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Chill Bangladesh Thread

Our great supreme leader manonio prodhan montri bango'r konna bangla'r moni hazrat Sheikh Hasina Wazed rahimahullah

Astagh Firullah! :o::astagh:

A former Pakistani High Commissioner posted to Bangladesh recalls his memories....


And a session with Rehan Allahwala Sb.

 
It’s a question, you seem to identify as a Bengali but you have your nationality set to nepali
I cannot change my flag. I gave the Nepali flag in the beginning. That time I did not care much about the flag in fact I did not know that flag matters in this forum.

I even used Brazilian flag as Brazil is my favourite football team Lolz
 
Setting Sail for the Bangladesh Marine Megafauna Survey
By Elisabeth Fahrni Mansur [Note: This is the first in a series of blogs about the Bangladesh Marine Megafauna Survey being conducted by the WCS Bangladesh program]. The densely populated country of Bangladesh is a land crisscrossed by an intricate system of hundreds of rivers, including the mighty Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river system. These enormous freshwater inputs,...

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January 12, 2018
By Elisabeth Fahrni Mansur

[Note: This is the first in a series of blogs about the Bangladesh Marine Megafauna Survey being conducted by the WCS Bangladesh program].

The densely populated country of Bangladesh is a land crisscrossed by an intricate system of hundreds of rivers, including the mighty Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river system. These enormous freshwater inputs, combined with the bio-productivity from the world’s largest mangrove forest, feed into the Bay of Bengal – of which 166,000 square kilometers belong to Bangladesh.

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The-tentative MPA survey route to be followed in the 40 day long line transect and fisheries investigation survey. Photo credit: WCS/Bangladesh.
Extraordinary oceanographic conditions in these waters, including a part of the submarine canyon known as Swatch-of-No-Ground, support hugely diverse and relatively large populations of sharks, dolphins, whales as well as fisheries vital for the country’s food security and economy.

To better understand and safeguard this marine diversity, WCS and local partners are currently conducting the Bangladesh Marine Megafauna Survey 2017/2018, a unique and truly exciting undertaking. The survey retraces the original transect lines drawn along the entire coast of Bangladesh for a previous survey carried out by WCS back in 2004.

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Irrawaddy dolphins-surfacing in the coastal-waters of Bangladesh part of the largest population in the world. Photo credit: WCS/Bangladesh.
That original effort discovered the world’s largest population of Irrawaddy dolphins, small beakless marine mammals that frequent the country’s coastal waters. Other discoveries included some of the largest documented populations of Indo-Pacific bottlenose and humpback dolphins and finless porpoise. Marine mammals such as spinner and spotted dolphins and the Brydes whale were found to be common farther offshore.

This year’s survey will include not only marine mammals, but other iconic species such as sharks, rays, and marine turtles. Started in late December, the survey is being carried out across a distance of more than 1,500 kilometers over a period of 40 days – with two vessels, 20 team members, and 11 crew. Two traditional local fishing boats were modified to accommodate the survey team.

Observers will search for marine mammals from an extended top deck and sleep onboard in a custom built cabin constructed from bamboo. The vessel is equipped with basic navigation and communication equipment, as well as an onboard kitchen. Whatever these basic boats lack in comfort, the team makes up for with enthusiasm for the expedition.

The goal of this survey is to provide the scientific basis for new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Bangladesh. This is not the first time that WCS has provided scientific expertise for an MPA declaration. In 2014 the Government of Bangladesh followed WCS’s recommendations for declaring the country’s first MPA, covering waters from the head of the Swatch-of-No-Ground to the Sundarbans mangrove forest.

In combination with previous research results and information from citizen science networks that WCS operates among fishers and landing site data collectors, WCS aims to identify key areas that support significant numbers of marine megafauna and vital fisheries. We will then assist the Government of Bangladesh in achieving its national commitment to protect 10 percent of its marine waters.

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Bryde’s whale. Photo credit: WCS/Bangladesh.
After extensive preparations and a two day intensive training program covering species identification, survey and fish catch sampling theory, equipment handling as well as a safety briefing at the WCS office in Khulna, the survey team finally set sail on December 22nd for the Bay of Bengal. Our findings will undoubtedly produce a valuable new body of information on Bangladesh’s marine wildlife and help protect the country’s natural heritage.

We look forward over the coming weeks to share our adventures and discoveries in the amazing waters of the Bay of Bengal.

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Elisabeth Fahrni Mansur is Director of Education and Livelihoods for the Bangladesh Program at WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society).

Days in the Bay of Bengal: Between Dreams and Reality
By Manzura Khan [Note: This is the fourth blog in a series about the WCS-led marine megafauna survey, which is gathering data on whales, sea turtles, sharks, and other marine species inhabiting the coastal waters of Bangladesh. Data from the effort will identify biologically important locations for future consideration as marine protected areas.] In 2011, I was...

