International Journal of Ecology and Environmental Sciences 32: 159-172, 2006 INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS, NEW DELHI

An Analysis of Economic and Environmental Issues Associated with Sea Salt Production in Bangladesh and Thailand Coast
1

M. SHAHADAT HOSSAIN1*, M. ZAKIR HOSSAIN2 AND SAYEDUR RAHMAN CHOWDHURY1 Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Chittagong, Chittagong 4331, Bangladesh 2 Integrated Tropical Coastal Zone Management, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Post Box No. 4, Klongluang, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand *Author for Correspondence; E-mail: [email protected])

ABSTRACT
Salt has been produced traditionally along the Coxs Bazar coast of Bangladesh and Samut Sakhon coast of Thailand for generations. The experience of local people provides a valuable insight into issues associated with sea salt production. Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) enabled an evaluation of community opinion particularly in relation to the economic and environmental aspects of sea salt production. The farmers in Samut Sakhon coast obtain a higher yield and economic return than those of the Coxs Bazar coast due to a longer dry season and use of mechanized equipment. Seasonality and price fluctuation were identified as important issues in both the coasts. Government land leasing policy has paid very little attention to farmers opinions resulting in extortion by landlords and an unsustainable situation for subsistence salt producers. Key Words: Participatory appraisal, Evaporation, Land lease, Dry season, Price fluctuation, Time-sharing, shrimp farming.

INTRODUCTION The oceans are the most prolific source of sodium chloride accounting for over 50% of the world production. The reserves in the seas are estimated at 50 million billion tones (Mannar 1982). The production of common salt is one of the most ancient and widely distributed industries in the world. Nearly 120 countries have salt producing facilities ranging from primitive solar evaporation to advanced, multi-stage evaporation in salt refineries. The requirements of Europe and North America are met mostly by mining while in Asia, Africa, Australia and South America, solar evaporation is the main source. The physical and chemical composition of salt produced from the various sources varies widely depending upon manufacturing techniques, climatic conditions and process adopted. The sea salt production by evaporation is mainly dry season dependent. In longer dry season the salt farmers can get higher production. The climate of Bangladesh is far from ideal for a seawater evaporation

industry, because average annual rainfall is high. Most of the rainfall, however, is concentrated in one sixmonth wet season leaving about 3 months when rain seldom falls, and about 3 more months when rainfall is light. The dry season in Thailand is around 8 months, from November until June. In such a climate the salt farmers get higher production, which decreases if the rains start earlier. After raining, the salinity of condensers and crystallisers start to decrease. So, farmers need to wait some more days before harvesting. But continuous rain, even very low rainfall, makes the entire area unfavourable for salt production. The saltpans may also flood with rainwater, as they are shallow. The objectives of this study are to understand sea salt production technique through bottom-up approach and to address the important issues relevant to salt production as well as to know the income of salt farmers, considering environmental factors and land leasing policy.

160
METHODS

Hossain et al.: Salt Production in Bangladesh and Thailand Coast

Int. J. Ecol. Environ. Sci.

STUDY AREA Coxs Bazar district is situated on the southeastern coast of Bangladesh along the Bay of Bengal between 2115 and 22 N Latitudes and 9145 and 9215 E Longitudes (Figure 1A). The Matamuhuri and the Baghkhali are the two main rivers linked with many canals. There are numerous tribu-taries and channels criss-crossing the coast. The rivers and canals are tide influenced and suitable for navigation. The tidal water can reach about 50 km inland and plays an important role in the water supply system for shrimp farming and sea salt production in the Coxs Bazar coastal zone. Tides are semi-diurnal with two high and two low waters during a lunar day. Tidal behaviour varies along the coast in terms of magnitude but not pattern. The tidal range at the Coxs Bazar coast is large, ranging from 0.07 m to 4.42 m at Baghkhali River (Hossain et al. 2003a).

