Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter has urged the government to end the leasing system in the country’s haor (wetland) areas, asserting that these water bodies are the rightful property of local communities and should not be commercialised through leases.
Speaking at a discussion titled "Government Jolmohal Management Policy 2009: Inequality and Mismanagement in the Haor Region" held at the Jatiya Press Club in Dhaka on Saturday, the adviser said that leasing haors has created long-standing disparities and marginalised the local population.
“A discriminatory system has existed for decades around haor management. Approximately 29 per cent of people in haor regions continue to live below the poverty line,” she said, emphasising that the leasing system only deepens inequality.
Farida Akhter pointed out that several ministries currently have jurisdiction over different haors, with the Ministry of Land controlling the majority. However, she noted, its focus remains limited to revenue collection rather than sustainable management or community welfare.
Highlighting the environmental cost of poor planning, she cited the example of an all-weather road built in Mithamain, Kishoreganj, which has already caused ecological damage to the surrounding haor ecosystem.
The adviser also expressed alarm over illegal fishing practices, noting that although current nets have been banned, a new type known as “China-duari” has emerged and must also be prohibited to protect aquatic biodiversity.
She proposed the designation of specific haor zones as fish sanctuaries to preserve endangered species, adding that biological management would play a vital role in conserving these sensitive ecosystems.
The event was presided over by Rasheda K Choudhury, convener of the environmental platform Dhoritri Rokkhay Amra (DHORA), and was also addressed by Agriculture Secretary Dr Mohammad Emdad Ullah Mian and Dr Mujibur Rahman Howlader, former secretary and ex-chairman of the National River Conservation Commission.
