<
https://news.mongabay.com/2024/01/indigenous-effort-in-bangladesh-helps-reverse-endangered-fishs-slide-to-extinction/>
"DHAKA — Lika Chakma, 37, says she can still remember her childhood days when
the springs in the Digholchari Hajachara area of eastern Bangladesh, where she
grew up, flowed year-round. These perennial water bodies supported not only the
lives and livelihoods of the communities in the region, but also diverse fish
and aquatic wildlife.
Among these was the
putitor mahseer fish (
Tor putitora), which abounded in
the springs of her village. An endangered species, it’s native to this part of
South Asia, ranging as far west as Pakistan, where it’s the national fish of
that country.
But the
putitor mahseer began disappearing after locals started destroying
the forests and quarrying rocks from the streambeds. With the springs drying
up, there was little habitat left for the putitor mahseer.
Climate change is making the situation worse. According to a 2016 study, the
Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region where Digholchari Hajachara is located now
experiences an increase in the overall rainfall in the monsoon season but a
decrease in dry season rainfall. So while the springs flowed during the wet
season, these once perennial water bodies were drying up during the rest of the
year.
“When we started felling trees from the natural forests and taking rocks from
our springs and streams, the springs were not discharging enough water for us,”
Lika said. “And, at one stage, the natural water sources dried up during the
dry season, destroying the fish species.”
Lika and other locals are now pushing back against this decline. They serve as
conservation volunteers under the USAID-funded CHT Watershed Co-Management
Activity (CHTWCA), helping restore threatened fish species, in particular the
putitor mahseer, to the area’s water bodies.
Long-running efforts to tackle logging and overextraction of forest resources
have helped improve forest health and the revival of springs. The conservation
volunteers also police the catching of fish from headwaters uphill to ensure
there’s a thriving population downstream for breeding and dispersal."
Via
Future Crunch:
<
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-gun-violence-america-cancer-europe-conservation-bolivia/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
