Natural Resources of Bangladesh

Bangladesh is largely ethnically homogeneous. Indeed, its name derives from the Bengali ethno-linguistic group, which comprises 98% of the population. Bengalis, who alike hulk in the West Bengal province of India, atomic number 18 one of the most thickly settled ethnic groups in the world. Variations in Bengali culture and language do exist of course. There argon many dialects of Bengali spoken throughout the region. The dialect spoken by those in Chittagong and Sylhet be divergeicularly distinctive. In 2009 the population was estimated at 156 million.Religiously, close 90% of Bangladeshis are Muslims and the remainders are by and large Hindus. Bangladesh became one of the large nation states in 1971when it seceded from Pakistan. Prior to the creation of Pakistan in 1947, advanced(a)-day Bangladesh was part of ancient, classical, medieval and colonial India. Since indep kiboshence, the g all overnment has experienced periods of re popularan and military rule. The founding le ader of the area and its first president was tribal sheik Mujibur Rahman. His daughter Sheikh Hasina Wazed is currently the prime minister, as leader of the Awami League.Physical features of Bangladesh office & size Bangladesh is situated in southern Asia, on the delta of the 2 largest rivers on the Indian subcontinentthe Ganges and Jamuna (Brahmaputra). It borders with India in the west, north, and east, with Burma (also known as Myanmar) in the southeast, and with the embayment of Bengal in the south. The earths area is 144,000 square kilometers (55,598 square miles), and it is divided into 6 administrative divisions (Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Barisal, Rajshai and Sylhet) and 4 study(ip) municipal corporations (Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna and Rajshahi).Comparatively, the territory of Bangladesh is slightly greater than the state of New York. Bangladeshs capital city, Dhaka, is located in the central part of the country. Bangladesh occupies the easterly part of the Bengal region (the western part of the region is active by the Indian state of West Bengal), which historically was part of the great civilizations in the northeast of the Indian subcontinent. Climate of Bangladesh Bangladesh has a tropical monsoon-type climate, with a hot and rainy summer and a dry winter.January is the coolest calendar month with temperatures averaging progress 26 deg C (78 d F) and April the warmest with temperatures from 33 to 36 deg C (91 to 96 deg F). The climate is one of the wettest in the world. Most places receive to a greater extent than 1,525 mm of rain a course of study, and areas near the hills receive 5,080 mm ). Most rains make pass during the monsoon (June-September) and little in winter (November-February). Bangladesh is subject to devastating cyclones, originating over the Bay of Bengal, in the periods of April to May and September to November. Often accompanied by inflate waves, these storms send packing cause great damage and loss of life.The cy clone of November 1970, in which about(predicate) 500,000 lives were doomed in Bangladesh, was one of the worst immanent disasters of the country in the 20th century. Bangladesh has warm temperatures throughout the year, with relatively little variation from month to month. January tends to be the coolest month and May the warmest. In Dhaka the average January temperature is about 19C (about 66F), and the average May temperature is about 29C (about 84F). step to the fore wet in function and river system of Bangladesh Surface Water made up of rivers, streams, lakes, beels and ponds.In other(a) words, all waters on the surface of the earth including fresh and salt water, ice and snow. In Bangladesh, rain and trans-boundary river flows are the main sources of surface water. Bangladesh has an average annual surface flow of about 1,073 million acre feet (MAF), of which about 870 MAF (93%) are received from India as inflow and rest 203 MAF (7%) as rainfall. This water is enough to cover the entire country to a depth of 9. 14m. approximately 132 MAF (65% of rainfall and 12% of thorough) are lost in evaporation (114. 30 cm) and the rest flows to the Bay of Bengal. Bangladesh has about 700 rivers ncluding tri entirelyaries and distributaries, which crisis-cross the ornament and creates about 98,000 ha of inland water bodies and more than 24,000 km streams or water channels. Of these, 54 rivers, including the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, originate from India and 3 originate from Myanmar. About 93% catchment areas of these 58 rivers are beyond Bangladesh, while only 7% is in Bangladesh. During the dry season when irrigation is necessity, these rivers either flow at their low levels or become dry in the Bangladesh portion, due to upstream barrages, construct in the upper riparian region.The principal rivers of Bangladesh are the Padma, the Megna, The Jamuna, and the Brahamaputra. The Dhaleswari and the Karnafuli. Besides, there are many small rivers like the B uriganga, the Sitallakya, the Gumti, the Tista, the Atrai, the Kortoa, The Mohananda, the Madhumati and many others. They have tributaries as well. Improtance and returns The rivers are of great help to us. Our floriculture depends on the rivers. The rivers supply water and make the land fertile by depositing silt. Thus they help to buzz off paddy, jute, wheat and many other crop. The rivers also help our irrigation.Our rivers are a great source of wealth. The rivers abounded in fishes. Fish is an important diet of our country. numerous people earn their livelihood by catching fish in the rivers. Our rivers are important means for transport too. Boats, launches, steamers ply through them in all seasons. They carry passengers and goods from one place to another. These rivers also help our alternate and commerce. Pattern of agriculture Bangladesh is primarily an agrarian economy. Agriculture is the single largest producing arena of economy since it comprises about 30% of the c ountrys GDP and employing around 60% of the total labor force.The performance of this sector has an overwhelming impact on major macroeconomic objectives like employment generation, poverty alleviation, forgiving resources increment and food security. Agricultural holdings in Bangladesh are generally small. Through Cooperatives the use of modern machinery is gradually gaining popularity. Rice, Jute, Sugarcane, Potato, Pulses, Wheat, Tea and Tobacco are the principal crops. The crop sub-sector dominates the agriculture sector contributing about 72% of total doing. Fisheries, livestock and forestry sub-sectors are 10. 33%, 10. 11% and 7. 