Hossain Zillur Rahman tells consultation meeting in Bangkok
The post millennium development goals should be centred on sustainable development, said Hossain Zillur Rahman, former adviser to a caretaker government, at a consultation meeting in Bangkok yesterday. International Union for Conservation of Nature organised the meeting titled “Sustainable Livelihood Options for Fisheries: Opportunities and Challenges” at the Imperial Queen’s Park Hotel.
“The interest of our policy makers is in food security and not in nutrition,” he said, adding that the country produces enough rice but people are still suffering from malnutrition.
Speakers stated that ensuring protection of local fish habitats is necessary to provide the poor with proteins they require.
The post millennium development goals should be centred on sustainable development, said Hossain Zillur Rahman, former adviser to a caretaker government, at a consultation meeting in Bangkok yesterday.
International Union for Conservation of Nature organised the meeting titled “Sustainable Livelihood Options for Fisheries: Opportunities and Challenges” at the Imperial Queen’s Park Hotel.
“The interest of our policy makers is in food security and not in nutrition,” he said, adding that the country produces enough rice but people are still suffering from malnutrition.
Speakers stated that ensuring protection of local fish habitats is necessary to provide the poor with proteins they require.
“That way, we will not just have social safety nets that safeguard the poor against vulnerabilities, but also give them ladders to ‘climb’ out and improve their situations by themselves,” said Hossain Zillur.
On conservation of hilsa fish, speakers remarked that since the species cannot be cultured, their habitat must be protected.
“Hilsa, which used to swim up till the river Padma for spawning, only goes up till Meghna now,” said Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute expert Anisul M Islam.
Overfishing is a major reason behind depletion of the species, the participants noted, adding that the species can be saved if “ban periods” on fishing hilsa can be established in West Bengal as well.
“The increasing yield of hilsa in Bangladesh is likely to lead to overfishing,” said Sangita Mitra, senior project officer from World Wildlife Foundation office in Kolkata.
In West Bengal, the number of fishermen has increased by three to four times in the last 12 years, she said, adding, “Many of them are river erosion victims who join the lucrative trade.”
The consultation meeting was held by Ecosystems for Life, an Indo-Bangladesh platform of IUCN experts.
-With The Daily Star input
