There are many factors to consider when determining suitable cropping systems and technologies for different areas within the coastal zone, including water quality, availability, proximity to water sources, land elevation, and flooding depth and duration. Detailed spatial data can help account for this complexity and target interventions appropriately.

1. The Ganges Basin Development
Challenge (GBDC)
Increasing the resilience of agricultural
and aquaculture systems in the coastal
areas of the Ganges Delta

2. Tasks
• Who work in GBDC
• Why GBDC
• What GBDC is
• How it works
• Where it works
• Your support
Andes • Ganges • Limpopo • Mekong • Nile • Volta
Water for a food-secure world

3. THE BD GANGES TEAM
BAU BUET BFRI BRAC
BWDB LGED IRRI
IWM IWMI PS&TU
SRDI Shushilan WFC
Andes • Ganges • Limpopo • Mekong • Nile • Volta
Water for a food-secure world

4. Why? Poverty in Coastal Zone of Bangladesh
• Among world’s poorest, most food
insecure, vulnerable
• 75% of households (HH) with 0.2-0.6
ha; HH income ~70000 BDT
• 80% of population income < national
poverty line
• Too much water in rainy season
• Salinity and lack of fresh water in
dry season
BBS / WorldBank / WFP (2009)
Andes • Ganges • Limpopo • Mekong • Nile • Volta

5. With advances in sciences, innovation and improved
understanding of socio economic issues ….There are
opportunities for livelihood improvements. GBDC is
optimistic about a more productive and prosperous BD
coastal zone
Reducing poverty, improving resilience, through improved water
GBDC
governance and management and intensified and diversified
agricultural and aquaculture systems in brackish water of the
coastal Ganges.

6. We envision that after 10 years of
GBDC……..
• Livelihood
– Reduce food insecure HHs by 50%; increase HH
income by $100/year
– Disadvantaged groups and women are empowered
– Increase resilience (farmers ability to cope with
effects of vulnerability)
• Production
– Annual agricultural/aquaculture outputs increased
by 50%
– 50% of HHs have 2 crops/year, diversified with high
value non-rice crops and/or aquaculture
– Income from “homestead” increased by 50%
• Policy
– Enabling crop diversification and intensification
– Coherent policies and institutions on water
management

7. How?
River
• Develop improved, intensified and
diversified agric and aqua systems and
Inlet to sluice gate homestead
• Better water governance and
management
Polder 31
• Quantify salinity and water dynamics:
present andriver side
Sluice gate on future
• Identify extrapolation domains and propose
Sluice gate inside the
land use maps polder
• Enhance impact through coordination,
Polder 30
stakeholder participation and policy
advocacy

8. Where?
Barisal: Patuakhali, Barguna
Khulna: Khulna & Satkhira
except the Sundarbans
Andes • Ganges • Limpopo • Mekong • Nile • Volta

9. Land use 2000
To serve you better, we need your
support
You are policy makers
Critical feedbacks
Guidance & collaboration
Policy uptake
Frequent interactions
6
3
1S or
3R/U Land use zoning
1S-1R proposed by Land use 2005
project in 2000
2
1S or
1S-1R 5
1
4 3R/U
S+C - F
2R/U
xS: No. of shrimp crops
Andes • Ganges • xR: No.of • Mekong • Nile • Volta
Limpopo rice crop
xR/U: No. of rice or upland crop
S+C-F: Shrimp+Crab - Fish

10. Andes • Ganges • Limpopo • Mekong • Nile • Volta

11. Ganges Basin Development Challenge
Adoption of new technologies- Salinity and
External Drivers

12. Salinity Dynamics in the Peripheral river of Polder-43/2F
POLDER-43/2f
Kharif-2 Rabi Kharif-1

13. Salinity Dynamics in the Peripheral river of Polder-30
Kharif-2 Rabi Kharif-1
POLDER-30

14. Salinity Dynamics in the Peripheral river of Polder-3
POLDER-3
Salinity Level
remain below 2
ppt form end of
July to Early
December

