Biodiversity of the Medir Haor wetland ecosystems of Bangladesh

Abstract

Complex nexus between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, namely wetland has a significant environmental impact on the survival, breeding, nesting, and feeding of numerous floral and faunal species. A study was carried out in the Medir haor (MH) wetland ecosystems of Bangladesh to enumerate its vegetation coverage, faunal resources, and evaluate the impacts of biodiversity on the ecosystems as well as surrounding communities. A total of 76 plant species belonging to 66 genera, and 135 faunal species (12 invertebrates and 123 vertebrate species) were enumerated from the study area through extensive fieldwork following vegetation survey, faunal survey, interview, and Focus Group Discussion (FGD). Among the plant resources, herb was the dominant category (32 species, 29 genera) followed by tree (22 species, 18 genera), shrub (11 species, 9 genera), climber (3 species, 3 genera), and fern (2 species, 2 genera). Bird species were found to be higher (46%) in comparison to other faunal species in the study area. The study divulged that residents were dependent enormously on the natural resources of the MH wetlands. Though biological diversity has significant ecological and socio-economic importance on haor-dependent residents, natural resources seemed to diminish continuously from the haor area due to over-exploitation. This research recommended sustainable wetland management, awareness-raising among the residents, and policy implications to manage the biodiversity of the MH wetlands on a sustainable way.