Impact of Waterlogging on Land Use, Biodiversity, and Ecosystem Services in Tala, Satkhira

Abstract: The Tala upazila of Satkhira situated in the south-western region of Bangladesh was once a very fertile and biodiversity rich area. Due to siltation in the associated rivers and unplanned human interventions, the area has been inundated by water every year. The objectives of the study were to assess the trend of waterlogging and to find out the impact of waterlogging on land use, biodiversity and ecosystem services in the Tala upazila of Satkhira. This study analyzed satellite images of 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2021 to portray the trend of waterlogging and used qualitative methods (questionnaire survey, FGDs and KIIs) to discover the impacts of waterlogging on land use, biodiversity and ecosystem services in the Tala upazila, Satkhira. Waterlogging has become a major issue in the Tala upazila which has been impacting its land use pattern, biodiversity and ecosystem services. Satellite images have shown that there is an ascending trend of waterlogging in the Tala upazila which indicates that waterlogging has been taking a devastating turn in the area gradually. Questionnaire survey, FGDs, KIIs in the Khalilnagar union of Tala upazila revealed that waterlogging has been posing threats to the crop lands by turning them marshy. Biodiversity of Khalilnagar is also greatly impacted by waterlogging. Aquaculture species, agricultural crops, aquatic wild animals, livestock, trees, birds etc. have been severely affected by waterlogging. Waterlogging is highly responsible for the low production of crop and aquaculture species, shortage of safe drinking water, habitat loss, sanitization, migration of people and so on.

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