Participatory appraisal evolved a series of qualitative multidisciplinary approaches to learning about locallevel conditions and local peoples perspectives. Many examples have been recorded of successful community participation in achieving good results in managing coastal resources in different countries (Fezzardi 2001). The research team was composed of two coastal zone managers, one aquaculturist and two research assistants. A sociologist, an ecologist, an environmentalist and a coastal resource management expert were regularly consulted on this research work. One photographer joined the team to document the major activities. Rapid Participatory Rural Appraisal (RRA/PRA) technique was used applying observation, questionnaire and community-level semi-structured interview with 5 different stakeholder groups (salt farmers, landlords/ owners, traders, local administrators and government officials) to gather primary information, following Pido (1995), Pido et al. (1996), Townsley (1996) and IIRR (1998). Before meeting, letters to the leader of the particular stakeholder groups were sent to give the research team the opportunity to explain the objectives of the research to the community. Observation was conducted through transects across the area defined by using maps of 1:50,000 scale and interviewing key informants. Photography was used as an important research tool for direct observation because photographs can be used to document conditions before an intervention. To produce useable outputs, observations were recorded as drawings and notes. Stakeholder analysis was conducted to select appropriate groups for collecting required information and reveal the relationship between their activities. A set of guidelines (checklist of topics) was developed for the interviews in order to get the most complete information and to keep the team members on the same course. An important way of learning about local conditions and resources is to ask local communities what they know (Pelto and Pelto 1978). In Coxs Bazar and Samut Sakhon coast, individual knowledge varied greatly, while the willingness and verbal capabilities of the people differed in expressing information. Direct observation prevents rapid appraisal from being misled by myth (Chambers 1980) and it often provides more valid and less costly information than other research methods (KKU 1987).

Figure 1. Geographical location of the study areas.

Samut Sakhon is one of the Upper Gulf Provinces of Thailand between 1310N and 1340 N Latitudes and 10020E and 100 30 E Longitudes (Figure 1B).

32: 159-172

Hossain et al.: Salt Production in Bangladesh and Thailand Coast

161

The Tha Chin River is the main river running from the north to south, flowing into the Gulf of Thailand at Maha Chai town. The southern part of the province is primarily low-lying land parallel to the coastal area and used for sea salt production and shrimp farming. The tidal patterns are mixed between a semi-diurnal and a diurnal tide experiencing two low tides and one high tide during each lunar day. Tidal range near the Tha Chin river mouth varies from 0.9 m to 3.19 m above the lowest low water level. The average high tide near Tambon Maha Chai is 1.11 m and the low tide reaches -0.36 m from mean sea level (personal communication: The Royal Thai Navy).

LAND USE CHANGES The natural mangrove forest in Coxs Bazar coast originally occupied the low-lying saline swamp at the mouth of the Matamuhuri delta. In 1903, the then government formed the Chakaria Sunderban range with an area of 8275.8 ha, gazetting a 7283.5 ha reserve mangrove forest and 992.3 ha protected mangrove forest. An area of 1539.4 ha was leased in 1929 to 262 land-less families for settlement. The people were dependent on mangrove for firewood and housing materials as well as their daily common needs.

The topographic map of 1952 showed 7500 ha of mangroves and an aerial photograph from 1975 indicated that overall mangrove cover remained unchanged up to 1975 (Alam et al. 1990). In the years after 1975, the mangrove forests were gradually cleared, mainly for shrimp farming and a few directly for salt production (Figure 2). After a disease outbreak affecting shrimp farms in 1994, the salt production area expanded. The study area in Samut Sakhon coast was originally fully covered by mangroves and shrubs since the people started different activities such as fishing, aquaculture, salt production, and temporary living. The major conversion of land use happened around 1925, when the salt production started, and again around 1975, when the shrimp farming started (Figure 3). The last part of the mangrove fringe was totally converted into intensive shrimp ponds around 1989. Shrimp farming collapsed in this area around 1995, causing a huge area to be abandoned. Transect analysis shows the present land use patterns with activities and problems in Samut Sakhon coast (Figure 4). The transect has aided in concentrating discussions on specific zones and the activities carried out there and identified some key problems (Hossain et al. 2001a). Among the advantages of this type of analysis is the simple portrayal of the resources present and the associated economic, social and environmental issues in spatial terms (Pido et al. 1996).

Figure 2. Historical changes of Chakaria Sunderban mangrove forest in Coxs Bazar Coast for 100 years time scale.

162

Hossain et al.: Salt Production in Bangladesh and Thailand Coast

Int. J. Ecol. Environ. Sci.

Figure 3. Timeline of land use changes in the Samut Sakhon Coast (1925-2000).

Figure 4. Transect analysis of Samut Sakhon Coast showing land use patterns with activities and problems.

