Socio-economic and ecological considerations in the management of coastal resources of Saint Martin's Island, Bangladesh | |
| Author | Rashid, Mohd. Abdur |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.AQ-05-24 |
| Subject(s) | Coastal zone management--Bangladesh--Saint Martin's Island Coastal ecology--Bangladesh--Saint Martin's Island |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. AQ-05-24 |
| Abstract | Saint Martin's Island's national significance for its unique ecological, aesthetic, social and biogeographic is getting increasingly recognized in Bangladesh. The present study aimed to develop a sustainable coastal resources management plan in the context of socioeconomic and ecological conditions of the island. Household questionnaire survey, Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) technique (transect line, resource mapping, timeline, seasonal calendar, key informants interview, group discussion along with fishing game technique and observation) were used to collect primary data, stakeholder opinion and to assess the coastal resources. The dominant economic activity in the island is fishery on which 51.3% households depend, followed by agriculture and coconut on which reepectively17.5% and 2.5% households depend. The average household size is 7.3 and majority of the households are landless (32.5%) or marginal (33.8%) land owner. The variation in mean income of households of sampled villages from different sources is not significantly different. Ecologically importance resources in the study area include - corals, sea turtles, seaweeds, mollusks, sandy beaches, rocky shores, mangrove forests, natural forests, wetland and wildlife. Local and outsider fishermen, farmers, coral harvesters, shell collectors, seaweed and shrimp fry collectors, forest cutter, tourists, tour operators, government and non government personnel are identified as major stakeholders. Most of the islanders (97.5%) have open access to the coastal resources. On the question of satisfaction level regarding the present status of coastal resources, about one half of the respondents denoted their level of satisfaction as low and moderate. Though 10 ministries and 15 agencies have mandates for coastal zone management, only four ministries (Ministry of Planning, Land, Environment and Forest, and Disaster Management and Relief) and five agencies (Local Government, Navy, Coast Guard, FAOIUNDP and CNRS) are found active to implement their mandates to some extent in the island. About 62.5% of respondents show interest in co-management as a resource management strategy. Overexploitation of coastal resources is the major threat for sustainability. The fast growing tourism industry is disorganized and unregulated. Absence of alternative income options of the local community appears as the key threat to the development of the island. Local communities' access to health services, primary education and micro credit facilities is very poor. Encroachment of outsider fishers is the main reason behind the poor catch and hence poor income of the local fishers. The main strengths of the island are strong cultural adherence between local community and the coast, positive attitudes of local people towards the tourists and diversification of coastal habitats. The weaknesses are seen as increasing competition among fishermen, unplanned tourism and lack of awareness on coastal issues. Whereas, opportunities are scope for developing coconut and fisheries based industries, ecotourism and critical habitats. Low technical and education level of over population, absence of zoning for tourism activities and increased disorganized development pressure within limited coastal area are the major threats. Despite huge pressures on resources and degradation of some critical habitats, the major ecological parameters (temperature, rainfall, relative humidity, salinity, p", light, turbidity, substrate and nutrients) have the resilient capacity to be recovered as pristine ecosystem. Considering all the socio-economic, ecological, institutional aspects and opportunities, the island possesses for high potential for sustainable development and thus a coastal resource management plan has been shown here |
| Year | 2005 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. AQ-05-24 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (Former title: Department of Food Agriculture, and BioResources (DFAB)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Aquaculture and Aquatic Resources Management (AQ) |
| Chairperson(s) | Amin, A. T. M. Nurul; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Soparth Pongquan;Somsak Boromthanarat;Ikejima, Kou; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Danish International Development Assistance (DANIDA) and Asian Institute of Technology Fellowship; |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2005 |