Introduction of Natural Resources

Natural resources and their management are the most important for a country. There are many
states which are straightly depends on natural resources. Bangladesh is a developing and a
probabilities country, with small area. We have also some natural resources, some are renewable
and some are nonrenewable. Renewable resources are natural resources that can be replenished in
a short period of time. On the other hand, non-renewable resource is a natural that cannot be
remade or re-grown at a scale of comparable to its consumption. In Bangladesh, there are many
natural resources such as: renewable natural resources are Energy, Water, Fish, Forest etc. and
Coal, petroleum, oil, natural gas Rock, Sand etc. are considered non-renewable natural resources.
Energy is the prime ingredient for sustainable economic development of a country. Economic
Development depends on effective management of one’s natural resources. People all over the
world have a large unsatisfied demand of energy, which is growing rapidly in the span of time.
Bangladesh has a massive potential for renewable energy and the natural availability of alternative
energy that creates opportunities of Growth in Bangladesh. Technologies should be developed to
produce energy in an environment friendly manner as well as enough importance should be given
to conserve the energy in most efficient shape. In order to ensure energy security, the primary
energy source of the country especially gas, coal and other mineral resources have been taken into
consideration.

Natural Gas
In 2014 there are in total 26 gas reservoirs discovered in Bangladesh. Gas field exploration drilling
has an attractive average 3:1 ratio of exploration wells to discovery here, which is one of the
highest in the world. Natural gas is largely available in the eastern part of the country extending
from greater Sylhet down to greater Comilla, Noakhali, and Chittagong. Gas fields in north-east,
east, and southeast part of Bangladesh have the best ratio of exploration wells to discovery (2.2:1).
Gas fields have also been discovered offshore in the Bay of Bengal. In 2012 Bangladesh won its
maritime dispute with Myanmar and in 2014 with India. As a result, Bangladesh gained access to
several additional offshore oil and gas blocks. Facing a gas crisis of 500 million cubic feet a day
(mmcfd), which is one-fifth of the demand had prompted the government to go for off-shore
exploration bids in 2008 and 2012. There are 28 blocks in the offshore area of Bangladesh after
the borderline has been set in 2014, each having exploration area of between 3,000 to 7,000 sq-
km. Deep-sea exploration and development of a gas prospect are very costly, risky and
technologically very challenging than an onshore operation. Still, these new gas blocks are
expected to play a crucial role in the country’s energy crisis scenario. To meet the increasing
demand for natural gas, production of gas has been increasing every year. But the consumption of
natural gas in the country in the last 15 years has been much more than the discovery of natural
gas which is a concerning issue. Three national companies; Bangladesh Gas Fields Company
Limited (BGFCL), Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration & Production Company Limited
(BAPEX), Sylhet Gas Fields Limited (SGFL) and four international oil companies; Chevron,
Cairn, Tullow and Niko are in charge of exploration and production of gas in Bangladesh. Three
national companies are operating with a production capacity of 1137 MMCFD while the
international oil companies are operating with a production capacity of 1160 MMCFD.

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Petroleum Product
Bangladesh imports annually about 1.3 million metric tons of crude oil. Besides these, another 2.7
million metric Tons (approx) of refined petroleum products per annum is imported. Condensate is
mixed with crude oil. A major consumer of liquid fuel is transported sector followed by agriculture,
industry and commercial sector which is mostly

Oil
The only oilfield of the country has been discovered at Haripur in 1986 that is located in near
Haripur in the eastern hilly district of Sylhet, but these have yet to be developed. The Haripur
reserves are estimated at 40 million barrel [mbbl], with a recoverable reserve of about 6 million
barrels and the total resource is likely to be much higher. For meeting the total requirement of
commercial energy, Bangladesh imports yearly about 1.3 million metric tons of crude oil.

