View article

Wetlands are amongst the Earth’s most productive ecosystems. In Bangladesh these are of great importance because of the extensive food webs and rich biodiversity they support. In the past, wetlands have been undervalued. However, in recent times, awareness increases of the fact that natural wetlands provide many services toward mankind through various functions, products eg, fish, fuel wood, timber, rice, and attributes ie, biodiversity, aesthetic beauty, cultural heritage and archaeology.

Bangladesh’s most important freshwater wetlands occur in the Haor Basin apart from the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta, which is low lying plains in eastern Mymensingh and western Sylhet Divisions, in the north-eastern part of the country. Tanguar Haor is located in two upazilas (sub-districts) namely Tahirpur and Dharmapasha of Sunamganj district in Sylhet Division. The Tanguar Haor basin, which is an area of 10,000 hectares of land, also supports about 60,000 people with its resources.