15. Road Network and Change of Drainage Pattern
Polder-30

16. Water flow Models
Water Flow at Pussur River
Q Q
Q
Water Flow boundary
Water Flow Model of
South-West Region
Q
QQ
WL
Water Level at Pussur River
WL WL 2 Dimensional Model (Bay of Bengal Model)
WL WL Water flow boundary from SWRM
Water level from Global Tide Model
WL

17. Average of Peak water level during kharif-2

18. Drivers and Scenarios
Final List of Key External Drivers
Scenarios
Single or combination of
the external drivers
2030 and 2050

19. Participants
• Experts,
• service providers, practitioners and academicians
• Policy planners
• representatives from other G’s
• Stakeholders and community representatives

20. Scenarios from the workshop
1. Change in transboundary flow +Population growth+Land use change+Climate change (including ppt,
temp & SLR)A2+ Urbanization
2. Change in transboundary flow +Population growth+Land use change+Climate change (including pptn,
temp & SLR)A1B+ Urbanization

21. Effects of External drivers on Salinity intrusion and Fresh water availability
 2 PPT Salinity line moves 10-15 km upwards  2 PPT Salinity line moves 12-18 km upwards
 800 Sqkm more area is likely to be affected  1050 Sqkm more area is likely to be affected
15 Km

22. Key Findings
• In the low saline zone freshwater is available for the whole year at present
and future and three crops can be established instead of one crop at
present;
• Gravity irrigation is feasible during Aman Crop;
• Costal polder needs improved water management with additional drainage
and flushing sluices and ensuring proper operation of gates;
• Internal road network needs adequate number of cross-drainage structure
for drainage improvement;
• Excavation of internal drainage khal for drainage improvement and water
storage for agriculture;
• In the high saline zone, unauthorized pipes/structure are used for saline
water supply can be replaced by few number of flushing sluices for better
water and conflict management and safety of the embankment ;
• The effects of external drivers on water resources is significant and needs to
be considered in future plannning.

23. THANK YOU

24. Adoption of improved technologies
requires improved water
management in coastal polders

25. The opportunity
• Tremendous potential to improve food security &
livelihoods in the coastal zone through
– improved crop & aquaculture technologies
– cropping system intensification & diversification
• CPWF Ganges program has demonstrated that with
– new varieties
– timely crop establishment
– improved crop & water management,
cropping system intensity & the productivity of the
coastal lands can be greatly increased - in all
seasons.

26. The opportunity: low saline area
• where freshwater is available in the rivers for 10-
11 months a year, such as parts of Barguna District
– Aman-Grasspea (rice: 3 t/ha, grasspea: 0.5 t/ha)
– Aus-Aman (rice: 6 t/ha)
can be replaced by
– Aus-Aman-Boro (rice: 16 t/ha)
– Aus-Aman-Rabi
(rice: 10 t/ha, sunflower: 3 t/ha, maize: 8 t/ha)

27. Aus-Aman-Rabi Cropping System
A M J J A S O N D J F M A
30 June 15 Nov 05Apr
Aus (100-105 d) T. Aman (130-140 d) Rabi (130-140 d)
10 Apr 10 July 1 Dec

28. The opportunity: moderately saline area
• Where freshwater is limited during the dry
season, such as parts of Khulna District,
– Productivity of the traditional Aman-Sesame
or single Aman systems
(rice: 2 t/ha, sesame: 0.5 t/ha)
can be increased several-fold through
– Aman-Rabi
(rice: 4 t/ha, maize: 8 t/ha, sunflower: 3 t/ha)
– Aman-Boro (rice: 9 t/ha)

29. Aman-Rabi Cropping System
M J J A S O N D J F M A M
15 Nov 30 Apr
Aman (140 d) Rabi (120-140 d)
15 July Dec/Jan
Terminal Drainage

30. The opportunity: high saline area
• where water salinity too high for dry season
agriculture, e.g. parts of Satkhira District,
productivity of shrimp culture can be greatly
enhanced by new technologies for higher
aquaculture production & reduced risk
• Shrimp culture (shrimp: 200 kg/ha) can be replaced
by more resilient systems of
[Shrimp+Fish]-[Rice+Fish]
(shrimp: 200 kg/ha, rice: 3 t/ha, fish: 700-1200 kg/ha)
• Win-win-win: greater food security + cash income
without damaging the environment.

