Workshop

On

Functioning National Network of Wetlands Management

Venue: CIRDAP International Conference Centre

Dhaka, Thrusday, 06 June 2013

INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE

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Contents

BACKGROUND...........................................................................................................................3

Page

OBJECTIVES OF WORKSHOP………………………………………………………………………………………………………4

INAUGURAL SESSION

Welcome Speech …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….4

Presentation on ‘Tanguar Haor Management’ ………………………………………………………………………..5

Speech by Community Leader………………………………………………………………………………………………….6

Speech by Guest of Honor ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….6

Speech by Chief Guest……………………………………………………………….................................................7

TECHNICAL SESSION

Presentation on ‘Functioning National Network of Ramsar Wetlands Management’……………….8

Discussant- 1…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….9

Discussant- 2……………………………………………………………………...........................................................9

Remarks by Chair……………………………………………………………………….………………………………………….10

OPEN DISCUSSION SESSION…………………………………………………………………………………………………….11

Closing by Chair…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………17

ANNEXURE I……………………………………………………………………………….......................19

ANNEXURE II....................................................................................................20

ANNEXURE III...................................................................................................26

ANNEXURE IV...................................................................................................30

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Functioning National Network of Wetlands Management: Proceedings

A workshop on ‘Functioning National Network of Wetlands Management’ was organized by IUCN Bangladesh Country Office under the project ‘Community Based Sustainable Management of Tanguar Haor-Phase III’. This workshop was held on Thursday, 06 June 2013 at the CIRDAP International Conference Centre (CICC), Dhaka.

BACKGROUND

Tanguar Haor is a unique wetland ecosystem in northeastern part of Bangladesh which has both national and global significance. This wetland has been designated as a Ramsar Site (Wetland of International Importance) in 2000 and declared as an Ecologically Critical Area in 1999. A historic milestone has been achieved in the management and conservation of the Tanguar Haor and its' rich biodiversity after the traditional leasing of Tanguar Haor had been stopped and its' management was brought under the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) who has taken an initiative to establish there a community-based management system with technical support of IUCN by a project titled “Community Based Sustainable Management of Tanguar Haor”. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation supported the MoEF initiative and providing with financial support to implement the project.

IUCN has been working with this wetland since 2007 to establish a community based co-management system that allows the sustainable use of natural resources, applying the ‘wise use’ principles of Ramsar Convention. The initiative has increased the capacity of local communities to effectively manage the wetland, and created alternative incomes to reduce dependency on natural resources. IUCN now intends to exchange this role model experience of sustainable wetland management with others by establishing an interactive platform of key stakeholders engaged across the country. In this light IUCN Bangladesh organized the workshop to allow the country’s key actors of wetlands to exchange ideas and good practices among each others. Participants including wetland experts, policy makers and managers joined the program and discussed on various issues relating to the establishment of wetlands network.

Mr. Md. Shafiqur Rahman Patwari, Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. Mr. Md. Muazzem Hossian, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Land attended the workshop as Guest of Honor. Dr. Mohammad Nasiruddin, Joint Secretary (Dev.), Ministry of Environment and Forest and NPD,

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‘Community Based Sustainable Management of Tanguar Haor Project’ and Mr. Md. Jafar Siddique, Senior Deputy Secretary, Government of Bangladesh were present as chair in different sessions. Mr. Abul Hashem, Project Director, WBRP, Department of Fisheries and Dr. Golam Mostafa, Fish Genetic Specialist, CREL Project, Winrock Bangladesh discussed in the workshop as key note speakers. There were two presentations respectively by Mr. Md. Aminur Rahman, Policy and Institutional Support Coordinator, CBSMTHP-III, IUCN Bangladesh Country Office and Dr. Istiak Sobhan, Progamme Coordinator, IUCN Bangladesh Country Office. Farid Hasan Ahmed, Senior Programme Officer, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) participated in the workshop with valuable comments.

