“The Violation of
Right to Safe Environment by Deforestation & Its consequence”
Definition
of Deforestation
A forest is an area of land spanning more than 0.5
ha with trees higher than 5m and a canopy cover of more than 10%, or trees able
to reach these thresholds in situ. It does not include land that is
predominantly under agricultural or urban land use. Forest is determined both
by the presence of trees and the absence of other predominant land uses. Areas
under reforestation that have not yet reached but are expected to reach a canopy
cover of 10% and a tree height of 5 m are included, as are areas which are
temporarily unstock as a result of human intervention or natural causes, which
are expected to regenerate.
Introduction
According to environmental science, 25% of a
country’s land area should be covered with forests for a balanced ecology.
Bangladesh, however, has only 6% that is forested.50% of the country’s forests
have been destroyed in the last 20 years. This is known as deforestation. Indiscriminate felling
of trees in the greater parts of Dhaka, Mymensingh, Rajshahi, Rangpur and
Dinajpur has resulted in an alarming depletion of the forests. Some 30 years
ago, the forest area in Tangail was 2,000 acres; today it is down to 1,000
acres. Similarly, the forests in the Chittagong Hill Tracts have been
over-exploited.
Present
Tendency of deforestation in Bangladesh
10.20% of the total land of Bangladesh is under
forest coverage. Among the forest area, 46.89% is under forest plantations and
remaining are natural forest and barren forestland (FAO, 2001). Out of this
Forest Department manages 9.5% and 55% are under the jurisdiction of the
district administration (Das and Siddiqi 1985). Like other tropical forests,
the forests of Bangladesh are brimming with life. But the human activities are
increasingly in conflicts with the forest existence. As a results the forests
area of Bangladesh are decreasing day by day. According to Forest Department, forest
area of Bangladesh is 16% of its total area but according to Food and
Agricultural Organization (FAO) (2001) Bangladesh has a total 1334000 hectors
forest area i.e., 10% of its total area. Estimated annual rate of deforestation
during 1981-85 was 8000 ha but during 1990- 95 annual rate of deforestation was
8800 hectors. [1]
Types of Forest
(1) Tropical rainforests
@ Hugely dense, lush forest with canopies preventing
sunlight from getting to the floor of the forest.
@ All year high temperatures and abundant
rainfall.
@ Located near the equator.
@ A vital storehouses of biodiversity,
sustaining millions of different animal, bird, algae and fish species.
(2) Sub-tropical forests
@ Located at the south and north of the
tropical forests.
@ Trees here are adapted to resist the
summer drought.
(3)Mediterranean forests
@ Located at the south of the temperate
regions around the coasts of the Mediterranean, California, Chile and Western
Australia.
@ The growing season is short and almost
all trees are evergreen, but mixed hardwood and softwood.
(4)Temperate forests
@ Located at Eastern North America, north-eastern
Asia, and western and Eastern Europe.
@ Mix of deciduous and coniferous
evergreen trees.
@ Usually, the broad-leaved hardwood
trees shed leaves annually.
@ There are well-defined seasons with a
distinct winter and sufficient rainfall.
(5)Coniferous forests
@ Located in the cold, windy regions
around the poles.
@ They come in both hardwoods and
conifers.
@ The hardwoods are deciduous.
@ The conifers are evergreen and
structurally adapted to withstand the long drought-like conditions of the long
winters.
(6)Montana forests
@ Known as cloud forests because they
receive most of their precipitation from the mist or fog that comes up from the
lowlands.
@ Usually found in high-elevation
tropical, subtropical and temperate zones.
@ Plants and animals in these forests are
adapted to withstanding the cold, wet conditions and intense sunlight.
@ Trees are mainly conifers.
(7)Plantation forests
@ Has around 7% of global forest cover
(140 million hectares).
@ Produces more sustainable timber and
fibre than natural forests.
@ Plantations produce around 40% of
industrial wood.
@ Plantation forests are on the increase.[2]
Causes or reason of
deforestation
The increasing demand of land for agriculture,
homes and industries caused by a population explosion has taken a heavy toll on
the country’s forests since the early 20th century.
