Challenge of community based fish culture program in Bangladesh: case study on floodplain Beel mail in Rajshahi

Bangladesh is one of the largest and richest floodplain lands in the world. There are 3 million hectares of medium and deep flooded areas. In the dry season these land are used for rice production, but these lands remain unutilized or underutilized for a long period because of flooding. Recently, rice and fish culture is practiced in dry and flooding season under community based fisheries management (CBFM) in Kalmina Beel, Fulbaria, Mymensingh and Angrar Beel, Pirganj, Rangpur areas as case studies. Assessment of the challenges and problems of these beels will help to implement it in other floodplain areas of Bangladesh that will help utilize land and waterbodies with a good source of food, employment and better income source for poor people. To understand the challenges of implementation of CBFM, this study was conducted on Beel Mail at Rajshahi in Bangladesh as a case study. This study conducted focus group discussion among the CBFM stakeholders. It was revealed that lack of skills, education, technological knowledge, and conflict among the stakeholders are the main internal constraints. Lack of coordination among the government agencies, improper facilities for marketing, infrastructure, and financial services, and environmental externalities were identified as major external constraints of successful implementation of CBFM. Some policy recommendations for the successful implementation of the CBFM have been formulated.