Coal
As well as natural gas, Bangladesh has significant coal reserve. Coal first discovered in the country
by Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP) in 1959 was at great depth. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
OF BANGLADESH (GSB) continued its efforts for exploration that resulted in the discovery of
4 coalfields. BHP Minerals, a US-Australian company, discovered a field in 1997 totaling 5
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coalfields. Coal reserves of about 3.3 billion tons comprising 5 deposits at depths of 118-1158
meters have been discovered so far in the north-western part of Bangladesh. The name of these
deposits are-Barapukuria, Phulbari and Dighipara coal field in Dinajpur district, Khalashpir in
Rangpur district and Jamalganj in Joypurhat district.

White Clay
White Clay occurs in Sherpur, Netrokona, Dinajpur and
Chittagong district etc. and it is used to make crockery’s, sanitary materials, insulator, and tiles. In
addition, it is also used in Paper, cement, and sugar industries. There is a surface
to near-surface deposits of white clay in Bijoypur and Gopalpur area of Netrokona district,
Nalitabari of Sherpur district, Haidian of Chittagong district and BaitulIzzat of Satkaniaupazila,
Chittagong district. Besides, there are subsurface deposits of white clay in Maddhyapara,
Barapukuria, Dighipara of Dinajpur district and Patnitala of Naogaon district. The showing white
clay is not good in quality that is used in the ceramic factories of Bangladesh after mixing with
high quality imported clay.

Glass Sand
Important deposits of glass sand of the country are at Balijuri (0.64 million t), Shahjibazar (1.41
million t) and Chauddagram (0.285 million t) at or near the surface, Maddhyapara (17.25 million
t) and Barapukuria (90.0 million t) below the surface. Glass sands consist of fine to medium,
yellow to grey quartz. Total deposit is about 109.58 million t. Glass sand is used to make
crockery’s, lenses, glass sheet of windows and doors. It is further used to make quartz clock, the
frame of boat and aeroplane, foam glass and in various electronic equipment etc. Silicon chips are
also made from silica, which is a main ingredient of glass. There are two types of glass sand
according to geological status. 1 Recent Piedmont alluvium in the eastern zone. 2 Underground
glass sand in the northern zone.

Limestone
It occurs in Sunamgonj, Takergat, Jahanpur, Paranagor, Joypurhat, and St. Martin’s Islands.
Limestone is a very important mineral resource for Bangladesh. It is primarily used in the cement
industry. Limestone is used to make lime and cement and in the paper, Ispat, sugar, glass industry.
It is also used to decorate the building In Bangladesh limestone is found in Taker Ghat, Lalghat
and Bangli Bazar of Sylhet area, Jaypurhat, and Saint-mertine of Cox’s Bazar district. The
limestone of Takerghat limestone mining project is supplied to Chattak Cement Factory

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Ilmenite, Garnet, Zircon, Kyanite, Magnetite, Rutile, Leucoxene, Monazite
All these are found in Cox’s Bazar and Teknaf Beach, Kuakata Beach, Moheshkhali, Nijhum dwip,
Kutubdia, and Monpura Island. Ilmenite, Rutile, and Leucoxene are used to make slag and in
welding and in melting of metal. They are used as a dyeing subject and Refractory Brick. Ilmenite
is used to make sand blasting and heavy mud as an alternative to Barite in drilling activities.
Titanium metal, which is derived from this mineral, is used to make the frame of aeroplane, missile,
and in chemical reaction and salt removal process. Zircon is used to make foundry sand, Refractory
brick and as a dyeing substance. Zirconium is used as a radioactive substance. Monazite is used to
make catalyst, television tube, refractory substance, thermal insulator substance and in computer
disk and a line printer.

Peat
Deposits of peat occur at shallow depths in different low-lying areas of Bangladesh like Gopalganj,
Madaripur, Khulna, Sylhet and Sunamganj district etc. the reserve of dry peat is about 170 million
t. In 1953, a large scale of peat was discovered at Baghia-Chanda Bil in Faridpur and at Kola
Monja in Khulna. The major deposits are in greater in the districts of Faridpur (150 million t),
Khulna (8 million t). Peat requires drying before making briquettes for use as fuel. It is used as an
alternative fuel to the household, in brick and lime industries and in a thermal power plant, and it
requires drying before making briquettes for use as fuel. Petrobangla implemented a pilot project
for extraction of peat and making briquettes but the result was discouraging and not economically
feasible at the current stage.