OBJECTIVES OF WORKSHOP ● Revive wetlands network by establishing an interactive platform of key stakeholders engaged across the country. ● Share knowledge on wetlands management following experience of the previous wetlands network. ● Exchange the role model experience of sustainable wetlands management following ‘Ramsar Wise Use Principles’ in Tanguar Haor. ● Discuss goals, objectives, structure, nature and scopes of the National Wetlands Network. ● Find different ways to make wetlands network functional and sustainable. INAUGURAL SESSION

Mr. Ishtiaq Uddin Ahmad

Welcome Speech

Country Representative IUCN Bangladesh Country Office

Mr. Ishtiaq Uddin Ahmad at first welcomed all the distinguished guests. He firstly said that this workshop is important as we are going to discuss on the functioning of wetlands network. He mentioned that Community Based Sustainable Management of Tanguar Haor Project (CBSMTHP) will end in due time; so the project activities should

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ensure sustaining the motive with what the project started working. He also highlighted the importance of the wetlands network which could contribute to the development of the wetlands biodiversity as well as welfare of the community depending on wetland resources. Mr. Ishtiaq informed about 12-15 thousands of wetlands exist in Bangladesh and each wetland is rich of biodiversity with its own ecosystem process. He also talked about the importance of biodiversity in terms of providing food and nutrition to us. Livelihood of the people living around wetlands totally depends on wetland resources. Then he focused on Tanguar haor as a Ramsar site and briefly outlined the background of CBSMTHP which has been working under the Ministry of Environment and Forests with technical support from IUCN and financial support from SDC. Mr. Ishtiaq opined that local people/community must be included in the effort to establish co-management system in Tanguar haor under the current project. He also said that isn’t very easy for a single body to deal with natural resource management of the wetland and that’s why a common platform of wetlands network is required to be established. In this respect, he addressed to revenue earning from wetlands resources as a prior issue while ignoring the scientific management of wetlands in most cases. So Mr. Ishtiaq appreciated the initiative of Ministry of Land to come out of the leasing system in Tanguar haor and handed over its charge to the Ministry of Environment and Forests. He also proposed to set similar example in case of other major wetlands of the country. At the end of his speech he thanked to District Commission, Sunamganj for supporting IUCN in implementing the project activities and concluded his speech with a valuable remarks “Resource is not for making money”.

Mr. Md. Aminur Rahman

Presentation on ‘Tanguar Haor Management’

Policy and Institutional Support Coordinator, CBSMTHP-III IUCN Bangladesh Country Office Mr. Aminur Rahman gave a detailed presentation to inform and share experience about/of CBSMTHP. At first, he briefly discussed background of the project. He informed that Tanguar haor is a unique water body of 9727 hector areas which supports livelihood of 56,000 people in 88 villages. He also presented the current status of natural resources and socio-economic conditions of the haor area. Mr. Aminur Rahman in his presentation mentioned that CBSMTHP is following a co-management approach while abiding with some nationally and internationally important policies and regulations. Then he showed a digital map of Tanguar haor and said it is the second Ramsar site as well as an ‘Ecologically Critical Area’ (ECA) of Bangladesh. Besides, he clearly stated the goals of CBSMTHP after discussing its different milestones. After that

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he explained the co-management model with a diagram which shows a co-relation between stakeholders (i.e. government, Tanguar haor community, civil society forum, national scientific body, wetland network) at different tiers. To discuss considerations of the co-management approach Mr. Aminur told that this project would focus to maintain ecological integrity and to improve livelihood of the community by using its resources. Next he shared various observations and learning during functioning of CBSMTHP. In this respect, he talked about many challenges and obstructions i.e. in establishing the community organization headed by a Central Co-Management Committee (CCC), for protecting resources where community interests/rights exist, in gaining support from government to manage new approach, in making coordination between government and community. But at the time he placed some good opportunities as positive indications for the project. At the end, a number of outcome based achievements were presented which include community participation, biodiversity conservation, leadership building, livelihood improvement, fund accumulation, decision making, resource sharing and formation of different bodies (civil society forum, national scientific body, wetland network) etc.

Speech by Community Leader

Mr. Moznu Mia Community leader, Tanguar Haor Mr. Moznu gave a short speech on behalf of the community leaders of Tanguar haor Addressing all the participants he said that it was a pleasure for the haor people to see Tanguar haor recognized as a Ramsar site, therefore find this project functioning for the development of the haor people. He also expressed gratefulness to the Govt. of Bangladesh for supporting the project in Tanguar haor and expected more efforts from the project implementing bodies in bringing change of the livelihood of the haor people. Mr. Moznu ended his speech assuring community’s co-operation towards the project activities.

Speech by Guest of Honor

Mr. Md. Muazzem Hossain Additional Secretary, Ministry of Land Mr. Md. Muazzem Hossain warmly welcomed all the distinguished guests of the workshop. He talked about land as importance among all the natural resources. In this regard, he shared his concern for the indiscriminate use of land to meet demand of the

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increased population. He informed all that Tanguar haor is already placed in the ‘Wetland Regulations’ which was prepared by the Ministry of Land (MoL) in 2009. Mr.Muazzem Hossain also discussed about the process that his ministry follows in managing wetlands. According to his saying, Ministry of Land signed a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock (MoFL) and LGED as per Article-3 of ‘Wetland Regulations’. Following the MoU, 843 wetlands released to MoFL and LGED took over 300 wetlands for management from the Ministry of Land. Then he mentioned the presentation on CBSMTHP by Mr. Aminur Rahman and suggested to change mindset of the project stakeholders for producing a better outcome. The Guest of Honor also urged all to take responsibility from each stand and work together in a coordinated effort rather engaging in criticism. He opined that we could make justice if leave resources for the next generation. After that Mr.Muazzem Hossain looked at the legal complexities of CBSMTHP and expressed the necessity of cooperation from the ministry as well as IUCN in dealing such issues. Lastly, he emphasized to make a balance in between doing development and conserving biodiversity while implementing the project activities.

Mr. Md. Shafiqur Rahman Patwari

Speech by Chief Guest

Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests Mr. Md. Shafiqur Rahman Patwari firstly thanked all, specially the wetland experts for attending this workshop. He analytically discussed the value of wetlands from a scientific point of view. He said that wetland components are essential for ecosystem and sources of our food. Mr. Md. Shafiqur Rahman then stated that as a signatory to ‘Ramsar Convention’ Bangladesh has a commitment to preserve and manage wetland following the ‘Wise-use Principles’. He also mentioned that Tanguar haor is the second Ramsar site of Bangladesh following the Mangrove Forest. This wetland has a rich biodiversity of diversified flora and fauna. But unsustainable resource exploitation due to human intervention was pushing this haor at a vulnerable stage. That’s why the Government of Bangladesh in 1999 declared Tanguar haor as a ‘Critically Ecological Area’ and later on the Ministry of Environment and Forests started implementing CBSMTHP by the mandate of SDC with technical support from IUCN. The Chief Guest also focused on some of the probable outcomes of the project. He told that establishing a co-management system will ensure conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use of natural resources. This system would generate opportunities for significant improvement of livelihood of the communities around Tanguar haor area. The co-

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management model in Tanguar haor is one of the success cases among all other wetland projects implementing under MoEF. Moreover, the honorable Secretary of MoEF was proud to say that it was a historic milestone to bring Tanguar haor out of the leasing system. At this point he reiterated the proposal as placed by the Country Representative of IUCN Bangladesh in earlier discussion and asserted that his ministry would actively consider for keeping major wetlands out of the leasing system as well as declaring more wetlands as Ramsar sites. At the end of his speech he appreciated the step to organize a common platform of dialog on ‘National Network of Wetlands Management’ which will be authorized by MoEF with goals of enhancing community livelihood and ensuring ecosystem integrity though sustainable management of wetlands.

