FORESTRY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF BANGLADESH

FORESTRY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF BANGLADESH

Contents

§Introduction

§Forestry in Bangladesh

§Types of forestry

ØTropical Evergreen forest in Bangladesh

ØDecidous forest in Bangladesh

ØTidal mangrove forest in Bangladesh

§Percentage of protected forest in Bangladesh

§Forest resource and economic development of Bangladesh.

§Policy, governance and Institutional framework of forestry of Bangladesh

§Probable influence and implication of forest in Bangladesh.

§Higher study on forestry

§Conclusion

Forestry

Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, using, conserving, and repairing forests  and associated resources to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human and environmentbenefits.Forestry is utilized in  plantations and natural  standards . The science of forestry has elements that belong to the biological, physical, social, political and managerial sciences.

Modern forestry generally embraces a broad range of concerns, in what is known as multiple-use management, including the provision of timber, fuel wood, wildlife habitat, natural management, recreation, landscape and community protection, employment, aesthetically appealing landscapes, biodiversity management, watershed management, erosion control, and preserving forests as 'sinks' for atmospheric carbon dioxide. A practitioner of forestry is known as a forester. Other terms are used a verderer and a silviculturalist being common ones. Silviculture is narrower than forestry, being concerned only with forest plants, but is often used synonymously with forestry.

Forest ecosystems have come to be seen as the most important component of the biosphere and forestry has emerged as a vital applied science, craft, and technology.

Forestry is an important economic segment in various  developing countries,like us. wood is the most important renewable resource, and forestry supports more than a million jobs and about billion in yearly turnover.

Forestry in Bangladesh

In our country most of forests are coverd by wood and wood is considered the main fuel for cooking and other domestic requirements. It is not surprising that population pressure has had an adverse effect on the indigenous forests. By 1980 only about 16 percent of the land was forested, and forests had all but disappeared from the densely populated and intensively cultivated deltaic plain. Aid organizations in the mid-1980s began looking into the possibility of stimulating small-scale forestry to restore a resource for which there was no affordable substitute.

The largest areas of forest are in the Chittagong Hills(including Rangamati,Bandarban and khagrachori) and the Sundarbans. The evergreen and deciduous forests of the Chittagong Hills cover more than 4,600 square kilometres (1,800 sq mi) and are the source of teak for heavy construction and boat building, as well as other forest products. Domesticated elephants are still used to haul logs. The Sundarbans, a tidal mangrove forest covering nearly 6,000 square kilometres (2,300 sq mi) along the Bay of Bengal, is the source of timber used for a variety of purposes, including pulp for the domestic paper industry, poles for electric power distribution, and leaves for thatching for dwellings.the totalpercantage of forests are  14.38%

Types of forest

1. Tropical Evergreen forest in Bangladesh

Tropical wet evergreen forests
These forests usually occur in hills and moist shady areas in Rangamati, Bandarban,Khagrachari, Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar and Sylhet. They are rich in floristic composition. A few semi-evergreens of deciduous species may occur, but they do not essentially change the evergreen characters of the forest. The forest is rich in epiphytes, orchids, and woody climbers, particularly in shady moist places.

· Tropical semi-evergreen forests
These forests occur in Cox’s Bazar, Chittagong, Rangamati, Khagrachari, Bandarban, and Sylhet in less dry and hotter localities.
· Tropical moist deciduous forests
These forest occur in Dhaka, Mymensingh, Tangail, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Naogaon and Comilla. The principal species is Sal (Shorea robusta)

Depending on topography, soil and climate these area are categorized as

i)Tropical wet evergreen forests and

ii)    Tropical semi-evergreen forests.
The hill forests are abundant with numerous plant as well as animal species. Some important flora are Garjan (Dipterocarpus spp.), Chapalish (Artocarpus chaplasha), Telsur(Hopea odorata), Tali (Palaquium polyanthum), Kamdev (Calophyllum polyanthum), Uriam(Mangifera sylvatica), Jarul (Legarstromia speciosa), Civit (Swintonia floribunda), Toon (Cedrela toona), Bandorhola (Duabanga grandiflora) etc. Moreover there are bamboo, cane, climbers and fern etc. in these forests.
These forests are brought under plantation programme since 1871. At present, plantation activities are being conducted under development projects. Some valuable plantation species are Teak (Tectona grandis), Gamar (Gmelina arborea), Mehogani (Swietenia spp),Chapalish (Artocarpus chaplasha), Jarul (Legarstromia speciosa), Koroi (Albizzia spp),Chikrassi (Chikrassia tabularis), Pynkado (Xylia dolabriformis), Kadam (Anthocephaluscadamba), Telsur (Hopea odorata) etc.