Hard Rock
It occurs at Maddyapara in Dinajpur district and has been discovered by GSB (Geological Survey
of Bangladesh) at depth 132-160 m below the surface. The Rock Quality Designation (RQD) of
fresh rock varies from 60% to 100%. The Maddhayapara project is extended over a wide range of
area, from Baborgonj and Mithapukur of Rangpur district to Fulbari and Parbatipur of Dinajpur
district and its capacity to recover 1.65 million t Hardrock every year. It is used in construction
such as road, highway, and railway track, regulator dam, river training, and river bank erosion. It
is also used as construction material and as mosaic stone.

Gravel Deposit
Deposits of gravel are found along the Piedmont area of Himalayas in the northern boundary of
Bangladesh. It occurs in Lalmonirhat, Panchagar, Sylhet district, Greater Chittagong and the
Chittagong Hill Tracts. These river-borne gravels come from the upstream during the rainy season.
It is used to construct buildings, road, railway, bridge and in river training and flood control. A
total reserve of gravel is about 10 million cubic meters.

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Metallic Minerals
GSB has carried out an investigation for mineral deposits and succeeded in locating a few potential
zones. The relatively high content of metallic minerals like chalcopyrite, bornite, chalcocite,
covelline, Galena, sphalerite has been found in the core samples from the north-western region of
the country.

Construction Sand
It is very much available in the river beds throughout the country. Sand consists mostly of quartz
of medium to large grains. It is extensively used as construction materials for buildings, bridge,
roads all over the country.

Beach Sand
This may be a potential source in the future. Deposits of beach sand have been identified in the
coastal belt, and in the coastal island in Bangladesh. Deposits of beach sand have been identified
in the coastal belt and in the coastal islands of Bangladesh. Different heavy minerals and their
reserves (in ton) are: Zircon (158,117), Rutile (70,274), Ilmenite (1,025,558), Leucoxene (96,709),
Kyanite (90,745), Garnet (222,761), Magnetite (80,599) and Monazite (17,352). An Australian
company has applied for permission to carry out the feasibility study for exploitation.

Brick-Clay
In Bangladesh, the mineralogical, chemical and engineering properties of Pleistocene and
Holocene brick clays of Dhaka, Narayanganj, and Narsingdi districts are well documented. The
bulk chemistry and engineering properties of the Holocene and Pleistocene samples have been
found satisfactory for manufacturing good quality bricks. These are being exploited and widely
used in the country.

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Black Gold
Black gold is a very valuable mineral resource. Among them, the main are zircon, monazite, riotile
etc. It is discovered in Cox’s Bazar.

Forest resources
The total area of forest land in Bangladesh is about 2.6 million hectares (BFD, 2015). Out of which
1.6 million hectares are under the control of the Forest Department (BFD). Un-classed State
Forests (USF) 0.73 million hectares were until recently under the control of the deputy
commissioners and now has been placed under the control of district councils. There are
discrepancies about the total area of forest land. The National Forest Assessment (2007) reported
about 1.44 million hectares which is about 9.8 percent of the total land. However, tree cover in
forest land amounts to only 6.7 percent - much less than 17.62 percent of the land that has been
designated as forest lands. Again, Global Forest Resources Assessment indicated that total forest

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area of Bangladesh is 1.429 million hectares i.e. 11 percent of the land. The per capita forest area
in Bangladesh is less than 0.015 hectare against the world average of 0.60 hectare.

