Remote sensing of fish-processing in the Sundarbans Reserve Forest, Bangladesh: an insight into the modern slavery-envir
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Remote sensing of fish-processing in the Sundarbans Reserve Forest, Bangladesh: an insight into the modern slavery-environment nexus in the coastal fringe Bethany Jackson 1,2 & Doreen S. Boyd 1,2 & Christopher D. Ives 1,2 & Jessica L. Decker Sparks 2 & Giles M. Foody 1,2 & Stuart Marsh 3 & Kevin Bales 2,4 Received: 14 February 2020 / Accepted: 1 September 2020 # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Land-based fish-processing activities in coastal fringe areas and their social-ecological impacts have often been overlooked by marine scientists and antislavery groups. Using remote sensing methods, the location and impacts of fish-processing activities were assessed within a case study of Bangladesh’s Sundarbans mangrove forests. Ten fish-processing camps were identified, with some occurring in locations where human activity is banned. Environmental degradation included the removal of mangroves, erosion, and the destruction of protected areas. Previous studies have identified cases of labour exploitation and modern slavery occurring within the Sundarbans, and remote sensing was used to triangulate these claims by providing spatial and temporal analysis to increase the understanding of the operational trends at these locations. These findings were linked to the cyclical relationship between modern slavery and environmental degradation, whereby environmental damage is both a driver and result of workers subjected to modern slavery. Remote sensing can be used as an additional methodological tool to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and provide evidence to support the promotion of the “freedom dividend” which would have far-reaching economic, social, cultural, and environmental benefits. Satellite remote sensing is likely to play an important role going forward for understanding these issues but should be augmented with ground-based data collection methods. Keywords Fish-processing . Sundarbans . Bangladesh . Modern slavery . Sustainable Development Goals . Modern slavery-environmental degradation nexus
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s40152-020-00199-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Bethany Jackson [email protected]
Kevin Bales [email protected]
Doreen S. Boyd [email protected]
1
School of Geography, University of Nottingham, Sir Clive Granger Building, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
Christopher D. Ives [email protected]
2
Jessica L. Decker Sparks [email protected]
Rights Lab, University of Nottingham, Highfield House, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
3
Giles M. Foody [email protected]
Nottingham Geospatial Institute, University of Nottingham, Wollaton Road, Jubilee Campus, Nottingham NG8 1BB, UK
4
School of Politics and International Relations, Law and Social Sciences, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
Stuart Marsh [email protected]
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