Detection of climate change impacts on the hakaluki haor wetland in Bangladesh by use of remote sensing and GIS

Abstract

Bangladesh possesses enormous areas of wetlands including rivers and streams, fresh water lakes and marshes, haors, baors, beels, water storage reservoirs, fishponds, flooded cultivated fields, and estuarine systems with extensive mangrove swamps. The haors, baors, beels, and jheels are of fluvial origin and are commonly identified as freshwater wetlands. Wetlands are subject to periodic inundation, changing from shallow to deep water during the wet monsoon. Most of the wetlands are inland wetlands located in the northeastern part of Bangladesh. The total area of the wetlands in this country has been estimated at 7–8 million ha, or about 50% of the total land surface. The wetlands provide habitats for many special plants, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrate species. The wetlands are critically important in Bangladesh for human settlements, biodiversity, fisheries, agricultural diversity, irrigation, navigation, communication, and ecotourism. Wetlands help to reduce the impacts of flooding, maintain good water quality in rivers, recharge groundwater, store carbon, stabilize climatic conditions, and control pests. Wetlands also improve water quality by trapping sediments, filtering out pollutants, and absorbing nutrients that would otherwise result in poor water quality for downstream users.