TECHNICAL SESSION

Dr. Istiak Sobhan

Presentation on ‘Functioning National Network of Ramsar Wetlands Management’

Progamme Coordinator IUCN Bangladesh Country Office Dr. Istiak in his presentation firstly discussed on the background of wetland network. He mentioned IUCN Bangladesh’s intention to establish an interactive platform of key stakeholders engaged in wetlands management of the country. As an explanation he said, wetland is in the most vulnerable stage among all ecosystems of the country. Hence wetland co-management needs special concentration other than the terrestrial co-managements. Then he cleared goal of the wetland network. Dr. Istiak opined that this platform would allow the country’s key wetland actors to exchange good practices among each other and provide policy guidelines for wetlands management following ‘Wise use’ principles of Ramsar Convention of which Bangladesh is signatory. As key objectives of the network he discussed about sharing knowledge on wetland management, replicating success stories in other wetlands, exchanging information, developing co-management policies and supporting other wetland policies etc. After that he focused on management structure of the network which was already shared in the previous year’s meeting. As he said, this network would be authorized by the Ministry of Environment and Forest and chaired by the Secretary. Dr. Istiak also added that Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock could be a vital part of this network. Secretarial support would be provided by IUCN Bangladesh and its Country Representative would act as the General Secretary. He told that person/focal point of govt. and non-govt. organizations and projects could join the network as general members while potential development partners would be included as observer members. Next he described

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various scopes of the network under four outcomes. Finally, Dr. Istiak addressed the ways to keep the wetland network active with sustainability. Discussant-1 Mr. Abul Hashem Project Director, WBRP Department of Fisheries, Bangladesh Mr. Abul Hashem at the beginning of speech concentrated on the role and extent of national wetland network. He wanted to be clear on the point that whether the network would be limited to only Ramsar wetlands or would include all wetlands of the country. In the event of the later one, he suggested to incorporate all the relevant stakeholders like Ministry of Environment and Forests, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Ministry of Land, Ministry of Water Resources etc for setting up an effective and active network. He also identified problems at the policy level in case of managing wetlands under different concerned departments of the government. He opined that in most of the cases government releases wetlands for co-management under projects for the period of six years. But it requires a long period of time (i.e. 25-99 years) to establish co-management as well as to ensure sustainable management. Then Mr. Abul Hashem went for a presentation on networking. Firstly, he explained three main causes behind networking (Why Networking?). He stated that through networking it is possible to make a balance between different stakeholders. Secondly, he showed different levels of networking like community level, NGOs & other stakeholders, local government, intermediate/ regional body and central body. Thirdly, he discussed on different network structures of some successful projects under MoFL which include MACH, WBRP etc. Fourthly, the discussant talked about forming committees at different levels, preparing constitution/ guidelines and processing registration. Finally, he raised the necessity to review and update public water bodies management policy 2009.Otherwise there wouldn’t be any way to mange (sustainable) wetlands for more than six years.

Discussant-2

Dr. Golam Mostafa Fish Genetic Specialist CREL Project, Winrock Bangladesh

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Dr. Golam Mostafa termed Tanguar haor as a unique water body with existence of bio-physical characteristics. He also acknowledged the well-establishment of a community organization there. But he said that without developing ecosystem at the sustainable rate it wouldn’t be possible to manage wetlands resource successfully. Destruction of one species could allow perishing other species diversity. So good management plan is essential for ensure sustainability of the ecological diversity. In this respect, he referred to the recent occurrence at Baikka beel and urged to take lesson from it. Then the discussant opined that by developing CBOs (Community Based Organizations) co-management could be established at a lower cost. He shared that strong formation of CBO (viz. Central Co-Management Committee) in Tanguar haor has been socially accepted. On the other hand, Dr. Mostafa expressed few concerns regarding the effectiveness of AIG (Alternative Income Generating) activities in Tanguar haor. In that case he suggested to choose alternative occupations considering time/season to lessen dependency on fishing. Moreover, he emphasized on awaking community people about resource protection by disseminating knowledge. To discuss on network management Dr. Mostafa agreed with the proposal earlier placed by the Chair. In addition, he requested to consider universities in the network as some relevant departments are now exercising knowledge on co-management. After that he focused on sharing data/information as well as learning through network. The discussant also pointed to restore wetland knowledge at administrative level by holding experienced government officials at a minimum relevant department. At the end he urged to use wetland network for developing co-management in open water bodies and avoiding degradation of ecologically critical species.

