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Fauna: BIODIVERSITY DEPLETION

Aquatic invertebrates:
In Bangladesh there are about 362 species of molluscs, of which 336 are marine and 26 are freshwater (Table-1). Law-lying marshlands are the best habitat for them.

Shrimp:
Bangladesh earns a good amount of foreign exchange from the export of shrimp and prawn. Shrimp export brings in the most attractive financial returns.

Turtles and Tortoises
About 12 species of reptile are critically endangered, including the estuarine crocodile, Genetic gharial, river terrapin, tortoise, turtle, flying lizard, and reticulated python.

Birds:
The population of birds in Bangladesh is still very rich, and there is a wide variety in the country (Table-1). However, bird population around the globe are declining at an alarming rate, and that does not exclude Bangladesh. IUCN’s Red list (2000) revealed that among 388 species of resident birds, 41 species are threatened in this country. The primary threats to them are habitat destruction, illegal trade, and over hunting.

Threatened Plants:
A tentative list of about 26 angiosperm species endangered in Bangladesh was prepared by Khan (1991a) as the first step in intensive field studies to locate the species in the wild, the collect relevant data. This is being followed up by screening, preparing status reports, reviewing information, and analysis of the data to assign the species to the IUCN Red list categories (IUCN. 1994). It is still premature to categorically name the endangered plants of Bangladesh until the field surveys are completed. But the current project for a Red Data Book of Bangladesh Plants taken up by BNH is nearing completion. The list of threatened plants has been expanded to more tan 100 number.

Forests:
Most of the forests of Bangladesh are located in the Greater Districts of Chittagong, Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), Sylhet, Khulna, Dhaka, Mymensingh, and Tangail. The moist deciduous forests are found in Dhaka. Mymensingh, Rangpur, Dinajpur, and Rajshahi districts. In the coastal areas, plantations have been established on they newly accreted char land.
Throughout the country the forestland are largely devoid of adequate natural cover, except negligible forest pockets. To conserve plants and other biodiversity, the GoB have declared a number of protected areas throughout the country.
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