South-west Region Of Bangladesh Research Articles

An Indicator of Climate Change in the South West Region of Bangladesh

A scholarly article by authors Sara Nowreen, Sonia Binte Murshed, and A.K.M Saiful Islam, Mohammad Alfi Hasan, Tarun Kumar Sarker published in The International Journal of Climate Change: Impacts and Responses

Effect of maternal status and breastfeeding practices on infant nutritional status - a cross sectional study in the south-west region of Bangladesh.

IntroductionThe aim of this study was to address the current scenario of LBW and infant nutritional and to analyze the effect of maternal status and pattern of their breast feeding practices on perinatal and postnatal infant development.MethodsCross-sectional study design with structured questionnaires was used among 510 mother-infant pair to collect data. Maternal anthropometric, socio-economic and demographic characteristics and breast feeding practice were used as independent variable and birth weight and infant growth status as dependent variable. Descriptive and crosstab analysis were used to analyze the effect.ResultsThe study revealed that about 29.4% infants were born with low birth weight (LBW). Mother with no education and from low income family were more likely (OR: 3.484, 95%CI: 1.993-6.089 and OR: 2.078, 95% CI: 1.274-3.387) to have LBW infant compared with mother with higher education and from higher income family. Similarly, lower maternal height, weight and MUAC (< 150 cm, <50 kg and < 22 cm respectively) were shown to have more risk of having LBW compared with higher height, weight and MUAC (RR: 1.628, 2.375 and 2.115; 95%CI: 1.250- 2.120, 1.844- 3.059, 1.623- 2.757). The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding was found among 45% mother. Postnatal growth and development of infant was not found significantly different (P > 0.05) among those who breast feed exclusively and non-exclusively.ConclusionThe study confirms that lower level of maternal education; family income and anthropometric measurement significantly increase the risk of LBW. The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding practice was not found satisfactory.

Assessing impacts of sea level rise on river salinity in the Gorai river network, Bangladesh

Coastal zones are particularly vulnerable to climate change effects. Over the last century, sea level rose on average by 10–12 cm per decade and did so at much higher rates in some coastal areas due to land subsidence. The 4th IPCC report highlights the increased vulnerability of the coastal zones around the world due to sea level rises in 21st Century. Key concerns due to sea level rise include flooding and salinisation and its implications for water resources. Rising sea level increases the salinity of both surface water and ground water through salt water intrusion. It is important to determine the impacts of sea level rise on salinity to devise suitable adaptation and mitigation measures and reduce impacts of salinity intrusion in coastal cities. The paper presents the outcomes of a study conducted in the coastal area of Gorai river network in the South West region of Bangladesh for developing a comprehensive understanding of the possible effects of sea level rise with the aid of a hydrodynamic model. A newly developed salinity flux model has been integrated with an existing hydrodynamic model in order to simulate flood and salinity in the complex waterways in the coastal zone of Gorai river basin. The integrated model has been calibrated and validated by numerous comparisons with measurements (tide, salinity). The model has been applied for future scenarios with sea level rise and the results obtained indicate the risk and changes in salinity. Due to sea level rise, the salinity has increased in the river and salinity intrusion length has also increased. Sea level rise of 59 cm produced a change of 0.9 ppt at a distance of 80 km upstream of river mouth, corresponding to a climatic effect of 1.5 ppt per meter sea level rise.

Effect of Calcium and Magnesium Addition on Arsenic Leaching from Paddy Field Soil of Bangladesh

Arsenic (As) that has been accumulated from irrigation groundwater to paddy field soil by sorption has the potential for food contamination by plant uptake and recontamination of the groundwater. This study evaluated the effect of calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) addition on As leaching from paddy field soil collected from the southwest region of Bangladesh. Batch experiments were employed to systematically investigate the role of Ca and Mg addition on the leaching behavior of As under different concentrations of Ca and Mg, pH conditions and anaerobic incubation. Results indicated that As leaching was highly decreased with the increase of Ca and Mg addition, at pH greater than 9.0 and during anaerobic incubation. In contrast, Iron (Fe) leaching was decreased by Ca and Mg addition. Adsorption of Ca and Mg was observed and significant correlation with adsorbed As was obtained in all batches. The probable mechanism was precipitation of As due to the increase in the positive surface charge of the Fe hydroxide solids by Ca and Mg adsorption. This study also indicated that Ca and Mg addition could decrease As leaching even under the presence of phosphorus.

Occupation Pattern of Waterlogged People: A Study on the South-West Region of Bangladesh

Water logging hinders normal life of people and lowers their socioeconomic status. Disruption of regular crop and fish cultivation compels farmers to pursue alternative crops and methods of cultivation to adapt with changes and to shift from their traditional occupations. Push factors are mainly responsible for waterlogged peoples' occupational changes. Unemployment, underemployment, and migration are three important consequences of water logging. Waterlogged people are trying to face these consequences through adjusting their occupation pattern. The adjustment process requires credit and training facilities. However, existing credit and training programs are insufficient and costly. Therefore, initiatives for providing sufficient credit and training facilities at favorable terms and conditions need to be taken by the government and NGOs immediately. However, permanent solution of the problem requires long-run planned initiatives to remove the logged water which will contribute to reverse the migration trend, reduce unemployment and underemployment, increase agricultural production and finally boost up income level.

