Ecosystem Of Bangladesh Research Articles

Investigating the changing land use patterns and their impacts on ecosystem in the Teesta River Basin

This study investigated the changing land use patterns and their impacts on ecosystem in the Teesta River Basin of northwestern Bangladesh. Although anthropocentric land use patterns, including agricultural land use, settlements, built areas, and waterbody loss, have been increasing in the Nilphamari district, by negatively affecting local ecosystems, they have not been identified by prior research. Limitations of contemporary literature motivated me to work on this crucial ground in the Teesta River Basin in Northwestern Bangladesh. This study applied a mixed research approach to identify the study objectives. Firstly, the land use and land cover (LULC) changes which occurred between 2000 and 2020 were detected using satellite imagery and supervised classification method. In addition to the detection of LULC changes, the study explored the people’s perceptions and experiences about the ecosystem changes resulted from the LULC changes over the last 20 years, conducting stakeholders’ consultations and household surveys utilizing a semi-structured questionnaire. The findings indicated that waterbodies in Nilphamari district have significantly decreased from 378 km2 in 2000 to 181 km2 in 2020. In the same way, the vegetation coverage has reduced 187 km2 between the years 2000 and 2020. On the contrary, agricultural lands (croplands) have increased from 595 km2 to 905 km2 and settlements have increased from 81 km2 to 206 km2 between the years 2000 and 2020. From the chi-square test, it was found a significant association between ecosystem change and biodiversity loss. It was further identified that waterbody decreases have significant impacts on aquatic ecosystems. The results of this study also indicated that due to the introduction of foreign tree species, local and native species have been significantly decreasing over the time. This study emphasizes the non-anthropocentric and inclusive land use policy implications for protecting life on land and preserving the aquatic ecosystem in Bangladesh.

A comprehensive analysis of health risks from metal contamination in the Sundarbans mangrove forest ecosystem in Bangladesh

A comprehensive analysis of health risks from metal contamination in the Sundarbans mangrove forest ecosystem in Bangladesh

Reimagining entrepreneurship by utilizing venture dynamics in sharing economy: Evaluating the symbiosis of macro and micro factors for sustainable capital flows in developing markets

AbstractVenture capital (VC) plays a vital role in fostering revolution and entrepreneurship in emerging economies. However, attracting VC investments remains a significant challenge for startups in these markets. This study investigates the macro and micro factors influencing VC attraction in the Bangladeshi startup ecosystem, employing a mixed‐methods approach. A systematic literature review was performed to recognize the key factors influencing VC attraction in emerging markets. Qualitative interviews with 20 stakeholders, including startup founders, investors, and policymakers, were undertaken to gain insights into the challenges and opportunities for VC attraction in Bangladesh. Quantitative analysis of secondary data on VC investments and startup characteristics was executed to examine the associations connecting the identified factors and VC investment amount. The findings reveal that government policies, human capital availability, and informal institutions are critical macro factors influencing VC attraction, while founder and team characteristics, business model and scalability, and traction and validation are key micro factors. The study contributes to the literature on VC in developing economies by providing a comprehensive examination of the interplay of institutional, human capital, cultural, and startup‐specific factors shaping VC investment decisions. The findings have important implications for policymakers, investors, and entrepreneurs seeking to foster a more vibrant and sustainable startup ecosystem in Bangladesh and beyond. The research underlines the need for a holistic approach to addressing the challenges and leveraging the opportunities for VC attraction in emerging markets.

Metal(loid) contamination in Bangladesh: a comprehensive synthesis in different landscapes with ecological and health implications.

Elevated metal(loid) concentrations in soil and foodstuffs is a significant global issue for many densely populated countries like Bangladesh, necessitating reliable estimation for sustainable management. Therefore, a comprehensive data synthesis from the published literature might help to provide a wholistic view of metal(loid) contamination in different areas in Bangladesh. This study provided a clearer view of metal(loid) contamination status and their associated ecological and health risks in different land use and ecosystems in Bangladesh. Comprehensive analyses were performed on data gathered from 143 published articles using multiple statistical techniques including meta-analysis. Considering the potential loading of metal(loid), the data were summarized under various groups, including coastal, rural, urban and industrial regions. Also, the concentrations of seven metal(loid)s, e.g., cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), and arsenic (As) in soil, sediment, cereal, vegetable, fruit, surface water and groundwater were included. Results showed that the relative concentrations of metal(loid)s in comparison to the maximum permissible limit (MPL) were mostly less than one, although they varied significantly for locations and individual metal(loid). However, the normalized cumulative relative concentrations over the MPL for all seven metal(loid)s across different environmental samples were 4.75, 2.97, 1.51 and 2.79 for coastal, industrial, rural and urban areas, respectively, which wasdue to the higher concentration of Cd, Cr and Cu. Similar to the metal(loid) concentrations, the average of cumulative median non-cancer risks for all metal(loid)s was in the order of industrial (6.46) > urban (4.05) > rural (3.83) > coastal (2.41). This research outcome will provide a foundation for future research on metal(loid)s and will help in pertinent policy-making by the relevant authorities in Bangladesh.

