3cr live in extreme poverty in Bangladesh : Bernicat
Current nets must go to protect Hilsa: Minister
DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT
About three crore people live in extreme poverty in Bangladesh and most of them are unable either to manage three meals a day or eat balanced diet, said US Ambassador in Dhaka Marcia Bernicat yesterday.
As many as 30 million Bangladeshis still live in extreme povertyearning less than $1.25 per day. These families suffer from chronic vulnerability to shocks and stresses. Most do not enjoy three meals a day nor are they eating a balanced diet, she said.
The US ambassador made the remarks while unveiling a new USAID project-- Enhanced Coastal Fisheries in Bangladesh or ECOFISHBD-- jointly with Fisheries and Livestock Minister Mohammed Sayedul Hoque at a hotel in the capital yesterday. WorldFish, an international research organisation, will be implementing the project. In far too many rudimentary fishing villages along the banks of the Meghna River, extreme poverty rates exceed 85-90 per cent, she said.
Speaking on the occasion, the fisheries and livestock minister described Hilsa as national pride and laid emphasis on bringing an end to catch mother Hilsa and Jatka to protect this fish. He also said that the country would have to get rid of current nets. He also urged scientists to come forward to conduct research for finding out ways to boost production of the delicious fish. First, we must conserve Hilsa and then go for research to boost its production, he said.
About Hilsa, Ambassador Bernicat said Hilsa fisheries have played an important role in the transformational growth of Bangladesh into a lower middle-income economy. Your national fish is an important source of nutrition, provides jobs to half a million artisanal fishers, and supports an additional two million jobs in its value chain, she said.
In fact, she added, its economic value across Bangladesh, Myanmar and India is estimated at $2 billion.
In Bangladesh, the envoy said, The Hilsa fishery accounts for approximately 1.5 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Thats a lot of fish! But despite these successes, she reminded that the long-term sustainability remains vulnerable to a variety of internal and external forces.
Overfishing, pollution, and the loss of essential fish habitats because of siltation and upstream water diversion projects threaten this culturally significant and economically important fishery, she added. About the project, Bernicat said the five-year $15 million initiative aims at improving the resilience of the Meghna River ecosystem and communities reliant on coastal fisheries.
