The Ganges Basin Development Challenge

Increasing the Resilience of Agricultural and Aquaculture Systems in the Coastal Areas of the Ganges Delta

Introduction The Ganges basin is one of the six basins (others are Mekong, Limpopo, Volta, Nile, and the Andean Basins) where the second phase of the CPWF will work. The Ganges program, in line with the CIP and other documents of the GOB will focus on issues of concern to communities living in brackish water coastal zones of Bangladesh and India. This area, home to some of the worlds poorest and most vulnerable people, whose livelihoods are exposed to rising sea levels, tidal surges, increasing surface-water and soil salinity with a growing incidence of severe cyclonic storms. With the aim of improving the livelihoods of Ganges coastal zone farmers, the CPWF Ganges Basin Development Challenge (BDC) seeks to reduce poverty and increase the resilience of agriculture and aquaculture systems in the coastal areas of the Ganges Delta. This Research for Development (R4D) is designed to contribute to offering science based solutions to the pressing issues of the Ganges BDC. The Ganges R4D program is made up of five projects of which one is a coordination and change-enabling project responsible for fostering learning across the BDC in support of innovation and adaptive management. The following sections describe the Ganges R4D program and its components projects.

Figure 1: Target area (below the red line, and excluding the Sundabans) of the Ganges BDC R4DP

Goal

Reducing poverty and improving regional social-ecological resilience, through improved water governance and management, and intensified and diversified agricultural and aquaculture systems in brackish water of the coastal Ganges. Objectives The overall objective of the Program is to improve resource productivity and increase the resilience of agriculture and aquaculture systems in brackish coastal areas of the Ganges. Projects Research on the Ganges Basin Development Challenge is divided into five inter-related projects. Each project will address one specific objective: Project G1. Resource profiles, extrapolation domains and land-use plans Before a technology can be disseminated beyond the study site where it is developed, it is important to identify its extrapolation domain. This requires matching the resource profile of an area with the resource requirements of a technology. This matching is especially challenging where water and crops are managed with polders. The overall objective is to establish a geo-referenced data base for the brackish water coastal zone of Bangladesh and to facilitate out-scaling of technologies though definition of target domains and land-use planning use within polders. Project G2. Resilient intensified and diversified agriculture and aquaculture systems The livelihoods of farm families living in coastal areas of the Ganges basin are largely dependent on agricultural land. In these areas, ground water is mostly saline; water for most agricultural crops comes from increasingly saline surface water. Agricultural production for many coastal farm families is limited to monsoon season cropping because, in the dry season, salinity levels of surface water and soils are excessive. In downstream reaches, where salinity levels are particularly elevated, aquaculture is an important source of income for many farmers. Dry season shrimp production, however, is very risky. The objective is to develop and introduce resilient agriculture/aquaculture production systems in the coastal zone increasing incomes through increased productivity and diversified production for the benefit of poor households. Project G3. Water governance and community-based management Access and control over water is the main factor affecting the peoples livelihoods in the Ganges coastal basin. Water in this area is used for a variety of purposes, including irrigation, domestic and industrial water supply, navigation, and aquaculture. A lack of fresh groundwater and increasing salinity levels in surface water limit the availability of fresh water for crops, livestock and direct use while potentially increasing opportunities in aquaculture. Bangladeshs response over the last 40 years has been the construction of polders in much of this former mangrove wetland to allow rice production and protect communities from tidal and storm surges. Water inside the polders is connected to outside surface water (rivers) outside via sluices and flood gates, established to protect communities and control salinity intrusion (dry season) and to drain excess water (wet season). The government of Bangladesh (GOB) has recognized that governance and community based management of water resources, particularly community control of gates and sluices and maintenance of dikes, is critical to the long-term success of the polder system.

The objective is to identify improve water governance and management for resilient production systems Project G4. Assessment of the impact of anticipated external drivers of change on water resources of the coastal zone The water regime of the brackish coastal zone of the Ganges is strongly affected by upstream flows in the Ganges as well as the relentless tidal pressures from the sea. The balance of environmental factors is extremely delicate and complicated; changes in the upstream water and sediment flow regimes (due to water extraction, watershed degradation and/or changes in drainage - natural or manmade) as well as sea level changes will manifest themselves on the water resources of the coastal zone, and therefore on its land use and productivity. Other external drivers of change are also important. The objective is to assess how anticipated changes in external hydrology (and other external drivers of change) will influence the performance of alternative strategies for water governance and water and crop management in different kinds of polders in the coastal zone of the Ganges. Project G5. Coordination and change-enabling project The Ganges BDC is a research-for-development program, organized in five interdependent projects led by a Basin Leader. This Project helps the BDC projects conduct quality, coherent and problem-oriented research that will contribute to beneficial change in the basin. Therefore, the success of the Project depends not only on its own project team but also on excellent cooperation with the other projects in the BDC R4D Program, the various CRP programs and other such projects. The Project also acts as interface between the Program and a variety of existing and potential stakeholders, ranging from farmers, local and national government, local and national institutes and a range of policy makers. Communication within the Program and outside the Program is essential. The objective is to enhance impact through stakeholder participation, policy dialogue and effective coordination among the projects in the Ganges BDC research Program All five projects have relevance to the brackish water coastal zone of Bangladesh where polders are used for water control. Two projects (G2 and G5) will also feature research in India in areas without polders.