suitability analyses on present landuses. Hossain and Lin (2002) analysedremote-sensing data of Landsat TM and the-matic information of Cox’s Bazar to identifysuitable areas for mangrove afforestation andshrimp farm and salt bed development. Mostof the suitable areas identified in the studyactually coincided with the existing land use,which is important for appropriate zoning tooptimize resource allocation and minimizeconflicts between user groups. Further, theland suitability maps for mangrove afforesta-tion, shrimp farms and salt beds were over-laid together to distinguish the combined

land suitability categories as well as land-useconflicts. The results for potential land-useconflicts among salt, shrimp and mangroveareas were not prominent but indicated pos-sible conflicts, mainly between mangroveand salt, as well as between mangrove andshrimp. Combining the present land-usemap of the study area with the identifiedsuitable land-use map revealed that mostareas of existing shrimp farms and salt bedswere developed within the suitable area,except for mangrove afforestation. Similarobservations were made by Alam et al.(1990), Shahid et al. (1992) and Islam et al.(1997).

Ibrahim (2004) prepared land suitabilitymaps for both bagda (brackish-water shrimp)and T. aman (transplanted paddy) crops inthree administrative zilas: Khulna, Bagerhatand Satkhira. The land suitability factors forboth T. aman and bagda are similar, except forsoil salinity. High salinity increases the yieldof bagda but reduces the yield of the T. amancrop. Based on physical suitability, areasused exclusively for bagda could be clearlydelineated. Similarly, T. aman and other agri-cultural crops could be separated from bagdapractices. Present land use for these twoindicated mismatched areas in these threedistricts. Quader et al. (2004), using remote-sensing techniques, analysed the suitabilityof different land uses and found that theKhulna–Satkhira area was more suitable forshrimp farming than Cox’s Bazar.

Institutional and other approaches

To reduce conflicting land use, maximizepotential land use and facilitate integrationof different uses in the coastal zone, severalprojects began: Coastal EmbankmentRehabilitation Project (CERP), SystemsRehabilitation Project (SRP), Delta Develop-ment Project (DDP), Khulna–JessoreDrainage Rehabilitation Project (KJDRP) and3rd and 4th Fisheries Projects. For example,under the Delta Development Project, it wasconcluded that the combination of rice culti-vation and shrimp cultivation on the sameland (in rotation) was possible without directnegative effects on rice yields (Nishat, 1988).

Managing Diverse Land Uses in Coastal Bangladesh 243

80

60

40

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Forest coverShrimp production area

Are

a in

hec

tare

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1967 1976 1981 1984 1988Year

Fig. 18.4. Changes in area under forest and shrimpproduction in the Chakoria Sundarbans, 1967–1988(after Choudhury et al., 1994).

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These projects have shown that plannedmanagement of land uses could offer botheconomic and environmental benefits.

Recognizing the need for integrated andcomprehensive planning and other socio-economic support, the government ofBangladesh established the ProgramDevelopment Office (PDO) for IntegratedCoastal Zone Management. It is a multimin-isterial and multisectoral initiative led by theMinistry of Water Resources. The PDO iscomposed of representatives from differentministries and a small number of nationalexperts. The office is supported by focalpoints, established in 34 government organi-zations, universities and research organiza-tions, and by three task forces dealing withlivelihoods, policy and strategy, and knowl-edge management issues. The whole set-upis steered by an interministerial technicalcommittee composed of heads of relevantgovernment departments, universities,NGOs, civil and chamber bodies and aninterministerial steering committee consist-ing of secretary-level representatives of dif-ferent ministries.The PDO, in its preparatoryphase, plans to deliver three key outputs: aCoastal Zone Policy, Coastal DevelopmentStrategy and a ‘priority investment pro-gramme’, which are backed by supportingoutputs in relation to coastal livelihoods,thus enabling the institutional environmentand knowledge base. Land use is core tothese outputs.

Several government policy documentshave highlighted the importance of optimiz-ing land use and land zoning for integratedplanning of resource management. These arethe National Fish Policy (1998), NationalWater Policy (1999), National AgriculturalPolicy (1999), Draft Shrimp Strategy (2004)and Coastal Zone Policy (2005). The NationalFish Policy states that ‘coastal areas will bedemarcated for shrimp farming’. The DraftShrimp Strategy states further that ‘areassuitable for shrimp cultivation will be identi-fied using a land-zoning process which willlimit brackish-water shrimp aquaculture tocoastal areas’ and ‘the objective of land zon-ing is to optimize land use’. The CoastalZone Policy states that ‘actions shall be initi-ated to develop land-use planning as an

instrument of control of unplanned andindiscriminate use of land resources’ and‘zoning regulations would be formulatedand enforced in due course’.

However, the key policy is the NationalLand-Use Policy (2001), which describes

● zoning based on land use,● ensuring the best use of land through

zoning, and● enactment of a zoning law to allow local

government institutions to prepare zon-ing maps.

The National Land Use Policy places specialemphasis on coastal areas. Recognizing thecomplexities of coastal land use, the policymakes provisions for an inter-agency taskforce to prepare an outline of coastal zoning.

No concrete and effective steps had beentaken in the country towards restricting orregulating the conversion of agriculturalland to non-agricultural uses (Nuruzzaman,1979; Brammer, 2002). The following laws,however, are aimed at managing public landand water bodies, allocating and managingpublic and private shrimp land, and conserv-ing the environment:

● Embankment and Drainage Act (1952),● Bangladesh Water and Power Develop-

ment Board Ordinance (1972),● Manual for Land Management (Jalmohal)

(1990),● Shrimp Mohal Management Policy (1992),

and● Shrimp Farm Taxation Law (1992).