BRRI Dhan107: High Protein Premium Quality Rice Variety for Irrigated Ecosystem in Bangladesh

A newly released high protein enriched, premium quality type high yielding, extra-long slender grain containing rice variety BRRI dhan107 which suitable for irrigated ecosystem of Bangladesh, is an improvement over existing high protein enriched and premium quality type rice varieties for Bangladesh. The variety has satisfactorily passed the Proposed Variety Trial (PVT) conducted in the farmers’ field in Boro 2022-23 season. As a result National Seed Board (NSB) approved this variety for commercial cultivation in the Boro season (dry season) in 2024. It has modern plant type with 103 cm plant height and matures by 148 days. The proposed variety showed 1.20 t/ha higher yield than check variety BRRI dhan50. Identifying characters of this variety are green leaf, intermediate plant height, semi-erect flag leaf, extra-long slender grain, intermediate leaf senescence. On an average it can produce 8.19 t/ha grain yield, although with appropriate management under favorable environment it can give up to 9.57 t/ha yield. Thousand grain weight of the variety is 26.1 gm and head rice yield is 60.1%. High protein (10.02%) enriched BRRI dhan107 has high amylose (29.1%) with extra-long slender (7.6 mm) type grain. The high protein enriched, premium quality type rice variety BRRI dhan107 is a superb variety for cultivating in the Boro season (dry) and farmers as well as the country can be nutritionally and economically benefited by the cultivation of BRRI dhan107.

Effect of water quality parameters and climatic influences on reproductive phenology of Macrognathus pancalus in wetland ecosystem: recommending a long-term management approach and conservation policy.

The study conducted an investigation into the reproductive biology of M. pancalus and assessed the influence of water quality parameters and environmental factors on the spawning pattern within the Gajner Beel ecosystem in Bangladesh. A total of 1218 individuals of M. pancalus (46.39% males and 53.61% females) were collected monthly from the Gajner Beel during January to December 2018 using various fishing gears. The total length (TL) of each individual was measured using digital slide calipers, and the whole body weight (BW) was measured using an electronic balance. Fulton's conditions factor (KF) showed significant differences between males and females. The calculated Lm were 11.11 cm, 11.30 cm, and 11.10 cm based on maximum length, gonadosomatic index (GSI), and the logistic model. The spawning season extended from May through August, with June and July being peak months. The average total fecundity was 1495.52 ± 840.24, with a range of 370 to 4069. During peak spawning season, the average temperature and rainfall were 27°C and 370 mm, respectively. Rainfall, dissolved oxygen, total alkalinity, and pH all had a significant (p < 0.01) positive effect whereas temperature and TDS all had a significant (p > 0.01) negative effect on GSI. Annual air temperature in the study area increased by 0.053 °C/year, with a regression coefficient value (r2 = 0.1695), while annual mean rainfall decreased by 5.97mm/year (r2 = 0.076). This research will contribute to the development of conservation and management approaches of Mastacembelidae fish in relation to current climate variability in sub-tropical waters.

Pathogenicity of rice blast isolates (Pyricularia oryzae) in irrigated lowland of Bangladesh

