Abstract:
Haor in the Northeast Region of Bangladesh is a very unique type of wetland and is
characterized by the presence of numerous large, deeply flooded depressions, between the
rivers. Premonsoon flash flood from the neighboring hilly region of India is a common
phenomenon, which damages the only possible Boro crop of the region. A number of
submersible embankment projects (SEPs) have been constructed by Bangladesh Water
Development Board (BWDB) to give protection against premonsoon flashflood. From the review
of past studies, it has been ascertained that SEPs have had positive impact on Boro production.
But, the impact of the SEPs on the people’s standard of living and contribution of the project to
the development goal as per National Water Policy has not been assessed. In this study, the
impact of a SEP on the Haor based livelihoods has been assessed. Sonamoral SEP that was
implemented in 1991 in Sunamganj district in the northeast region has been selected as the
study area.
An index called Household Development Index (HHDI) based on the concept of the UNDP for
assessment of human development is used to quantify livelihood development of the study
area. HHDI is constructed using the important livelihood development indicators considering the
context of the study area e.g. income, length of working opportunity in the main and other
occupations, food security, protein intake and access to natural resources. Participatory rural
appraisal (PRA) method has been applied to collect the information of pre and post project
condition based on the indicators. Four Haor based livelihood groups, viz. agricultural,
fisherman, boatman and aquatic plant harvester have been identified in the study. They are fully
dependent on the Haor and its natural resources. A total of 500 households survey, five focus
group discussions and five village level general meetings have been conducted for this study.
The present study shows that, the Sonamoral SEP has successfully contributed in increasing
the Boro production through reducing damage and increasing coverage of HYV Boro. But, the
value of HHDI has declined from pre project (before 1991) condition to post project (after 1991)
condition in agriculture from 0.54 to 0.43, fisherman from 0.52 to 0.42, boatman from 0.45 to
0.36 and in aquatic plant depended group from 0.51 to 0.47. The average of HHDI has declined
from 0.53 to 0.43. Agriculture landowners who are holding the large portion of the cultivable land
are mostly benefited from the project while the other livelihood groups are deprived. Negative
impact on hydrological system and ecological resources is also observed in the study area.