Dr. Mohammad Nasiruddin

Remarks by Chair:

Joint Secretary (Development), Ministry of Environment and Forests & NPD of CBSMTHP Dr. Mohammad Nasiruddin briefly delivered his speech as a Chair of the session. He looked back to the initial stage of the wetlands network in 2001 which failed to establish later on due to the lack of support from an organized institution. So he greeted IUCN for taking initiative to revive the wetlands network. Then the Chair advised to place Ministry of Fisheries & Livestock and Ministry of Land as Co-Chair in the management of network. He also emphasized on the valuable presentation made by the previous discussant-1 and offered for holding brainstorming session at any convenient place/time. Dr. Nasiruddin highly valued role of the wetlands network if it

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could act as pressure group in case of convincing the government. According to his personal opinion, a number of studies may be conducted for storing solid information about wetlands. One is the ‘Cost-Benefit Analysis’ which would be useful to explore the contribution of wetlands in GDP of Bangladesh. To do such study some other wetlands at ecologically critical states need to be listed in Ramsar site and therefore manage those applying the ‘Wise-Use Principles’. In this regard, CREL (Climate-Resilient Ecosystems and Livelihoods) project would be a suitable one to support IUCN for conducting the study. Another study may be on ‘Political Economy of Wetlands Management’ which would help to analyze interests of the vested groups in wetlands. Besides, the Chair stressed on examining ‘Geo-Morphological Change’ of the wetlands since these are gradually shrinking following with sedimentations. Dr. Nasiruddin concluded his valuable speech saying that there would be more other studies and combining all efforts a holistic approach with long time vision could be adopted through wetlands network which would ultimately result in a convenient environment for consolidating political will of the government.

OPEN DISCUSSION SESSION Mr. Ishtiaq Uddin Ahmad Country Representative IUCN Bangladesh Country Office Mr. Ishtiaq Uddin Ahmad shared his observation on initiatives taken earlier for unifying co-management of Forest department and Fisheries department under ‘Nishorgo Network’. He also informed that a co-management congress held in 2012 where co-management bodies of ‘Nishorgo Network’ participated. So he proposed to create a common platform for co-management of natural resources combining with fisheries and forest resources through networking. The country representative said that CREL project may be helpful in facilitating this unique body or federation which would ultimately contribute in the management of natural resources more effectively.

Dr. Khalilur Rahman Principal Scientific Officer, BFRI Dr. Khalilur Rahman appreciated the initiative for forming a wetlands network. He suggested include all other major beels, i.e. Chalan beel of the country in this network so that these could be protected from biodiversity degradation. He also stressed on shifting the goal of leasing from ‘Revenue oriented’ to ‘Biological oriented’ sine the

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money earned from revenue is very minimal. According to his opinion, length of leasing period (if any) should be at least for six years so as to allow two full life cycles of fish breeding. Then he urged to set up a link with the ‘Haor Development Board’ which has already prepared a management guideline/manual for wetlands. Dr. Khalilur considered it important to identify any spawning ground in the Jadukata River near Tanguar haor and conduct a survey for analyzing fish stock there. He also talked about the possible destruction of fish breeding due to wide use of pesticides in agricultural lands. At the end he proposed to develop an early warning system for flash flood by reviewing the previous data.

Deputy Chief Conservator of Forest (DCC) Department of Forest, Ministry of Environment and Forests Deputy Chief Conservator recommended manage Tanguar haor within the country’s legal framework since Ramsar Site is an international recognition and it doesn’t fulfill the national legal obligations. In this case ‘Wildlife Protection Act 2012’ could provide the legal support if any area of this wetland is brought for protection. As for example, the DCC shared an idea to demarcate 5% area of the total 52 depressions in Tanguar haor and declare this area as a sanctuary under the protection act. He also showed a model of another Ramsar Site ‘Sundarabans’ where water bodies are managed in a rotation basis. Following the same method a definite portion of the haor (preferably 5%) could be protected and thus fish production would be increased.

