Documentary on towards inclusive canal water management for resilient agri-food systems in coastal Bangladesh

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cg.authorship.typesCGIAR and developing country instituteen_US
cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Rice Research Instituteen_US
cg.contributor.affiliationCenter for Natural Resource Studiesen_US
cg.contributor.donorCGIAR Trust Funden_US
cg.contributor.initiativeAsian Mega-Deltasen_US
cg.coverage.countryBangladeshen_US
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2BDen_US
cg.coverage.regionAsiaen_US
cg.coverage.regionSouthern Asiaen_US
cg.creator.identifierMou Rani Sarker: 0000-0003-0571-6596en_US
cg.howPublishedGrey Literatureen_US
cg.identifier.urlhttps://youtu.be/2ALJ5prdeyk?si=eAs-1XjwjRMNPLXIen_US
cg.placeDhaka, Bangladeshen_US
cg.river.basinGANGESen_US
cg.subject.actionAreaResilient Agrifood Systemsen_US
cg.subject.impactAreaClimate adaptation and mitigationen_US
cg.subject.sdgSDG 1 - No povertyen_US
cg.subject.sdgSDG 5 - Gender equalityen_US
cg.subject.sdgSDG 6 - Clean water and sanitationen_US
cg.subject.sdgSDG 12 - Responsible consumption and productionen_US
cg.subject.sdgSDG 13 - Climate actionen_US
dc.contributor.authorRahman, M. Mokhlesuren_US
dc.contributor.authorSarker, Mou Ranien_US
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-07T06:54:49Zen_US
dc.date.available2025-01-07T06:54:49Zen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/168612en_US
dc.titleDocumentary on towards inclusive canal water management for resilient agri-food systems in coastal Bangladeshen_US
dcterms.abstractFreshwater scarcity severely impacts the agri-food systems (crop agriculture, fisheries, and livestock) in the saline-prone coastal areas of Bangladesh, particularly in the dry season. This challenge is shaped by both anthropogenic as well as climatic factors. Naturally existing canal networks which crisscross the entire deltaic regions connecting rivers to the sea have historically been a source of freshwater in the deltas, and were the life-line for farming, fishing and livestock storing rainwater in drought-prone periods which extend from November-May each year. Canals also store rainwater and served as resources for capture fishing which is a key livelihood for large numbers of local communities, particularly the landless, and also were used to water livestock. Canals – through which water flows from the rivers to the sea are in principle state-owned resources – the ownership and use of which needs to be, by constitution – public. In practice, these canals are often classified as water resources that do not flow and have over the past two decades been leased out – officially – to small groups of elite individuals who mostly practice mixed water shrimp culture. Most of these canals in the region are now blocked off as sites for shrimp-culture or as fishponds, converted into croplands, sub-leased out, or filled to create new plots for house construction – all activities that are illegal as per the official leasing conditions. The leaseholders monitor and restrict access to canal water – and an anthropogenic water crisis has been created through elite capture – severely restricting water access and use for marginalized, smallholder farmers who make for more than 80% of the total population. The majority of the local people have lost their traditional, legal rights to these common-pool resources for irrigation, fishing, and livestock-related livelihoods. In a few rare cases, local communities have been supported to reclaim and rehabilitate these by NGOs. Occasionally some staff of the local and regional administration and youth advocacy groups have engaged in and supported these processes, but these case studies are few and far, and often require long litigious processes, and can often be met with violence and aggression by the elite who have considerable power, privilege and social and political conditions. In this video, we document how the rehabilitation of a small segment of a canal in Kultali, Dhankhali in Satkhira district to show how this intervention has positively changed agri-food systems and rehabilitated the ecological habitats, as well as livelihoods, incomes and health of local communities, who benefit from improved water for irrigating crops in the dry season, fishing in canals, rearing ducks, and watering cattle. We also document the opinions of government officials – demonstrating that everyone is aware that these freshwater canals are a lifeline of the agri-food systems in saline-prone coastal settings. Our documentary shows that processes of elite domination, illegal leasing, restriction of access to common pool resources can be reversed, and the outcomes of these interventions can be phenomenal and far-reaching.en_US
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Accessen_US
dcterms.audienceCGIARen_US
dcterms.audienceDevelopment Practitionersen_US
dcterms.audiencePolicy Makersen_US
dcterms.audienceNGOsen_US
dcterms.bibliographicCitationSarker, M. R. and Rahman, M. M. 2024. Documentary on towards inclusive canal water management for resilient agri-food systems in coastal Bangladesh. CGIAR Initiative on Asian Mega-Deltas. International Rice Research Institute, Dhaka, Bangladesh.en_US
dcterms.issued2024-12en_US
dcterms.languageenen_US
dcterms.licenseCC-BY-4.0en_US
dcterms.subjectfood systemsen_US
dcterms.subjectclimate changeen_US
dcterms.typeVideoen_US

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