 Among the mammals Elephant (Elephas maximus), monkey (Macaca mulatta), Wild Boar (Sus scrofa), Barking Deer
(Muntiacus muntjak), Samvar (Cervus unicolor), and Indian Leopard (Panthera pardus). Among the reptiles King cobra (Ophiophagus hanna) Monitor Lizard (Varanus salvator) and Bengal Monitor Lizard (Varanus bengalensis) are remarkable.

2. Deciduous Forest in Bangladesh

Deciduous Forest a forest where the major constituent trees shed their leaves during winter or dry season to reduce the loss of water through transpiration. In this type of forest the sal tree, Shorea robusta is the dominant species and comprise about 90 percent of the major floral composition. The tree attains a height of 10-25 m and most leaves drop off during winter. Generally the annual rainfall to these forest areas is about 2000 mm.

Because of the predominance of sal trees, the tropical moist deciduous forest of Bangladesh are commonly known as 'Sal Forests'. These forests are now distributed in Dhaka, Mymensingh, Nawabganj, Rangpur, Dinajpur and Comilla regions.

They constitute two distinct belts (covering about 107,000 ha of land); the larger one falls between theBhramaputra and the Jamuna rivers with a length of about 80 km and a width of 7-20 km. This part is known as Madhupur Garh. The other smaller belt is situated at Sherpur district and lies along the foothills of the Garo hills of India, having a length of about 60 km and width of 1.5-10 km.

There are some smaller remnant patches of forest areas in Rangpur, Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, and Naogaondistricts (covering about 14,000 ha) with some remainings in Shalvan Vihara, Mainamati and Rajeshpur in Comilla (about 200 ha).

Until late 19th century, these forests existed as a continuous belt from Comilla to Darjeeling of India. At present, most of the forest areas are under occupation and the present remaining stands of sal are of poor stocking and quality, consisting of degraded coppice and plantations. The present notified area of this forest is largely honeycombed with rice fields and other cultivated land. The forest forms more or less a uniform canopy of 10-20 m, mostly with deciduous plants. Besides sal (about 90%), the other common trees are palash (Butea monosperma), haldu (Adina cordfolia), jarul or shidah (Lagerstroemia parviflora),bazna, hargoja or ajuli (Dillenia pentagyna), bhela, koroi, menda (Litsea monopetala), kushum, udhal,dephajam, bahera, kurchi, haritaki, pitraj, sheora, sonalu, assar, amlaki and adagash (Crotonoblongifolius). Climbers (mostly woody) like kanchan lata, anigota, kumari lata, gajpipal, pani lata,Dioscorea species, satamuli, and gila occur in these forests. A good number of undergrowth is also recorded (about 250 species under 50 genera). The common ones are assam lata, bhat, boichi, moina kantaand ashal. The significant grass is sungrass. Few epiphytes are also recorded. Legumes, euphrobias andconvolvulous plants also occur. The deciduous forests of Bangladesh show clear signs of degradation due to human interference and illegal cuttings of the forest trees.

3. Tidal mangrove forest in Bangladesh

Environmental impact of development in the Sundarbans, is the study of environmental impact on Sundarban , the largest single tract

mangrove forest .  It consist of a geographical area of 9629 sq. km, including 4185 sq. km of reserve forest land, and is a natural region located partly in southern Bangladesh and partly in the Indian state of West Bengal . It is ecologically a southern part of the Gangetic delta between the Hooghly river in India on the west and the Meghna river in Bangladesh on the east and is bounded by the Ganga-Padma, the Padma-Meghna on the north and by the Bay of Bengal on the south. The area that is not reserve forest land is inhabited by human settlements with a total population around 4 million (2003).

Background

The Sundarbans is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.The area covered by mangroves has fallen over the years due to anthropocentric development but is now protected by various legal mandates. The forest is renowned for its wide variety of wildlife, especially the critically threatened Royal Bengal Tiger . Besides providing a number of ecosystem services, the Sundarbans also contributes to the socio-economic development of the neighboring communities and the country.  However, recent developments in the area has been found detrimental to its ecological balance by some parties.

Ecological value of the Sundarbans

The Sundarbans is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world.  It is intersected by a complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats, and small islands of salt-tolerant mangrove forests. A variety of habitats have developed to accommodate the wildlife, including beaches, estuaries, permanent and semi-permanent swamps, tidal flats, tidal creeks, coastal dunes, back dunes and levees. Besides a high number of mangrove tree species, 200 additional plant species, more than 400 species of fish, over 300 species of birds, 35 species of reptiles, 42 species of mammals and countless benthic invertebrates, bacteria, fungi, etc., can be found there. Some of the notable wildlife species residing in the forest include water fowl, heron, pelican, spotted deer, rhesus macaques, wild boar, tigers, water monitor lizards, fishing cats, otters, olive ridley turtles, crocodiles, batagur terrapins, and migratory birds.