31. Improved aquaculture-rice system
Dry season Wet season
Gher
preparation
Bagda Rice+Fish
Seedling
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Drain out saline water,
expose gher soil to
rainfall to leach down
soil salinity
Poorly-drained gher in polder 3 Well-drained gher

32. Realising the opportunity
Requires ability to:
– drain fields
– intake water of the desired quality
– store fresh water for irrigation
This is NOT the current situation………

33. Aman rice field in Patuakhali

34. Aman rice field in Patuakhali

35. Aman rice field in Patuakhali

36. Aman rice field in Patuakhali

37. Rice-Fish cultivation in Ghers in Satkhira
(inundated due to rainfall during 3-5 September 2012)

38. How to realise the opportunity?
• Successful large-scale implementation of the
opportunities requires
– a change in mind set & investments in agriculture,
aquaculture, & water management.
– Need to focus on polder level water management; a
pre-requisite
• Effective investment in water management requires
fundamental changes in thinking about the roles of
the polders, polder design & infrastructure, & the
institutional set up to manage the water of the
polders

39. Re-defining the roles of polders
• Each polder needs to be considered as an
integrated water management unit, serving the
production systems
• The original role of the polders was to enable one
crop of tall, long duration traditional aman rice
(HYVs did not exist)
• HYVs & improved cropping system technologies
now available, but with different requirements
from traditional aman

40. How will good drainage help?
• Improved drainage will
– enable adoption of HYV in rainy season (aman)
– timely establishment of rabi crops
– ability to grow higher yield/value rabi crops
– adequate leaching of salt from shrimp ghers
prior to transplanting the aman crop
– cropping system intensification

41. How to increase storage volume inside polders?
• Increased fresh water storage capacity during
the dry season requires re-excavation of existing
canal networks (will also improve drainage!)

42. Effective water management at polder level require
separation of lands on the basis of land topography to
form a small water management unit by about 50 cm
high farm levee

43. Changing institutional set ups
• Treating the polders as unified water management
units also requires fundamental changes in
institutional set up to govern and manage water in
the polders.
• The present set up is too fragmented and disjoint
– BWDB is in charge of embankment and sluices
– BADC for small scale irrigation systems in/out-side polders
– LGED for structures outside the polders
• There should be one single entity in charge of each
whole polder, servicing the people living within the
polder and their production systems.

44. Key messages for policy makers
• Invest in polder water management
• Consider polder as a single integrated
water management unit servicing the
production systems
• Create small water management units
with provision of drainage and water
storage
• One single entity in charge of each whole
polder

45. Thank You

46. Adoption of improved technologies
improved spatial data availability

47. 1/12
Why do we need improved spatial data?
The challenge is to identify where and when each
improved technology can be successful in the coastal
polder zone  Technology targetting
The coastal zone is complex, it faces multiple challenges,
and situations change quickly over small distances and
from season to season  A high resolution spatial
database and multidisciplinary partnerships are paramount
for targetting at village level.

48. 2/12
Study sites for improved technologies
Polder 3 Polder 30
Rice/Aquaculture & Intensification from one to
Shrimp/Shrimp two crops
Polder 43/2f
Intensification from
one/two to three crops

49. 3/12
Increasing area affected by soil salinity
Soil salinity
None
Very slight
Slight
Strong
Very strong

50. 4/12
Large changes in salinity through the year
Movement of the 4ppt water
salinity boundary in early 2011

51. 5/12
Improving livelihoods and profitability
Opportunity for rice Aug-Nov and shrimp Feb-Jun
Current practice – shrimp farming in Feb-Jun
Daily water salinity Lower threshold limit of salinity - Shrimp
Upper threshold limit of salinity - Rice
Water salinity (ppt)
Rice Shrimp
Date
Opportunities for targetting additional crop in fallow lands (Polder 3)

