Fishing

Salt- and fresh-water flooding will cause serious consequences for many different sectors of Bangladesh, and it has the potential to devastate the lives of rice farmers, especially those in the delta region. As sea levels rise, ocean water will reduce the amount of land available for agriculture and storm surge will carry salt water into existing fields, contaminating the soils with salts. Already, 80% of Bangladesh floods regularly during the annual monsoon season[1], but due to climate change, the timing of this season is becoming more erratic. Farmers rely on previous experience and long-term forecasts when planning when to plant and harvest their crops, but monsoons have started occurring earlier than expected, sometimes even before farmers have a chance to begin their annual harvest.[2]

Figure 1: Average precipitation and min/max temperature over the year (A); graph of when agricultural stresses are most severe and planting seasons of major rice species (B).

Source: Israt Shelley, Rice Cultivation in Bangladesh: Present Scenario, Problems, and Prospects[3]

As the climate becomes more and more erratic, rice agriculture in Bangladesh may become infeasible, and farmers will lose their livelihoods. Agriculture employs 45% of the Bangladesh workforce[2], and that number increases to 87% of households in rural areas that depend on agriculture for at least part of their income[4], meaning a very significant number of people in Bangladesh will be affected by declining agricultural productivity due to climate change. This is especially true for farmers in rural areas who would have to migrate to cities in order to find other work, such as jobs in urban factories. Instead of trying to fight the floods and monsoons, it is a valid option for at least part of the agricultural population to switch to a different form of food production.

In fact, some rice farmers have already been transitioning to fish farming. In the Delta region, freshwater fish farming can occur in rivers, lakes, and fresh wetlands. Saltwater fishing has also increased in frequency, becoming one of the major sources of food, exports, income and employment for Bangladesh.[2] In an analysis of income distribution and income sources for districts in Bangladesh, the Patharghata and Amtali subdistricts were compared due to their close geographic locations and other similarities. Patharghata has a much lower poverty rate than Amtali, in part due to the high number of people who participate in the fishing industry. Amtali still remains dependent on rice agriculture, causing a high poverty rate.[2] In further analyses, districts that have diversified their economy away from dominantly agriculture, and including investment in the fishing industry, have lower poverty and higher per capita incomes than other districts.

For farmers unwilling to completely divest from rice farming, an integrated rice-fish farming system (IRFFS) is also a valid solution.[5] Especially as sea levels rise and flooding becomes more and more frequent, there will be more water habitats for fish to live in and less land cover for rice to grow on. Adapting to this reality is essential for Bangladesh, and not only will farmers be able to improve their livelihoods, but a reduction in rice farming will reduce the strain on groundwater sources for agricultural irrigation and increase food security, as fish are a more seasonably stable food supply than rice. Studies have found that IRFFS has positive impacts on those who make this transition when measuring increase in household annual income, farm income, and quantity and frequency of fish consumption.[5]

However, completely transitioning to a fishing culture would still have negative consequences. Freshwater fishing especially is still very vulnerable to sea level rise and storm surge if saltwater contaminates freshwater ecosystems. Also, if too many farmers make this transition and they all attempt to sell their fish in the same market, there will be an excess in fish supply, dropping market prices and making it even harder for these fisherpeople to make a living. Further, Bangladesh is already vulnerable to overfishing, and the Bay of Bengal is already becoming severely depleted of many fish species.[6] An increase in wild fishing by previous rice farmers would put further strain on the ecosystem, so the transition to fishing and fish farming must be made carefully. Policies need to be put in place to regulate overfishing and ensure that fisherpeople are able to maintain their livelihoods as well as the marine and freshwater ecosystems.

Another apparent option would be to transition to shrimp farming. In fact, strong improvements in per capita income of districts seem to correlate with increases in investment in commercial shrimp. For example, the district of Khulna has the second largest per capita income of the country. This is in part because it has heavily invested in shrimp production, making it the third highest shrimp producing district.[2] However, this district also has a high level of poverty and extreme income inequality because shrimp farming requires a large initial investment, and is often done through large-scale commercial companies, so individual rural farmers are forced to stay in the rice farming industry.[2] Further, shrimp farming specifically also has negative effects on the environment. Not only does shrimp farming contribute to soil degradation, but high levels of by-catch impacts the biodiversity of the ecosystem.[7] For these reasons, transitioning to shrimp farming on a large scale would likely not be beneficial to farmers, especially small, low income farmers who do not have the resources to set up a large commercial shrimp farm.

As a result of the growing impracticality of rice farming and the adaptive benefits of fishing, the government of Bangladesh should encourage farmers to transition into the fishing industry as the climate becomes more erratic. Farmers that are unable to harvest their rice due to extreme weather events, flooding, drought, or any other climate events should consider adapting their livelihood to the realities of the future: that sea levels are rising and water-based subsistence will be more frequently necessary. Making the transition to complete fish farming or IRFFS requires investment by the farmer, creating a barrier that many farmers are unable to overcome.[5] As a result, the government of Bangladesh should subsidize farmers who need to input an initial investment in order to make this transition, and should create tax incentives for developing the domestic and international fishing market. The country needs to face the realities of how climate change will change their region and way of life, and this solution does just that.

By Sarah Weidman

 

References

  1. Dewan, T. H. (2015). Societal impacts and vulnerability to floods in Bangladesh and Nepal. Weather and Climate Extremes 7, 36-42. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
  2. Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 (pp. 1-714, Rep.). (2017). Bangladesh: General Economics Division, Bangladesh Planning Commission.
  3. Shelley, Israt J. (2016). Rice Cultivation in Bangladesh: Present Scenario, Problems, andProspects. Journal of International Cooperation for Agricultural Development 14, 20-29.
  4. Bangladesh: Growing the Economy through Advances in Agriculture. (2016). The World Bank. Retrieved from http://www.worldbank.org
  5. Saiful Islam, Abu Hayat Md. (2015). Adoption and impact of integrated rice–fish farming system in Bangladesh. Aquaculture 447, no. 1, 76-85
  6. Ghosh, Amitav and Aaron Savio Lobo. (2017). Bay of Bengal: depleted fish stocks and huge dead zone signal tipping point. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com
  7. Ahmed, Nesar. (2010). Prawn postlarvae fishing in coastal Bangladesh: Challenges for sustainable livelihoods. Marine Policy 34 no. 2, 218-227.