Story | 30 Nov, 2018
New report lays groundwork for benefit sharing in Meghna River Basin
IUCN’s Building River Dialogue and Governance (BRIDGE) Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) project has developed a profile and preliminary scoping study on Benefit sharing opportunities in the Meghna Basin for Bangladesh and India. The document is the first of its kind to address the lack of…
Story | 12 Jun, 2018
Common pool: Equitable water governance brings prosperity to Sabkhali
The Sundarbans, a vast forest in the coastal region of the Bay of Bengal, are considered one of the natural wonders of the world. Lying adjacent is Sabkhali, a largely agricultural village, highly vulnerable to climate change and tidal surges, salt water intrusion, and waterlogging. The area is…
Story | 19 Apr, 2018
Smiles and slapstick as Rohingya refugees learn to corral elephants
This article, originally published by AFP, highlights how IUCN, UNCHR and volunteers are using life-sized elephant puppets made of colourful cloth to teach Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh's Kutupalong Camp, the world’s largest refugee settlement, how to react when elephants enter their camps. …
Story | 29 Mar, 2018
Cookstoves for forest conservation in Teknaf, Bangladesh
Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary is crucial habitat for many species, but until recently, the forests of the peninsula and the mangroves along the bank of Naf River were the only sources of fuel wood for the nearby villages. The increased prevalence of wood cutting resulted…
Story | 08 Jan, 2018
Youths unite for sustainable tourism in Sri Lanka
Nishanthan Sobana and her husband are a young couple from Sri Lanka's Mannar District who finished school in the crippled economy of the war-torn Northern Province. Even with her Bachelor's degree in Business Management, Nishanthan initially found it challenging to find a permanent job with a…
Story | 07 Dec, 2017
Certified organic: A new prawn paradigm in Bangladesh
In Shyamnagar, Bangladesh, approximately 17,000 hectares of land (nearly the area of Washington D.C.) are being used for shrimp cultivation.
Story | 02 Nov, 2017
Cooperative governance of the Ganges Brahmaputra Meghna Basins (GBM) region was strengthened through the recent launch of a Civil Society Organisation (CSO) vision for improved transboundary water management. The vision, which was developed by a network of over 25 CSOs from Bangladesh, Bhutan,…
Story | 17 Aug, 2017
Health N’ Delft: Low-salt dried fish for the health conscious
On Delft, an island in the Palk Strait north of Sri Lanka, approximately 1,200 out of a population of 4,502 rely on fisheries for their livelihoods. As freezer facilities to store fish are not available in the island, fishermen are forced to sell their daily catch to buyers from the mainland,…
Story | 07 Aug, 2017
In Iranawila village in Puttalam, a district situated on the west coast of Sri Lanka, 90% of the population relies on fishing for their livelihoods. In the past decade, villagers have been cutting and selling mangroves trees for the construction of dwellings, for firewood and for making…
Story | 23 Jun, 2017
TROSA: New trans-boundary water governance initiative aims to enhance regional cooperation
Over the last decade, IUCN has been working with governments, civil societies and academics in Asia on trans-boundary hydro-diplomacy through its initiatives in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) and Mekong river basins. Based on IUCN’s experiences and its long-term experience in the Mekong…