AbstractRice blast poses a significant threat to food security in Bangladesh, particularly in irrigated lowland (boro rice), which constitutes over 50% of the country's total rice production. While using resistant varieties is an effective method to control rice blast, developing durable resistance is challenged by the pathogen's high variability. To address this, the current study examined the distribution of rice blast reaction types in the major rice‐growing ecosystem of Bangladesh, the irrigated lowland. Two surveys were conducted and 80 blast isolates were evaluated for pathogenicity against differential varieties (DVs). The results revealed that the high frequency of virulence (over 80%) for blast resistant genes, such as Pib, Pit, Pia, Pik‐s, Pi12(t), Pi19(t) and Pi20(t), whereas Pish, Pik‐m, Pi1, Pik‐h, Pi9 and Pita‐2 genes had the least virulence frequency. These low virulence frequency genes demonstrated promising potential for the development of blast resistant varieties in Bangladesh. The isolates were further categorized into two distinct cluster groups based on their reaction patterns to DVs, with theones coming from the eastern region predominantly in Cluster I, while the ones from the northern regions belonged mainly to Cluster II. Additionally, the isolates were classified based on five reaction types, namely U, i, k, z and ta, following a new designation system. Among these, U63, i0, k100, z06 and ta403 were the most dominant reaction types. Although these reaction types were prevalent across Bangladesh, their distribution frequency varied in different major rice‐growing regions. Furthermore, the study observed that early maturing varieties in the irrigated lowland ecosystem were highly susceptible to blast. The findings of this study will be crucial for developing a comprehensive and long‐lasting blast protection system in Bangladesh, focusing on broad‐spectrum resistance strategies.

Anthropogenic disturbance modifies tree functional traits in the only remnant swamp forest of Bangladesh

The relationship between ecosystem functions and plant functional traits has been well documented and is considered to be one of the most vital topics in ecology. However, the correlation between anthropogenic disturbance and tree functional trait diversity remains largely unclear. The present study investigates the role of anthropogenic disturbance on selected tree functional traits in Ratargul Swamp Forest (RSF) – the only remnant tropical freshwater swamp forest ecosystem in Bangladesh. We established 50 plots and collected six plant traits, i.e., tree height, specific leaf area (SLA), wood density (WD), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), seed mass, and bark thickness. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was carried out to test the interaction between plant functional traits and anthropogenic disturbance in RSF. Our study found that anthropogenic disturbance has a significant (p&amp;lt; 0.05) influence on deciduous swamp forest tree species’ functional traits but none on evergreen tree species’ functional traits. For deciduous trees, disturbance has a significant positive effect on CWM.SLA (p&amp;lt; 0.05) and CWM.Height (p&amp;lt; 0.05) and a negative impact on CWM.Bark-thickness and CWM.Seed-mass (p&amp;lt; 0.05). There were no significant effects of disturbance on CWM.WD and CWM.LDMC. We believe the present study will contribute toward improving our understanding of the effect of disturbances on tree functional trait diversity in tropical human-dominated landscapes where anthropogenic pressure is increasing at an unprecedented rate. It will also function as an essential conservation for related decision-making of Ratargul Swamp Forest in northeastern Bangladesh and elsewhere in the tropics with a similar context.

BRRI dhan104: BRRI’s Basmati Type Aromatic Rice Variety for Irrigated Ecosystem in Bangladesh

An enhancement over already available premium quality enriched aromatic rice varieties for Bangladesh is the recently announced BRRI dhan104 type of rice, which has long slender grain and is high yielding and ideal for Bangladesh's irrigated ecology. The variety has satisfactorily passed the Proposed Variety Trial (PVT) conducted in the farmers’ field in Boro 2021-22 season. As a result National Seed Board (NSB) approved this variety for commercial cultivation in the Boro season (dry season) in 2022. It has modern plant type with 92 cm plant height and matures by 147 days. The proposed variety showed 0.68 t/ha higher yield than check variety BRRI dhan50. Identifying characters of this variety are green leaf, intermediate plant height, erect flag leaf, long slender grain, and intermediate leaf senescence. In average, it can produce 7.30 t/ha grain yield but it has potentiality to give 8.71 t/ha grain yield under favorable climatic condition and appropriate agronomic management. Thousand grain weight of the variety is 21.5 gm and head rice yield is 57.2%. It is strong aromatic basmati type rice variety (according to GCMS system the value of volatile aromatic compound is 2.12 ppm), 29.2% amylose content with 8.9% protein content. Farmers can benefit financially from growing the premium quality enriched aromatic rice variety BRRI dhan104 and the total rice production will be increased along with possible to earn foreign currency by export this variety. Among the released variety by BRRI, the BRRI dhan104 is the only variety of aromatic basmati type.

