Assessment of Water Productivity and Socioeconomic Well-Being : of Fishermen in Seasonal Floodplains: A Case Study of Beel Mail and Beel Chandpur Rajshahi District, Bangladesh

There are three million hectares of medium and deep flooded areas in Bangladesh which remain inundated for four to six months each year during rainy season and render the land unavailable for crop production. This generates the opportunity for managing these waterbodies with community based approaches for conservation and propagation of existing and potential aquatic resources and thereby to enhance water productivity (WP). It also promotes food security and provides additional income to stakeholders involved especially for the poor. Information on WP values, achieved from water uses and water resources, will help to implement effective and concerted management actions to enhance the benefits to the people from these floodplain areas as an integral part of approaches to improving WP. The study has been conducted with objectives of assessing water productivity (WP) of seasonal floodplain waterbodies of Bangladesh and examining the impact of alternative rice fish culture in these deep flooded waterbodies with community based fisheries management approach (CBFM).