Can mangrove plantations save the people of Jalia Para?

Imagine a village on the coast of Bangladesh, constantly under threat from rising seas and powerful cyclones. This is the reality for Jalia Para, where saltwater intrusion and storm surges bring hardship to the community. To see their plight myself, I went there to conduct a survey, and I think nature-based solutions using mangrove trees could be the answer to protecting this vulnerable village.

Jalia Para village is situated at Shah Porir Dwip Mouza of Sabrang Union in the Teknaf Peninsula. The Naaf River flows to the east of it. Over the last 35 years, cyclones have become more frequent and intense, and the risk of flooding has also increased in that area.

Although flooding is not yet a common occurrence in Jalia Para, saline water intrusion, along with storm surges during cyclones and waterlogging due to it, causes the most suffering to the local people. But the sea level rise over time carries a potential threat to tidal flooding in Jalia Para.

I was conducting a questionnaire survey in Jalia Para on July 29, 2023, when I got to see the effects of saline water intrusion, coastal flood vulnerability, and how the people are coping with the rising threat from the sea.

The inhabitants of Jalia Para told me that the village did not experience any coastal flooding during Cyclone Mocha, which occurred in the second week of May 2023. The villagers informed me that there was a freshwater crisis and waterlogging.

The inundation of saline water takes a while to move from the village, which leads to ultimate suffering for the villagers. The sandy, alkaline soil creates a hindrance in terms of agriculture. Additionally, saline water adds more trouble by destroying crops, resulting in a negative impact on their livelihood. The salinity of the water also poses a threat to women's health.

As the Naaf river flows adjacent to the Jalia Para village, internal migration is prominent there due to riverbank erosion. As several people have lost their only piece of land to the wrath of the flowing Naaf River, they are left with no choice but to reside in polythene shelters on the bank of the river on government land.

Waterlogging brings great suffering to transportation, mainly because of the muddy roads. Organisations such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) are working there to make people resilient. The Shah Porir Dwip Jalia Para Government Primary School has a feeding program initiated by the World Food Programme (WFP) to fight malnutrition among school going kids around the age of five to 12.

The intrusion of saline water during storm surges contaminates the fresh water sources. During data collection, I saw water tanks beside the road. Water is brought through pipelines from Teknaf Sadar and stored in these tanks for public use.

Only one of the fifteen surveyed homes had a tube-well installed for fresh drinking water, which is used by three families. When the cyclone disrupts the electricity connection and destroys the transportation routes, the Jalia Para residents walk two or three kilometres to fetch water.

According to the villagers, there has been an embargo on fishing in the Naaf River for the past few years. They are only allowed to fish during a certain season in a certain month instead of the whole year.

As they starve the rest of the year for not being able to fish, many of them are changing occupations, for instance, running small stores, riding auto rickshaws, some selling homegrown vegetables to Teknaf Sadar market, etc.

As most of the villagers are experiencing poverty, it makes them socio-economically vulnerable to any potential hazards. Robbery and theft are prominent there. The men of the families do not evacuate to cyclone shelters due to the fear of thieves.

The nearest Koyainchari Para Community Clinic is approximately three kilometres from the Shah Porir Dwip Jalia Para village. The distance of the hospital and the muddy, broken roads due to the storm surge create a hindrance to receiving medical services, which also makes them vulnerable.

The fallen fishermen community living on the bank of the Naaf River, who could not switch occupations because they are financially unstable, experience social discrimination when it comes to receiving post-disaster humanitarian aid.

When a community is physically, psychologically, and socio-economically vulnerable and their public health is at threat, it becomes very difficult to fight against any disasters.

Mangrove plantations can be a way of being financially stable.

Mangroves create a habitat for fish, crabs, and other marine organisms to live in, and these resources help to make a living. Mangrove plantation can be executed through a bottom-up approach where the community does all the work with the help and monitoring of the government and NGOs. Moreover, it helps women become self-reliant by creating work opportunities. 

Take the example of Tahiry Honko, the world's largest carbon conservation project in Madagascar, which will reduce 1,300 tons of carbon emissions each year. Under the project, tree plantations, sea cucumber and seaweed farming, beekeeping on over 1200 hectares of mangrove land, and rebuilding tropical fisheries, provide an alternative source of livelihood to locals.

In Bangladesh, coastal afforestation started in 1965 as a part of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) against coastal hazards. NBS refers to the management and restoration of natural resources by community members, with the help of authorities, in a way that brings welfare to society. From 1974 to now, the Bangladesh Forest Department has planted mangrove trees, mostly Keora and Baen, on over 1,460 hectares of land on the Teknaf coast.

Mangrove tree plantations in Jalia Para will slow down the wave force, reduce the height of storm surge and work as a natural barrier, which will reduce the risk of potential flooding and decrease the impact of riverbank erosion by trapping sediments as well as salinity intrusion.

This will fulfil the purpose of saving properties and lives and creating a natural coastal embankment. The tree plantation program will also reduce the freshwater crisis in Jalia Para. Widespread implementation of NBS is facing challenges because of low budget allocation, stakeholder unwillingness, a lack of monitoring and evaluation, long term planning, and policymakers concerns about its effectiveness.

As Jalia Para has a potential risk of future flooding due to climate change, the NBS for flood resilience should be adapted with the help of NGO, INGO, and government agencies working there.

Implementing NBS by involving the Jalia Para community by following a bottom-up approach will also improve their socio-economic condition by making them financially stable, which will also make the community resilient against future floods.

Sharika Shams Supti is a student of the Department of Disaster Management and Resilience, at the Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP).

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.