MORPHOLOGY OF PILA GLOBOSA (GASTROPOD MOLLUSCA: AMPULLARIIDAE) WITHIN ENVIRONMENTAL VARIATION OF SOUTH-WESTERN BANGLADESH

Owing to the community engagement of the gastropod collection in the south western ecosystems in Bangladesh, the gastropod molluscs are getting important attention in terms of edible and non-edible purposes while detailed morphological information about the gastropods is scarce in this area. The present research has investigated the morphological variability of the gastropod molluscs (Pila globosa) in the six localities of south-western coastal Bangladesh (such as, Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira, Gopalganj, Pirojpur and Jessore). A total of 2160 gastropod samples (Pila globosa) were collected from July to December monthly over the two consecutive years of 2013 and 2014. The results of the analyses revealed that the maximum monthly mean values of the dry shell mass and the dry body mass were found in November, indicating the complete growth and development of the gastropods in the coastal environment. One-way ANOVA and ANCOVA show that there is a significant morphological variability of Pila globosa among different localities in the south-west coastal Bangladesh, while the covariate of water salinity significantly affects the aperture length of it; the covariate of electrical conductivity of soil significantly affects both the height and aperture length; the covariate of sodium contents of the soil significantly affects the aperture length of the gastropod mollusc. The results also revealed that the morphological variability of the mollusc P. globosa is linked to complex ecological systems and habitat variation.

Enhancing genetic gain through the application of genomic selection in developing irrigated rice for the favorable ecosystem in Bangladesh.

Increasing selection differential and decreasing cycle time, the rate of genetic improvement can be accelerated. Creating and capturing higher genetic with higher accuracy within the shortest possible time is the prerequisite for enhancing genetic gain for any trait. Comprehensive yield testing at multi-locations at early generations together with the shortest line fixation time can expedite the rapid recycling of parents in the breeding program through recurrent selection. Genomic selection is efficient in capturing high breeding value individuals taking additive genetic effects of all genes into account with and without extensive field testing, thus reducing breeding cycle time enhances genetic gain. In the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, GS technology together with the trait-specific marker-assisted selection at the early generation of RGA-derived breeding lines showed a prediction accuracy of 0.454-0.701 with 0.989-2.623 relative efficiency over the four consecutive years of exercise. This study reports that the application of GS together with trait-specific MAS has expedited the yield improvement by 117kgha-1·year-1, which is around seven-fold larger than the baseline annual genetic gain and shortened the breeding cycle by around 1.5years from the existing 4.5years.

Youth perception towards entrepreneurial ecosystem in bangladesh: A deep diving investigation through in-depth interviews

The entrepreneurial ecosystem and its factors are mandatory for entrepreneurship development. A congenial ecosystem creates a positive perception among potential entrepreneurs. Every year, youths in tertiary education in Bangladesh graduate and pursue a limited number of jobs, resulting in many of them being left unemployed. Therefore, a substitute for a job is required, which can be achieved through entrepreneurship development. It necessitates a congenial ecosystem. Thus, this study aims to investigate the perception of youth towards the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Bangladesh. The study is based on twenty-two in-depth interviews with youth studying in tertiary education. The findings reveal that the perception of the factors in the entrepreneurial ecosystem is not very positive. However, most of the interviewees admitted that they are not well aware of the existing factors in the entrepreneurial ecosystem and have simply expressed their inferences.

Phenotypic divergence and biometric indices of silond catfish, Silonia silondia (Hamilton 1822) populations inhabiting the coastal rivers of Bangladesh

To observe phenotypic differentiation among populations of Silond catfish, Silonia silondia (Hamilton 1822), a multilinear approach was used. A sum of 180 samples from three coastal rivers (Meghna, Payra, and Kirtankhola) of the Bangladesh coast were scooped up to comprehend whether distinct populations of S. silondia could be separated from one another due to adaptive divergence. The findings of this study reflect the first attempt to determine the stock structure, morphological characters, length-frequency distributions, length-length relationships, length-weight relationships, condition factors, relative weight, and form factor of S. silondia in the coastal rivers of Bangladesh. Important discrepancies between the means of the three populations were revealed using univariate and multivariate analysis of variance (p < 0.01). In principal component analysis, the first and second principal components described 83.546% and 4.302% of the total variation, respectively. The step-wise discriminant function analysis revealed two variables that separated the populations significantly. Besides, a dendrogram based on Euclidean distances accurately separated the populations. In a one-way analysis of variance study, nineteen out of twenty-one morphometric characters showed significant variation (p < 0.01)among three populations. The length parameters based on the length-length relationships of each sample were found to be highly significant (p < 0.01). The length-weight relationships exhibited that the b value fluctuated from 2.796 (Kirtankhola) to 3.498 (Meghna). The Fulton's condition factor was estimated in the current study for this species with an average value ranging from 1.12 to 1.35. The calculated form factor values of this species were 0.0016, 0.0054, and 0.0110 for Meghna, Payra, and Kirtankhola river, respectively. Therefore, this study will expectantly inform fisheries taxonomists about the species' current stock structure, intraspecific phenotypic divergences, and aid in its management and conservation in similar ecosystems in Bangladesh and around the world.