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February 16, 2018
By Manzura Khan

[Note: This is the fourth blog in a series about the WCS-led marine megafauna survey, which is gathering data on whales, sea turtles, sharks, and other marine species inhabiting the coastal waters of Bangladesh. Data from the effort will identify biologically important locations for future consideration as marine protected areas.]

In 2011, I was in the middle of completing my post graduate degree in Nha Trang, Vietnam. I attended class every day to study fisheries management, hoping and wishing that sometime in the future, I would be out in the field using my expertise to help to make sustainability a reality.

Seven years later, I am now back in my home country to help lead an effort to establish a network of marine protected areas (MPAs) for conserving the rich marine biodiversity of Bangladesh, a country that supports fisheries sustaining livelihoods for 50 million people living along the country’s 750-kilometer coast.

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I am now back in my home country to help lead an effort to establish a network of marine protected areas (MPAs) for conserving the rich marine biodiversity of Bangladesh. Credit: WCS Bangladesh.
The first phase of this effort is to conduct a comprehensive survey of marine megafauna, including dolphins, porpoises, whales, sharks, rays and marine turtles, and investigate fisheries that entangle and kill these threatened species. Covering the entire coast of Bangladesh, the overall goal of this survey is to use this information to identify potential sites for new protected areas. So far the survey has been the most exciting and possibly the most intense experience of my life.

When I first laid eyes on the two survey boats, I had mixed feelings: a gripping fear of sea sickness, and the excitement of being able to actually see the marine megafauna I had studied about in school. The first thing that struck me was the amazingly job our team did to modify the boats to safely and comfortably accommodate our entire survey team.

They built a covered space for sleeping and storing equipment along with a kitchen and basic bathroom facilities. They also equipped both vessels with a VHF radio to communicate with each other.

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My seasickness improved on the second day and I Joined my colleagues onboard standing watches and collecting environmental data. Credit: WCS Bangladesh.
Alas my fears came true and I was sick on the first day. All I could think about was how I was embarrassing myself by not being able to stand my watches which entailed looking through a pair of binoculars searching for dolphins, porpoise, whales and fishing vessels.

The rocking and rolling of the boat kept me from doing anything much on the first day. Still, we had a sighting of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, the first time I had seen these amazing animals at sea, and I felt much better watching their joyous leaps.

My seasickness improved on the second day and I took up my onboard duties standing watches and collecting environmental data. I was elated to be gaining the field experience that I had always dreamt about and knew was critical for achieving marine conservation in my country.

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Our fishing boat investigated the catches, bycatches and fishing practices of vessels spotted by our companion ship. Credit: WCS Bangladesh.
While the larger survey vessel follows a pre-designed transect line and focuses on searching for marine megafauna and fishing vessels, the team on the smaller fishing boat investigated the catches, bycatches and fishing practices of vessels spotted by the larger vessel. Working on the small boat, I saw beautiful sharks and rays being pulled out of the sea entangled in gillnets and caught on long-lines with thousands of hooks.

I also saw huge amounts of plastic being pulled up in these same gears. The presence of plastic reminded us that our precious marine environment is being polluted and our fisheries are being over exploited, putting vital resources including threatened marine megafauna at risk.

These observations made me even more determined to protect the rich marine resources of my country. Meanwhile, the simplicity of the lifestyle of fishermen on their floating homes facing the roughness of the sea made me respect their livelihoods even more.

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For this expedition, we are completing a comprehensive survey of marine megafauna, including dolphins, porpoises, whales, sharks, rays and marine turtles. Credit: WCS Bangladesh.
After eight days at sea I had to return to our office in Dhaka to fulfill the less exciting duties of my new job as WCS Bangladesh MPA Program Manager. My time on the water seemed like a lifetime of learning collapsed into this short time when our survey team became a family, supporting each other and working together to accomplish our shared goal of protecting marine biodiversity in Bangladesh.

I have always wanted to make a tangible contribution to marine conservation and this survey is how it all begins. WCS has given me this opportunity for which I am deeply grateful, blessed and moved.

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Manzura Khan is the WCS Bangladesh Marine Protected Area Program Manager and a research participant in the survey.

A Whale of a Day
By Nadim Parves [The is the fifth blog in a series about the WCS-led marine megafauna survey, which is gathering data on whales, sea turtles, sharks, and other marine species inhabiting the coastal waters of Bangladesh. Data from the effort will identify biologically important locations for future consideration as marine protected areas.] As we sailed southeast from...

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February 22, 2018
By Nadim Parves

[The is the fifth blog in a series about the WCS-led marine megafauna survey, which is gathering data on whales, sea turtles, sharks, and other marine species inhabiting the coastal waters of Bangladesh. Data from the effort will identify biologically important locations for future consideration as marine protected areas.]

