Riparian Right and Colonial Might in the Haors Area in Northeast Bangladesh

Abstract

"Bengal, comprising Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, is one of the worlds largest delta's, fed by two major rivers and countless smaller ones. It is thus a natural laboratory for studying riparian commons. The paper addresses aspects of local aquatic resource management, traditional and modern, and draws some tentative conclusions for current development efforts.

"On the physical level, the processes that have formed and are continuing to form the delta, are described. On the human level, the settlement history of the delta, including the process of transforming the physical landscape in order to increase agricultural productivity, is addressed. The importance of the British colonizing power in terms of enclosure of the riparian commons is discussed.

"A case study from the haors (large perennial waterbodies) area, based on anthropological field work in the mid-1980s and complemented by archival research, addresses the evolution and present situation in terms of local access to haors and other waterbodies. Riparian commons, as they evolved, were overtaken by the expanding nation-state that established state property regimes, so-called khas land, throughout the area. Khas land, which includes haors, was open to everybody through a leasing system. In many places such khas land became, in effect, controlled by elites, thus barring access to the large majority of local people most of the year, and then only through costly sub-leases. The paper aims to understand the characteristics of present-day riparian commons in the study area through analyzing the settlement history, as well as the evolving relationship between local culture and natural endowments.

"The accumulating knowledge of riparian commons in Bangladesh have potential practical implications. It can: (i) serve as models for efforts to establish viable and equitable fisheries management regimes; (ii) be a source of motivation and empowerment; and, (iii) function as a foundation and point of departure for participatory approaches. Towards this, selected large-scale water management schemes are discussed. Likewise, efforts to increase the productivity and sustainability of fisheries through involving local people and giving them use rights to local water bodies are addressed. The long-term goal of much of this work is to support or create local riparian commons."