Dwelling near the erosion-prone riverbank of the mighty Pasur River, 43-year-old Shumi Mondol understands the importance of a mangrove barrier. Next to her cottage in Loudob in Khulna’s Dacope subdistrict, only 4.75 kilometers (2.9 miles) north of the Sundarban mangroves, there was a mangrove belt along the Pasur. Between 2017 and 2022, the government implemented the renovation project of an embankment stretching 50 km (31 mi) to protect Loudob and Banishanta villages from flooding. The renovation work, however, razed the mangroves in many places, replacing them with exotic acacia trees. Local people assessed that, even after being renovated, the embankment was breached in several places with no mangrove barriers. Shumi told Mongabay, “The trees [that existed before 2017] prevented turbulent tides and river erosion. Moreover, they were the raw material sources for our mangrove products.” To resist riverbank erosion, some NGOs and local communities are implementing mangrove restoration and conservation programs in Khulna and Satkhira districts. The programs also facilitate alternative livelihoods and entrepreneurship development, particularly for women. The women run profitable mangrove nurseries and cooperatives to promote the production and marketing of some value-added mangrove products such as golpata (nipa palm, Nypa fruticans) molasses, keora (Sonneratia caseolaris, a mangrove tree) pickles, and hargoja (holly-leaved acanthus, Acanthus ilicifolius) tea. Shumi Mondol (right) and Anamika Mondol (left) are among several women in Loudob, Khulna, who have created a 2-hectare (4.95 acres) mangrove restoration site along the Pashur River. Image by Sadiqur Rahman. Supported by the local NGO Bangladesh Environment and Development…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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