52. 6/12
Spatial land use patterns are complex!
Boro rice Aus rice Aman rice
Nov – Apr Apr – Jul Jul – Nov
5m hectares 1.1m hectares 5.8m hectares
There is scope for intensification & diversification in the coastal zone

53. 7/12
Cropping systems are complex!
Aman - Boro Water quality and availability in dry season
Difference
Internal
Aman - Boro Fresh (< 4dS/m), Month when and availability in wet season (m) in high
Description of
Water quality
river water
storage
Proximity to water level in
ground water capacity in
Land use still remain river, canal, Mar and land
availability and relation to land Difference (m) in land
Description of Land
type(technology) fresh Maximum inundation ponds (m) surface for
Maximum inundation depth
pumping depth area surface and low water
use (<4 dS/m) depth (m) for more than gravity
(m) in August (ML/ha) level in Sep/Oct for
type(technology) one week in Sep/Oct irrigation (m)
drainage
Aman HYV rice is Yes, < 6 m S1 March S1 >5 S1 <50 S1 >1 S1
Boro rice is seeded < 0.1 S1 < 0.2 S1 >1 S1
transplanted in July-
around 15 Nov. (MS)
August, to be Yes, 7 -20
to 15 Dec (LS). Boro 0.1 – 0.2 S2 FebS2 S2 – 0.5 - 5
0.2 2.5 S2
S2 50-100 - 1 S2
0.5 0.5 - 1 S2 S2
harvested by the end m
rice is irrigated with
of November 0.2 – 0.3 S3 0.5 – 0.8 S3 0.2 – 0.5 S3
river water (when yes, > 20 S3 Jan S3 1 - 2.5 S3 100-300 S3 0.2 - 0.5 S3
(Moderate Salinity
fresh) or with water
zone) or December
stored in canal
(low saline zone). No 0.3
> SN SN
Dec SN0.8 <1
> SN >300 0.2
SN < SN < 0.2 SN SN
networks
S1 = Most Suitable S2 = Suitable S3 = Least Suitable SN = Not Suitable
Detailed data & multi disciplinary expertise needed to define requirements

54. 8/12
Cropping systems are complex
Groundwater Surface water
Depth of Month when Storage Proximity to Suitability for
Fresh GW
Tubewell? prehatic river water capacity fresh SW dry season
(< 4dS/m)
surface (m) (< 3 dS/m) (ML/ha) source (m) rice crop
Yes Shallow S1
<6 S1
Deep 7 - 20 S2
> 20 S3
No Mar S1
Feb 2.5 - 5 < 100 S1
> 100 S2
1- 2.5 < 100 S2
> 100 S3
Jan 2.5 - 5 < 100 S2
> 100 S3
1 – 2.5 < 100 S3
> 100 SN
Dec SN

55. 9/12
Coastal ecosystems are complex!
Social BWDB
Demographic
IRRI
Economic
Infrastructure IWM
Water
Climate LGED
Soil
SRDI
Land cover
Topography Basin partners
Open sharing of GIS data and expertise across institutes in Bangladesh

56. 10/12
Data held by many different institutes
We need a coordinated approach to facilitate data sharing/access

57. 11/12
Detailed and specific information is needed
Location and time specific constraints
like appropriate sluice gate operation
(community level water management),
and canal siltation (infrastructure
maintenance), need to be
incorporated into the suitability
analysis as critical requirements for
innovative cropping systems.
Incorporating socio economic
constraints to the usual
“climate+soils+topography”
approach is paramount for
realistic suitability maps

58. 12/12
Key messages on spatial data
A framework that encourages institutes in Bangladesh to openly share GIS
data in consistent standards will greatly enhance the ability to respond to
policy makers needs  A Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) for Bangladesh
Socioeconomic, infrastructure and management information need to
included in the targetting approach. They are as important as biophysical
constraints.

