|
Project No.: 13.2258.5-001.00
Project Title: Sundarbans Management Project (SMP)
Country: Bangladesh
Contract No.:
Individual Consultant/Consulting Firm:
Period: 31 October – 30 November, 2017
Subject: Develop infographics about threats for and protection of the Sundarbans Mangrove Forests (SMF)
Project brief
The Sundarbans constitute the world’s largest continuous mangrove forest (10,000km2) located within a massive river delta system between India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Sundarbans Mangrove Forest (SMF), covering an area of 6,000km2, is protected through restricting resource use and access rights to varying degrees. The SMF plays a crucial role as buffer between land and sea, as well as as a protective wall against tropical cyclones. Against the background of progressing climate change, the Sundarbans ecosystem is even more important for the people living in its periphery. Due to its inaccessibility, unique and globally important biodiversity has remained preserved and the Sundarbans have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
There are no permanent settlements inside the SMF. However, a large number of people living in its periphery depend on the mangrove ecosystem for their livelihood: People enter the forest – some legally some illegally - to harvest natural resources including fish, nypa palm and honey. On a larger scale, the SMF plays an indispensable role as breeding and nursery ground for economically important fish species in the rivers and the Bay of Bengal supporting income generation and food security far beyond the direct boundaries of the forest.
The SMF ecosystem and its biodiversity are subject to multiple stressors, including unsustainable use of natural resources. The Bangladesh Forest Department (BFD) is the official custodian of the SMF and responsible for its protection. Challenges related to technical capacities, financial resources, and institutional arrangements currently hamper the BFD’s efforts to effectively address these stressors in the management of the SMF.
Through co-management structures at the village and district levels, local communities are given a platform to participate in the management of the SMF. Different actors, including governmental agencies, donors and NGOs, are involved in conservation and management of the SMF as well as community development in the periphery. Improved coordination between relevant actors to leverage synergies would greatly increase the impact of conservation and management of the SMF. Also, co-management structures are yet to sufficiently facilitate participation of resource users in decision making about the SMF.
Through the “Management of the Sundarbans Mangrove Forests for Biodiversity Conservation and Increased Adaptation to Climate Change Project” (SMP) the BFD receives support in strengthening its management capacities, empowering co-management structures, and developing institutional mechanisms towards increased coordination. SMP’s overall objective is: Government agencies at the national and local level, that are responsible for the management of the Sundarbans, as well as co-management structures, have implemented mechanisms that improve the management of the SMF. SMP is a project of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) of the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and jointly implemented by the BFD, and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
Click here to download the detial TOR |