In 1910, the country’s population was 40 million but
now it has more than tripled to 140 million. In the 1980s, the rate of
destruction of forests in the country was 8,000 hectares per year. Now it has
gone up to 37,700 hectares per year. The annual deforestation rate is 3.3%.
A massive expansion of commercial shrimp culture
recently appeared to be the latest threat to the forests in the southern
coastal areas, especially in Satkhira and Cox’s Bazaar.[3]
Human
pressure
Forest land is being cleared and hills are being
destroyed through cutting and levelling in Chittagong and CHT areas. The
cleared up land is either used for real estate development or for mining
purposes from earth and/or stones are mined. This is an irreversible form of
damage that must be prevented immediately.
Encroachment
Forest
lands
adjoining human settlements all over the country are subject to
encroachments agriculture. This encroachment is more prominent in the
Bhawal and Modhupur
forests. The Forest Department has estimated that an area of about
76,000 ha of
forest lands are under encroachment. Many of such encroachments have
subsequently been settled with the encroachers by the land
administration
authorities without the knowledge of the Forest Department. Actual area
of such
land is not known, but several disputes are pending in the courts.
Because of
uncertainty on the ownership of the land, the encroachers only exploit
the land
without nourishing it for sustained output.
Jhum cultivation
Shifting cultivation is still one of the most
urgent issues in the forestry sector. Past efforts in containing shifting
cultivation have yielded encouraging results. These were through rehabilitation
of shifting cultivators in settled villages by awarding land for permanent
cultivation, planting of trees as cash crop, and by providing community services
in the settled villages. But such small-scale efforts cannot solve the problem
as a whole.[4]
Deposition
of course sand
The soils eroded from the hills are usually
deposited in the downstream areas. Burial of agricultural croplands by sandy
over washes of the hills, breach of embankments etc. is a 41 common phenomenon
in areas adjoining to the active river channels and hill stream in Bangladesh.
This is also seen in the floodplain of the rivers Jamuna, Brahmaputra, Tista
and Meghna.
Salinity
intrusion
Lands with saline soil abound in the Meghna estuary
flood plain and the southern part of the Ganges tidal flood plain. An FAO study
in 1988 estimated about 0.82 million ha affected by salinity. It has been
reported that upstream withdrawal of Ganges water in Farakka beyond the border
of Bangladesh has reduced freshwater discharge causing intrusion of salinity
deep into the mainland.
Monoculture
Practicing monoculture for a long time causes
depletion of nutrients in soil and cause land degradation. Cultivation of the
same crop in the same piece of land continuously results in soil infertility.
Rotation of crops is a good natural process to retain nutrients in the soil.
Land use
conflicts
Demand land is increasing day by day for housing
the increasing population, construction of government complexes in Thanas,
industries, brick fields, roads and highways, flood protection embankments,
defence installations, and educational institutions. Often good agricultural
land and forest lands are taken up for such non-agricultural and non-forest
purposes. About 3000 ha out of about 7500 ha of mangrove forest of Chakharia
Sunderban reserve in Cox's Bazar district have been allotted to a large number
of shrimp farmers. [5]
Industrialization
Much
of the degradation is reportedly caused by industrialization in the Sal forest
areas. Vast land area has taken by industries. Land area is decreasing due to
industrialization as it requires vast area of land. Forest land is being
cleared for industrial use. Local people are selling their land to outsiders
who are taking over.
Irrational
Profit-making
Irrational
profit making has caused deforestation and forest degradation in Bangladesh Through
encouraging the illegal logging, introducing cash crop, exotic varieties which were
unfriendly to the forest ecology and brokerage system.
Illegal logging
Illegal
logging is responsible for deforestation to a significant extent in Sal forest
areas. In Hill forest areas, Dr. M.
Al-Amin, Professor and Director, Institute of Forestry andEnvironmental
Science, University of Chittagong said that there are certain groups doing Business
of timber in certain forests.[6]
Cash crop
Plantation
of cash crops like rubber, banana, arum etc. is held responsible for deforestation
in Sal forest areas to a large extent. Plantation is also destroying natural forest
in these areas through govt.’s Social Forestry Programme where usually fast growing
alien species which give a quick harvest and good profit in a short term investment
are planned clearing off Sal forest. Thus macroeconomic policy destroys forest.
