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Contribution short abstract

Land-use patterns between the Indian and Bangladeshi Sundarbans show significant differences: India’s Kumirmari area maintains paddy fields behind functioning polder systems, whereas Bangladesh’s Protapnagar shows rampant expansion of shrimp aquaculture due to weak water-control infrastructure.

Contribution long abstract

Satellite image analysis reveals a significant contrast in land-use patterns between the Indian and Bangladeshi Sundarbans. While the Indian side is dominated by paddy fields, the Bangladeshi side shows a much more extensive expansion of shrimp aquaculture. This observation raises an important research question: How has the land been exploited, and what political and local decision-making processes have driven the rapid expansion of shrimp farming in the Bangladeshi Sundarbans?

Our findings indicate that a well-functioning polder system exists in Kumirmari (India), whereas such infrastructure is largely absent in Protapnagar (Bangladesh). The lack of proper water control, combined with restricted land access, has facilitated widespread land grabbing for shrimp farming, contributing to the marginalisation of small-scale farmers. These farmers traditionally cultivated rice, but due to the low elevation of the land, post-disaster waterlogging makes it easy to convert rice fields into shrimp ponds—yet extremely difficult to revert them to rice cultivation.

This situation has been exploited by large shrimp business owners, worsening environmental degradation. Shrimp aquaculture has increased soil salinity, prolonged waterlogging, and significantly reduced the arability of agricultural land. Furthermore, shrimp farming is labour-extensive, requiring minimal manpower, which has reduced employment opportunities for surrounding communities. While landowners benefit from higher revenues, local farming households face growing inequities and are often forced to abandon their traditional livelihoods.