Implementation of Environment Conservation Policy and Dynamism of Village Politics in Bangladesh

Shime Taisuke

doi:10.11384/jjasas.2009.30

Bibliographic Information

Other Title

バングラデシュにおける環境保全政策の実践と村落政治の動態
バングラデシュにおける環境保全政策の実践と村落政治の動態--ハカルキ・ハオールにおける環境資源の文化の政治を事例として
バングラデシュニオケルカンキョウホゼンセイサクノジッセントソンラクセイジノドウタイハカルキハオールニオケルカンキョウシゲンノブンカノセイジオジレイトシテ
―ハカルキ・ハオールにおける環境資源の文化の政治を事例として―
A Case Study of Cultural Politics Concerning Natural Resources in Hakaluki Haor

Search this article

Description

Recent studies on contemporary community-based natural resources management demonstrate that the policies which intend to restructure the resource management regime or redistribution system actually facilitate the reproduction of power relationships in the community and protract inequality in resource redistribution. On other hand, some studies argue that the policies create political arenas for struggle over resources and sometimes enable disadvantaged people to claim their rights to productive resources. <br>In this paper, I describe the process of Participatory Action Plan Development and formation of Village Conservation Groups. First of all, I show how fishermen claim to implement the principle of fishery law which is “the right to water bodies is to be given to people having fishing gears” in the context of environment conservation. On the one hand, fishermen who are disadvantaged in their communities due to lack of capital lay claims that businessmen who utilize large nets with organized waged labor exploit water resources unsustainably; on the other hand, legitimize small scale fishermen to be entitled the right to access to the water bodies by insisting that only “people having fishing gears” know sustainable use of water resources; thus, the lease to water bodies should be given to fishermen who have fishing gear. After confrontation and collaboration with businessmen, NGO staff, village leaders, large fishermen and small fishermen, the participants of the project have come up with an idea of equally allocating membership of Village Conservation Group to the lineage groups in the village so that the people can have access to the resources provided by the project through representatives of their lineages. <br>Focusing on the dynamism of village politics in the process of natural resource management project in Bangladesh, I argue that people with different interests compete with each other over natural resources to meet their needs. I also indicate that the dynamic process of confrontation and collaboration among different actors implies a priori categories in the policies of community-based natural resource management and an analysis of the target communities disguises the potentiality of political actions by the people.

Journal

Minamiajiakenkyu

Minamiajiakenkyu 2009 (21), 30-59, 2009

JAPANESE ASSOCIATION FOR SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES