68
5.1 Introduction
The chapter considers the case of the Sundarbans of Bangladesh, the largest mangrove ecosystem of the world and a hotspot of biodiversity resources, to explore the
underlying causes behind the continuous and unabated losses of its biodiversity
resources and to seek viable means (policy) or measures (action) through which the
process of degradation can be halted, the conservation process can be revitalised,
and the sustainability of the resources can be ensured. It accordingly maps and finds
out the key stakeholders and the agents dependent on the Sundarbans biodiversity
resources and presents an alternative analysis to the sustainability of natural
resources management integrating traditional knowledge (TK) systems to the socioecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS) and draws on actions as
regard to sustainable management of natural resources by means of harmonious
human–nature nexus. Such an alternative analysis developed here can be used in
other countries that are facing the same type of problems in biodiversity loss.
It is well documented that biodiversity resources have been declining at an
alarming rate across different regions of the world posing threat to the future of
humanity as well as to the other species (Higgins et al. 2013). Means and measures
drawn on different school of thoughts are yet to find out the solutions of sustainable
natural resource management which would lead to sustainable conservation process, secured livelihood options for the stakeholders and balanced ecosystem.
Selfish resource exploitation, in fact, threatens societies as well as livelihoods contributing to a serious imbalance of the ecosystem (Battersby 2017). The situation is
even worse in developing countries where the continuous pressures have already
caused the extinction of numerous biodiversity resources. Bangladesh is no exception in this case. The Sundarbans of Bangladesh, known as the lung of the country,
can now be identified as an important case of ecologically vulnerable area in terms
of degradation of biodiversity resources. Several studies conducted on the
Sundarbans have concluded that the resources of the Sundarbans have been declining gradually (e.g. Iftekhar and Islam 2004; Gopal and Chauhan 2006; Giri et al.
2007, 2014; Rahman et al. 2010; Rahman and Asaduzzaman 2010; Uddin et al.
2013; Islam 2014; Aziz and Paul 2015; Sarker et al. 2016). These studies have identified the external causes of forest degradation (e.g. conversion to other land use,
over-harvesting, pollution, coastal erosion and climate change) or quantified the
reduction in forest coverage area. Those studies, however, have not been able to
provide solid theoretical foundation to analyse these problems and hardly propose
an alternative suitable conservation and sustainability framework. Against this
backdrop, this chapter critically explores the major theoretical underpinnings of
neoclassical economics, institutional economics and political ecology to analyse the
major drivers, including property rights instability, fragile institutions, lax regulatory regimes, unequal power sharing arrangements and political settlement. By
employing such analyses of the state-of-the-art, the research exhibits that the exclusion of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) in the conservation and
management process has contributed to the losses of biological diversity of the
R. A. M. Titumir et al.
5.1 Introduction
The chapter considers the case of the Sundarbans of Bangladesh, the largest mangrove ecosystem of the world and a hotspot of biodiversity resources, to explore the
underlying causes behind the continuous and unabated losses of its biodiversity
resources and to seek viable means (policy) or measures (action) through which the
process of degradation can be halted, the conservation process can be revitalised,
and the sustainability of the resources can be ensured. It accordingly maps and finds
out the key stakeholders and the agents dependent on the Sundarbans biodiversity
resources and presents an alternative analysis to the sustainability of natural
resources management integrating traditional knowledge (TK) systems to the socioecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS) and draws on actions as
regard to sustainable management of natural resources by means of harmonious
human–nature nexus. Such an alternative analysis developed here can be used in
other countries that are facing the same type of problems in biodiversity loss.
It is well documented that biodiversity resources have been declining at an
alarming rate across different regions of the world posing threat to the future of
humanity as well as to the other species (Higgins et al. 2013). Means and measures
drawn on different school of thoughts are yet to find out the solutions of sustainable
natural resource management which would lead to sustainable conservation process, secured livelihood options for the stakeholders and balanced ecosystem.
Selfish resource exploitation, in fact, threatens societies as well as livelihoods contributing to a serious imbalance of the ecosystem (Battersby 2017). The situation is
even worse in developing countries where the continuous pressures have already
caused the extinction of numerous biodiversity resources. Bangladesh is no exception in this case. The Sundarbans of Bangladesh, known as the lung of the country,
can now be identified as an important case of ecologically vulnerable area in terms
of degradation of biodiversity resources. Several studies conducted on the
Sundarbans have concluded that the resources of the Sundarbans have been declining gradually (e.g. Iftekhar and Islam 2004; Gopal and Chauhan 2006; Giri et al.
2007, 2014; Rahman et al. 2010; Rahman and Asaduzzaman 2010; Uddin et al.
2013; Islam 2014; Aziz and Paul 2015; Sarker et al. 2016). These studies have identified the external causes of forest degradation (e.g. conversion to other land use,
over-harvesting, pollution, coastal erosion and climate change) or quantified the
reduction in forest coverage area. Those studies, however, have not been able to
provide solid theoretical foundation to analyse these problems and hardly propose
an alternative suitable conservation and sustainability framework. Against this
backdrop, this chapter critically explores the major theoretical underpinnings of
neoclassical economics, institutional economics and political ecology to analyse the
major drivers, including property rights instability, fragile institutions, lax regulatory regimes, unequal power sharing arrangements and political settlement. By
employing such analyses of the state-of-the-art, the research exhibits that the exclusion of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) in the conservation and
management process has contributed to the losses of biological diversity of the
R. A. M. Titumir et al.