As we sailed southeast from St. Martin’s Island towards deeper waters, we scanned the waters for marine mammals. Sighting conditions have been poor, and it has been five days since we last spotted a cetacean. At 08:30 we pass by several Sampans, small, elegant half-moon shaped fishing boats typical of the southeast coast of Bangladesh near the border with Myanmar.

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One of the fishing boats encountered during the Bangladesh marine survey. Photo: WCS Bangladesh.
Then our team spots a large fish floating about fifty meters from the bow. We decide to take a closer look. To our surprise the belly-up fish is still very much alive when we pull it aboard and a couple of us get whacked by its powerful tail. The twelve-kilogram fish measuring almost a meter long is a giant Asian sea bass.

Just before noon the wind drops to nothing and the sighting conditions are perfect: Beaufort sea state zero, glare zero, fog zero. It was then we spotted four different species of sea snakes – Jerdon’s, black and yellow, spine-bellied and annulated sea. We also recorded a variety of seabirds, including: brown-headed, black-headed and Pallas’s gulls; common, whiskered, little, greater and lesser crested terns; a Eurasian curlew; and a couple of barn swallows circling our boat.

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WCS Bangladesh staff scan the horizon for marine life from one of the survey boats. Photo: WCS Bangladesh.
But still no cetaceans. An hour later we encountered a cluster of sixteen drifting gillnetters targeting hilsa fish but that have high bycatch rates of marine megafauna—including dolphins, turtles, sharks and rays. We scramble to record data on the fishing vessels, which will help us understand the overlap of the distribution of marine megafauna and the fishing gears that entangle and kill them.

It was almost 4:00 in the afternoon when our survey leader Rubaiyat Mansur calls out “Sighting!” Shaken out of my afternoon fatigue, I see a blow and a body. It’s a Bryde’s whale, a marine mammal that can reach more than 16 meters in length.

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During The expedition to survey marine megafauna, we identified several Bryde’s whales, which can reach more than 16 meters in length. Photo: WCS Bangladesh.
This was the first time in my life I had seen a whale. I was super excited and yelled out, “I am grateful to WCS for giving me this opportunity of a lifetime!” Our captain did an outstanding job at positioning the vessel as the whales circled around us. [Editor’s Note: Researchers from WCS-Bangladesh have previously published scientific research on Bryde’s whales in the Bay of Bengal].

After the thrilling encounter with one of Bangladesh’s marine giants, we arrive at our rendezvous spot to meet our smaller survey vessel F.B. Jobeda, the vessel in charge of investigating fisheries. There was a beautiful sunset but no sign of the boat. We tried to contact them by VHF radio but we received no answer. As the day turned into night we began to worry. Just as it started to get dark we made contact and radioed them our position so we could meet up to anchor for the night.

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Survey staff record some of their findings during the expedition. Photo: WCS Bangladesh.
After eating dinner and entering the day’s data into our laptop computers we can finally relax. But as soon as we’ve turned in, a commotion on the deck wakes us. It turns out we have anchored too close to a fishing net which now threatens to entangle our boat. Fortunately our experienced captain, Kokhon Sarkar, and the crew get us out of the potentially hazardous situation. As if all this excitement wasn’t enough, the wind picks up, and we rock and roll through the night.

At 05:45, alarm clocks go off well before the sun rises. We could all use some more sleep. But another day of ocean adventures awaits. Despite the hardships, including no showers, smelly shipmates, and hours of searching for cetaceans in the hot sun or sometimes cold wind, I would not want to miss this amazing and truly life-changing experience.

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Nadim Parves is a cetacean and fisheries observer for the survey.
 

Excellent movie, very touching tale.

As a child after watching this movie with my parents, I was scared to goto school the next day.

Why don't they make stuff like this now...
 
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How true is his claim that the Tribals living in CHT is still persecuted in Bangladesh? This man is a Bangalee btw, I blurred his name.
Persecution has different meaning. For example, Rohingyas are a persecuted group of people in Myanmar. But, the tribals are not in the strict sense of definition. They are facing difficulties because they do not want to change/modernize their tribal style.

Many other things are political propaganda. I personally detasted Ziaur Rahman's policy of migrating thousands of Noakhailla in the tribal lands. I believe there must be a strict demarcation of land for both the groups. I would propose the tribals to join the mainstream Bengali stream, educate themselves and ask the govt for quota in govt and Police services.
 
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How true is his claim that the Tribals living in CHT is still persecuted in Bangladesh? This man is a Bangalee btw, I blurred his name.

@Michael Corleone @DalalErMaNodi @Ronin @bluesky @Black_cats
Vodhai


Excellent movie, very touching tale.

As a child after watching this movie with my parents, I was scared to goto school the next day.

Why don't they make stuff like this now...
This bitch made me hold my pee until I reach home for years. XD
 

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