State of Environment of Historical Wetlands and Their Extent Analysis : GIS and RS Based Study on Matasagar and Sukhsagar Tanks of Dinajpur

Bangladesh is a country of wetlands. Due to its important role in harmonizing ecosystem, wetlands demand much attention as a significant part of our environment. Destruction of wetlands causes micro climate changes and also has a negative impact on agriculture and fisheries. The gradual destruction or loss of our wetlands is leading us to an environment with the crisis of check and balance. Sukhsagar and Matasagar are very important historical wetlands of Dinajpur district as well as Bangladesh. But those are endangered today due to profit of individual or groups and lack of public awareness. Comparing the satellite images and historical maps it has been observed that the planted forest of the study area has almost vanished and the extent of water bodies is fluctuating due to commercial purpose. GIS and remote sensing techniques can be used for identification of environmental problems and change detection of geographical features. Considering present condition of historical wetlands, this study will explore present environmental problems of these tanks. This study will also try to detect chronological changes of these wetlands in their extent and shapes.