Sources and management of marine litter pollution along the Bay of Bengal coast of Bangladesh

Marine debris is often detected everywhere in the oceans after it enters the marine ecosystems from various sources. Marine litter pollution is a major threat to the marine ecosystem in Bangladesh. A preliminary study was conducted to identify the sources of marine litter (plastics, foamed plastic, clothes, glass, ceramic, metals, paper, and cardboard) along the Bay of Bengal coast. From the observations, the range of abundance of the collected marine litter was 0.14–0.58 items/m2. From the ten sampling sites, the highest amount of marine litter was observed for aluminium cans (3500), followed by plastic bottles (3200). The spatial distribution pattern indicated that all the study areas had beach litter of all types of materials. The present investigation showed that plastics were the dominating pollutants in the marine ecosystem in Bangladesh. The clean-coast index (CCI) value indicated that the Cox's Bazar coast was clean to dirty class. The abundance, distribution, and pollution of marine litter along the coastal belts pose a potential threat to the entire ecosystem. This study will help come up with ways to manage and get rid of marine litter along the coast in an effective way.

ADEQUACY OF PRIVACY REGIME IN BANGLADESH: KEY CHALLENGES AND POTENTIAL POLICY MEASURES

Privacy is one of the most desired human rights in this ubiquitous computing era - when a vast majority of our work is done online using personal data. Numerous actors are continually monitoring our activities, and consequently, user privacy came under tremendous threats. In response, various legal and policy measures have been adopted at national, regional, and international levels. The citizens of Bangladesh are also experiencing diverse privacy threats, and hence, they deserve to have adequate legal protections. This context requires a study to search for answers to the question - whether there are any legal protections for privacy in the existing legal regime of Bangladesh comparable with international data protection standards. This study aims to fill the gap using doctrinal legal research methodology. The findings of this study reveal that although there is no privacy or comprehensive data protection law in Bangladesh, privacy is conditionally recognised in the Constitution. There are numerous isolated privacy provisions in some other subsidiary legislation and references to privacy in several case laws as well. The results of this study will enlighten all stakeholders regarding privacy issues and facilitate them to map and design future policy strategies. This eventually contributes to establishing a safer online ecosystem in Bangladesh.

Monitoring of Water Quality with Trophic State Index (TSI) in the Chalan Beel Wetland Ecosystem of Bangladesh

This study was conducted to investigate the status of water quality for fisheries and aquatic environment in Chalan Beel, the largest wetland ecosystem in Bangladesh. Water samples were collected from five sampling stations over the period from February 2020 to January 2021 during the pre-monsoon, monsoon, and post-monsoon seasons, respectively. Surface water controlling parameters such as temperature, transparency, pH, DO, TDS, EC, total hardness, total alkalinity, Chlorophyll a, and TSI of Chalan Beel were monitored seasonally. The study revealed that temperature, transparency, pH, DO, TDS, EC, total alkalinity, total hardness, PO4, and NO3 exceeded the recommended level for fish culture. On the other hand, NH3, SO4, NO2, Chlorophyll a, and trophic state index (TSI) were within the standard limits for aquaculture. Concentrations of Chlorophyll a and TSI (CHL) indicated no definite trend with seasons. In conclusion, the wetland is in mesotrophic condition as the TSI (CHL) was within 40, and apparently, there was a positive relationship between Chlorophyll a and TSI. To conserve a healthy environment of the beel ecosystem, it is necessary to promote knowledge about water quality issues and beel management through monitoring and research.

