MPAs for sharks and rays
In Bangladesh, little is known about interactions between fisheries and the sharks and rays that are impacted by them. As a result, spatial planning is challenging and many marine protected areas (MPAs) fail when they exclude local communities or hinge on poor design. Alifa wants to integrate science with human rights principles, creating MPAs that are built on social fairness and community involvement and promote sustainable use. She will pilot marine-managed areas that focus on conserving sharks and rays and create a model for such areas that promote biodiversity conservation, socio-economic development and equitable benefit-sharing in coastal Bangladesh.
Alifa Bintha Haque
I teach at the Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, where I am the team leader at the Bengal Elasmo Lab. I give undergraduate and post-graduate courses and conduct marine research under this umbrella. I have just completed my doctoral studies at the Nature-based Solutions Initiative in the Department of Biology, Oxford, with the support of a Bangabandhu Scholarship. My research, ‘Towards a socially just sustainable fishery preserving sharks and rays in the Bay of Bengal’, aims to produce a replicable sustainability model for threatened shark and ray species by working closely with fishing communities. It steers a...
Science and right-based marine managed area for Critically Endangered Guitarfishes in heavily fished coastal Bangladesh
The broad aim of this project is to design and test managed marine areas that are tailored specifically for the conservation of sharks and rays in a designated coastal region. With this pilot programme we seek to develop innovative and scientifically sound approaches to marine conservation that can serve as models for future efforts to conserve vulnerable sharks and rays.
In Bangladesh, the effective management of marine protected areas is hampered by the lack of data on fisheries’ interaction with sharks and rays. In addition, fishing communities are often not included in decision-making, which leads to conflict and poor compliance. Incorporating participatory governance and making use of traditional knowledge fosters social fairness. By integrating science with human rights principles, we can address conservation challenges and create marine protected areas that are ecologically robust and socially just.
This project addresses the conservation challenges of Critically Endangered guitarfish species in a key coastal area of Bangladesh. By focusing on managed marine areas, we seek to design a framework that prioritises species conservation and socio-economic elements and delivers just governance and equitable benefit sharing. Through this initiative, we will conduct comprehensive assessments to identify the critical importance of guitarfish within this heavily fished and anthropogenically impacted area, taking into account factors such as tourism, airport development and human habitation.
Our approach involves engaging with local communities to understand their perspectives and priorities regarding the conservation of guitarfish species and the broader marine ecosystem. By integrating community knowledge and perspectives, we aim to develop a conservation strategy that aligns with local needs and aspirations while safeguarding biodiversity. Recommendations derived from this research will inform the development of policies and strategies for effective marine conservation and sustainable resource management in the region. Through collaborative efforts and stakeholder engagement, we aspire to create a model for managed marine areas that promotes biodiversity conservation, socio-economic development and equitable benefit-sharing in coastal Bangladesh.
- To pioneer in managed marine areas innovative conservation strategies that combine scientific rigour with community engagement.
- To map critical habitats, assess the socio-economic importance of species and design management measures that balance conservation goals with community livelihoods and interests.
- To assess the site’s biological diversity and ecological health, evaluate socio-economic impacts on local communities and propose adaptive governance structures for community-led marine management.