Influence of brokers:
In Sal
forest areas there are people who are brokers. They influence others to cut
down trees, matured or not, for their own business. [7]
Militarization
Militarization
has also responsible to cause deforestation and forest degradation in Bangladesh
through heartening the military establishment in hill forest areas. Bengali expansionism
is another countenance of militarization in hill forest areas. This phenomenon
is present in Chittagong hill forest areas. The militarization in the hill tracts
is also responsible for the deforestation of those areas. Participants from
FGDs and interviews reported that, huge amount of forest had been cleared by
the military for making of their camp, training centre and infrastructural
development. It is found from the field that, firing range which is built by
the military is another reason for deforestation.
Bengali expansionism
Bengali
expansionism is another cause of deforestation in the study areas. This problem
is more acute for the Chittagong hill forest areas. It is notified that in many
cases, Bengali settlers are responsible for the deforestation and forest
degradation. They do not know how to cultivate crop in the hill areas and they
follow the same technique of cultivation which they are used to do in the plain
lands. As a result, soil of the hills become slack and this is how tress cannot
grow properly in those areas. Not only that, some informed that, as the Bengali
settlers do not know how to “jhum”, so most of the times they burn many
important trees. [8]
Consumerism
Consumerism
is also accountable for the deforestation in Bangladesh. Demand for timber is
another cause for deforestation. This demand leads to the illegal logging and
cutting down of immature trees in the forest areas. Consumerism is found to be
responsible for deforestation in both Sal and Hill forest Areas. Demand for
timber has reportedly been increased especially for furniture making and
ornamentation of households. Heavy and decorative wooden furniture and doors and
windows of houses are symbol of status and class. Essentially this is a part of
the global capitalism where the demand for consumer goods is ever increasing.
Forest
Management
Forest
management has caused deforestation through encouraging corruption of local elites,
members of political parties and police department, non-recognition of land
right of corruption of administration and state, corruption, non-co-operation
and irresponsibility of FD officials, by not dismissing the false cases
quickly, inappropriate forest policy and by sustaining discriminatory social
system. The first national forest policy of Bangladesh was redefined in 1979.
Powerful people exploited this clause in the name of social forestry. This is
an example of fickle forest policy.
Insufficient law
Forest
laws are still not updated. It is evident from the field that, many
participants think that forest laws are obsolete. They also informed that, the
proper land demarcation is absent in the study areas. That is why, they become
confused which forest is state forest and which is not. They have vague
perception about the forest areas. As a result, sometimes, some people cut down
trees and then victimize by the forest department, because if the forest
department has any intention to charge false case against local people they may
say that, the trees which have been cut down, were from the state forest areas.[9]
Discriminatory social system
An
eminent politician of Rangamati says that discrimination causes deforestation
in Hill forest areas. There are discriminations economically, politically,
socially and culturally on the basis of ethnicity in Hill forest areas that are
fundamentally inhabited by various indigenous communities. He maintains that
such bigoted attitude towards the indigenous communities and the strategy of
the State to dominate them politically originated the destruction of forests in
Chittagong Hill Tract with the construction of the dam on across the river
Karnafuli in 1956 as part of the development plans of the then government. More
than 250 sq mile land area went under water with all its forest resources in
Madhupur.
Over population,
Poverty and Unemployment
Growing
population, poverty and unemployment are also accountable for the quick depletion
of forest resources in the three forest areas of Bangladesh.
According
to the population census in 2001, there are about 6.85 million households in the
coastal zone which represent about 28 per cent of total population of
Bangladesh. Mangrove area is believed to more productive area of coastal region
and for this reason density of population is high here.
Poverty
and unemployment are considered as underlying causes of deforestation in all the
three forest areas under the study. It is argued that poor people living
adjacent to forest areas fall back on forest resources for their livelihood.[10]
Lack of Alternative Livelihood Approach
Due
to lack of alternative livelihood possibility, coastal people are dependent on mangrove
forest produce. According to them the land is not that much suitable for paddy cultivation
and for this reason they are not getting required amount of food grains from their
cultivable land. Most of the people do not have agricultural land of their own
also.
So,
for livelihood, they are mostly depending on the Sundarbans. As the Sundarbans
is declared as reserved forest and no one is allowed to go inside the forest
for extraction, however, for their livelihood they have to take out forest
resource illegally.