Mr. Nasir Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Land Mr. Nasir tried to make it clear that ‘Wetland Regulations 2009’ is distinct from the previous regulations. In the latest one revenue earning is not the prime objective rather it is a secondary issue. As he mentioned, lease is given only to the registered fishermen under this regulations. Even among the two parties, one who stays closest to the water body is selected for leasing. Mr. Nasir also informed that there are 27,000 wetlands in Bangladesh and there is a provision to release wetlands for co-management through MoU. But the matter is that most of the people living around wetlands largely depend on fishing. So if this large number of wetlands comes under co-management then the poverty rate might go up. Besides, he justified the current period of six years for co-management in the new regulations saying that at the end of project period most of the wetlands are found without any remarkable progress or sustainability. So Mr. Nasir urged the CBSMHTP authority to inform his ministry prior to six months of the end of

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project. Lastly, he recommended to the project authority to establish a legal wing in the co-management structure in order to strongly face legal complexities in the future.

Mr. Hasib Erfanullah Team Leader, Disaster Risk Reduction & Climate Change Practical Action Bangladesh

Mr. Hasib Erfanullah at first told that network managing wouldn’t be a difficult task for a large and experienced organization like IUCN. He also said there was not much discussion as expected on the functioning of wetlands network in this workshop. Then he concentrated on the presentation of Mr. Aminur Rahman which showed 13 achievements but somehow missed some points of knowledge whereas network activities include generation, sharing and management of knowledge. He also pointed to the slow progress since the last workshop of wetlands network held on May, 2012.Besides, Mr. Hasib asked whether CREL enjoys the mandate of managing natural resources through the wetlands network. He shared his final observation saying that wetlands network should have a definite purpose even for a definite period of time. Otherwise the same discussion will repeatedly continue round the year.

Dr. Abdur Rob Mollah Chairman, NACOM Dr. Rob Mollah stated that criteria of stakeholders for the wetlands network were not clear in this workshop although the purposes came into discussion. He also matched activities of the network with the functions of any civil society. Therefore, he consented that those stakeholders should be involved here which could substantively contribute in fostering the physical actions and promoting visions of this network. In that case, some local stakeholders like CBOs and CMOs would also work in the network. After that Dr. Rob Mollah criticized the process of forming network. He opined that appropriate steps have not been taken for wetlands networking. Then he talked about the co-management committee of Tanguar haor and advised to observe its capacity particularly in the areas of decision making, problem solving, leadership role etc. He also highly stressed to produce and promote dedicated leaders for well being of the community as well as for ensuring success of the project goals.

Mr. Farid Hasan Ahmed Senior Programme Officer

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Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) Mr. Farid Hasan Ahmed delivered his speech with some valuable comments and observations. At first he said Tanguar haor would act importantly for revitalizing the wetlands network which started journey in 2001 and stopped immediately. He then highlighted a number of issues discussed earlier in the workshop including achievements, challenges, bureaucratic limitations, community organization, mindset change, collective efforts, network management, technical views etc. Mr. Farid Hasan also recommended IUCN to share the previous ToR with all concerned in order to make it more updated and developed within a short time. At the same time he urged to enrich the member list of wetlands network so that no relevant stakeholder is missed out there. In his discussion he talked about the possible obstruction (i.e. political view) in functioning of the network. But Mr. Farid was hopeful of the progress of network. In this respect, he consented to gather lessons from ‘Good/Not Good Practice’ of co-management through the network. According to his opinion, this network would be useful for the co-management committees working in Tanguar haor. It could be helpful in strengthening the community’s capacity in different areas like leadership building, community empowerment and others. Besides, there would an opportunity for the local community to bridge with the government and other wetlands stakeholders through this network. As per his opinion, proper orientations need to be provided to the government officials at district and upazila level to ensure all out cooperation from the administration. After that Mr. Farid requested for fixing a date of the next meeting of wetlands network and also for assigning a specific body to coordinate network functioning for the immediate next days. Finally, he cleared the stand point of SDC which wants to see all outcomes of CBSMTHP achieved duly with the adequate support from MoEF and from other related stakeholders. He concluded his speech expecting that this wetlands network would come out of the distance now exists and it will be a functional body from the next day/s.