Isolation and Characterization of Arsenic Resistant Bacteria from Different Environment in South-West Region of Bangladesh

Isolation and Characterization of Arsenic Resistant Bacteria from Different Environment in South-West Region of Bangladesh

A Forensic Look at Groundwater Arsenic Contamination in Bangladesh

A comprehensive forensic analysis of AS contamination in Bangladesh was undertaken using geographic information system (GIS), univariate, and bivariate statistics. The assessment provided the background needed for fine-tuning emerging/evolving methods of spatial mapping based on nonlinear deterministic dynamics and multivariate factorial analyses. Data were derived from a nationwide AS survey completed in 1999 by the British Geological Survey (BGS) in collaboration with the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) of Bangladesh. It was found that the standard deviation of arsenic concentration is highest along the river flood plains of the major rivers. The distribution of arsenic concentration was found to be symmetric in regions of very high mean concentration, while the regions of low and moderate contamination reveal a highly skewed distribution, suggesting the need for data transformation at these points prior to spatial interpolation. The mean value of Ca and Mg concentrations showed a strong spatial similarity in the southwest region of Bangladesh. This spatial similarity was also reflected in terms of skewness of the data. It was inferred that the mapping of AS concentrations at nonsampled locations on the basis of multivariate factorial or regression models may not require the dual presence of both Ca and Mg parameters; hence, one of them is redundant. Both the skewness and kurtosis of the distribution of Si concentration appeared very similar and highly heterogeneous in space, suggesting that Si data require careful transformation prior to modeling only in the smaller scale but not for country-wide/regional purposes. The age of wells was found to be nonlinearly correlated in the southeast region. The correlation of AS with Fe appeared strongest in the southwest region, indicating that the oxidation–reduction hypothesis may be more appropriate as a release mechanism in the southwest region. In another regard, the sulphate concentration was found to be more correlated to AS in the northwest Pleistocene region of Bangladesh, suggesting that the pyrite oxidation hypothesis may be appropriate. Overall, our forensic analysis using GIS revealed useful findings for data transformation and selection of parameters towards spatial mapping based on multivariate factorial and nonlinear deterministic models in the resource-poor settings of developing countries.

Technology dissemination and extension services activated by department of fisheries in south west region of Bangladesh

The study was conducted in Khulna, Satkhira and Jhenaidah districts under Khulna division. The purpose was to know the training of fishery officers, fish and shrimp farmers in aqua farming. The main dissemination processes are training of farmers, farm demonstration, farmer to farmer visits, leaflets and pamphlets, audiovisuals etc. In Khulna district dissemination and extension services are application of government rules and regulations, strategic management, pond/shrimp farm visit, public awareness, training facilities, financial and other supports and some research projects also applied, training program, the number of trained fish farmers and trained shrimp farmers in 2009 were 790 and 5,754 respectively. In Satkhira district, different extension programs are applied, such as shrimp demonstration, fish sanctuary, pond/shrimp farm visit, training program, the number of trained Fish farmers and trained shrimp farmers in 2009 were 934 and 2110 respectively and community based fisheries management and some research projects. In Jhenaidah district DoF activities are training, in sadar upazila number of trained fisherman 34, baor management, identify floodplain and other involved communities, awareness campaign, frame survey, arrangement of fund, credit facilities, training program, production monitoring, identification of disadvantaged groups and pollution, disease diagnostic and its control. Keywords: Training farmers; Extension; Visits; Demonstration DOI: 10.3329/jbau.v8i2.7947 J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 8(2): 341-346, 2010

Socio-economic status of crab collectors and fatteners in the southwest region of Bangladesh

The study was conducted to assess the socio-economic conditions of mud crab (Scylla serrata) collectors and fatteners in Khulna and Satkhira districts. From January to June 2009, 40 crab collectors and 40 crab fatteners were considered where 45% of the crab collectors collected crabs from the Sundarban and fattening of mud crabs were generally done in bamboo cages and in ponds. Data analyses revealed that most of the crab collectors and fatteners were Hindus and few were Muslims. In the study area, 40% and 55% crab collectors and fatteners respectively were from the age group of 31-40 years. The crab collectors (80%) had above 6-10 members in their family and 55% of the crab fatteners had above 6-10 members. There were 45% of the crab fatteners had 151 decimal and above land, but 35% of the crab collectors had 0-50 decimal which was very small. Annual income of the crab collectors was less than Tk.90,000, where the lowest annual income of the crab fatteners was Tk. 90,000-150,000. Natural disasters and other constraints affected the livelihood of crab collectors and fatteners in the southwest region. So, crab collection and fattening are alternative sources of income and sustainable livelihood for the disadvantaged people in the southwest Bangladesh. Keywords: Crab collectors; Crab fatteners; Socio-economic conditions; Southwest Bangladesh DOI: 10.3329/jbau.v7i2.4754 J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 7(2): 411-419, 2009