32: 159-172

Hossain et al.: Salt Production in Bangladesh and Thailand Coast

163

MANAGEMENT OF SALT PRODUCTION Preparation of Salt Pans On the Coxs Bazar coast of Bangladesh most of the salt farms are small-scale. The farmers lease the land from landowners, or sometimes from the government, on a yearly basis. In Thailand a few landlords occupy most of the government land and they sub-lease to poor farmers on condition that the farmers will carryout the entire production expenditure but the income will be shared equally between both parties. Very few farmers lease land directly from the government on yearly taxpaying basis. Except some simple mechanisation, the recovery or precipitation method of salt from the seawater in Coxs Bazar and Samut Sakhon coast is almost the same, as practiced for many centuries. Areas of mudflats slightly above the high tidal range are leveled and compacted by using a roller at the onset of the dry season in October-November so that the brine solution will not seep into the soil. Each area is divided into many salt pans such as reservoir, condenser and crystaliser (Figure 5). Stocking of Seawater Seawater stocking of the reservoir is conducted through ditches connected to the rivers or canals. If salt pans are lower than the high tide, sea water is allowed to flow through gates into the reservoir, otherwise seawater is lifted from the ditches to the reservoir by manually operated local equipment in Coxs Bazar coast and windmills, gasoline and diesel pumps on the Samut Sakhon coast. Water salinity varies from 30 to 35 in both the coasts. The salt farmers on the Samut Sakhon coast use the reservoir for extensive shrimp

culture to get an extra income. The clear seawater from the reservoir is allowed to enter into the condenser pan. Internal inlet canals are placed among the condensers and crystalisers for proper water distribution. The high saline water is transferred from the condenser to crystaliser, where the salt crystals start to form. The salinity starts to increase during the settlement period in the reservoir due to evaporation. Harvesting and Production Rate According to Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), salt project, Coxs Bazar, 19,671 ha has been converted for salt production along the Coxs Bazar coast of Bangladesh. Annual salt production per unit area is 22 Mg ha -1 (Table 1), lower than in Thailand because of the short evaporation season and limited mechanization. Samut Sakhon is the largest salt producing province in the upper Gulf of Thailand. The total area under salt production is 5,541 ha with an average yield of 43 Mg ha-1 (Table 1). The yield increases during the longer dry season but the longer rainy season reduces the production rate. The production cycle on the Coxs Bazar coast is completed within 7-10 days depending on environmental conditions, area of salt beds and amount of water. In Coxs Bazar the farmers stock 2 to 3 cm water in the salt bed for evaporation, but in Samut Sakhon the average harvesting time is 10 to 15 days and the farmers stock 4 to 5 cm water. Soon after starting the precipitation process they supply saline water for a second or third time to get a bulk harvest (Figure 6). This is a cyclic order technique that starts in November and ends in April or May in Bangladesh and from November to the first half of June on the Thai coast.

Figure 5. Schematic diagram of salt pans in Coxs Bazar Coast (Hossain et al. 2003b).

164

Hossain et al.: Salt Production in Bangladesh and Thailand Coast

Int. J. Ecol. Environ. Sci.

Table 1. Salt cultivation area and production rate in Coxs Bazar and Samut Sakhon coast (personal communication: * Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation, salt project, Coxs Bazar. #Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Thailand). (Mg = metric tonne or MT)
Coastal Zone Coxs Bazar Coast, Bangladesh* Name of Upazila/ Sub-district Coxs Bazar Sadar Chakaria Moheshkhali Kutubdia Teknaf Banskhali BSCIC Experimental Plot Total Samut Sakhon Coast, Thailand# Nakhok Kalong Bang Tholat Bang Bo Bang Krachao Bang Ya Phrack Krok Krak Khok Kham Pan Tile Norasingh Total Area (ha) 2,588 5,565 6,748 2,085 317 2,328 40 19671 1,077 1,445 1,010 410 335 463 85 358 358 5 ,541 Production (Mg) 58,445 116,585 130,618 59,125 13,227 44,999 961 423960 45,234 69,360 40,400 15,990 14,740 20,835 3,570 14,320 13,604 238,053 Production Rate (Mg ha -1 ) 23 21 20 28 42 20 25 22 42 48 40 39 44 45 42 40 38 43

thus depend upon trucks and boats for transportation. The Chittagong-Coxs Bazar highway is important in providing access to the salt evaporating areas along the coast. In Thailand, road transportation is well developed and several highways are connected to the Samut Sakhon coast. Time Sharing Informal management for land use zoning is an important practice in Coxs Bazar and Samut Sakhon coast in respect of time-sharing, i.e., salt production during summer months and extensive shrimp farming during monsoon months. Traditional shrimp culture farms are generally developed extensively in these areas due to the suitability of water, soil and other parameters of shrimp production. The zoning approach can provide important information for potential developers/ investors to identify the suitable zones that meet certain objectives to ensure maximum benefit for a long period (Hossain et al. 2001b). Zoning of land and water for saltpan or shrimp farm development can help

Figure 6. Salt gathered in the crystaliser and transporting to storage house.

