DRIVERS OF CHANGES IN ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND HUMAN WELL-BEING IN THE BANGLADESH SUNDARBANS

Abstract

The Sundarbans is the world’s largest mangrove forest that provide a range of goods and services for human societies living adjacent to the forest and beyond. This mangrove ecosystems are changing at unprecedented rates, as result of the coupled impacts of climate pressures and anthropogenic drivers like climate change and overexploitation. However, there are very few studies focused on the interlink among environmental changes, degradation of the ecosystem services and subsequent impacts on the well-being of dependent population. Based on the analysis of time series data on different environmental parameters of Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), the study track the enviormental changes in the Sundarbans region. Revenue data from the Department of Forest was utilized to quantity the ecosystem services received from the Sundarbans. Enviromental changes in the region further verified through the lens of the perceptions of forest-dependent population from September 2015 to November 205. To study the perceptions of communities and their respective strategies cope with environmnetal changes fieldwork was conducted in six communities in Satkhira, Khulna and Bagerhat districts. In the fieldwork, a number of qualitative tools such as interviews, focus group discussions, informal interview, key informant interview, stakeholder analysis and oral history were employed. The time series analysis of environmental variables such as temperature, rainfall, humidity etc. shows considerable fluctuations over years that could affect mangrove productivity and subsequent delivery of mangrove ecosystem services. In addition to environmental variables different anthropogenic drivers such as over-exploitation of resources further deteriorate the quality and quantity of ecosystem services. The changing pattren of ecosystem services brought misfortune to the well-being of the dependent population in terms of reduction in income, exposure to disasters and disorders. In response to the induced crises, interviewed communities adopt a number of strategies such as diversification of income sources through over-exploitation of different forest resources, reduction of consumption, migration, selling of assets etc. Finally, the study provide a number of recommendations to address the ongoing environmnetal chnages, to sustain the flow of ecosystem sevices for enhanced human well-being in the region.