Tobacco
cultivation
Tobacco cultivation is damaging the ecology of the
area, with loss of indigenous trees soil fertility. Many of the farmers of
Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachhari districts of Bangladesh have been losing
their interests in cultivating indigenous crops like paddy, banana, maize,
sesame, cotton, potato, pumpkin etc. as they became defaulters of loans
provided by tobacco companies, they said.
Monoculture of Rubber Plantation
A good instance of commercial
forestry practices is rubber plantation. Rubber plantation began in the
Chittagong Flill Tracts on an experimental basis in 1959. In 1969 the Rubber
Development Project started on a commercial basis. The government initially
wanted to take over 40,000 acres of land for rubber plantation. But by 1988,
25,000 acres could be brought under rubber plantation. The Second Development
Project for Rubber Plantation began in the Madhupur forest area in 1987. Former
President Hussain Muhammad Ershad inaugurated this project in 1986.
Fuel wood Plantation
The on-going
ADB-funded Thana Afforestation and Nursery Development Project (the five-year
project period expired in 1995), especially its component of commercial fuel
wood plantation [woodlot], has triggered a debate over plantation with exotic
species.
The largest amount of money of the US$48 million dollar project — US$11.6
million — has been allocated for fuel wood plantation in the sal forest areas,
the five year project started in 1989. A total of 16,000 acres of degraded and encroached
government sal forest areas in Gazipur, Tangail, Sherpur, Comilla, Mymenshigh,
greater Dinajpur, and Rajshahi districts were to be brought under woodlot
plantation.
Road Building
Through forests fragments the landscape, endangers
wildlife habitat and provides access points for illegal loggers and other
business operations that encroach into the forest.
Hydroelectric
dams
Flood
upstream forests, leading to widespread forest loss, habitat degradation and
displacement of forest communities and wildlife.[11]
Consequence
of deforestation
Forests are
complex ecosystems that are important to the carbon and water cycles that
sustain life on earth. When they are degraded, it can set off a devastating
chain of events both locally and around the world.
Soil erosion
In the immediate area: this has secondary effects
as the soil ultimately washes down to rivers and causes floods.
Reduction of rainfall
This results from the lack of evaporation from
leaves, as none remain, and from the reduction in the absorptive capacity of
the ground. This causes droughts.
Climatic changes
Perhaps the most devastating effect of
deforestation, this has its effects all over the world. It is a major reason
for global warming Plants absorb Carbon Dioxide CO2 (a greenhouse gas) from the
atmosphere and uses it to produce food (carbohydrates, fats, and proteins that
make up trees). In return, it gives off Oxygen. Destroying the forests mean CO2
will remain in the atmosphere and in addition, destroyed vegetation will give
off more CO2 stored in them as they decompose. This will alter the climate of
that region. Cool climates may get a lot hotter and hot places may get a lot
cooler
Nature
Forests are home to many exotic species of plants
and animals. These species lose their habitat, and this is a great loss to the
ecology and the scientific community.
Loss of Species
Seventy per cent of the world’s plants and
animals live in forests and are losing their habitats to deforestation. Loss of
habitat can lead to species
extinction. This is not only a biodiversity
tragedy but also has negative consequences for medicinal research and local
populations who rely on the animals and plants in the forests for hunting and
medicine.
Carbon Emissions
Healthy
forests help absorb greenhouse gasses and carbon emissions that are caused by
human civilization and contribute to global climate change. Without trees, more
carbon and greenhouse gasses enter the atmosphere. To make matters worse, trees
actually become carbon sources when they are cut, burned, or otherwise removed.
“Tropical forests hold more than 210 gigatons of carbon, and deforestation
represents around 15 percent of greenhouse gas emissions,” according to the
WWF.
Soil Erosion
Without tree roots to anchor the soil and with
increased exposure to sun, the soil can dry out, leading to problems like
increased flooding and inability to farm. The states that scientists estimate
that a third of the world’s arable land has been lost to deforestation since
1960. Cash crops planted after clear cutting or burning — like soy, coffee, and
palm oil — can actually exacerbate soil erosion because their roots cannot hold
onto the soil the way trees’ can.
Life Quality
Soil erosion
can also lead to silt entering the lakes, streams, and other water sources.
