Integrating Ecosystem Health and Human Well-being

Sundarbans Ecovillage, Bangladesh

Despite the region’s susceptibility to natural disasters, the Bangladesh Environment and Development Society (BEDS) has implemented initiatives that integrate ecosystem health and human well-being. The Sundarbans coastal region faces annual cyclones that devastate crops and livelihoods, impacting people already living below the poverty line. This focus on short-term benefits over long-term planning creates barriers to active participation. However, when they launched the Ecovillage project in 2015, BEDS focused on green housing, business, and education, they felt the positive shift. The community gained access to safe drinking water, solar home systems, and improved cooking stoves. Green business initiatives and social entrepreneurship included integrated organic farming with native seeds, improving livelihoods. Green education increased environmental awareness and responsibility towards the mangrove forest. Two years later, they were declared the first solar union in Bangladesh. And three years after that, BEDS further improved livelihoods by teaching the community to maximise resources, producing items like mangrove pickle, honey, and molasses. There is significant effort to support the local farmers to maintain native seeds as one of their greatest sources of resilience. BEDS plans to maintain the connection between healthy agricultural systems, education, and livelihood enhancement, recognizing their interdependence in sustaining a resilient community.