CONSERVATION OF FORESTS

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CONSERVATION OF FORESTS
Dr Mahfuzul Haque
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Issues for discussion

• Types of Forests
• Forestry Plans and Policies
• National Forestry Policy 1994
• Protected Areas
• Ecologically Critical Areas
• Nishorgo Project
• How to better manage the forests?

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Types of Forests

• State Forest Land (2.2 million hectares)
• Reserved Forests Under the Forest Act 1927
  managed by the Forest Department (1.3 million
  hectares)
• Unclassified State Forests (USF) Administered by
  the Ministry of Land through local administration
  and not under the Forest Act 1927 (0.9 million
  hectares)
• Private Forest land (0.4 million hectares)
  village forests tea estates rubber plantation

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Reserved Forests

• Reserve forests managed by the Forest Department
  are of following 3 types
• Tropical evergreen or semi-evergreen rain
  forests eastern districts of Chittagong Coxs
  bazar Sylhet and CHT
• Moist or dry deciduous forests (Sal ban in
  Madhupur
• Tidal mangrove forests the Sundarbans
  chittagong and Noakhali coastal belt

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Types of Reserved Forests
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CHT Forests

• CHT Forests are tropical evergreen or
  semi-evergreen rain forests. They are of 3 types
• Reserved Forests (24)
• Protected Forests (1)
• Unclassified State Forests (75)
• Deforestation, rubber and tobacco plantation and
  jhuming are the issues of concern of the area

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Mangrove Forests

• Categorized as the Reserved Forests, the
  Sundarbans encompass an area of 6,017 sq kms and
  two-thirds of the Sundarbans forests are in
  Bangladesh
• There are also some patches in the coastal areas
  of Chittagong and Noakhali
• Top-dyeing, natural disaster, illegal felling of
  trees, poaching and loss of biodiversity are the
  issues of concern

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Madhupur Forests

• Moist or dry deciduous forest known as Sal
  forests in Madhupur and north-eastern region of
  Dinajpur
• Issues of concern are encroachment illegal
  felling of trees land use change banana
  pineapple and papaya plantation in the forest
  land loss of biodiversity and wildlife etc.
• Sal forests are gradually shrinking

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Plans and Policies

• National Forestry Policy 1994
• Forestry Master Plan (1995-2015) the 20-year
  plan forges a long-term strategy to guide
  forest-based development in the country
  systematically
• Forest Department is mandated to implement the
  policy and the Master Plan

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Forestry Policy 1994Pre-conditions

• Basic human needs to be fulfilled through timber,
  firewood, fodder and medicinal herbs
• Equitably sharing of benefits of forest products
  among people, whose livelihood is dependent on
  the forests
• Continued socio-economic growth to be ensured
  through peoples participation in the
  afforestation program
• Continued long term political commitment is
  necessary for a sustainable forest management

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Forestry Policy 1994 Objectives

• to meet basic needs of the present and the future
  generations
• to bring 20 of the area of the country under
  forest cover
• to create employment opportunities in the
  forestry sector for poverty alleviation
• to conserve biodiversity in the depleted forest
  areas
• to fulfill all international commitments related
  to forests conservation

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Forestry Policy 1994 Objectives

• to stop forests encroachment, illegal tree
  felling and hunting with the help of local
  community
• to ensure participatory management of forests
  involving the local community
• to promote social forestry and to share the
  revenue with the local community
• to maintain an ecological balance

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Forestry Policy 1994 Emphasis

• Bring 20 forest cover by 2015
• Afforestation of newly accreted charlands
  denuded Unclassified State Forests (USF)
• Tree plantation in fallow and hinterland
  involving local UP and the local government
• Priority protection of national parks wildlife
  sanctuaries and the game reserves
• Afforestation of the USF in the Chittagong Hill
  Tracts (CHT)