This can decrease local water quality, contributing to poor health in the local
population.
Loss of Biodiversity
Many wonderful species of plants
and animals have been lost, and many others remain endangered. More than 80% of
the world's species remain in the Tropical Rainforest. It is estimated that
about 50 to 100 species of animals are being lost each day as a result of
destruction of their habitats, and that is a tragedy.
All of these
factors can have adverse effects on local economies. Increased flooding, lack
of quality water, and inability to produce their own food causes many locals
migrate to cities that lack infrastructure for them. Or, they work on
plantations, worsening the deforestation problem and at times being subjected
to inhumane working conditions.[12]
Greenhouse
Effect
The world is about to enter a period of rapid
warming. Should the greenhouse effect become a reality, the low lying coastal
areas will be affected by a rising sea level of even greater magnitude
(Milliman et al. 1989; Gable and Aubery, 1990). Bangladesh will be severely
impacted by such an increase in sea level (Broadus et al., 1986; Khalequzzaman,
1989; Ali and Huq, 1989; Brammer 1989; Hossain 1989). Besides many other
adverse environmental, economic, and climatic consequences (Huq and Ali, in
press), the base level of all rivers will change following any change in the
sea level. The effect on flooding of a higher base level resulting from a
rising sea level has already been discussed earlier in this section. The greenhouse
effect will also increase the amount of rainfall and storminess.[13]
Amount of Damage
There has
been an overall depletion in forest resources in all the major forests in the
last three decades. According to the Forestry Master Plan of 1993, 50% of the
country’s forests have been destroyed in the last 20 years.
In the 1980s, the rate of destruction of forests in
the country was 8,000 hectares per year. Now it has gone up to 37,700 hectares
per year. The annual deforestation rate is 3.3% and 50
to 100 species of animals are being lost each day as a result of destruction of
their habitats.
The rate of forest depletion has become a major
problem in Bangladesh with an estimated annual deforestation of 8000 acres. In
the Chittagong Hill Tracts 750,000 acres have been completely deforested in the
past several years, according to a Canadian consulting firm in the last 30
years 24,000 acres of forest in Dinajpur district have almost completely
disappeared.
Bangladesh has a total land surface of 12.31
million hectares, of which presently 7.85 million hectares are under
agriculture (BARC 2001). On average we are losing nearly 82,000 ha of land each
year. [14]
Importance
of Forests
@ Habitat
and Ecosystems
Forests serve as a home (habitat) to millions of animals. Think of the many
types of reptiles (snakes and lizards) wild animals, butterflies and insects,
birds and tree-top animals as well as all those that live in the forest streams
and rivers. Animals form part of the
food chain in the forests. All these different animals and plants are called biodiversity,
and the interaction with one another and with their physical environment is
what we call ecosystem.
@ Economic benefits
Forests are of immense economic importance to us. For example, plantation
forests provide humans with timber and wood, which is exported and used in all
parts of the world. They also provide tourism income to inhabitants (people
living in or close to forests) when people visit to see the best of nature.
@ Climate
Control
Climate control and atmosphere purification is key for human existence. Trees
and soils help regulate atmospheric temperatures through a process called
evapotranspiration. This helps to stabilize the climate. Additionally, they
enrich the atmosphere by absorbing bad gases (example CO2 and other greenhouse
gases) and producing oxygen. [15]
Who Destroy Forests?