Mr. Abdul Matin Rtrd. Official, Ministry of Water Resources Mr. Abdul Matin told that expectation shouldn’t be high in case of early warning system because the intermediate time is very short in that case. He then suggested for engaging community people to protect the earthen embankment. He also informed that family size in the haor area is bigger than the national average. So he requested to make integration between resource assessment and population growth. Awareness campaign could be a better initiative in this regard. Moreover, Mr. Matin talked for

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developing data base to share the experience/knowledge of Tanguar haor co-management model. As per his comment, steps are required to protect ecology from the mixture of pesticides widely used in agricultural lands. Lastly, he proposed to develop tourism in Tanguar haor while analyzing the risk factors.

Mr. Junaid Kabir Chowdhury Retrd. Conservator of Forest, Forest Department & Senior Consultant IUCN Bangldesh Country Office

Mr.Junaid Kabir at first pointed to the undefined schedule of land in the Ramsar Site-Tanguar haor. As a consequence conflict would persist with Ministry of Environment and Forests and Ministry of Land. Then he said the wetlands network should be operated by a lead organization. Mr. Junaid also commented that management of Tanguar haor must be stronger to protect resources from indiscriminate exploitation. At the end he recommended to add necessary rules and acts under the ‘Wetlands Regulations 2009’ and therefore make this regulations an effective legal framework for the management of wetlands.

Ms. Iffat Nawaz CREL Project Ms. Iffat shared her experience of ‘Nishorgo Network’ under IPAC and informed that there is a plan to establish similar network under the CREL project. She agreed with Mr. Ishtiaq Uddin Ahmad for forming the network under a common umbrella and also suggested to revise the ToR of wetlands network. Lastly, she drew attention of all stakeholders to reduce the gap between grassroots and national level in the network and affirmed CREL’s intention to facilitate the network. Ms. Shazia Mohshin Khan CREL Project Ms. Shazia Mohshin Khan said that a number of CBOs are already established but these are not totally rid of the internal institutional barriers. In this regard, she mentioned that violation of resource management rights and access violation are there despite the presence of ansar and local government. She consented to settle an enabling environment at the community level which could be done by involving any microcredit organization, any other projects or private sectors. She also opined that sharing of

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practical knowledge and information at union level would extensively benefit the local community. Mr. Ruhul Amin Deputy Secretary, Government of Bangladesh Mr. Ruhul Amin spoke for ensuring three categories in the wetlands network and these are network of people, network of organizations and network of networks. He hoped this network would minimize the knowledge gap by providing baseline data and time series data. He also expected from the network to be supportive in some other issues like policy advising to government, identifying and solving problems of co-management. Mr. Ruhul at the end raised the issue of funding support for this network. Mr. Shahad Mahmud Chowdhury Dialogue Coordinator, Ecosystem for Life Project IUCN Bangladesh Country Office

Mr. Shahad firstly explained that the previous network was funded by DFID and so it stopped functioning as soon as the fund was withdrawn. But at the second phase of CBSMTHP, with kind support from SDC, it has been again possible for IUCN to re-establish the network in 2012. He also justified for taking some times to organize this meeting by IUCN. Then he offered for sitting in a close-door meeting with the relevant stakeholders where the experts would deeply analyze scope of the network as well as finalize the ToR with their valuable inputs. After that Mr. Shahad discussed about the funding sustainability of this network. Moreover, he cleared a difference between wetlands network and co-management network. At that point he urged to do exercise on different management of wetlands and come into a single stand which ensures sustainability of wetland. Lastly, the speaker requested the Chair to fix the next meeting date within the session period.

Mr.Soleman Haider Department of Environment, Ministry of Environment and Forests Mr. Haider informed that the Department of Environment has already delineated the ecologically critical areas and it has got updated information on Tanguar haor area. He then discussed about how to link wetlands management network with ecological connectivity network. He also shared that under CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity) a new strategic planning launched in 2010 which is also known as ‘IT

