Assessment of Ecosystem Services and Their Drivers of Change under Human-Dominated Pressure—The Meghna River Estuary of Bangladesh

Mohammad Yusuf Miah, Mohammad Mosarof Hossain, Petra Schneider, Mohammad Mojibul Hoque Mozumder, Sabrina Jannat Mitu and Md. Mostafa Shamsuzzaman
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Mohammad Yusuf Miah: Department of Coastal and Marine Fisheries, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet 3100, Bangladesh
Mohammad Mosarof Hossain: Department of Coastal and Marine Fisheries, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet 3100, Bangladesh
Petra Schneider: Department for Water, Environment, Civil Engineering and Safety, University of Applied Sciences Magdeburg-Stendal, Breitscheidstraße 2, D-39114 Magdeburg, Germany
Mohammad Mojibul Hoque Mozumder: Fisheries and Environmental Management Group, Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS), Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
Sabrina Jannat Mitu: Department of Coastal and Marine Fisheries, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet 3100, Bangladesh
Md. Mostafa Shamsuzzaman: Department of Coastal and Marine Fisheries, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet 3100, Bangladesh

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 8, 1-18

Abstract: The Meghna river estuary has had substantial importance in supporting the coastal community’s livelihood for decades, but the pressure on it is immense due to many anthropogenic drivers. The present study aimed to assess its ecosystem services (ES) according to the framework of the standard international classification of ecosystem services (CICES). This study also identified the drivers, pressure, state, impact, and responses (DPSIR), and the factors responsible for ES changes in the Meghna river estuarine ecosystems. By merging both quantitative and qualitative data, a total of 19 sub-categories of ES were found, among which eight are provisioning, seven are regulatory, and four are cultural services, according to the CICES framework. From the results, it can be concluded that food provisioning from the Hilsha fishery, the national fish as a part of cultural heritage, and nursery habitat functions were the top provisional, regulatory, and cultural services to the society in the study areas and beyond. However, several threats and stressors of both anthropogenic and natural origins were identified as drivers of ES changes, such as overexploitation, destructive and illegal fishing, heavy river bed siltation, and natural hazards such as extreme cyclonic events, floods, and sea levels rising. This study underlines the urgency of research and policy attention to address the challenges, and of transforming management regimes to an ecosystem-based approach, which is part of nature-based solutions according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which refers to the present case, and particularly to fishery co-management. Creating alternative income sources and raising community awareness regarding the importance of maintaining the healthy condition of the river basins, and comprehensive compliance with the rules and regulations are proposed in order to ensure these estuarine ecosystems’ sustainability.

Keywords: ecosystem services; Meghna River; estuarine systems; DPSIR; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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