The emerging land-zoning concept

As shown above, land zoning has beenadvocated since the 1980s. Several broadzoning studies have been or are being car-ried out, notably the agro-ecological zoningof Bangladesh (FAO, 1988) and the SRDIland-zone mapping. Other information basesare organized on a narrower basis, such asSRDI’s land suitability assessment for differ-ent crops. However, zoning, along sectorallines, does not provide a basis for choicesbetween often conflicting sectoral objectives.Karim and Stellwagen (1998) emphasized

244 M. Rafiqul Islam

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that ‘no efforts have so far been initiated toclassify the coastal land into various eco-nomic zones and develop them according totheir development potential’. Integrateddevelopment is the outcome of such choicesand multisector zoning should provide a toolfor achieving the best choices for economicland use in an area, on the basis of its needsand potentials. Many agencies in Bangladeshalready recognize this need for integratedzoning in support of planning for ‘best pos-sible’ economic land use, while preventingland degradation and protecting the environ-ment. DoF (2002) stated that ‘coastal zoningwould improve land-use planning, minimizeconflicts over land tenure and identifyappropriate areas for shrimp farming andareas that need to be protected [for grazingof livestock, common access, etc.]’.

The emerging concept is to formulateland zoning, with administrative boundariesas the unit, in accordance with the (domi-nant) land use and economic activities, aswell as their potentials and vulnerabilities.Hence, this zoning has to be more than just adescription of the current situation and mustaccount for major underlying ecological andsocio-economic factors and processes thathave led to the current situation and thatmay be important for future trends and haz-ards. The approach should therefore takeinto account important ecological and socio-economic factors.

Zoning as a tool for area development is,of course, an ambitious goal that can only beattained in stages. Mutsaers and Miah (2004)have outlined the following conceptual basisfor the first stage in the process to delineatean indicative coastal land zoning:

● a stepwise approach with clear intermedi-ate results;

● use of an administrative boundary2 as theunit for zoning, such as the upazila as theunit for indicative land zoning. Furtherdetailed versions using union and laterfield blocks will be developed;

● use of only existing data. Field informa-

tion to be collected for the purpose of val-idating the zoning (ground-truthing);

● proactive interaction with relevant agen-cies at different stages of the elaborationprocess; and

● support and backing of a structured tech-nical support group involving govern-ment and non-government agencies. TheMinistry of Land will be involved as animplementing agency of the Land-UsePolicy.

The expected outputs will be

● zoning of the coastal area within broaderzones, such as ‘agriculture zone,’ ‘shrimpzone’, etc

● each upazila will be associated preferablywith one and only one of the land zones

● a typology will be given for each zoneexplaining its characteristics in some detail.

Land Zoning – Consensus Building

For the zoning to acquire the status of anaccepted planning tool, there has to be a highlevel of consensus and ownership among rele-vant agencies. The need for discussion amongdifferent line agencies was identified. TheProgram Development Office (PDO), as amulti-sectoral, multi-agency set-up, provideda platform for relevant stakeholders for such adiscussion. A ‘Technical Discussion on CoastalLand Zoning’ was arranged in August 2004(PDO-ICZMP, 2004a). The approach and theoutputs were discussed and agreed upon.

Moreover, to prepare the proposal ofcoastal land zoning, it was considered essen-tial to draw on the expertise available amongdifferent agencies. A ten-member technicalsupport group was formed, notably withrepresentatives from the following agencies:

● Soil Resources Development Institute;● Department of Fisheries,● Forestry Department,● Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council, ● Bangladesh Shrimp Foundation.

Managing Diverse Land Uses in Coastal Bangladesh 245

2 Administratively, Bangladesh is divided into six divisions, 64 zilas, 507 upazilas and 4484 unions. Thecoastal zone encompasses 19 zilas, 147 upazilas and 1913 unions.

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The group met several times during theprocess to contribute through informationand data, participate and review ongoingwork. Some of the group members also par-ticipated in the ground-truthing visits in thefield.

Indicative Land Zones

An indicative land zoning has emerged (Fig.18.5, PDO-ICZMP, 2005b), identifying thefollowing eight zones:

● shrimp (brackish-water) zone,● shrimp (sweet-water) zone,● salt–shrimp zone,● forest zone,● mangrove (including Sundarban) zone,● urban and commercial zone (industrial,

port, export-processing zones and ship-breaking yards),

● tourism zone, and● agricultural zone.

Results of the indicative land zones havebeen presented to field-level stakeholders atregional workshops and to policy planners atnational workshops. There is now a nationalconsensus on indicative land zoning.

Conclusions

Even with agreement on indicative land zon-ing among many agencies, only a start hasbeen made. This version of land zoning isexpected to be used as a basis for detailedland zoning, as elaborated in the Land-UsePolicy (MoL, 2001). The challenge is to give alegal status to this broad zoning. However,the strength of this exercise is that it hasbrought relevant agencies together on aninstitutional platform. A consensus has been

246 M. Rafiqul Islam

Fig. 18.5. Indicative land zones in coastal Bangladesh.

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References

Alam, M.S., Shamsuddin, S.D. and Sikder, S. (1990) Application of remote sensing for monitoring shrimpculture development in a coastal mangrove ecosystem in Bangladesh. In: Proceedings of the Twenty-third International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment, 18–25 April 1990, Bangkok, Thailand,pp. 109–119.

Alauddin, M. and Tisdell, C. (1998) The Environment and Economic Development in South Asia: an OverviewConcentrating on Bangladesh. Macmillan, London.

ASB (Asiatic Society of Bangladesh) (2003) Land use. In: Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh.Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Dhaka, 6, 235–239.

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Continued research on land use will supportoptimum, sustainable and environmentallyfriendly land use and the subsequent mod-ern management of land use through landzoning.

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