The Sundarbans also provide a vital buffer against cyclones that are common in that part of the world and has been called "a natural safeguard...for nearly 40 million people".

Historical overview of Sundarban's development

The Sundarbans were very sparsely populated until the 19th century. There is evidence of only scattered human settlements dating back to the 8th century. The 19th century saw the start of permanent human habitation being established in the area, through the clearing of the forest in low-lying tracts and the construction of circuit embankments. This is likely to have been instigated in 1771 by the plan of a British collector general to divide the Sundarbans into plots and to lease them out to prospective landlords for timber extraction and the collection of revenues. The landlords brought in poor farming communities from parts of Bengal as well as neighboring states to clear the forest and start developing the land. In the timespan of a hundred years after the plan was initiated, the northern border of the mangrove forest shifted by about 10–20 km to the southeast. By 1876, the British government declared all mangrove areas that had not yet been leased, as under protection and conservation. However, more so than regulations, it is suspected that economic reasons such as the high cost of land conversion due to the tidal and saline environment as well as the presence of the Royal Bengal Tiger, are the main reasons for preventing the destruction of the mangroves. The clear demarcation of forest boundaries along rivers and the Bay of Bengal is also credited for the protection of the forest.

Despite the regulations, between 1873 and 1968, the mangrove-covered area of the forest decreased by about half because of conversion of forest to agricultural land and settlements. This can be attributed to mass migration to the Sundarbans after the end of colonial rule and the creation of India and Pakistan as two separate states. It resulted in the mangrove forest boundary shifting further to the south and area between the Hooghly River and the Matla River being cleared. However, after Bangladesh was formed in 1971, and various wildlife and forest protection legislations were established by the country in 1972, theSundarban mangroves have been protected by legal measures primarily established to protect and help increase the threatened tiger population. As a result, despite the growing population density in the years since then, the total area covered by mangroves has remained fairly stable since the 1960s.

Entire communities in the Sundarbans depend directly on the forest and its waterways for their livelihood, from fisheries to honey production.  Almost 85 percent of the people living in Sundarban are dependent on agriculture.  Socioeconomic status is heavily determined by possession of land. There is also a socio-economic divide in the fisherman community, due to only some of the fishermen owning boats and being able to obtain official fishing licenses.

The lives of Sundarban residents are frequently affected by human-animal conflicts; a few tiger and crocodile attacks every year are common. In 2008, six people are known to have been killed by tigers inside the Sundarban Tiger Reserve. Because of issues such as deaths and injuries due to human-animal conflict, over-fishing, and deforestation, the state imposed several restrictions on livelihood strategies. The state forest department have tried to reduce the local people's dependency on the forest for their livelihood by taking on infrastructure development projects such as building roads and jetties, excavating irrigation channels and ponds, providing solar lamps and establishing a few medical facilities.  Studies have shown that majority of population understand and support the conservation of mangroves and it ecosystems. However, perceived socio-demographic factors such as severe poverty, lack of political commitment, and absence of community level institutions are often barriers to the successful implementation of conservation policies.

In terms of transport and communications, Sundarban is still a recognized backwards area. Current number and quality of infrastructure facilities like agro-service centres, fishing harbors, boat building facilities, ice plants or cold storages, are inadequate to meet the requirements of developmental activities.

Recent threats to the environment

The Sundarbans is very vulnerable to a variety of anthropogenic activity, including intensive boating and fishing, dredging, tourism and port activities, operation of mechanized boats, excavation of sand from the riverbed, and the establishment of coal power plants. There are a number of endangered species in the Sundarbans, including two river dolphins and an endemic bird, the masked finfoot, which are even more at risk because of these environmental threats. . The current threats to the ecosystem could also affect the dwindling number of Royal Bengal Tigers in Bangladesh's side of the forest.

Tourism

Litter on the Jamtola Tourist Trail in Sundarban National Park

The tourism industry has become very successful in the Sundarbans, with annual visitation increasing from around 50,000 in 2002 to around 117,000 in 2010. One of the main attractions for tourists is the Royal Bengal Tiger, which is widely used in advertising. Although the growing tourism business benefits the local economy, it has proven detrimental to the natural environment of the Sundarbans due to habitat destruction for hotel construction, pollution by garbage disposal, poor sanitation, and noise caused by mechanized boats. Uncontrolled tourism is likely to lead to more boardwalk construction and erosion of peat banks, which will result in changes in substrate structure, seedling distribution, faunal diversity, and species composition.

Safer alternatives

In order to reduce the harmful effects the current tourism industry has on the environment, eco-tourism is being encouraged in the Sundarbans. One of the benefits of eco-tourism is that is a pro-poor industry, i.e. the poor is one of its targeted beneficiaries. Due to Sundarban's residents' high dependency on the forest, an effective conservation strategy needs to provide the residents with income generation opportunities linked to forest protection. Eco-tourism is seen as both environmentally sustainable and economy boosting.