Transportation of Salt The salt evaporation areas along the Coxs Bazar and Samut Sakhon coast are not served by railways and

32: 159-172

Hossain et al.: Salt Production in Bangladesh and Thailand Coast

165

in controlling environmental deterioration at the farm level and in avoiding adverse social and environmental interactions. Establishment of zones can ensure, most importantly, optimal allocation of resources for saltpan and shrimp farm development and, secondly, minimization of conflicts between different users. This will minimize the unplanned horizontal expansion of salt or shrimp production area and maximize productivity from smaller area through vertical integration with the use of modem scientific techniques and improve the socio-economic condition of the people, as well as maintain the ecological balance in the coastal region.

INCOME - CASE STUDY OF TWO FARMS In Bangladesh, the government has a policy of providing loans to salt farmers. But the formalities of government banks are complicated and the amount offered is insufficient for land preparation and equipment purchase. So, some farmers take loans from the salt-trading middlemen on condition of giving. salt at a lower price after harvesting. Most of the salt farms are small-scale using manually operated local equipment. All the family members actively participate in farm operation. School-going children also help in the morning and evening. During 2000 the farmers enjoyed the opportunity of a 5 months production season (December to April) and obtained high production. An analysis of costs and returns of a farmer on the Coxs Bazar coast, who leased 5 ha land from the landowner, exhibited a profit of about 28,000 Taka/ha/season (Table 2). The farm had 2 reservoirs of 1 ha, 4 condensers and 4 crystalisers of 0.5 ha each. The average yield of the farm was 21 Mg ha -1 season-1 . During the first 3 months the farmer sold 50 Mg of salt at the rate of 2600 Taka Mg -1 . Another 30 Mg was -1 sold at 2200 Taka Mg and 25 Mg of gray salt has sold -1 at 1600 Taka Mg . The farmer constructed storage sheds using low-cost local materials, for example, bamboo poles, tree branches. paddy straw, etc. Such sheds need to be reconstructed every alter-native year and thus the longevity was calculated as 2 years. Other equipment works well for around 2 years. So, the depreciation was calculated as 50%. Khun Samut Maneerat, a salt farm at Samut Sakhon coast, has 8 crystalisers and 12 condensers, each with an area of 0.8 ha. The farm has two reservoirs of 8 ha at the seaside to allow sediment to settle out of the seawater before salt production (Figure 7). The reservoirs are also used for extensive shrimp

culture during salt production season. There was a 7 months operation season in 2000 and the average yield of the farm was 48 Mg ha-1 . So. the total production of the farm was 1152 Mg season-1 . The average farm gate -1 price was 1500 Baht Mg . Inland shrimp farmers buy the highly saline water (150 to 200) from the salt producers at the rate of 1200 Baht per truck (15,000 to 18,000 litres) as inland shrimp farming has been expanding in Thailand in recent years due to pollution and disease problems in the coastal region. In 2000 the salt farmer sold 25 trucks of saline water to the inland shrimp farmers. Total shrimp production in the reservoirs was 720 Kg sold at 300 Baht kg -1 . Thus the farmer has earned about 30,000 Baht ha-1 season-1 (Table 3). Salt production needs a large labour force for

Table 2. Economic analysis of sea salt production in Coxs Bazar Coast.

Name of Items Capital Expenditure Construction of storage house Roller Local equipment (Dongin, Euchiun) Total Depreciation (50%) Recurring Expenditure Labour for salt bed preparation (10 man-day @150 Taka) Labour for gathering and transporting salt (2) @20,000 season year Local transport (boat, van, etc.) Land lease fee @5,000 Taka ha season Total recurring expenditure Total operating cost (Depreciation+Recurring expenditure) Total Income Sale 50 Mg @2,600 Taka Mg-1 (beginning of the season) Sale 30 Mg @2,200 Taka Mg-1 Sale 25 Mg @1,600 Taka Mg-1 (Slightly mud mixed gray salt) Gross income of the farmer Net income (gross income-operating cost) Net Profit per hectare
*

Bangladesh Taka (US$)* 20,000 20,000 5,000 45,000 22,500 1,500 (339) (339) (85) (763) (381) (25)

40,000 (678) 5,000 (85) 25,000 (424) 71,500 (1212) 94,000 (1593)

130,000 (2203) 66,000 (1119) 40,000 (678) 236,000 (4000) 142,000 (2407) 28,400 (481)

Bangladesh Taka and US Dollar in parentheses.

