Background/Context

The Haor areas of Bangladesh with unique hydro-ecological characteristics are large bowl shaped floodplain depression located in the North-eastern region of Bangladesh covering about 1.97 million ha of area and accommodating about 19.37 million people. There are about 373 Haors/wetlands located in the districts. These 373 Haors cover an area of about 859000 ha which is around 44% of the total area of the Haor region. It is a assortment of wetland habitats including rivers, streams, canals, large areas of seasonally flooded cultivated plains, and Beels.

The physical settings and hydrology of the Haor region produce a unique hydrological regime, which creates innumerable of opportunities as well as constraints for the inhabitants. The region has distinctive hydrological characteristics. Annual rainfall ranges from 2200mm along the western boundary to 5800 mm in its north-eastern corner and is as high as 12000 mm in the headwaters of some catchments extending to India. The region receives water from the catchment slopes of the Shillong Plateau across the border in India to North.

The Haor is still underdeveloped due to its physical hydrological settings, although it is one of the major economic production zones of the country. Agriculture and fisheries is the main base of the diversified economic resources of the area. A total of about 0.71 million ha of net cultivable land is available in the Haor region, which produces more than 5.25 million tons of paddy each year. However sudden intrusion of flash flood may destroy agricultural production of about 0.33 million ha, worth Tk. 3486 million or 3% of the national agricultural contribution to the GDP. Since Boro rice is the only crop produced annually in Haor areas, the current economic system in the Haor region for non-aquatic resources offers very limited potential in terms of poverty alleviation. Despite the economic importance of the zone. People of the Haor area are more poverty stricken than the region of Bangladesh. More than 28% of the total population in the area lives below the poverty line (LPL). Agriculture is the principal livelihood of the farmers who follow the mono agricultural practice. This single crop remains under constant risk of partial to complete damage by the on-rush of flash floods. They need to increase productivity, mainly open water fishery and the importance of fisheries in the economy, should be given priority since the area has a substantive advantage in this sector.

Fish catch is an important economic practice in the Haor area. The fishermen of this area face economic, social and technical constraints in perusing their occupation. They are relatively poor and often cannot met their basic needs from existing fisheries management practices. Over the year, many species of fish have become rare or have decreased significantly due over fishing and habitat destruction. Sedimentation in the river, canal and water bodies create disturbance in local ecology in terms of disruption of fish breeding cycle and migration routes and that also leads to reduction of fish population.

Haor are rich in the aquatic bio-diversity and particularly of fish species. There are 140 species in the Haor region, which also a home to thousands of migratory birds. The area is steadily becoming a tourist attraction in Bangladesh.

Water transportation is a very important and essential component of the economic activity of the region. However, the navigation network is deteriorating due to sedimentation in adjoining rivers in Haor.

The flash floods are main disaster in the Haor area which engulf the primary production sector (agriculture, fishery) and thus threaten the Lives and livelihoods of the inhabitants of the Haor region. Excessive rainfall in the upstream hilly areas and subsequent runoff, sedimentation in the rivers, unplanned road and water management infrastructure, deforestation and hill cuts, landslides, improper drainage, and the effect of climate variability can be viewed as the main reason for the devastation caused by flash floods. Drainage congestion, water logging in some parts of the Haors is the new occurrences, started to have some additional experiences. Late recession of water interrupting the farmland transplantation, pushing out the harvesting delayed, which makes the crops more susceptible to early flash flood.

The Haor region has long been lagging behind mainstream national development although the economic development of Bangladesh is moving steadily at a moderate pace. The government has taken many initiatives including the preparation of national and regional strategies to steer economic growth and has accordingly prepared plan over the years to boast the countries development. It is difficult to foresee the countries overall progress without the development of the Haor region as it covers a major part of the country and population which deserve special development initiatives. The future challenge in the context of climate change is also a major concern for the sustainable development of the region.

Tahirpur a sub district under the district of Sunamgonj  is the project area one of the most vulnerable to flash flood. Tahirpur comprises of 7 Union, village 247, population covers 215200, Male: 110555 female: 104645. Farmer community household is 18547 and Fisher community households 7019. Tahirpur occupies 23 Haor, out of them majors Haor are Tangua (Ramsar site), Matian and Shanir haor. The REE-CALL project intended to touch only 3 Union of 1) Dakhin Sreepur, 2) Bardal Dakhin 3) Tahirpur sadar. Which cover total village: 31 out total: 87.This area touching 2 major Hoar known as Matian and Shanir Haor.

The area is most susceptible to flash flood and other natural disasters, reverbed raised, canals are silted and loosed connectivity, deforestation and lack of aquatic vegetation, habitats for aquatic flora and fauna are degraded, homestead is most vulnerable to wave destruction. Fishers have no easy access to water body for fishing.

Farmers are lack of modern skills and technical knowledge, habituated with traditional farming of single bora rice, diversification of crops are beyond their practice, winter and post winter vegetable are in practice with very insignificant line approximately. Being a singled cropped area in dry season, and single sheet flood plain in monsoon limits other options of livelihood, which leads to critical food insecurity as a whole.

Water and sanitation situation is most deplorable, they suffer high from safe potable water, and most of them are depending on contaminated surface water. Animal husbandry is not up to the mark, livestock rearing is difficult in terms of terrestrial space convenience and modern technologies. Jalmahals (natural water bodies as fish habitat) are leased out to the riches absentee non-fisher water- lords, occupies the flood plains limits even the subsistence fishers. Commercial fishing is roughly restricted which make the professional fishers abstinence from fishing for livelihood.

Sancred Welfare Foundation (SWF) along with Oxfam in Bangladesh/Hong Kong have set out its long journey conceiving accessory with REE-CALL towards discover an environment-friendly way out to the longstanding limitations of Haor lives since October 2017.

Project Period: October 2017 to June 2021

The major components of overall programme and objectives of the project including Resilience Initiative, Gender, Influencing:

The project has covered followings components:

Long Term Objective

1. Women, men, their families and communities have benefited from sustainable and equitable economic activity.
2. Government, communities and civil society have driven sustainable and inclusive climate action and disaster risk reduction through collective effort.
3. Duty bearers and lawmakers have developed policies and demonstrated practices that better incorporate the interests and rights of marginalized people and communities.

Short term Objective

1. Government, private sector and civil society are taking visible actions for sustainable income and employment of women, men and youth living in vulnerable and changing contexts
2. Women and men are aware about gender roles and women are playing transformative leadership role in the community
3. Communities and local institutions have the ability to anticipate, absorb, adapt and act on climate, environmental, social and economic challenges
4. Community has knowledge on Disaster Risk Reduction and local government has the capacity to take actions against disaster.
5. Comprehensive, inclusive and collaborative management of water resources for livelihood and improved WASH
6. Reduced policy and practice gaps related to gender justice benefit women and girls living in Haor areas
7. Reduced policy and practice gaps related to rights of people living in Haor areas are holding the government accountable to implement Haor Master Plan.