Improving the rural livelihoods in the Ganges delta

The Ganges delta is one of the largest deltas in the world. The rivers Ganges and Brahmaputra flow into the delta from the northwest and the north. The landforms of the Bengal lowland, including the Ganges or Bengal delta and its surrounding region, consist of Pleistocene uplands and alluvial lowlands. The Ganges delta is distributed over Bangladesh and a major part of West Bengal (India). At the extreme south, the delta is about 360 km wide along the Bay of Bengal, and in terms of area about 80,000 km2 distributed over the two countries classifying Ganges delta into Moribund delta, Mature delta, Tidally active delta and Active delta. With increasing population pressure and other anthropological factors along with trend of seawater rise vis-à-vis global warming and various other factors majority of the areas remain highly fragile in nature and ecologically unsustainable. Agriculture & aquaculture productivity, being the principal areas of occupation of the majority, are generally poor because of various constraints, and are responsible for abject poverty and uncertain livelihood of the local inhabitants in this ecosystem. There is a need for holistic look with future plan suggested

Autorentext

Dr.H.S.Sen superannuated as Director, Central Research Institute for Jute & Allied Fibres under Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Government of India. Dr. D.Burman & Dr. Subhasis Mandal are Senior Scientists at Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Regional Station Canning, West Bengal, India.