166

Hossain et al.: Salt Production in Bangladesh and Thailand Coast

Int. J. Ecol. Environ. Sci.

gathering salt and transporting to the storage shed. Five labourers were hired for gathering salt on contract, at 20,000 Baht season -1 and 10 labourers for transporting at 10,000 Baht season -1 . The salt farmers in Coxs Bazar coast use labourintensive local equipment but on the Samut Sakhon coast they use capital-intensive mechanized equipment. The farmers in both the coasts have been exploited by the landlords/owners and also by the middlemen. The government land leasing system needs to re-arrange for proper distribution of the coastal land among the marginal salt farmers. Furthermore, government should maintain the actual salt price to prevent price fluctuation.

Table 3. Economic analysis of sea salt production in Samut Sakhon Coast.

Name of Items Capital Expenditure Construction of storage house Motor pump (1) 175 HP Motor pump (1) 50 HP @40,000 Baht Roller (1) 100 HP Accessories for motor pumps and roller Total Depreciation (10%) Thailand Baht (US$)* 100,000 (2500) 150,000 (3750) 40,000 (1000) 100,000 (2500) 15,000 (375) 405,000 (10125) 40,500 (1013) (1500) (100) (2500) (2500) (6600) (7613)

Recurring Expenditure Fuel for pump and roller 60,000 (4000 L) @15 Baht) Labour for salt bed preparation 4,000 (20 man-days) @200 Baht day -1 Labour for gathering salt 100,000 (5) @20,000 Baht season -1 y -1 Labour for transporting salt **100,000 (10) @10,000 Baht season -1 y -1 Total recurring expenditure 264,000 Total operating cost 304,500 (Depreciation+Recurring expenditure) Total Income Total salt production (1152 Mg) @1500 Baht Mg -1 Selling of high saline water (25 trucks) @1200 truck Shrimp production 720 kg (90 kg ha) @300 Baht kg -1 Gross income of the farm Landlord share (50% of gross income) Farmer share (50% of gross income)

1728,000 (43200) 30,000 (750)

216,000 (5400) 1974,000 (49350) 987,000 (24675) 987,000 (24675)

Gross Income of the Farmer 50% share 987,000 (24675) Half of the salt transportation expense 50,000 (1250) (from Landlord) Total gross income of the farmer 1037,000 (25925) Net income of the farmer 732,500 (18312) (gross income-operating cost) Net Profit Per Hectare 30,520 (763)

*Thailand Baht and US Dollar in parentheses. **Landlord pays half of the expense. Figure 7. The typical layout of a salt farm in Samut Sakhon Coast, Thailand.

32: 159-172

Hossain et al.: Salt Production in Bangladesh and Thailand Coast

167

Table 4. Month-wise meteorological parameters of Coxs Bazar district (Bangladesh Meteorological Department, Coxs Bazar, personal communication).
Month (2000) January February March April May June July August September October November December Total rainfall (mm) 001 002 96 81 573 841 1,326 914 337 394 16 Nil Rainy days 02 02 04 08 22 27 24 24 20 14 02 Nil Average Temperature (C) Maximum 27.7 29.1 27.8 33.1 31.8 31.8 31.2 31.3 30.6 32.4 31.8 28.2 Minimum 15.7 17.6 21.2 24.1 23.8 25.0 24.6 25.1 25.0 24.6 20.4 15.6 Rate of Evaporation mm d -1 3.09 3.72 3.59 5.32 2.82 2.82 1.98 3.35 3.52 3.62 2.73 2.49 R.H. at 1200 UTC (%) 67 61 67 75 81 87 87 86 86 81 75 77 Bright sunshine (hr) No Data No Data No Data No Data 182.6 127.2 136.5 180.7 167.0 228.6 296.6 314.1

Figure 8. Uses of sodium chloride (Source: Mannar 1982).

168
Uses of Salt

Hossain et al.: Salt Production in Bangladesh and Thailand Coast

Int. J. Ecol. Environ. Sci.

Salt is an essential element in the diet of not only humans but of animals, and even of many plants. In centuries past, salt, the universal necessity, was much appreciated as an effective medicine (Langre 2000). With the advent of industrial civilization, the uses and importance of salt have multiplied. Salt has been used for flavouring, pickling, preserving, curing of meat and fish, and in tanning. It is one of the big five among the chemicals which form the base or the chemical industry, the other four being sulphur, coal, limestone and petroleum (Mannar 1982). As the frontiers of the chemical industry grow, new applications for salt and its derivatives are constantly being discovered. Figure 8 indicates the various uses of salt.

