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Assessment of ecosystem service value in southwest coastal Bangladesh

The southwest coastal area of Bangladesh consists of a network of tidal inlets and lagoons, clay-rich islands and mangrove forests supporting a huge variety of wildlife and birds. It is astonishingly rich in terms of the ecosystem services it offers to the population of Bangladesh, but highly stressed by human intervention. Quantification of the services generated by this dynamic coastal landscape can help to inform sustainable management of the natural resources of the Sundarbans. This study was conducted to determine the ecosystem service value of the area by combining 2015 Landsat image data with previously published coefficients describing the ecosystem service value of the various land use categories. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to determine the effect of manipulating these coefficients on the estimated values generated. Our survey results show that 36% of the land is covered by mangrove forest (Sundarbans). About 26% of the area is under aquaculture (shrimp and prawn), whereas terrestrial agriculture covers only about 15% of the land. The rest of the area is covered by rivers (about 12%), settlements and others (about 11%). The total value of the ecosystem services provided is estimated to be equivalent to 86 billion US$ (value of US$ in 2007). Mangrove forest alone accounts for a disproportionate 98% of the total ecosystem services value, whereas agriculture and aquaculture generate only 0.24%. As a consequence, conservation policy needs to emphasize the sustainable management of these crucial wet terrestrial mangrove ecosystems. Special attention needs to be given to management of their ecosystem functions in order to appropriately balance the relationship between the livelihoods of local farmers and aquaculturalists, and the wider ecosystem services that the mangrove areas provide. The results of this study also indicate the necessity of managing terrestrial ecosystems effectively to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.