Jum (slash-and-burn) cultivation, traditionally
practiced by the forest communities has been blamed to be a major cause of
massive deforestation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) as well as in the sal
forest areas. One best known and the biggest patch of sal forest is the
Madhupur Tract which is also the third largest forest of the country. An
international team of experts who conducted extensive soil survey in the
Chittagong Hill Tracts in the 1960s assessed that jum cultivation is extremely
harmful to the forest and soil condition. A correct interpretation
about/'ummmgbased on long-time research is hard to be found especially when the
rate of forest depletion has become a major problem in Bangladesh with an
estimated annual deforestation of 8000 acres. In the Chittagong Hill Tracts
750,000 acres have been completely deforested in the past several years,
according to a Canadian consulting fir. In the last 30 years 24,000 acres of
forest in Dinajpur district have almost completely disappearedThe Chakma Chief
Raja Devasish Roy makes his observation on this point.[16]
Actual Violator
Broker
Local
elites Class
Member
of political parties
Administration
and state
Forest
Department officials
Social
systems
police
department
Inappropriate government policies
Forest policy
Insufficient
Law
Illegal owner
Jum cultivator
Brickfields owner
Local Saw
mills owner[17]
Use What Purpose
Timber/
Teak wood
Art of
Local Timber Traders
Household
Consumption
Bamboo
Cane
Sun grass
Plants / Herbs
Local
Hotels
Restaurants
Tea Stalls
Planks
sold in Local Market[18]
Relevant Acts
Sylhet
Forest Transit Rules, 1951;
Dinajpur
and Rangpur Forest Transit Rules, 1954
Chittagong,
Cox's Bazar and Comilla Forest Transit Rules, 1959
Control
of Transit of timbers and other forest produce for transit in the
Sundarbans, 1959
Dacca
Forest Transit Rules, 1959
Mymensingh
Forest Transit Rules, 1959
East
Pakistan General Forest Transit Rules, 1960
Chittagong
Hill Tracts Forest Transit Rules, 1974
Bangladesh Wildlife (Preservation)
Act 1973, (Amendment) 1974 and 1998
The Bangladesh Private Forest Act (PFA), 1959
Brick Burning (Control) (Amendment) Act, 1992
Bangladesh
Environment Conservation Act 1995
Hill Cutting
Ordinance 1986
Cattle Trespass Act,
1871
Brick Burning Act
1989
Forest Policy of Bangladesh[19]
Specific Provision of Deforestation
Forest
Act of Bangladesh
During
the Mughal period (1203-1538), forests were leased out by the local kings.
Systematic
management of forests started in the 1860s after the establishment of a
Forest
Department in the Province of Bengal. To regulate activities within forests,
rules
and
regulations have been formulated, amended, modified and improved upon over the
years.
For assuming control of private forests and wastelands by the government in the
interest of conservation, the Bengal Private Forest Act, 1945 was passed; but
partition of India in 1947 intervened and the Act could not be put into effect.
Forest
Act (Amendment), 1989
The
Forest Act of 1927 as amended in 1989 has its roots in Indian Forest Act, 1878.
The
Forest
Act grants the government several basic powers, largely for conservation and protection
of government forests, and limited powers for private forests. Forest department is the main agency to
implement the provisions of the Forest Act. The Act, however, does not specify
any sort of institutional structure for the forest or other land holding
agencies. It also does not set out any specific policy direction for managing the
forests.
The
Bangladesh Private Forest Act (PFA), 1959
The
Private Forest Act of 1959 allows the Government to take over management of improperly
managed private forest lands, any private lands that can be afforested, and any
land lying fallow for more than three years. These government managed lands
under this act are called "vested forests". The Forest Department
manages approximately 8,500 hectares in the country as "vested
forests".
Brick
Burning (Control) (Amendment) Act, 1992
Brick
making is a major domestic industry in Bangladesh and it uses considerable amount
of fuel wood. The Brick Burning (Control) Act, 1989 as amended in 1992 outlaws the
use of wood fuels in brick making. It provides for fines, imprisonment, and
loss of license to make bricks for breaking its legal provisions. However, fuel
wood is being commonly used as fuel for brick making.
Agenda
21
Bangladesh
is also implementing “Agenda 21”, which is a non-binding international statement
of goals and principles. It desires countries to take up all activities that are
dear to Bangladesh like alleviation of poverty, improved land use, conservation
of biodiversity, public participation, empowerment of women, respect of
indigenous cultures, working with NGOs, and development of human resources etc.[20]
Relevant Provisions in the Constitution of
Bangladesh, 1972
Part
II of the Constitution lays down Fundamental Principles of State Policy and
some of the articles provided the guidance for forest resource management.