It is reported that 1.6 billion on the planet and 19 million people in Bangladesh are directly
dependent on forest resources for their survival. They are among the world's poorest, most
marginalized and politically disempowered people. The forestry sector accounts for about 3
percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and 2 percent of the labor force. The low
contribution of the forestry sector to the GDP is attributed to several factors, e.g. value added from
wood processing is counted under the industry sector, rather than the forestry sector. The GDP
figure is an underestimate. It excludes fuel wood, fodder, small timber and poles, thatching grass,
medicinal herbs, and other forest produces extracted illegally. An innovative approach - Reducing
Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) - was established in 2008 to value
forests role in sequestering carbon. When conservation of forest carbon stocks, sustainable
management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks with active engagements of
stakeholders are expressed in REDD+, has become a prominent discourse under the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiation processes.

Fisheries resources
Bangladesh, with its rich inland waters and river systems, has significant capture fishery
and aquaculture potential. The favorable geographic position of Bangladesh comes with a large
number of aquatic species and provides plenty of resources to support fisheries potential. Fish is a
popular complement to rice in the national diet, giving rise to the adage Maache-Bhate Bangali (“a
Bengali is made of fish and rice”) (Ghose, 2014). The fisheries can broadly be classified into three
categories: inland capture fisheries, inland aquaculture and marine fisheries, of which the inland
aquaculture sector is contributing more than 55% of the total production (DoF, 2016). The fisheries
sector plays a very important role in the national economy, contributing 3.69% to the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) of the country and 22.60% to the agricultural GDP (FRSS, 2016). Over
the last 10 years (2004-2005 to 2013-2014 FY), the fisheries growth was fairly steady and at an
average of 5.38% per year (FRSS, 2015). This sector experienced more or less consistent growth
rate, ranging from 7.32% growth in 2009-2010 to 4.04% growth in 2013-2014 (Bangladesh
Economic Review, 2014). More than 2% of Bangladeshi export value comes from the inland
fisheries sector. Given proper government support, the fisheries sector has ample potential in
creating various types of ancillary industries in rural areas that often have a high rate of economic
return. These employment opportunities for poor rural citizens would also stem their migration to
urban areas. Fish supplements about 60% of Bangladeshi people’s daily animal protein
intake (DoF, 2016). More than 17 million people including about 1.4 million women depend on
fisheries sector for their livelihoods through fishing, farming, fish handling, and processing (BFTI,
2016, p. 1215). A different surveys revealed that more than 80% of laborers engaged in the fish
processing industries were women (DoF, 2015).

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Water resources of Bangladesh
Bangladesh is renowned for its several mighty rivers such as Padma, Meghna, Jamuna and
Brahmaputra and their numerous tributaries crisscrossing this ever green plain land and as such is
endowed with plenty of surface water and ground water resources. Apart from the surface water
resources that comprise water available from the flowing rivers, the country has other abundant
static water bodies such as ponds, ‘beels’ and ‘haors ‘. All these sources of water keep the country’s
crop fields and other vegetations green and fruitful throughout the year. Yet there are some
problems as regards the water resources of the country.
The inflow of surface water of the country varies from season to season. In the monsoon the surface
water inflows vary from maximum of about 14,000 cubic meters in August to a minimum of about
7,000 cubic meters in the dry season of February. The two upstream main rivers like the
Brahmaputra and the Ganges originated in India account for more than 80 percent of stream flows.
The alluvial aquifer systems of downstream Bangladesh are some of the most available productive
groundwater resources. Moreover, the country receives plenty of yearly rainfall. The amount of
annual rainfall ranges from about 1,600 mm in the southeast region to about 3,200 mm in the
northeast region of the country.

Conclusion
▣ Contrary to the developing countries, natural resources may not occupy a prominent place in
the process of economic development of the developed countries.

▣ Developed countries are technologically advanced, and hence, even if there is a scarcity of
some natural resource, say cultivable land, they can still produce enormous amount of crop using
sophisticated technology.
▣ Therefore, technology and capital overshadows the need for natural resources in the economic
development of these countries.

