This year World Environment Day puts a major focus on land degradation. Geneva Environment Network highlights that according to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, up to 40% of the Earths land is degraded. This directly impacts half of the worlds population and threatens about half of the global GDP, which amounts to $44 trillion. Therefore, land degradation is a critical global issue, especially in Bangladesh, where it threatens agricultural productivity.What about indigenous communities traditional knowledge of sustainable land use and management in Bangladesh? This question holds a critical weight,especially given the recurrent threats of global climate change and environmental disasters. Indigenous people (IP) are great contributors to sustainable land use and management due to their nature-based knowledge and practices closely connected to the land, forests, and other natural elements.
According to the Bangladesh Adivasi Forum, three million IPs reside in Bangladesh, dwelling in both the plains and the hills. Although IPs make up a small portion (1-2%) of the entire population, they have a unique potential to contribute significantly to viable land use andmanagement. However, a recent report revealed that despite global recognition of the contemporary and dynamic nature of Indigenous traditional knowledge, the full depth of IPs understanding and the value of traditional practices remain underappreciated by the scientific community, development practitioners, and policymakers in Bangladesh.
At times, the rise of modernization and the growing impacts of climate change pose new challenges to their traditional roles. Their access to land and stewardship of natural resources are threatened by land dispossession and the adoption of non-traditional farming methods, leading to the erosion of traditional knowledge and the depletion of natural resources.
Additionally, limited access to land forced these communities to adopt non-traditional agricultural methods like intensive farming and cash crop cultivation. This led to a decline in soil fertility and crop yields. The increased use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers introduced new health problems, particularly reproductive health issues affecting young Indigenous women, which traditional medicines cannot cure as another report highlights. Also,access to modern facilities, urbanization, and changes in land use are now posing many threats to traditional ecological knowledge (TEK).
Emphasizing the prominence of Indigenous knowledge and practice, the community-based natural resource management(CBNRM) approach emerged in the 1980s. This approach is followed by many countries. For instance, in Australia, the rights and responsibilities of IP for their traditional lands have been recognized for almost half of these areas, with custodial responsibilities extending to most of the rest. Over 100 Indigenous contributors have created the countrys first guidelines for strengthening and sharing Indigenous knowledge in land and sea management.
Similarly, a study shows that local communities in Indias desert regions are good at managing their natural resources using traditional knowledge and wisdom. Their efficient community strategies demonstrate intelligent and sustainable use of land, water, and soil without harming the surrounding ecosystems resilience and functioning.
Comparing Bangladesh with these two countries in terms of utilizing IPs traditional ecological knowledge in sustainable land use brings out a distressed picture. It also canvasses that Indigenous communities are one of the marginalized sections in Bangladesh. As it becomes evident with a study by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies and the International Labor Organization revealed that several socioeconomic indicators such as health, education, household-level income, food consumption, participation, and womens empowerment remain below the national average for IP. Most of them are poverty-stricken, as evidenced by the poverty rate among IP in Bangladesh reaching nearly 80% in plains areas and around 65% in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
Hence, IP should be given proper attention in Bangladesh. Utilizing their TEK in sustainable land management could be a significant push in this regard. The Government of Bangladesh is quite optimistic about meeting Agenda 2030. In light of the global commitment articulated in Agenda 2030 to "leave no one behind," addressing the exclusion of IP becomes imperative. Ensuring IPs inclusive participation in land use and management could lead a step further to materialize the transformative promise of Agenda 2030. Additionally, it would contribute to achieving SDG 13: Climate Action.
In conclusion, the valuable insights and practices of indigenous and local communities in Bangladesh developed over generations, are not being adequately integrated into current land use practices. This oversight can lead to less effective land use and management. To benefit indigenous farmers and preserve natural resources, it is essential to document and codify this knowledge. Since traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) evolves to meet socio-cultural needs, combining TEK with modern scientific knowledge can address challenges in sustainable land use and resource management. A policy-level change is needed to establish frameworks that mandate the inclusion of TEK in environmental impact assessments and land use planning, integrating these practices into national and regional sustainability strategies.
The writer is a Graduate in Public Administration and Freelance Researcher