59. Thank you

60. Adoption of improved technologies
requires better investments in water
management
Some policy suggestions

61. We studied institutional arrangements in
5 BWDB polders and 4 LGED sub-projects

62. To understand the actors, communities
and institutions
Which institutions,
What are the How is the
organizations and
problems and for community involved
individuals are
which groups? How in water
involved in water
are they managed? management?
management? How?
POLICY CHANGE FOR BETTER WATER
MANAGEMENT

63. Over 3000 people were interviewed

64. Polders and sub-projects vary widely
– Salinity and fresh water availability
– Cropping systems and livelihoods
– Procedures for closing and opening of gates
– Role of Water Management Organizations

65. Diverse cropping pattern depending on salinity levels

66. Institutional Arrangements of Water Management varies across
and within polders (e.g. who opens gates?)
Polder/Sub- WMO Gher UP Gate Local
Project owners Chairman committee elites
and appointed by
Members UP or BWDB
Polder 3 - × × × ×
Polder 31 × × × × ×
Polder 30 × - × - ×
Polder 43-2F × - × - ×
Latabunia × × - - ×
Jabusha × × × -
Jainkathi - - × - ×
Bagarchra × × × - ×

67. But all sites have three things in common
• Poor condition of
embankments, khals
and gates due to poor
maintenance
• Conflicts surrounding
water management
and land use
• UP Chairman and
Members are de-facto
decision makers, but
do not necessarily
have a formal role

68. Why are water infrastructures not maintained?
• WMOs were created for
solving ‘deferred
maintenance’
• Why communities don’t
maintain?
– Public goods dilemma
– Even so called ‘minor’
repair and maintenance
may be beyond the capacity
of communities
– Incentive problems: if
communities don’t fix it in
time, government or donor
will in a few years time

69. ‘Deferred maintenance’ as an incentive problem
• Why can’t the
governments do regular
repair and maintenance?
Field evidence
shows communities
– Allocation from Non-
cannot do
Revenue Development
maintenance
expected of less than 10% of
Budget is them.
total requirement
– Belongs to communities,
they must do it
• Why don’t donors pitch in?
– Belongs to GOB and
communities, they must do
it

70. How can we help communities to better maintenance?
• Give WMOs access to
income generating But communities can not
assets like lease of do it alone!
common land or micro-
credit
• Devise fair rules for
collection of
maintenance funds
• Coordination between
existing WMOs and UP

71. Solutions beyond community levels
• Use existing social safety
net funds of UP, like 40
days work, KABHIKA for
polder maintenance
• Twin benefits of
employment creation
(LCS) and infrastructure
maintenance
• Coordination between UP,
BWDB, LGED and Central
Government

72. Solutions by donors and central government
• Create of Donor-
Government Trust Fund
for Maintenance of
Water related Development partner
infrastructure in
GoB
Bangladesh
• All polder/sub-projects
get allocations for repair
and maintenance every
year from interest
amount of Trust Fund
Donor Government Trust Fund

73. Trust fund money is allocated to every polder
each year for Repair and Maintenance

74. How to reduce drainage problems and conflicts?
Divide polders into
smaller hydrological
units (SHU).
Use LGED rural roads
as hydrological
boundaries
For even smaller
boundaries, use UP
social safety funds for
ail construction

75. Some of these are already happening…
• Constitution of Union Parishad Coordination (UPCC) launched
under Local Government Support Project to oversee all
developmental activities.
• Using rural roads as hydrological boundaries for forming
smaller hydrological units. LGED is already doing it in SSWDRP
III and IV phases
• Delineating smaller hydrological units within BWDB polder
with help of LGED: Already happening in Narail Chenchury Bil
project where LGED is doing 30 sub-projects within BWDB
polder

76. So, what can policy makers do?
Devise better ways of
maintaining existing
infrastructure:
– Through Donor-
Government Joint
Maintenance Trust Fund
– Use social safety net
programs for
construction of rural
roads, small ails, and
repair of internal canals
and embankments

77. So, what can policy makers do?
Devise ways to reduce
water conflicts:
– Divide larger polders
into smaller
hydrological units by
using rural roads and
ails as hydrological
boundaries
– Formal involvement
of UP’s and WMOs

78. Thank you