▣ Owing to this, the law of diminishing returns rarely applies to the natural resources of the
developed countries. As the economist, Sir Henry Roy Forbes Harrod has said, "I propose to
discard the law of diminishing returns from land as a primary determinant in a progressive
economy. ... I discard it only because in our particular context it appears that its influence may be
quantitatively unimportant."
While natural resources may be considered as one of the factors aiding the process of economic
development, it needs to be noted that their excessive exploitation and/or misuse, may also
hinder the same. It is, therefore, essential that economies make optimum and judicious use of
their natural resources. Though it is true that mineral industries have created many jobs
throughout the world, it is also vital to take note of the environmental hazards and challenges
that their excessive and unethical use may pose.

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References

[1] Annual Report 2012-13, National Board of revenue

[2] A.K.M. Sadrul Islam, M. Islam and Tazmilur Rahman, “Effective renewable energy activities
in Bangladesh,” Renewable Energy, vol. 31, no. 5, pp. 677-688, Apr. 2006.
[3] Bangladesh Gazette: Renewable Energy Policy of Bangladesh 2008”, published in November
06, 2008. http://lib.pmo.gov.bd/.pdf
[4] Bangladesh Economic Review 2012, Ministry of Finance, available at www.mof.gov org
[5] Bangladesh Statistical Pocket Book 2012, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics
[6] Bangladesh Bank, http://www.bangladesh-bank.org/
[7] Banglapedia, National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh

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Status of forest resources in Bangladesh

The total area of forest land in Bangladesh is about 2.6 million hectares (BFD, 2015). Out of
which 1.6 million hectares are under the control of the Forest Department (BFD). Un-classed
State Forests (USF) 0.73 million hectares were until recently under the control of the deputy
commissioners and now has been placed under the control of district councils. There are
discrepancies about the total area of forest land. The National Forest Assessment (2007) reported
about 1.44 million hectares which is about 9.8 percent of the total land. However, tree cover in
forest land amounts to only 6.7 percent - much less than 17.62 percent of the land that has been
designated as forest lands. Again, Global Forest Resources Assessment indicated that total forest
area of Bangladesh is 1.429 million hectares i.e. 11 percent of the land. The per capita forest area
in Bangladesh is less than 0.015 hectare against the world average of 0.60 hectare.

1. Introduction
The fisheries can broadly be classified into three categories:
inland capture fisheries,
inland aquaculture
and marine fisheries,
of which the inland aquaculture sector is contributing more than 55% of the total production
(DoF, 2016).
The fisheries sector plays a very important role in the national economy, contributing 3.69% to
the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country
and 22.60% to the agricultural GDP (FRSS, 2016).
Over the last 10 years (2004-05 to 2013-14 FY), the fisheries growth was fairly steady and at an
average of 5.38% per year (FRSS, 2015).
This sector experienced more or less consistent growth rate, ranging from 7.32% growth in 2009-
2010 to 4.04% growth in 2013-2014 (Bangladesh Economic Review, 2014).
More than 2% of Bangladeshi export value comes from the inland fisheries sector.
Given proper government support, the fisheries sector has ample potential in creating various
types of ancillary industries in rural areas that often have a high rate of economic return.
These employment opportunities for poor rural citizens would also stem their migration to urban
areas. Fish supplements about 60% of Bangladeshi people’s daily animal protein intake (DoF,
2016). More than 17 million people including about 1.4 million women depend on fisheries
sector for their livelihoods through fishing, farming, fish handling, and processing (BFTI, 2016,
p. 1215). A different surveys revealed that more than 80% of laborers engaged in the fish

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processing industries were women (DoF, 2015). Bangladeshi has one of the biggest and most
active deltas, fed by three mighty rivers: the Padma, the Meghna and the Jamuna. This
contributes to a high potential for fresh and brackish water capture and culture fisheries, in
addition to the vast marine resources. Despite Bangladesh's long coastline and large freshwater
and marine water bodies, fisheries are underdeveloped compared to other industry sectors. Inland
fisheries production has escalated over the years, but the productivity per hectarewater area is
not yet attained at its optimum. In recent years, the bulk of the production has been obtained
from marine (16.78%) and freshwater (83.22%) wild capture fisheries. In 2015e2016,
Bangladesh was the 5th in world

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