Watershed management needed to protect env

In coastal areas, 3,750 kilometres of canals are silted and rivers have lost navigability. Most embankments have been washed away and overflowed with saline water. Only dredging will not solve the problem, a policy for watershed management is urgently needed.

Speakers said this yesterday at a seminar titled "Developing the Draft Watershed Management Policy and Implementation Framework" at a hotel in Barishal city.

Watershed management involves measures to manage both land and water to improve water quality and flow. Since soil, mud and sand are getting into water, this type of management is required, they said.

The seminar was organised by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and assisted by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. The speakers included environmental experts, scientists and teachers.

Speakers said in coastal regions, huge number of people have been displaced by effects of natural disasters like Sidr and Ayla. Agriculture is being hampered because of salinity and lower waterflow in rivers and canals, and waterbodies are getting silted due to flow of mud and sediments.

They suggested local community-based watershed management measures for improved irrigation and livelihood of residents.

"To protect the environment, we should use our ponds, canals and rivers as watershed reservoirs," speakers urged.

They observed that while rivers and canals are silted and polluted due to disposal of toxic wastes, irrigation and livelihood are being seriously hampered. "In southern region, extracting groundwater would be suicidal, so we should only use surface water," they said.

The programme was moderated by Prof Hafiz Ashraful Haque of Barisal University's coastal studies and disaster management department. IUCN Country Representative Raquibul Amin presented the keynote paper, while Prof Md Rezaur Rahman of Buet's Institute of Water and Flood Management was chief guest.