Cooperation, not conflicts, can contribute to GDP

Bangladesh is a country full of natural resources. But there prevail conflicts in using those by appropriate quarters. Nice Foundation -- a research and rights based NGO -- and Flood Hazard Research Centre/Middlesex University of the UK have been jointly conducting a multi-state research named "Community Based Adaptive Learning in Management of Conflicts and Natural Resources in Bangladesh and Nepal (CALCNR)" since January 2014 and the research will end in November this year. The study has involved Forest Action and International Development Enterprises (IDE) from Nepal. The research aim was to contribute to transforming Natural Resource Management policies, practices and institutions towards greater resilience to conflicts and climate change impacts.

Conflicts over access, control and benefit sharing from natural resources are currently widespread. Such conflicts exist within local communities, between them, and also between them and outside actors. These conflicts are likely to worsen with climate change affecting, for example, scarcity of resources and their decreased quality or productivity. While decentralized and community based management are regarded as successful, they are also not fully insulated from internal conflicts and external threats particularly state responses to climate change. 

The research seeks a solution to these conflicts through participatory action research by generating evidence from research and communicating it to policy shaping actors who will better appreciate the role of communities in natural resources management and bring favorable policies and supportive programs. Also, engagement in research and capacity building will enable local communities to more effectively manage conflicts and resources, and through networking with CBOs and other stakeholders will enable them to play a proactive role towards climate resilient and decentralization policies.

During the research period, the partners have organized 300 CBOs who have been capacitated for handling NR conflicts and played role on reviewing policy papers and have improved access to forests and wetlands under co-management arrangements. The CBO networks advocated climate adaptive community management and have mainstreaming links with CBO federations through Nepal and Bangladesh adaptive learning and sharing visits. The CBOs have used conflict management tools and improved planning process and they have received regular support from their federations. The stakeholders participated in forums and knowledge sharing events and the champions raised community management issues in public events.

The research team found that the natural resources were kept by the power structure and the policies allowed the users limited access to those resources. The team found that the Natural Resource using conflicts can be transformed into cooperation through identifying the nature of conflicts. The conflicts are mostly between general farmers who use water from khash/fellow canals for farming and the lands that are taken on lease from the local government by the influential body. The sluice gates are not managed properly. 

The nearby land owners control the gates. The rear part farmers do not get water timely, therefore there have been a conflict between upper part landowner and lower part landowner. Moreover, the conflicts are between individuals on lands boundary/demarcations. In some cases lease money of small farmers are not paid by the big farming/gher owners timely and even not paid if the crops are damaged. The concerned authorities do not pay compensation to the farmers for establishing Tidal River Management, Land Acquisition by BWDB for Dam/culvert/ring road/plantation/alternative dam building/watch tower etc. The Sundarbans resource (honey, wood, shrimp fry collectors) users are not getting resource extraction authorized card (BLPC) transparently from the forest authority. Conflicts severely prevail between forest officials and the resource users for getting forest pass and withdrawal of false cases against them by the forest officials. 

The identified conflicts were handled by the CBOs and established cooperation. Transformation is a long process which CBOs started in 2014. Over the last four years the CBOs have transformed 80% conflicts into cooperation. The CBO family members are collectively benefited from the transformation process by using the Natural Resources which interns contributed towards national income.

Ms. Shikha Baroi formed "Upokulio Samaj Kallyan Pani Parishad" near Sundarbans at Chila, Mongla under Bagerhat district in 2006 with the aims to make easy access to the forest resources by the women users and make lobby with the local government for women friendly forest pass. Nice Foundation research  team facilitated the CBO who made lobby with the forest officials to settled the conflicts in resource using by the Sundarbans resource users especially women community. The women are collecting fire wood, shrimp fry and scope to work in crab and shrimp gher. Shikha found there are many cases filed against the family members by the forest department. 

The CBOs identified most related two conflicts: 1. Conflicts between forest officials and Sundarbans resource users for getting forest pass and withdrawal of false cases, and 2. Re-excavation of Mongla river channel for water flow which will naturally drag the link canals. From January 2014 Ms. Shikha and her CBO members have conducted series of meetings, made resolutions, mobilize women and other stakeholders, pursued to local parliamentarians, sat with local government and local govt. engineering department, women affairs officers, Bangladesh water development board and Sundarbans forest officials to make the forest pass easy for the resource users especially for women with full security protection. 

After a long process finally, the BWDB has initiated to dragging the Mongla river channel by heavy machine. The forest pass system were made easy for the women forest resource collectors with security guard and the cases that were filed against the male resource users were gradually withdraw by the forest department which were agreed by the CBO members. Due to using machine for dragging of canal men and women have less access for manual labor. Women have less access in the whole process of Sundarbans resource using and getting daily labor works in the canal re-excavation but after re-excavation of canal the tidal flow revived and the women have the huge opportunity to catch shrimp fry from the river. Now, the CBO members are happy that they are getting access to the Sundarbans resources without conflicts.
Source: https://dailyasianage.com

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