FACTORS AFFECTING SEA SALT RETURNS Seasonality Climate is an important factor for sea salt production. The impacts of an extended rainy season are diverse and can be broadly classified as economic, environmental and social. Impacts may also be referred to as direct or indirect, or are assigned a rank (i.e., first or second order). In a coastal community where sea salt production is the primary economic activity, the direct or first-order impact of a longer rainy season is observed in the form of poor economic returns via flooding of the salt beds and decrease in production (Figure 9).

Examples of second-order impacts are decreased employment and income. The early cessation of salt production activities reduces employment and nonavailability of jobs reduces the food entitlement of coastal communities, especially small farmers and landless labourers. The evaporation rate in Coxs Bazar coast varies slightly according to the time of year. Minimum evaporation is in May-July when cloud cover is high and average wind velocity is near the annual minimum. Evaporation generally reaches its maximum in January to April when temperature is high, skies are clear and the windy season is in full progress. The coastal communities have taken full advantage of this seasonal variation to establish a salt evaporation industry. The meteorological parameters are usually favourable for salt production from November to April in the Coxs Bazar coast (Table 4). Thailand has high temperatures year-round, generally high relative humidity and two rainy seasons. From December to June rainfall is light to absent, while the remaining months of the year have generally high rainfall (Table 5). Sea salt production is usually conducted in the dry season, from November to June with the peak season from January to April in Samut Sakhon coast. The critical factor that affects the production of salt is the evaporation rate. Parameters including temperature, incident radiation, relative humidity, and wind velocity all influence the net evaporation of water at different concentrations. Mostly a high sunshine rate and air temperature influences the evaporation rate, which are usually interrelated. The hot inland air is beneficial as it improves evaporation. The lower the relative humidity the greater the capacity of the evaporating body to take up more water vapour. Wind helps in the removal of air saturated with water vapour from the surface of the evaporating body and bringing in contact with it fresh unsaturated layers of the atmosphere thus increasing evaporation. However, high wind velocity may blow sand and dust into the salt pans affecting the quality of salt. Marketing and Price Fluctuation Presence of middlemen between salt farmers and traders is dominant both in Coxs Bazar and Samut Sakhon coast. The farm gate price in Coxs Bazar coast varies from 2000 to 3000 Taka Mg -1 depending on salt

Figure 9. Impact of longer rainy season on the socio-economic condition of the sea salt farmers.

32: 159-172

Hossain et al.: Salt Production in Bangladesh and Thailand Coast

169

Table 5. Month-wise meteorological parameters of Samut Sakhon Province (personal communication: Samut Sakhon Meteorological Station).
Month (2000) January February March April May June July August September October November December Total rainfall (mm) 11 0 129 150 2 13 113 46 320 147 309 2 36 Rainy days 2 0 2 4 9 12 8 20 21 22 1 2 Average Temperature (C) Maximum Minimum 35.5 34.0 36.0 37.0 37.5 37.6 37.2 37.0 35.5 34.5 35.5 35.0 15.0 15.5 23.0 23.0 24.0 24.0 25.0 24.0 24.0 23.0 19.0 14.0 R.H. at 1200 UTC (%) 68 72 70 68 72 75 81 85 80 74 71 69

quality i.e., white salt is considered as good quality and the gray salt is considered as lower quality. In Samut Sakhon coast the farm-gate price varies from 1000 to 2000 Baht Mg -1 depending upon quality, season and market demand. But this price may drop to 300 Baht Mg -1, which is one of the. main issues of sea salt production that may cause this venture to collapse. The production cost varies from 300 to 500 Baht Mg -1 depending on land suitability and seasonality. The farmers measure their salt in different ways and the standard measurement unit is Kwian and litre in Thailand. They calculate a pile 2 m wide, 2 m long and 1 m high of salt (4 m3) as 2 Kwian. One Kwian equals approximately 1600 kg (1.6 Mg). The causes of market fluctuation are overproduction, dominance of middlemen, lack of farmers empowerment, lack of proper government policy, etc. (Figure 10). In Coxs Bazar coast, another cause is the import of salt from the neighbouring Myanmar coast. Myanmar has a huge coastal area along the Bay of Bengal in Arakan that is mainly used for sea salt production. However, the range of hills close to the Arakan coast make difficult and expensive to supply salt to the .domestic market. So, the producers push the crude salt illegally to the bordering district (Coxs Bazar) of Bangladesh, sometimes at low prices. Thus, some salt mills have come to depend on the smuggled Myanmar crude salt for survival or business expansion. In case of salt shortage in the market and no importation of salt for replacement, the shortage from local production is said to have been accounted for by