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Biodiversity Target 2011-20’.One of its target is ‘valuation of ecosystem goods and services’ in wetlands and thus Tanguar haor may come into this study as an important wetland ecosystem. Ms. Nigar dil Nahar National Project Manager, DRR Christian Aid Ms. Nigar told that this network should proceed with specific goals and objectives. She was surprised to say that a similar platform for wetlands established in 2008 namely as ‘Haor platform’ following the Haor Convention which also held in 2012.So she requested to link wetlands network with that platform at a large scale while making sure that there is no any conflict of interests. She also added that community participation would provide more sustainability to this network rather than the fund sustainability. At the end she disfavored networking driven by any INGO considering for ensuring sustainability of the wetlands network. Mr. Abu Wahid Department of Agriculture Mr. Wahid expressed interest of his department to be a part of the wetlands network. He expected that through this network there would an opportunity to gather knowledge and information about different aspects of co-management. He also opined that this network should be owned by any organization. Dr. Gausia Chowdhury Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka Dr. Gausia thanked IUCN for organizing the workshop and reviving the network. She recommended for monitoring and evaluation of the network mission. Besides, she commented that community inclusion would be much valuable for this network.

Closing by Chair

Mr. Md. Jafar Siddique Senior Deputy Secretary, Government of Bangladesh Mr. Md. Jafar Siddique presided over the discussion session. He requested IUCN to prepare a working paper based on the summary of this workshop. This would help to

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guide in the next meeting. Then he came up with a number of important points to consider for the management of Tanguar haor. Firstly, Mr. Jafar Siddique proposed to remove a channel (Patlai River) from Tanguar haor since it is causing water pollution during dry season. In that case other channels could be used for transportation. Secondly, he urged to maintain the embankment of Gurmar haor as a protection for Tanguar haor. Thirdly, the Chair told for dredging few channels connected to the hoar to allow smooth movement of fishes as well as to ensure fish production. Then he suggested to utilize the law enforcing forces particularly BGB which could be much effective even with a single raid in a month. After that he recommended the project authority to re-think for working with the core groups of the community rather than dealing with irrelevant parts. The Chair also said some peripheral wetlands of the haor which are source of disputes could be brought under different management systems as per direction from the Ministry of Land. Moreover, Mr. Jafar Siddique told that the existing Wetlands Regulations is favorable if a strong and effective management system is ensured. Next he shared his experience of conserving natural resources at a small level (village) and urged for conservation of ecosystems at community area under the auspices of ‘Wildlife Protection Act’. Finally, he requested all to act responsibly for conservation of natural resources and concluded the session wishing success of the wetlands network.

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ANNEXURE I-Agenda

Workshop On

Functioning National Network of Wetlands Management Organized by: IUCN Bangladesh

Funded by: Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Date: 06 June 2013

Venue: CIRDAP International Conference Centre (CICC), Chameli House, 17 Topkhana Road, Dhaka.

Programme Schedule

09:30 am Registration and Morning Tea

10:00 am Recitation from the Holy Quran

10:05 am Welcome Address and Introduction by Mr. Ishtiaq Uddin Ahmad, Country Representative, IUCN Bangladesh Country Office

10:20 am Presentation on Tanguar Haor Management by Md. Aminur Rahman, Policy and Institutional Support Coordinator, Community Based Sustainable Management of Tanguar Haor Project-Phase III

10:45 am Speech by Community Leader/s 11:00 am Speech by the Guest of Honor Mr. Md. Muazzem Hossian, Additional Secretary,

Ministry of Land 11:10 am Speech by the Chief Guest Mr. Md. Shafiqur Rahman Patwari, Secretary,

Ministry of Environment and Forest, Bangladesh 11:30 am Tea Break 11:45 am Presentation on “Functioning the National Network of Wetlands Management”

by Dr. Istiak Sobhan, Programme Coordinator, IUCN Bangladesh 12:10 pm Presentation by Discussant 1: Mr. Abul Hashem, Project Director, WBRP,

Department of Fisheries, Bangladesh. 12:25 pm Presentation by Discussant 2: Dr. Golam Mostafa, Fish Genetic Specialist, Winrock

Bangladesh, CREL Project

12:40 pm Open discussion 01:40 pm Closing Remarks by the Chair of the Session Dr. Mohammad Nasiruddin, Joint

Secretary (Dev.), Ministry of Environment and Forest and NPD, Community Based Sustainable Management of Tanguar Haor Project-Phase III

1.50 pm Lunch

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ANNEXURE II- Presentation 1

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ANNEXURE III- Presentation 2

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ANNEXURE IV- List of Participants (To be attached)