33% respectively. Bangladesh is the largest producer of Jute.Rice being the staple food, its production is of major importance. Rice production stood at 20. 3 million tons in 1996-97 fiscal year. Crop diversification program, credit, extension and research, and input scattering policies pursued by the government are yielding positive results. The country is now on the threshold of attaining self-sufficiency in food metric grain production. Types of forest Forestry is a sub-sector of agriculture in Bangladesh, which makes a contribution to the bailiwick economy and is supposed to promote ecological stability. Although Bangladesh is amazingly green, it is a forest-poor country.Most of its national forestlands are located in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, greater Khulna district, greater Sylhet district, Dhaka, Mymensingh and Tangail districts. fractional of Bangladesh does not have public forests at all. Homestead forests seen around around all households are important for the rural communities. They meet a pregnant portion of fuel wood need and house construction materials, among other things. Although it is estimated that Bangladesh has approximately 6% of its land covered with public forests, actually actually little of natural forests is left today except for those in the Sundarbans in Khulna.The plantations are not t o be considered as forests. The three main types of public forests are (i) Tropical evergreen or semi-evergreen forest in the eastern districts of Chittagong, Coxs Bazar, Sylhet, and the Chittagong Hill Tracts region (ii) moist or dry deciduous forests also known as sal (Shorea robusta) forests located mainly in the central plains and the freshwater areas in the northwest region and (iii) Tidal mangrove forests along the seashore the Sundarbans in the southwest of the Khulna and other mangrove patches in the Chittagong, Coxs Bazar and Noakhali coastal belt. Mineral resources Although Bangladesh is a small country, it has a number of mineral resources much(prenominal) as natural gas, oil, blacken, hard rock, limestone, white clay, glass sand and mineral sand. At present, natural gas is the only mineral commodity importantly contributing to the national economy. More than 90% of the countrys life force needs are met by gas, total reserves of which are 21. 35 trillion cubic feet (TCF) and 12. 43 TCF, respectively.Huge reserves of hard rock (granodiorite, quartzdiorite, gneiss) and coal in northwest Bangladesh will help, in the near future, to meet the increase demand for construction materials and energy for the ever-growing population. Total coal reserves are 1753 million tons (MT), the market value of which is more than US$one hundred ten billion. Hard rock reserves are 115 million tons, determine at over US$3 billion. Fully fledged beginning of these resources would help to alleviate the countrys poverty through industrialization.It is expect that coal will soon be extracted on a commercial message basis, of which 70 to 80% will be used in forefinger generation. The mineral resources so far found in Bangladesh are meagre in comparison to its high population. To meet the growing demand of the population, more mineral resources need to be discovered and developed, otherwise sustainable development cannot be achieved. However, it is difficult for deve loping countries like Bangladesh to carry out the necessary activities for exploration and exploitation of hidden mineral resources without foreign assistance. This is a major drawback for Bangladesh.To progress towards an endurable sustainable society, a nation such as Bangladesh must give priority to the development of its existing mineral resources, which can play a major role in helping to remould the countrys socio-economic infrastructure. Industrial set up In 1972, the year after its establishment, Bangladesh nationalized most of its industries and set up nine corporate conglomerates to oversee the state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The lack of commercial orientation inhibited investment and growth, including in the handed-down jute industry, and the emerging leader, the garment industry.From the mid-1980s, the government shifted to encouraging private investment, but the industrial sector remained closely regulated. In 1991, in the post-Cold War international environment, and with the end of military rule, the government inaugurated a new Industrial Policy training investment liberalization, the interim restructuring of several large parastatals, as well as the gradual privatization of public enterprises in all but the airways, railways, and mining sectors.Political unsusceptibility to privatization was very strong, and in the early 1990s restructuring resulted in some return decline. With a new government, in the period 19962001, 33 SOEs were sold by the state, but the Economist Intelligence Unit reported that these were smaller operations, and that the divestments did not significantly lessen the governments dominance of the industrial sector. Recent discoveries of large natural gas reserves and plans for new power plants throughout the country were slated to pass on industrial growth in 2000 and beyond.However, as of late 2002, plans for the development of natural gas resources continue to be delayed by political rows over the participation of fo reign companies. Density and distribution of population In 2010, Bangladesh was estimated to be one of the ten most highly populated countries with an estimated population of only if fewer than 160 million. This makes the population density of about 875 people per sq km (2,267 people per sq mi) higher than other countries.Most of the population is young with about 60 portion under the age of 25, with only about 3 pct over the age of 65 (life expectancy is 61 years). Twenty percent of the population was deemed to be urban in 1998, making population of Bangladesh preponderantly rural. Bengalis make up the majority of population of Bangladesh. They are descendants from immigrant Indo-Aryans who came from the west and intermarried with various Bengal groups.The minority in Bangladesh is comprised of several groups, the Chakma and Mogh (Mongoloid people who live in the Chittagong Hill Tracts District), the Santal (migrants from India) and the Biharis (Muslims who came from India). Conc lusion Though Bangladesh is a small country but it has great prospects. It can use its vast population as human resources. It is a beautiful country. It can make an effective use of it to pull up tourists. To overcome obstacles to gain success in all sectors all people and govt. should be cooperative. Corruption, political resentment, indiscipline, dishonesty should be reduced by applying laws.