Dhaka, 12 February 2009 (IUCN) – In a significant win for the people of Tanguar Haor, the Deputy Commissioner of Sunamganj launched a fish harvesting pilot programme on 16 January 2009 under the ‘Community Based Sustainable Management of Tanguar Haor’ project. This was the first formal fish harvest permitted in Tanguar Haor since the wetland was brought under strict protection by the Sunamganj District administration in 2004, and the ecological recovery afforded by a four year hiatus in fishing was reflected in the increased size of the individual fish caught.

Historically the fishing rights to Tanguar Haor were leased out to a small number of influential people, which had led to a serious imbalance in access to the resources of the haor. This co-management project will replace the traditional leasing system with a ‘resource sharing’ approach in which the local communities around the haor share equitably in the management and the resources of the wetland.

The launch of the fish harvesting pilot programme represents a clear policy outcome at the local level, shifting the access to and benefits of Tanguar Haor’s resources from a small number of leaseholders to benefit the wider local community. The project is being developed and implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Bangladesh and its partners Intercooperation, CNRS, BELA and ERA on behalf of the Government of Bangladesh, with financial support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

IUCN Bangladesh first promoted the environmental importance of Tanguar Haor in the 1990s, as a result of which, it was declared an Ecologically Critical Area (ECA) by the Government in 1999 and a Ramsar site in 2000. IUCN Bangladesh also advocated a transfer of the oversight of Tanguar Haor from the Ministry of Land to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, fomenting a crucial change in how the wetland and its resources are regarded.

Located in the foothills of Meghalaya, Tanguar Haor covers about 10,000 hectares of water bodies in Sunamganj and parts of Habiganj, Netrokona and Kishoreganj districts and provides for the livelihoods of over 55,000 people in 88 villages around it.

The ‘Community Based Sustainable Management of Tanguar Haor’ project was initiated in 2006. It is being implemented in Tahipur and Dharmapasha upazilas of Sunamganj district with the aim of building the capacity of local rural communities around the haor to share in the management of water, fisheries, forests and other resources for generating income as well as conservation of the resource base. The overarching strategy of the project is to combine two major domains: a). the conservation and regeneration of natural resources in the haor (ecology); and b). the sustainable and responsible use of those resources (economy and livelihoods). In summary, the Wise Use Principle of Ramsar convention will be fulfilled.  

For more information on the Community Based Sustainable Management of Tanguar Haor project, please contact raquib@iucnbd.org or rezaul@iucnbd.org

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Notes to editors 

For more information or to set up interviews, please contact:

• Raquibul Amin , Programme Coordinator, IUCN Bangladesh Country Office, Tel: +880 2 989 0395; Fax: +880 2 989 2854;
  raquibiucnbd.org; Web: http://www.iucnbd.org/
  
  
• AFM Rezaul Karim, Project Manager, CBSMTH, IUCN Bangladesh Country Office, Tel: +880 2 989 0395; Fax: +880 2 989 2854;
  rezauliucnbd.org; Web: http://www.iucnbd.org/
  
  
• Mahbubur Rahman Masum , IUCN Bangladesh Communications Officer, Tel: +880 2 989 0395; Fax: +880 2 989 2854;
  masumiucnbd.org; Web: http://www.iucnbd.org/

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