Impact of Commercial Floodplain Aquaculture on Common-pool Resource Dependent Community

Abstract

Aquaculture in pond and floodplain was accelerated in Bangladesh in the 1990s as a means of better production and income which was backed by the donor agencies, NGOs, and the government. Currently, the commercial actors are involved in the aquaculture systems due to the availability of production technologies and inputs. This paper aims to explore how the commercialization and privatization of floodplain aquaculture become the cause of the sufferings of the natural resource-dependent people and biodiversity loss in the floodplains. Now, Influential people hold control of the common pool floodplains and restricted the access of the Small-Scale Fishers (SSF) to manage the aquaculture. Our findings suggest that the SSF, for whom the seasonal floodplains were an important source of livelihood, their livelihood has been destroyed and overall wellbeing have been negatively affected. Besides that, lending enough evidence to the increased inequality, a new group of poor has emerged. Because instead of ensuring the welfare of SSF, Bangladesh government has leased the floodplain lands to the powerful rich people. In addition to growing inequalities, natural resource degradation has welcomed social vulnerabilities. However, no development initiative will ever be sustainable and effective if the existing socio-ecological setting is not considered. Bangladesh government should take robust attempts to revisit fisheries policies to ensure livelihood resilience of fisheries resource-dependent community by managing the access rights of the common pool resources.