such smuggling activities (Lim 1996). The middlemen may create artificial cash crisis and stop buying salt at any time. But the farmers need to sell the salts even at lower price to maintain their daily common demands and labour payment. Over production sometimes poses another problem for the farmers. If the environmental parameters are favourable for long periods and the maximum area is taken into cultivation, the farmers get high production, which may reduce the market price, as market becomes flooded.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITION As a salt bed is part of the environment, farmers should consider environmental factors when choosing a site for operation. Site selection, however, is rarely based on a thorough assessment of features of the natural or human influenced environment and often limited consideration is given to technical, ecological, economic, logistic and socio-political factors. The availability of water supply is one of the most important environmental factors determining site viability for salt production. To minimize the costs of pumping water, most salt beds in Coxs Bazar and Samut Sakhon coast are located as close as possible to the source of water supply. Consequently, many are situated adjacent to the coast, in places elevated slightly higher than the normal high water line. The presence of mangroves adjacent to salt beds helps to protect them from cyclonic storms.

170

Hossain et al.: Salt Production in Bangladesh and Thailand Coast

Int. J. Ecol. Environ. Sci.

Figure 10. Problem tree analysis for salt price decrease.

Extended muddy shores with flat and gentle sloping are present along the Moheshkhali channel of the Coxs Bazar coast, especially on the delta and flood plains of Matamuhuri and Baghkhali rivers, where most of the salt pans have been built. The southern part of Samut Sakhon Province is primarily low lying land parallel to the coastal area that has been used for salt production and shrimp farming. The soil affects the initial cost of salt bed preparation, since soil permeability affects the capacity of the salt pan to hold water. The seepage rate is greatly determined by the soil type and its particle size. The coastal soil is mainly sandyclay in Coxs Bazar and silty-clay in Samut Sakhon coast and both type positively influence salt production (Table 6). The water and soil parameters of different saltpans that have been reported by Kamal (1996) for

the Coxs Bazar coast (Table 7) are mostly similar to the Samut Sakhon coast. Table 6. Soil texture of different salt pans in Coxs Bazar and Samut Sakhon Coast.
Area Coxs Bazar Salt Pans Texture Clay, % 21.0 19.0 25.0 45.66 29.74 22.0

Sand, % 62.0 70.0 59.0 10.9 15.77 25.0

Silt, % 17.0 11.0 16.0 44.25 51.49 53.0

Reservoir Condenser Crystaliser Samut Sakhon Reservoir Condenser Crystaliser

32: 159-172

Hossain et al.: Salt Production in Bangladesh and Thailand Coast

171

Table 7. Hydrological parameters of different saltpans in Coxs Bazar Coast (Kamal 1996).
Area Salt Pans pH Salinity 30.03 78.36 330.52 Temp C 31.5 31.8 38.0 EC mS cm -1 93.60 228.00 336.00 Total hardness mg L -1 8,000 16,000 135,200 Ca mg L -1 2,987 7,908 65,600 Mg mg L -1 5,013 8,092 69,600 HCO3 mg L -1 36.6 36.6 146.0 Alkalinity mg L -1 120 140 570

Coxs Bazar

Reservoir Condenser Crystaliser

7.1 7.4 6.9

CONCLUSION Marxs social theory fits very well with the present finding as this theory identifies economic factors as the fundamental determinant of social structure and change. The landowners (or landlords) and the salt producers inevitably have incompatible interest, because under systems of property ownership, if landowners (or landlords) make economic gains, it must be at the expense of salt producers. According to Marx, each of the major economic systems that existed in the past strengthened one particular class, which could then exploit others. All systems of property therefore involve a basic conflict of interest because one group expropriates the product of anothers labour (Marx and Engles 1975). Since salt producers of Bangladesh lease-in lands from landowners and of Thailand from landlords, who are politically influential and have access to institutional resources (for example, credit, government subsidies, permits, etc.), we have use this theoretical perspective for analysing the extent of exploitation of salt producers by the landlords. Proper land lease policy can be of vital importance for the development of sea salt farmers ability to increase their productivity and thus their standard of living. In addition to its potential for enhancing productivity, can play a powerful role in the promotion of greater equity by giving preferential assistance to smaller farmers, often the most vulnerable to the vagaries of the environment - climate, market, etc. However, the government land lease policy has paid very little attention to farmer consultations and generally confined its activities to purveying undifferentiated packages of services and advice designed by distant planners and administrators. Coastal development can be defined as coastal people development, thus it is essential to go to the people, learn from the people, and plan with the people. The

