DHAKA — Lika Chakma, 37, says she can still remember her childhood days when the springs in the Digholchari Hajachara area of eastern Bangladesh, where she grew up, flowed year-round. These perennial water bodies supported not only the lives and livelihoods of the communities in the region, but also diverse fish and aquatic wildlife. Among these was the putitor mahseer fish (Tor putitora), which abounded in the springs of her village. An endangered species, it’s native to this part of South Asia, ranging as far west as Pakistan, where it’s the national fish of that country. But the putitor mahseer began disappearing after locals started destroying the forests and quarrying rocks from the streambeds. With the springs drying up, there was little habitat left for the putitor mahseer. Climate change is making the situation worse. According to a 2016 study, the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region where Digholchari Hajachara is located now experiences an increase in the overall rainfall in the monsoon season but a decrease in dry season rainfall. So while the springs flowed during the wet season, these once perennial water bodies were drying up during the rest of the year. A Tor putitora fish was collected from Devarmatha spring to study how the species is faring there and was later released back. Image by Rafiqul Islam. “When we started felling trees from the natural forests and taking rocks from our springs and streams, the springs were not discharging enough water for us,” Lika said. “And, at one…This article was originally published on Mongabay
The post Indigenous effort in Bangladesh helps reverse endangered fish’s slide to extinction appeared first on EnviroLink Network.