Tanguar Haor (wetland) Complex

 water, wetland, ecosystem, interesting place, wildlife protection/conservation

Tanguar Haor a large haor lies within Sunamganj district extending over 10 mauzas of Dharmapasha and Tahirpur upazilas of the district, 30 km Northwest of Sunamgonj District town. The mauzas covering the Tanguar haor are (1) Jagadishpur, (2) Bhabanipur, (3) Lamagaon, (4) Ramsinhapur, (5) Mahajampur, (6) Maindag, (7) Mayajuri, (8) Bhangachara Purba, (9) Noagaon, and (10) Tanguar Haor. The haor consists of 120 beels of various sizes. The area of Tanguar haor including 46 villages within the haor is about 100 sq km of which 2802.36 ha is wetland.

A globally significant wetland, in north-eastern part of Bangladesh, adjacent to the Indian border, is part of a wetland/floodplain complex of the river basin. Administratively, one third of lies in the (sub-district) and the reminder in both within the District of the Division. Although several hundred kilometers from the sea, the is located at an elevation of only 2.5 – 5 meters above sea level, and water movement is generally sluggish.

During the monsoon, the merge into one large body of water in a natural depression between the levees of several rivers. During this season (June - September), is entirely under water except for villages, mostly locate in the periphery, constructed on raised mounds, appear as small islands in this vast body of fresh water. In the dry season waters recede into the rivers and all that remain are some 50 which cover about 25 - 30% of the area. These deeper bodies of water are heavily fished. They attract many waterfowl during the winter season. The is considered to an important breeding ground of many species of fish.

Waters in consist mainly of water backing up in the river system, south of the although some water is received from streams flowing from the Hills in India to the North. Although rich in nutrients, waters are generally clear, especially in the dry season. The river, to the north-east, brings large amounts of sand to this part of the Sylhet basin. provides immediate subsistence and livelihoods to some 40,000 people residing in some 46 - 50 villages located in its periphery. Standards of living are very poor. The principal economic resource is fish.

Tanguar Haor is a globally significant wetland of 100 sq km (about 10,000 hectares) wetland and ‘inland sea’ located in Sunamganj district, north-western corner of Bangladesh extending for close to the Indian border in the Meghalaya hill region. Home to over 200 species of aquatic plants, 140 species of fish, 208 indigenous bird species, 100 species of migratory birds, 34 species of reptile, and 11 species of amphibian, it is one of Asia’s most magnificent natural environments. The complex ecosystem of the wetland, known for its many species of fish and a staging area for at least half a million of migratory birds, is the main source of living for about 56,000 people located in villages around its periphery.

Tanguar Haor is a complex landscape of over 46 marshes. The marshes are inter connected with one another through narrow Channels but merge into a single large water body during monsoon. The aquatic vegetation and less disturbance from the human are instrument to invite a large variety of waterfowl specially winter migrant ducks that congregates in thousands. Resident and local migrant, raptor, waders and passerine birds made the area as one of the Asia's most potential birding place.

The haor is an important source of fisheries. More than 140 species of fresh water fishes are available here. Among them the notables are Air, Gang Magur, Baim, Tara Baim, Gutum, Gulsha, Tengra, Titna, Garia, Beti, Kakia etc.

In the past few decades the total environmental settings of the Tanguar haor has degraded a lot. The haor is cyclone prone as it located at the foothills of the Khasi-Jaintia Hills and a number of hailstorms also occur. In consideration of its environmental importance and heritage, the government has decided to save the large haor by symbolizing it as an internationally critical environment area and listed the haor as a 'Ramsar area' under Ramsar Convention in 2000.

To conserve the resources of Tanguar Haor and to develop a resource governance system for this protected area, IUCN with support from government of Bangladesh and SDC implemented first and second phase of the project during Dec 2006 to April 2009 and May 2009 to June 2012. Based on the achievements, learning and experiences of the first two phases, IUCN designed a third phase of the project as a continuation of the development phase for another three years to deepen and consolidate community capabilities, to consolidate and streamline co-management modalities – criteria for determining sustainable yields and assuring protection of the site - needed to permit an up-scaling of initial resource (mainly fish) exploitation efforts.
Ref: www.iucn.org/news_homepage/news_by_date/?7022/Tanguar-H...