|
| Climate Change Bio-Diversity and Disaster Risk Reduction | The Unit forms a focused, interdisciplinary programme of research and advocacy to integrate rigorous natural and social sciences with policy, education and socially responsible conservation action. The work of the Unit relating to emergencies including disaster is rights-based to cover a full range of activities including, advocacy, prevention, preparedness, direct response and rehabilitation in situations created by war, drought, floods, earthquakes and famine. | | Programme on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services | The programme on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (BES) presents a new window of conservation research, which is objectively action oriented. The programme, more specifically, intervenes amidst the interface and interrelationship of biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services that could eventually feed into policy, targeted to sustainable development. On the other hand, specific actions accompany the research to mainstream explored best practices both in the community level and policy level that simultaneously augment conservation and development. Unnayan Onneshan, therefore, drives three main activities under the programme such as Research; Advocacy and Dissemination; and Capacity Building. | | Research | Unnayan Onneshan carries research on various aspects of biodiversity ranging from forest biodiversity to agriculture biodiversity. Sundarbans, world’s largest mangrove forest, always remains as one of the focus areas for Unnayan Onneshan research. Since inception, the organisation is conducting research on Sundarbans, mainly focusing biodiversity, traditional resource management and livelihoods of the forest peoples in collaboration with different national and international development partners. |
| Publications | | Agriculture biodiversity and food security: Two sides of a coin | | Community Based Management of Sundarbans | | Resuscitating the Sundarbans: Customary Use of Biodiversity and Traditional Cultural Practices in Bangladesh | The Sundarban Reserve Forest In Bangladesh – An Urgent Call To Ensure The Full And Effective Participation of Indigenous and Traditional Resource Users in Its Governance and Management | Deserting the Sundarbans: Local People’s Perspective on ADB-GEF-Netherlands funded Sundarbans Biodiversity Conservation Project |
| Research Programme 2010 | | Community Based Management of Sundarbans | | Agriculture Biodiversity, Ecosystem services and Food Security in Rural Bangladesh | | Green Space and Ecosystem Services in Dhaka City | | Climate Change Impacts on Water Security and Ecosystem Services in Different Agro Ecological Zones of Bangladesh | | |
| Policy, Advocacy and Dissemination | Creation of broad awareness of, and active support for, biodiversity conservation and generation of ecosystem services as a tool of poverty alleviation in government, the private sector, NGOs, academia and the general public arena heading towards sustainable development. | | Advocacy and Dissemination | Unnayan Onneshan, as a part of dissemination process, is continuously publishing research reports in organisation’s website www.unnayan.org. These reports are downloadable free of charge and user friendly. Moreover, the organisation arranges seminars, workshops to disseminate research reports to the broader stakeholders with the aim of influencing policy modules for change. In addition, every week the organisation is publishing policy briefs and opinions in renowned national and international dailies and weeklies as part of capacity building programmes to aware mass people also to inform policy makers regarding contemporary conservation research and policy debates. | | Capacity Building | Provide innovative and improvised approaches for biodiversity conservation to the practitioners through community level workshops, training, media campaign etc. Simultaneously, provide rigorous information, organise training for Government and NGO conservation officials, arrange national level seminars, workshops incorporating policy makers. |
|
|
|
Agriculture biodiversity and food security: two sides of a coin by Mohammed Abdul Baten
 Recent worldwide food crisis has raised the issue of food security to an urgent basis. The current study, therefore, anchors on the issue of indiscriminate agriculture biodiversity loss and its impacts on food security. Bangladesh is considered as one of the fertile deltas in the world. Along with favourable climatic condition the country is also endowed with highly productive native crop varieties. Nevertheless, the study has shown that lack of proper use of agriculture biodiversity and practice of so called modern agriculture systems that are based on hybrid seeds, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides without paying much attention to the native varieties are responsible for recent food crisis in agrarian Bangladesh.
Download PDF |
|
 Fertilizer Requirement for Boro Rice Production in Bangladesh
Bangladesh government has set a target 19 million tons of Boro rice production under 4.8 million ha land in 2009-10. The major fertilizer such as urea, TSP, MOP, gypsum and ZnSO4 would be required 13.83, 5.65, 6.94, 0.41 and 3.06 lakh tons, respectively (applying fertilizer in recommendation dose). Applying on the basis of soil fertility, fertilizer requirement would be 13.2, 4.20, 4.64, 0.38 and 2.85 lakh tons, respectively and on the basis of farmer demand in field level, it would be 12.60, 5.23, 6.43, 0.39 and 2.51 lakh tons, respectively. The urea fertilizer stock will become 9.5 lakh tons after importing 3.5 lakh tons from Qatar. More than 3 lakh tons urea may be shortage in the total growing season which is above 24% compared to the total demand. From this study, it is clear that there is large gap between targeted production of Boro rice and fertilizer input. ….( more) |
|
 Surviving Cyclones: The Indigenous Wisdom Indigenous communities living in the coastal areas for centuries with unique cultural identity have close contact with nature. Rakhains are the only indigenous ethnic community who lives at the coastal region of Bangladesh and it is assumed that they have developed indigenous perception, prediction and survival strategies and thereby posses an effective disaster management strategy. The people were found mostly to be ignorant of the formal preventive and survival strategies and rely upon cumulative experience of the earlier generations, which is evident in the structural adjustment and specific forms of housing for long-term adaptation, prediction of cyclones using the state of the sea-water, wind direction, condition of the sky etc, and also in their ability to sustain before any institutional help arrives after the cyclone hit. Their indigenous knowledge and strategies for disaster management and to survive ‘before’, ‘during’ and ‘after’ the cyclone “Sidr” has helped them in building resilience against mighty cyclones. Download PDF Version |
|
The Unit forms a focused, interdisciplinary programme of research and advocacy to integrate rigorous natural and social sciences with policy, education and socially responsible conservation action. The work of the Unit relating to emergencies including disaster is rights-based to cover a full range of activities including, advocacy, prevention, preparedness, direct response and rehabilitation in situations created by war, drought, floods, earthquakes and famine. Programme Areas Sustainable agriculture, biodiversity, drylands and forestry Mitigation, adaptation and vulnerability - Governance and Participation
Democratic deliberation, law, planning, global governance Urban poverty, urban environment, rural-urban links Environment economics, corporate responsibility, regoverning markets, trade Events Unnayan Onneshan at Working Group Meeting on Protected AreasUnnayan Onneshan participated at 2nd Working Group Meeting on Protected Areas (WPGA 2) held at FAO headquarter, Rome, Italy from 11th -15th February 2008. A poster on “The Sundarban Reserve Forest In Bangladesh – An Urgent Call To Ensure The Full And Effective Participation Of Indigenous And Traditional Resource Users In Its Governance And Management” was displayed in the meeting.
The Unnayan Onneshan participant also made a presentation on “Indigenous and Local Communities Rights and Participation in Protected Areas” at the side event organized by “Forest Peoples Programme, UK” on February 14, 2008. Publications from Environment Unit: Programme on Climate Change Our research on various aspects of climate change range from science to adaptation, mitigation and international, regional and local climate polices. Besides research reports, our activities include policy advice and organisation of workshops, seminars to aware stakeholders as well as contributing to capacity building. More.. Recent Publication |
|
|
|
|
|