Existence of panmictic Hilsa shad (Tenualosa ilisha) populations from two large river ecosystems in Bangladesh revealed by mitochondrial control region

The present study was undertaken to estimate genetic diversity and reveal population structure of Hilsa shad (Tenualosa ilisha) from two large river ecosystems, the Padma and Meghna of Bangladesh using mitochondrial control region (D-loop region). Fin tissue samples of 60 individuals were collected from the Padma (ChapaiNawabgonj) and Meghna River (Chandpur). DNA was extracted and D-loopof mtDNA was amplified, purified and sequenced. A total of 35 Sequences (15 Sequences from the Padma and 20 Sequences from the Meghna population) were analyzed and 14 haplotypes were detected. Total16 polymorphic sites were identified that included11 singleton sites and 5 parsimony informative sites. These populations showed high haplotype diversity (h) (0.863 in the Meghna and 0.901in the Padma population). We found low nucleotide diversity (Pi) within each population, 0.0058±0.0039 in the Padma to 0.0063±0.004 in the Meghna population. The shared haplotypes among the two populations were identified as 28.57%, and the rest 71.43% were private haplotypes. Estimate of genetic differentiations (Fst) suggest that the Meghna population of Hilsa was closely related to the Padma population (Fst= 0.058, P=0.07). The TCS genealogy showed three main haplotypes separated by three mutational steps and hap_10 might be the most ancestral haplotype by its internal position in the network. All results suggest panmixia in T. ilisha populations between the Meghna and Padma river populations and thus similar management plan could be useful for these two river Hilsa fishery in Bangladesh.

Effect of External Wastage and Illegal Harvesting on the Fishery Model of the Halda River Ecosystem in Bangladesh

Effect of External Wastage and Illegal Harvesting on the Fishery Model of the Halda River Ecosystem in Bangladesh

DIVERSITY AND FUNCTIONS OF ANTS (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE) IN BANGABANDHU SHEIKH MUJIBUR RAHMAN AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY CAMPUS OF BANGLADESH

Ants play a crucial role as ecosystem engineers and natural enemies of insect pests in different forests and agroecosystems. Bangladesh’s varied agroecosystem harbors a diverse ant community, it can be utilized to track recent changes to the agricultural environment. However, it’s utilization is deemed due to insufficient taxonomic checklist of ant fauna and their diversity pattern in various ecosystems in Bangladesh. This research aimed to measure the taxonomic and functional diversity of ants in an agroecosystem. Sampling was done by time-unit sampling (TUS) during March- April 2021 in different cropland habitats in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU) campus. A total of 172 individuals of 20 genera under 5 subfamilies were identified, of which Myrmicinae was the richest subfamily with 9 genera, while Camponotus is the most dominant genus in the ecosystem. Four habitats from BSMRAU campus significantly contributed on ant species richness and diversity matrix as revealed through Principal component analysis (PCA). The functional diversity of identified ant genera was explained using the results retrieved from Shannon Diversity Index, Species Evenness index and Effective number of species (ENS). The Shannon-Wiener diversity index of Field pathway (2.5202) is highest, followed by Entomology field (2.38086), agroforestry field (1.37315) and lowest in rice field (0.16794). Field pathway had the highest value due to comprising several types of vegetation alongside and non-ploughed soil. Rice field has only rice crops that were grown in a wetland; hence, water causes the lowest value. The evenness index (&gt;0.75) implies the probability of stable communities in all the tested habitats except in rice field (0.242), which indicates a depressed community structure and is strengthened by the ENS value as 12.4, 10.8, 3.9, and 1.18 in the field pathway, in entomology field, agroforestry field, and rice field, respectively. The findings generated a comprehensive ant checklist and diversity indices with indicator species to measure the land type transformation and restoration in the agroecosystem of Bangladesh for future research.

Welfare impact of market participation: The case of rice farmers from wetland ecosystem in Bangladesh

Haor ecosystem of Bangladesh plays dual roles: local economic development through agricultural income-earning activities and preserve the environment. Smallholder haor farmers face a variety of challenges that confined their access to the market. This study was undertaken to examine the determinants of smallholder's market access that plays an important role in improving their welfare. Primary data were collected from 300 haor households from three districts, taking 100 from each district by applying a multistage random sampling technique. Heckman's two-stage model with exclusion restriction was used for reaching the objectives. The first-stage probit model indicated that members of an organization, extension contact, access to market information, access to credit, home to market distance, home to haor distance, road connectivity, irrigation facilities, duration of the waterlogged, and output price significantly influenced the market participation of the farmers. The OLS regression results revealed that family size, dependency ratio, farm size, access to credit, and off-farm income significantly influenced the household's per capita consumption expenditure as a result of market participation. The policy should be triggered on investing more in haor areas for improving rural physical infrastructure, which ensured year-round road connectivity and established links with markets. Furthermore, an increase in extension contact, market information systems, agricultural-related training, and promotion of farmer organization should be emphasized.