Sayedur Rahman Chowdhury

Arsenic Contaminated Groundwater and Its Treatment Options in Bangladesh

Arsenic (As) causes health concerns due to its significant toxicity and worldwide presence in drinking water and groundwater. The major sources of As pollution may be natural process such as dissolution of As-containing minerals and anthropogenic activities such as percolation of water from mines, etc. The maximum contaminant level for total As in potable water has been established as 10 µg/L. Among the countries facing As contamination problems, Bangladesh is the most affected. Up to 77 million people in Bangladesh have been exposed to toxic levels of arsenic from drinking water. Therefore, it has become an urgent need to provide As-free drinking water in rural households throughout Bangladesh. This paper provides a comprehensive overview on the recent data on arsenic contamination status, its sources and reasons of mobilization and the exposure pathways in Bangladesh. Very little literature has focused on the removal of As from groundwaters in developing countries and thus this paper aims to review the As removal technologies and be a useful resource for researchers or policy makers to help identify and investigate useful treatment options. While a number of technological developments in arsenic removal have taken place, we must consider variations in sources and quality characteristics of As polluted water and differences in the socio-economic and literacy conditions of people, and then aim at improving effectiveness in arsenic removal, reducing the cost of the system, making the technology user friendly, overcoming maintenance problems and resolving sludge management issues.

Heavy Metals Accumulation in Coastal Sediments

Heavy metals, such as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg) and zinc (Zn), are major environmental problem due to their toxic nature, nonbiodegradability and accumulative behaviors. Once in the estuarine/coastal and marine environments, sources predominantly form industrial, agricultural and hydrocarbon-related activities, scrap metal recycling, commercial ports and sewage, these contaminants accumulate in sediments and soils. Thus, heavy metals concentrations in coastal areas around shipyards, ports and industrial sites with refineries, smelters and milling facilities are often far exceed their background values or standard limits that can be toxic. The toxicity of heavy metals may negatively affects marine biodiversity as higher concentration is detected in fish and other organisms. Due to their persistence, through bioaccumulation and biomagnification along the aquatic food chain, heavy metals contamination ultimately affects human health. Here, the sources and impacts of heavy metals pollution in living systems are discussed.

Habitat modelling of juvenile Hilsa Tenualosa ilisha (Clupeiformes) in the coastal ecosystem of the northern Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh

Hilsa shad Tenualosa ilisha comprises the largest and most valuable single fishery of Bangladesh. This study was conducted to identify suitable habitats for Hilsa juvenile in the northern Bay of Bengal along the coast of Bangladesh using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) based Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) of water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, salinity, turbidity, current, depth and rainfall. Landsat imagery and 8 thematic layers were analyzed with ENVI and GIS capabilities, and developed as a series of GIS models to identify and prioritize the appropriate habitats for Hilsa juvenile. The study covered 29.484 km2 water body and revealed that 56% (16.388 km2) is the most suitable, 21% (6.054 km2) is moderately suitable and 24% (7.042 km2) is not suitable which was consistent with field verification. The assemblage of marinebrackish-freshwater ecosystems with favourable ecological parameters and rainfall patterns are very much important for supporting juvenile Hilsa in the study area. The results are useful for habitat-specific sanctuary development as the efficient conservation may lead to higher production of adult Hilsa and increase the economic benefit to the fishers.

Elements of fishing community resilience to climate change in the coastal zone of Bangladesh

Resilience has been conceptualized in various ways by anthropologists, ecologists, systems scientists and engineers; the boundaries of resilience are subjective and context dependent. Consequently, choosing the standards and metrics for assessing resilience remains key challenges for policy makers. In this study, using multicriteria evaluation of 40 basic criteria of human, physical, financial, natural and social assets, we have identified several elements, such as experienced fishermen, natural abundance of hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha), ability to assert decision on fish selling, nets and boats ownership, social harmony and capacity of buying food as essential livelihood assets for the fishermen at Hatiya Island, Bangladesh. These assets may enhance the relative resilience of the fishing community of the island to climate change by as much as 20–40%. The results of this study will improve our understanding of the elements that lead to resilience at the community level.

First Record of Porpita porpita (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) from the coral reef ecosystem, Bangladesh

The occurrence of Porpita porpita is reported, for the first time, in the coral island of St. Martin’s located in the southeastern coastal region of Bangladesh. P. porpita was found to occur in the lower littoral zone and beach rock pools, together with molluscan species, and collected during the pre-monsoon season when both water temperature (> 30°C) and salinity (> 30‰) tend to reach a maximum. This study recounts some details on the discovery and description of the species, and thus extends the global distribution and range limits of the genus Porpita.

A simple and inexpensive method for muddy shore profiling

There are several well-established methods for obtaining beach profiles, and more accurate and precise high-tech methods are emerging. Traditional low-cost methods requiring minimal user skill or training are still popular among professionals, scientists, and coastal zone management practitioners. Simple methods are being developed with a primary focus on sand and gravel beaches. This paper describes a simple, low-cost, manual field method for measuring profiles of beaches, which is particularly suitable for muddy shores. The equipment is a type of flexible U-tube manometer that uses liquid columns in vertical tubes to measure differences in elevation; the supporting frame is constructed from wooden poles with base disks, which hold measuring scales and a PVC tube. The structure was trialed on a mudflat characterized by a 20–40-cm-thick surface layer of silt and clay, located at the Kutubdia Island, Bangladesh. The study results are discussed with notes on the method’s applicability, advantages and limitations, and several optional modifications for different scenarios for routine profiling of muddy shores. The equipment can be used by one person or two people, and the accuracy of the method is comparable to those in other methods. The equipment can also be used on sandy or gravel beaches.