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Forest legislation

• The Forest Act, 1927 (amended in 1990, 2000)
• Bangladesh Wildlife (Preservation) Order, 1973
  puts a ban on hunting, killing or capturing of
  game animal damage or destroy any vegetation
  in a wildlife sanctuary, cause any fire or
  pollute the rivers and canals passing through the
  sanctuary etc.
• Rules to Regulate Hunting, Shooting and Fishing
  within the Controlled and Vested Forests, 1959
• Brick Burning (Control) Act, 1989

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Wildlife Preservation

• Bangladesh Wildlife Preservation (Amendment) Act,
  1973 recognized 18 Protected Areas (PAs) for in
  situ conservation under the following three
  categories
• Wildlife Sanctuary
• National Park
• Game Reserve

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Legal provisions

• In a Wildlife Sanctuary, no person can enter or
  reside without permission. Cannot cultivate,
  damage or destroy, hunt, kill or capture,
  introduce exotic species or domestic animal,
  cause fire or pollute the water
• In a National Park, no person can hunt, kill,
  capture wild life, cause fire or pollute the
  waters. People may access for recreation,
  education and research purposes
• Game Reserve is for protection of wildlife where
  capturing of wild animals is illegal

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Wildlife Sanctuary

1. Sundarbans East Wildlife Sanctuary
2. Sundarbans South Wildlife Sanctuary
3. Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary
4. Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary

1. Char Kukri-Mukri Wildlife Sanctuary
2. Pablakhali Wildlife Sanctuary
3. Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary
4. Hazarikhil Wildlife Sanctuary

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National Park

1. Modhupur National Park
2. Bhawal National Park
3. Himchhari National Park
4. Lawachhara National Park

1. Ramsagar National Park
2. Kaptai National Park
3. Nijhoom Dwip National Park
4. Medha Kachopia National Park
5. Satchhari national park

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Game Reserves

1. Teknaf Game Reserve

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Ecologically Critical Areas(under Environment
Conservation Act 1995)

1. Strip of 10 km outside the Sundarbans Reserved
   Forests
2. Sea front of Coxs bazar and Teknaf
3. St Martins Island
4. Sonadia Island (Coxs bazar)

1. Tangua Haor (Sunamganj)
2. Hakaluki Haor (Moulavi bazar)
3. Marjat Baor (Jhenaidaha)
4. Gulshan Lake (Dhaka)

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Nishorgo Project

• Five pilot projects of Nishorgo under US
  assistance
• Remakalenga Wildlife Sanctuary, Habiganj
• Satchhari National Park, Habiganj
• Lawachhara National Park, Moulavi bazar
• Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary, Chittagong
• Teknaf Game Reserve, Coxs Bazar

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How to conserve the forests?

• The Forest Act, 1927 (amended in 1990, 2000)
  empowers the government to declare any area as
  Reserved Forest for in situ conservation. This
  Act and Bangladesh Wildlife (Preservation) Order,
  1973 treat everybody entering the forests as
  encroachers. Can forests be protected from the
  encroachers?

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How to conserve the forests?

• Merely, declaration of depleted areas as
  Protected Area (PA) is not enough. We are to
  have a management plan and enforcement mechanism
• Nishorgo Program for PA Management treated the
  forest dwellers as stakeholders and
  co-managers and not encroachers

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Debate Continues

• Traditional Management
• Protection of the forest and its resources by the
  FD
• After felling, revenues go to the government
• Illegal felling of trees and poaching of wildlife
  continues
• Cases are filed by FD against tree felling by the
  local community

• Participatory Management
• Manages the forests in a participatory way
  through consultation
• After felling of trees, the stakeholders get due
  share of the sale proceeds
• Protection is ensured till forests harvest

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Probable Questions

• Discuss types of forests in Bangladesh. What are
  their issues of concerns?
• What are the main objectives of the National
  Forestry Policy 1994? Discuss
• For conservation of the forests and wildlife, the
  Government of Bangladesh has declared some areas
  as Protected Areas. What are they?
• What are the challenges of conservation of
  forests? Discuss

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Reference Materials

• National Forestry Policy 1994
• Forestry Master Plan (1995-2015)

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• THANK YOU