A study tour of Dhaka honey value chain and more

The Sundarbans is the largest single mangrove forest in the world, which covers approximately forty percent of the total forest in Bangladesh and is listed as one of the World Heritage and Ramsar site.

 

Bangladesh Environment and Development Society (BEDS) and Japan Environmental Education Forum (JEEF) have been trying to promote Sundarbans Mangrove Biodiversity Education Program in Bangladesh since 2013 among the primary school students. BEDS, the environmental initiative lead by Mr. Maksudur Rahman, developed a series of mangrove education materials (booklets, board and card games) for primary school students present in the eighty two primary schools in Bangladesh. Our main goal is to incorporate these developed education materials into the national curriculum as a Supplementary Reading Material (SRM). 

 

To achieve this set goal, on 29 April 2017, BEDS conducted a workshop in Munshigonj union of Shyamnagar, sub district of Satkhira district in Bangladesh. Twenty one Upazilla (sub district) Primary Education Officers from different places in Bangladesh participated in this workshop. The participants provided valuable feedbacks on the developed educational materials and offered to incorporate these materials into the primary school curriculum. 

 

On 26 May 2017, we again conducted another workshop at Khulna District Primary Education Office in Bangladesh and District Primary Education Officers were invited. They also provided their valuable comment and feedback on the developed materials. They opined to provide the educational materials in primary schools to inform students and parents regarding the World Heritage Sundarbans and to make them conscious to conserve the Sundarbans. 

BEDS have been working to establish a bridge between human and nature since the very beginning of its journey as an organization. BEDS have been regularly observing diverse national and international days with honor and pride besides doing different conservation activities. In line with this, BEDS has observed World Migratory Bird Day 2017 on 10 May 2017 with the local community in its own office at Mathurapur Jelly Polly (fishing village), in Munshigonj union under Shyamnagar sub district of Satkhira district and in Green Education Center at Purbo Khejuria village in Banishanta union under Dacope sub district of Khulna district.

The main theme of the day was the future of migratory birds is our future which proceeded into meetings in two districts. After the meeting the local community determined that they will never kill a single migratory bird and will protect them within three kilometers of the village. 

BEDS celebrated World Biodiversity Day 2017 at the grass-root level in Bangladesh with the theme “Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism.” The aim of the celebration is to make people aware about the importance, necessity and conservation of biodiversity through sustainable eco-tourism. We organized a discussion with the local community about the morality of the day and the importance of biodiversity.

 

At the beginning of the discussion we did some group works on the importance of Sundarbans and how we can carry out the sustainable eco-tourism in the Sundarbans. The conversation on biodiversity centered on the harmful effect of some human activities on the environment and how these effects can be reduced.

 

Representatives of BEDS delivered their speech on the importance of biodiversity, why it should be preserved and  the role of the local community  in enriching and conserving biodiversity for sustainable eco-tourism.

The Sundarbans is very rich in natural resources and is home to many rare flora and fauna. Some of the plants have flowers that attract honeybees creating a jungle filled with beehives.  Traditionally, poor communities living around the Sundarbans collect the honey between April to June with permission from the government. But they earn very little money to pay their annual debts because of the interference of middlemen and lack of effective marketing system.

 

Honey collectors risk their lives facing threats from the Royal Bengal Tigers and pirates, but never receive proper payment for their hard work. Moreover, honey collectors use an unsustainable harvesting practice, thus endangering the ecosystem of the Sundarbans.

 

BEDS and JEEF have been trying to promote honey business at the Sundarbans region by involving fifty honey collectors. Under the project we have conducted a study tour in Dhaka from May 18 to 22, 2017 for increasing the honey processing, manufacturing skills and developing marketing and business skills of Mowal Cooperative Society members by selling their own honey product in different selling points.

Being a motivated youth leader and  YPARD member, Mr. Maksudur and his team received the Government Divisional Environmental Award from Khulna Division, Khulna, Bangladesh for its excellent service on Environment related activities consecutively from 2015 to 2017, on the occasion of world environment day on June 5, 2017.