S. M. Didar-Ul Islam

Impact scenarios of shrimp farming in coastal region of Bangladesh: an approach of an ecological model for sustainable management

Bangladesh is one of the major shrimp-producing countries in the world. It is blessing with an advantageous natural setting for shrimp farming and contributes the national economy of Bangladesh since mid-1980s. Although shrimp culture provides millions of employment and has profits about US

Climate Change Impacts and Vulnerability Assessment in Coastal Region of Bangladesh: A Case Study on Shyamnagar Upazila of Satkhira District

450 million annually, it has been facing a host of challenges. It has been associated with a number of negative environmental and social impacts, which hinder the sustainable development of this blooming sector. This paper aims to focus on how the shrimp farming of Bangladesh is affecting the adjacent environment as well as society, and to propose a management approach for its sustainability by reviewing the available scientific literatures. The findings of the study show that the continuous and unregulated shrimp farming has immense impacts on human, ecology, environment and sustainability through saline water intrusion, soil and water quality deterioration, mangrove destruction, pollution, sedimentation, disease outbreaks, loss of biodiversity and destruction of local ecosystem. The study also identifies some socioeconomic consequences including traditional livelihood displacement, change in agricultural pattern, food insecurity, reduction social security, displacement and marginalization, social unrest and conflicts. Inappropriate management practices, lack of scientific knowledge, improper monitoring of legal aspects and inadequate plans regarding water quality, seed supply, irrigation facilities and fishery resources are the main reasons for these issues. So, proper implementation of the resilient strategies designed in conceptual ‘ecological model’ becomes an urgent requirement to minimize the adverse impacts on the coastal dwellers and environment and to improve the unplanned shrimp farming process in similar areas of Bangladesh.

Electrocoagulation (EC) technology for wastewater treatment and pollutants removal

Coastal areas are more vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters. Due to increased weather extremes caused by climate change, the coastal communities fall at high risk of casualties and damages. According to DPSIR (Driver – Pressure – State – Impact –Response) framework, population, fisheries, aquaculture, agriculture and tourism are the main drivers of climate change at coastal Shyamnagar upazila which caused several social, financial, environmental and physical impacts. As most of the people are poor and living below the poverty line, the situation becomes worse during and after any climatic hazards. Natural capital, local economy, water and natural disaster etc. are more vulnerable components at the study area in terms of Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) as people are dependent on natural resources from Sundarban for livelihood. IPCC framework of LVI was also determined for this study. The order of LVI for studied unions are: Gabura (0.027)>Padma Pukur (0.0264)>Munshiganj, Kaikhali, Kashimari (0.0242)>Buri Goalini (0.020)>Atulia (0.0172)>Bhurulia (0.0108)>Ishwaripur (0.0105)>Ramjannagar (0.0102)>Nurnagar and Shyamnagar (0.003). According to the index values, the situation is worse at Gabura and Padma Pukur unions. However, most of the unions are highly vulnerable to climate change impacts in terms of exposure and sensitive components which have also exceeded the adaptive capacity.

A Soil Health Card (SHC) for soil quality monitoring of agricultural lands in south-eastern coastal region of Bangladesh

During the last few years, environmental sector has shown a largely growing interest in the treatment of different types of wastewater by electrocoagulation (EC). It has recently attracted attention as a potential technique for treating industrial effluent due to its versatility, treatment efficiency, low cost, and environmental compatibility. This technique uses direct current source between metal electrodes immersed in the effluent, which causes the dissolution of electrode plates into the effluent. The metal ions, at an appropriate pH, can form wide range of coagulated species and metal hydroxides that destabilize and aggregate particles or precipitate and adsorb the dissolved contaminants. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to review the mechanism, factors responsible, and application of the EC technology for the treatment of industrial wastewater and removal of pollutants from surface and potable waters. Study found that performance and treatment efficiency of EC depend on various factors, i.e., choice of electrode materials, electrode distance, arrangement of electrode, operating current density, electrolysis time, pH of the solution, temperature, and the design of reactor. It is also evident from the study that recently, EC technology has been successfully employed for the treatment and removing pollutants from municipal wastewater, industrial wastewater, i.e., textiles, tanneries, pulp and paper, food processing industry, and oily wastewater. This technology also used for the heavy metal and inorganic ions removal and potable and surface water treatment. In addition, this paper presents an overview of the optimum process conditions, i.e., current densities, treatment time, pH and removal efficiencies, its advantages, challenges, and future prospects of EC technology.

Hydrochemical Characteristics and Quality Assessment of Groundwater in Patuakhali District, Southern Coastal Region of Bangladesh

AbstractBackgroundThe present study introduces an alternate tool of laboratory analysis named Soil Health Card (SHC) for soil quality monitoring and routine field observations by farmers.ResultsDifferent physicochemical and nutrient contents of soil, i.e. pH, electric conductivity, soil organic matter, organic carbon, total nitrogen, phosphorous, sulfur and boron were assessed by laboratory analysis collected from the different fields of Noakhali district of Bangladesh. These parameters were scored according to the soil fertility standards according to Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council. Results found that, the soil quality of all the studied fields are medium category. Again, a SHC was prepared using soil structure, subsurface compaction, aggregate stability, status of ground cover, soil smell, soil pH, color, organic matter content, drainage capacity, diversity of micro-life, earthworm contents, infiltration rate, soil aeration, crop coverage and leaf color. The result of SHC is interestingly similar to the laboratory experiment results.ConclusionsAnalyzing these two methods it was found that, the SHC is truly representative, much convenient, precise, coast effective and easily understandable to the marginal farmers. However, SHC can be an alternative to farmer for sustainable farm management.