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Coastal and Wetland Biodiversity Management Project BGD/99/G31 Hakaluki Haor Draft Conservation Management Plan 4. OVERVIEW OF HAKALUKI HAOR 4.1 Background Hakaluki Haor once a pristine freshwater ecosystem teeming with a diverse array of wildlife and aquatic resources and covered with unique swamp forests (include list of species once found at Hakaluki Haor as an appendix), has in recent times fast become a degraded landscape now facing an increasing range of pressures and threats. This process of rapid degradation is also having devastating consequences on the many communities living in, around, and downstream of Hakaluki Haor who have for generations depended upon the vital functions, services, and benefits this wetland has provided. In recognition of these threats and the urgent need to protect the unique ecology and biodiversity of Hakaluki Haor, the Government of Bangladesh, under the provisions of the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act (BECA), in 1999 declared this site as an “Ecologically Critical Area” (ECA). Located in the north-east of Bangladesh latitudinally between 24 o 35’N and 24 o 45’N and Longitudinally between 92 o 00E and 92 o 08E, Hakaluki Haor is a shallow basin nested between the Patharia and Madhab hills in the East and the Bhatera hills to the West. Administratively, Hakaluki Haor falls under the jurisdiction of two districts (Moulvibazar and Sylhet), five Upazilas (Kulaura, Barlekha, Fenchugonj, Paschim Juri, and Golapgonj), and eleven Unions (Bhatera, Baramchal, Bhakshimail, Jaifarnagar, Barni, Talimpur, Sujanagar, Paschim Juri, Gilachhara, Uttar Bade Pasha, and Sarifganj). (Include administrative map of ECA) Hakaluki Haor is made up of more than 238 small, medium and large interconnecting beels some of which are perennial and others seasonal (CNRS report). During the dry season the area covered by these beels is approximately 4,400 ha but with the onset of the rains in the summer the entire area floods to about four and half times this size (approximately 18,000 ha) and remains underwater for up to five months. During this period, all the beels are united as one large lake, or haor, making Hakaluki Haor the largest freshwater wetland in Bangladesh. Hakaluki Haor is fed mainly by the Juri/ Kantinala, Sonai/ Bordol, Damai, Fanai, and Kuiachara Rivers, and drains through a single outlet, the Kushiara River. The Bordol/ Sonai and Juri/ Kantinalla Rivers originate in India. As the country’s largest inland freshwater wetland, Hakaluki Haor is a critical habitat and breeding ground for fish and other aquatic species and is considered as one of only four major “mother fisheries” in Bangladesh. More than 100 fish species have been recorded in the Haor, approximately one third of which are listed as endangered. Economically important fish include Rui (Labeo rohita), Gonia (L. gonius), Kalibush (L. calbasu), Katla (Catla catla), Mrigal (Cirhinus mrigala). There are six species of large cat fishes—Boal (Wallago attu), Pangus (Pangasius pangasius ), Air (Aorichthys aor), Guizza air Aorichthys seenghala ), Bagha air (Bagarius bagarius) and Rita (Rita rita). There are many small catfishes including Magur (Clarias batrachus), Singhi (Heteropneutes fossilis), Kani Pabda (Ompok binoculatus), Madhu Pabda (Oampok pabda), Tengra (Mystus tengra and M. vittatus), Koi (Anabus testudineus) and a number of other fishes, all of which contribute to the important fish diversity of the Haor. The giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) and small prawns are also distributed widely in the small rivers and canals. Hakaluki Haor is also home to globally significant waterfowl especially large numbers of migratory ducks species (particularly Anatidae spp) that winter in the ECA. In the 1960s, the wintering population of ducks was estimated at between 40,000 and 60,000 but numbers have no declined considerably. Duck populations typically dominated by Anas acuta and Dendrocygna javanica, with smaller numbers of D. biclolor, Nettapus coromandelianus, Anas strepera, A. crecca, A. Prepared by UNOPS Consultant Mr. Sulma Warne August/ September 2005 for Project BGD/99/G31 5
Coastal and Wetland Biodiversity Management Project BGD/99/G31 Hakaluki Haor Draft Conservation Management Plan poecilorhyncha, A. querquedula, A. clypeata, Aythya ferina, A. nyroca and A. fuligula. Other common species include Tachybaptus ruficollis, Phalacrocorax niger, Bubulcus ibis, Egretta garzetta, E. intermedia, E. alba, Gallicrex cincrea, Porphyrio porphyrio, Fulica atra, Hydrophasianus chirurgus, Metopidius indicus, Gelochelidon nilotica and Chlidonias hybrida. Podiceps cristatus and Phalacrocorax carbo occur in small numbers, and Leptoptilos javanicus and Anser anser have been recorded as occasional winter visitors. The Grey-headed Fish-Eagle Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus and Pallas’s Fishing eagle Haliaeetus leucorhyphus also occur at the wetland. Mammals and reptiles known to occur in the area include Lutra lutra, L. perspicillata, Canis aureus, Vulpes bengalensis, Herpestes spp, the cobra Naja naja and a variety of water snakes, freshwater turtles and tortoises. Other important wildlife at Hakaluki Haor includes a variety of frogs and toads, monkeys, the Irrawady Squirrel, and the Gangetic Dolphin which inhabits the Kushiara River. Wetland vegetation in Bangladesh is represented by a total of 158 species. The Hakaluki Haor system supports at least 73 of these species, or nearly half of the national total. The flora at Hakaluki Haor is typified by a combination of ecologically important remnant swamp forest (trees, shrubs, grasses and aquatic plants) and reedlands. Swamp forests consist of Barringtonia acutangula, Pongamia pinnata, Crataeva nurvala, Trewia nudifllora and Salix tetrasperma A fully-developed stand exhibits a closed canopy with mature trees standing ten to twelve meters tall. Associated with these at the edges of the water bodies were thick spiny bushes of wild rose Rosa clinophylla, and scrub Lippia javanica, Ficus heterophylla and Phyllanthus disticha although this form of vegetation is now largely absent. Reed swamp is adapted to lands intermediate in height between the Haor basin and homestead lands (kanda), typically on ridges surrounding the Haor. These areas are fairly deeply flooded during the rainy season and dry out during the dry season. The open water aquatic vegetation consists of submerged, free floating, rooted floating and a number of emergent plants. The ECA also supports a wide variety of agricultural and horticultural crops and fast growing introduced timber species. A significant number of medicinal plant species are also found in the Haor. Some 190,000 people live in the area surrounding Hakaluki Haor. As the Haor floods annually, habitations are clustered along its slightly raised fringes. Fisheries and agriculture are the two main livelihoods for local people who live in and around the ECA. Other livelihood practices supported by Hakaluki Haor include cattle grazing, NTFP collection, duck rearing, and sand mining. Land ownership is not equally distributed among the population of the ECA. Most of it is owned by a small number of rich farming families. Land not owned privately belongs to the government and is located in the more central areas of the ECA that are prone to flooding. More generally, the Haor serves as a transport pathway particularly while it is flooded, provides water for drinking and washing, provides micro-climate regulation, and holds significant potential for generating income as a tourist attraction. Prepared by UNOPS Consultant Mr. Sulma Warne August/ September 2005 for Project BGD/99/G31 6
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Page 55: 8. REFERENCES Coastal and Wetland B

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