Article 13 of this part recognizes the validity of State, Cooperative and
Private ownership. Article 15 declares that the State has a responsibility to
promote economic growth and to assure provision of food, clothing, shelter,
work and recreation to citizens. Article 16 puts special emphasis on the
development of rural communities5. Article 31 of Part III of the Constitution Recognises
the right to life, and notes that this includes the right to a healthy and
stable environment. Furthermore, an amendment in 2011 led to the addition of
Article 18A, which states that, ‘the state shall endeavour to protect and
improve the environment and preserve and safeguard the natural resources,
biodiversity, wetlands, forest and wild life for the present and future
citizens.’[21]
Other
Relevant Laws
National Environment Policy (NEP) (1992): The National Environmental Policy was formulated with the intent
of enhancing protection and sustainable management of the environment. The
objectives of the Policy include maintaining the ecological balance while
simultaneously supporting national development and actively engaging in
international environmental initiatives.
National Environment Management Action Plan (1992): The Action Plan aims to promote better management of scarce resources
and reverse trends of environmental degradation by building upon the general
principles stated in the 1992 National Environment Policy and proposing
concrete actions and interventions in a number of priority areas.
The Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act (1995): Legislates the conservation of environmental systems, improvement
of environmental standards and control and mitigation and provides a framework
for its implementation. It also calls for the protection of ‘Ecologically
Critical Areas.
The Environment Conservation Rules (1997): The Environment Conservation Rules provide guidelines on declaring
an area as ecologically critical, on vehicles emitting smoke injurious to
health and otherwise harmful pollution or degradation of the environment.
The Bangladesh Water and Power Development Boards Order, (1972): empowers the Water Board to frame scheme for watershed management.
It can direct the owner of any private land to undertake ant erosion operations
including conservation of forests and re-afforestation. [22]
SOME PROJECT OF THE FOREST DEPARTMEN
Community
Forestry Project--1981-1988
Upazila
Afforestation and Nursery Development Project: 1989-1996
Coastal Greenbelt Project: 1995-2002
The Forestry Sector Project: 1998-2004
Sundarban Biodiversity Conservation Project:
1999-2006[23]
Example of punishment
From the above
discussion it becomes apparent that there had been defined policies for
forestry practice in Bangladesh since 1865. But only few of these are
satisfactory to the needs of time and the legislation enacted for pursuing the
policies are rather punitive in nature than encouraging to private sector
involvement in forestry activities. Moreover, the prevailing law and order in
Bangladesh makes FD unable to implement the existing legislation and in
providing protection the national forests. For example, as per several of FD
field staff and timber merchants of Cox’s Bazar, Rangamati and Khagrachari who
preferred to remain anonymous reported that it costs nearly Tk. 70,000 in the form
of extortion for moving a seven tonne truck from these stations to Dhaka. The
parties involved in extorting the money are 27 where FD’s share is less than 20
per cent. It, therefore, becomes clear that none of the single agencies
including FD can totally stop pilferage of forest resources in
Bangladesh. [24]
Recommendation
Reforestation &afforestation
programmes (planting trees on areas formerly used for other purposes) have
taken place throughout the country to maintain an ecological balance – for
example, strip plantations alongside railways, roads and embankments and
coastal afforestation programmes.
Biodiversity conservation
In the Sundarbans reserved forests is the biggest on-going
project, its objective being to promote and implement biodiversity conservation
and sustainable forest management. This can only happen through massive
afforestation of all available land along roads, railways, canal banks and in
the depleted Sal forests. The Department of Forest alone cannot achieve these
goals, but it needs the active support of the local people and the private
sector, who have vested interests in the forests. People should be taught how
they can live in harmony with the forest without destroying it.
Management of Mangrove Forests
The
Sundarban forests were declared as a Reserved Forest in 1879, and are managed under
a selection system. Early management consisted of a selection system with fixed
Exploitable girth limit for the main species and a felling cycle of 40 years.
Subsequent Working plans reduced the felling cycle to 20 years. The forest
management intensity was increased after construction Khulna Newsprint Mills
Ltd (KNM) in 1959, and other Khulna-based forest industries. Ecological changes taking place in the
Sundarbans are evident, apparently from extensive changes in river flow and
increased salt content. Besides Golpatta palm leaves exploitation takes place
on the basis of collection permits. Scarcity of information and inability to
enforce regulations are the two main problems in sustainable management of Sunderbans.