sea salt production is currently facing price fluctuation problem. Even though the salt farming is locally an easy option and century old family venture for many people, it also has other impacts like soil and water body salinisation, ground water salinisation, extinction of locally growing fruit trees such as banana, papaya. guava and coconut. Salt production during dry season and shrimp production in wet season can be an option for better economic return for the salt farmers.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We gratefully acknowledge Danish International Development Assistance (DANIDA) for a grant to conduct this study. We would like to thank Mr. Muhammad Sirajul Haque (Department of Economics) and Mr. Abul Hasnat Golam Quddus (Department of Sociology) of University of Chittagong. Bangladesh for providing useful comments on the paper.

REFERENCES
Alam, M.S., Shamsuddin, S.D. and Sikder, S. 1990. Application of remote sensing for monitoring shrimp culture development in a coastal mangrove ecosystem in Bangladesh. Geocarto International Centre, Hong Kong. pages l 09-119. Chambers, R. 1980. Rapid rural appraisal: rationale and repertoire. Discussion Paper, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton, UK. xxx pages. Fezzardi, D. 2001. Community participation in coastal resources management: lessons learned from a case study of Songkhla Lake, Southern Thailand. M.Sc. Thesis, Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand. IIRR. 1998. Participatory methods in community-based coastal resource management. 3 vols. International Institute of Rural Reconstruction, Silang, Cavite. Philippines.

172

Hossain et al.: Salt Production in Bangladesh and Thailand Coast

Int. J. Ecol. Environ. Sci.

Hossain, M.S., Lin, C.K. and Hussain, M.Z. 2001a. Goodbye Chakaria Sunderban: The oldest mangrove forest. Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS) Bulletin 18(3): 19-22. Hossain, M.S., Lin, C.K., Tokunaga, M. and Hussain, M.Z. 2001b. Integrated GIS and remote sensing approaches for suitable shrimp farming area selection in the coastal zone of Bangladesh. Asian-Pacific Remote Sensing and GIS Journal 14: 33-39. Hossain, M.S., Lin, C.K. and Hussain, M.Z. 2003a. Remote Sensing and GIS application for suitable mangrove afforestation area selection in the coastal zone of Bangladesh. Geocarto International 18(1): 61-65. Hossain, M.S., Lin, C.K., Demaine, H., Tokunaga, M. and Hussain, M.Z. 2003b. Land use zoning for solar salt production in Coxs Bazar coast of Bangladesh: A Remote Sensing and GIS analysis. Asian Journal of Geoinformatics 3(4): 69-77. Kamal, A.H.M. 1996. Ecology of salt pans and redionuclides concentration in water, soil and salt in the coastal area of Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh. M.Sc. Thesis. Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Chittagong, Bangladesh. 113 pages. KKU (Khon Kaen University). 1987. Rural Systems Research and Farming Systems Research Projects: Thailand. Proceedings of the 1985 International Conference on Rapid Rural Appraisal. Khon Kaen University, Thailand.

Langre, J.D. 2000. Sea salts hidden power. Health freedom resources: Florida, USA. Lim, B.K. 1996. Salt industry of Bangladesh: rural-urban industrial shiff. Ph.D. Thesis, Kyoto University, Japan. Mannar, M.G.V. 1982. Guidelines for the establishment of solar salt facilities from seawater. underground brines and salted lakes. Industrial and Technological Information Bank (INTIB), Industrial Information Section, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), UNIDO Technology Program. 149 pages. Marx, K. and Engles, F. 1975. Manifesto of the Communist Party. Progressive Publishers, Moscow. Pelto, P. and Pelto, G. 1978. Anthropological Research: The structure of Inquiry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pido, M.D. 1995. The Application of Rapid Rural Appraisal Techniques in Coastal Resources Planning: Experience in Malampaya Sound. Philippines. Ocean and Coastal Management 26(1): 57-72. Pido, M.D., Pomeroy, R.S., Carlos, M.B. and Garces, L.R. 1996. A handbook for rapid appraisal of fisheries management systems (version 1). Manila, Philippines: ICLARM. Townsley, P. 1996. Rapid Rural Appraisal, Participatory Rural Appraisal and Aquaculture. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper No. 358. Rome, Italy. 109 pages.