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Abstract:
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"Floodplains cover over a third of Bangladesh, and significant areas of south-east and south Asia. They are characterised by conflicting uses of complex commons, worsened in the past by dividing development support into sectors. This paper shows how a 'systems approach' can produce win-win outcomes. Communities can organise to modify agriculture, water use and fishing practices to complement one another, increasing joint benefits from floodplains. Integrated Floodplain Management (IFM) recognises the floodplain as a system, where the uses and amounts of surface water in the dry season and monsoon critically affect the two main products--crops and fish.
"Piloting in Goakhola-Hatiara Beel, a 350 ha seasonal floodplain in southwest Bangladesh, brought together fishers, farmers and sluice operators. Existing narrowly defined institutions were brought together and formalised through a central committee which successfully facilitated links among community stakeholders and with government agencies to replace previous conflict of interest with cooperation. Farmers made a major change in cropping patterns by replacing dry season irrigated rice with pulses and new crops such as potatoes and garlic on 20% of land. One small-scale farmer commented that while cultivating rice is traditional, farmers had not realised how they could gain, both financially and environmentally, by growing alternative crops. Crops with low irrigation demand are profitable and resulted in more surface water in the dry season, which the community protected as a fish sanctuary. This enhanced fish survival and reproduction, and when combined with adjustments in sluice operation and a closed season, resulted in higher fish catches. The community has improved common water management and accessed government extension services including techniques to reduce water pollution from processing jute fibre. By adopting IFM, farmers and fishers have benefited from higher catches, higher incomes from crops, and greater community solidarity."
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