Sustainability of Rice-shrimp Farming Systems: Environmental and Distributional Conflicts

The case studies of agricultural and environmental changes reported in Chapters 7 and 8 are for inland areas of Bangladesh and India. By contrast the case material presented here is for land use in the deltaic areas of Khulna in southwest Bangladesh where rice production and shrimp aquaculture often alternate on the same piece of land. Although the government of Bangladesh has encouraged the aquaculture of shrimp, it is doubtful whether this aquaculture is sustainable using current production methods. Furthermore, shrimp culture in the Khulna region is reducing rice yields and having adverse environmental spillovers on agricultural production and other rural pursuits. In the Chittagong region, shrimp culture has reduced salt production, decreased tree cover, and production of goods dependent on forests e.g. mangrove forests and removal of trees, has exposed coastal communities to the risk of greater damage from cyclones. Mangroves and similar coastal forests act as protective buffers against tidal surges and the force of the sea. The main areas of Bangladesh where shrimp culture occurs are shown in Figure 9.1.