Management of Private or Village Forest
There
is no forest management planning for the village forest, which are mostly Home stead
forests and extend over 270,000 ha in about 10 million households covering Over
85,650 villages. The private forests annually supply about 5 million M3 of wood
(about one million m3 of logs and about four million m3 of fuel wood) and 0.53
million Air Dry MT of bamboo. The homestead forests are the most important
source of wood, bamboo and other non-wood forest products in the villages.
People's Participationin
Forest Management
Branding the forest people
[especially by the Forest Department which has been executing the on-going
forestry project] as illegal occupants of forest lands complicates the process
of people's participation in the forest management and forestry activities.
Bangladesh forest laws provide that those who have lived on forest land for
over 60 years have acquired rights over the forest lands they have lived on.
Besides, denial of the traditional rights cannot be justified. The authorities
[multilateral development banks or agencies who provide funds and the
government which sponsors and implements the forestry projects] require to pay
great attention to the necessity of preserving the forest communities and
involving them in forest management.
Caution in Commercial
Plantation
The
problems and complexities created through commercial plantation [of
monoculture] are agonizing, particularly for the forest people who depend on forest
resources. Forest communities in the sal
forest areas have hardly been consulted while planting exotic species such as
Eucalyptus took place to create fuel wood reserves. The consequences of
commercial monoculture has previously been discussed. The authorities need to
be more cautious about afforesting the degraded and denuded forest land with
exotic species.
Protecting Remains of
Natural Forest and Bio-diversity
Massive destruction of biological diversity has
taken place in many places, especially in the sal forests, because of severe
deforestation. Social or participatory forestry in West Bengal is cited to be
very successful. The West Bengal state government has been successful in
introducing participatory forest management system in 37% of government forest
land as of 1989. Under this management system the concerned government
authorities and the local people commit to jointly creating forest reserves. In
1992 Rio Earth Summit the Bangladesh government, by signing the Convention on
Biological Diversity, made a commitment to protect the local forest and
wildlife species and not to undertake plantation activities with exotic varieties
harmful to the natural forests.
Training
The field level staffs of the forest department who
are implementing the TANDP project were found not informed of the details of
the project which is imperative for cultivating good relationship with the
local people. The local forest communities are also ignorant about the details
of the project. Both parties should be drawn closer through training and
information dissemination.
Socio-economic Survey
A socio-economic survey should be conducted before
each forestry project goes into operational phase and the findings should reach
among others the local people who are to be impacted by the project. This may
reduce misunderstanding among the local people and the lower level staff of the
executing agency. [25]
Reference
1. Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO, 1999)
2. International Forest Article & BD, 2002
3. Bangladesh Forest Development Corporations
4. Article By (Chowdhury, 2006),BD
5. (Siddiqi, 2001).
6. Dr. M. Al-Amin, Professor and
Director, Institute of Forestry and Environmental Science, University of
Chittagong,
7. Ibid
8. Ibid
9. (Farooque, 1997), Underlying
Causes of Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Bangladesh
10. Underlying Causes of Deforestation and Forest
Degradation in Bangladesh , World Rainforest Movement,
11. Dr. M. Al-Amin,
Professor and Director, Institute of Forestry and Environmental Science,
University of Chittagong, 1986
12WWF,The Current Stateof Biodiversity
13. World
Wide Fund For Nature (WWF), Correspondent, Today's Magazine NC, USA
14 FAO, World Rainforest
Movement, Penang.
15. Wilson,
E.O., in Biodiversity, 1988, National Academy Press
16. (Colombo G. The Secret War in
Bangladesh - in the Adivasis of Bangladesh by Father Ro. 17 .Forest and Forest People of Bangladesh by Philip Gain From "Bangladesh - Land Forest and Forest People" - SEHD
18. Prepared by: Dr.
Khawja Shamsul Hudi
19. Bangladesh code,
Banglapedia
20. (Banglapedia,
2008)
21. Ibid
22. The National Steering
Committee for Climate Change (NSCCC)
Bangladesh
REDD+Readiness Roadmap
UN-REDD PROGRAMME
23. Prepared by: Dr.
Khawja Shamsul Huda, International Resources Group
24. Bangladesh Forest Department,
2010
25.
FAO & Forest and Forest People
of Bangladesh by Philip Gain From Bangladesh - Land Forest and Forest People
Prepared and posted by: Mohammad Riaj Uddin
Curriculum
vitae of 