One Engineer Restored Two Vanishing Wetlands in Bangladesh
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📰 The quick summary: A government engineer in Bangladesh successfully restored two degraded wetlands in the drought-prone Rangpur region, bringing back biodiversity and benefiting local agriculture after decades of illegal encroachment.
📈 One key stat: Bangladesh’s northwest region lost more than 57% of its total wetland area between 1989 and 2020, highlighting the urgent need for restoration efforts like these.
💬 One key quote: “Conservation of wetlands in a drought-prone region is equally vital for protecting local ecology and national food security,” said Md Shafiqul Bari, a professor at Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University in Bangladesh.
1️⃣ The big picture: In Bangladesh’s drought-prone northern Rangpur region, wetlands known as beels have been disappearing rapidly due to illegal land encroachment and agricultural conversion. Engineer A.K.M. Fazlul Haque, working for the state-run Barind Multipurpose Development Authority, led the excavation and restoration of two such wetlands, Bharardaho Beel and Patuakamri Beel, between 2021 and 2023. Both water bodies had been nearly wiped from the landscape after illegal occupants transformed them into crop fields over roughly 50 years. Following restoration, the government declared both beels as Special Biodiversity Conservation Areas, and today they shelter hundreds of water birds as well as other wildlife year-round. Experts stress that replicating these efforts across the region is critical, as the northwest has already lost more than half of its wetland area since 1989.
2️⃣ Why is this good news: Restoring the two beels has brought measurable ecological benefits, with hundreds of water birds, including migratory species like the northern pintail, returning to the area within just one year of excavation. Farmers in the surrounding area have already noticed a drop in harmful insects on nearby crop fields, as birds use the restored wetlands and forests as their habitat. Over 200 indigenous tree species were planted along the ridges of the restored water bodies, further strengthening the local ecosystem. The government’s decision to declare both beels as Special Biodiversity Conservation Areas and to designate them as non-leasable public easement means their protection is now formally recognized. This story shows that even in regions facing severe ecological pressure, determined individuals working within government systems can drive real, lasting change for both nature and local communities.
3️⃣ What’s next: Fazlul continues to lobby the government to bring the nearby 30-hectare Untar Beel under a restoration project, as it faces similar encroachment pressures. Local volunteers and farmers are pushing for fencing around the restored beels to prevent illegal logging, fishing, and cattle trespassing. Experts call for these restoration efforts to be scaled up across Bangladesh’s northwest, where wetland loss remains a serious and ongoing threat.
Read the full story here: Mongabay – How an engineer brought degraded wetlands back to life in drought-hit Bangladesh