Power plants

One of the main threats to the Sundarbans currently are the two coal-fired power plants, proposed to be built within a few miles of the forest. One is a 630-megawatt plant called the Orion power plant, planned by the Orion Group . The Orion power plant proposal is preceded by the proposed Rampal power plant, a 1,320 megawatt project. The Rampalpower plant is the product of a joint-venture called the Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Co. Ltd, a partnership between India's state-owned National Thermal Power Corp. and the Bangladesh Power Development Board.  It will be Bangladesh's largest power plant and is expected to be built on over 1834 acres of land, 14 km from the Sundarbans.

The Rampal power plant is the most concerning and has received a lot of media attention. There is fear of the power plants altering the critical water balance in the Sundarbanregion, polluting the surrounding water and air, and increasing the risk of oil and coal spills. The Rampal project is in violation of the environmental impact assessment guidelines for coal-based thermal power plants. One of the 50 preconditions set by the Department of Energy of Bangladesh for such projects is that they must be outside a 25 km radius from the borders of an ecologically sensitive area, and this project clearly violates the condition.  An UNESCO fact finding mission report concluded that the power station posed "a serious threat to the site".

Arguments made by government

The Bangladesh government has so far denied any potential detrimental effects on the Sundarbans due to the power plants. Ujjwal Bhattacharya, managing director of the Bangladesh-India Power Company, is quoted as saying "This project will usher in economic prosperity in the Rampal area ... which will reduce dependency of the local population on the Sundarbans. This will rather help the government ... to save the Sundarbans."  The Bangladesh Prime Minister's energy advisor said that the controversy over the power plant and its impact on the Sundarbans was "not based on facts". The government also asserted that they will be importing high quality coal, building a 275 metre high chimney and employing state of the art technology among other steps to minimize impact on the Sundarbans. The Prime Minister's principal secretary has compared the Rampal power plant to the

Barapukuria power station , saying that the Rampal plant will be using much more modern and environmentally friendly technology, even though the inferior Barapukuria power plant is not affecting the environment despite being located in a crowdedarea.

Percentage of protected forest in Bangladesh

The total area of forest land is 2.53 million hectares representing about 17.5% of the country's area. Bangladesh Forest Department manages 1.53 million hectares of forest land. Following is a description of the forest area of Bangladesh and forest and managed by the Forest Department.

For conserving bio-diversity and natural environment of all forest types and bioecological zones 16 protected areas have been established so far according to the provision of Bangladesh Wildlife preservation order, 1973 covering an area of 2,41,675 hectares.

Forest resource and economic development of Bangladesh.

There is a remarkable variety of forest types in Bangladesh. The total forestland of Bangladesh includes classified and unclassified state lands, homestead forests and tea and rubber gardens. Of the 2.53 million ha of forest land (17.49%), the Forest Department manages 1.53 million hectares (10.54%): hill forests 0.67 million hectares (4.65%), plain land Sal forests 0.12 million hectares (0.83%), natural mangrove forests 0.60 million hectares (0.97%), and mangrove plantations 0.12 million hectares (0.83%).The remaining 0.73 million ha (5.07%) of land designated as Unclassed State Forest (USF) are under the control of Deputy Commissioners. Village forests (homesteads) form the most productive tree and bamboo resources in the country and account for 0.27 million ha (1.88%). The hill forests chiefly protect soil and water against erosion and which is protected for the conservation of biodiversity and that aim to maximize wood production. Natural mangroves as well as mangrove plantations protect coastal areas from erosion and storm surges. The mangroves’ massive root systems are efficient at dissipating wave energy. Likewise, they slow down tidal water enough so its sediment is deposited as the tide comes in, leaving all except fine particles when the tide ebbs. In this way, mangroves build their own environments. Because of the uniqueness of mangrove ecosystems and the protection against erosion they provide, they are often the object of conservation programmes including national biodiversity action plans. The importance of Sal forests lies in the fact that these are the only natural forest resources of the central and northern parts of Bangladesh where the vast majority of the population dwells. Although meager, only one-tenth of the national forest area, village forest areas supply 70% of sawlogs, 90% of fuelwood and 90% of bamboo consumption of the country.

In addition, there are urban forests and forests in the marginal land under various social forestry programmes throughout the country. Trees in urban areas provide many benefits and values to society, including recreation, improved air, water quality and aesthetic benefits. Forest plantations in the marginal land maximize the land use and simultaneously provide livelihoods for local community, help eradicate widespread poverty and ameliorate environment. Agriculture is the major economic activity in Bangladesh, making up 37.6% of 1990/91 GDP (constant prices) of which forestry contributed 2.5%.  This article is a snapshot of the direct and indirect influence of forest-based activities that leads economic development.

Forests create wealth and income

Earlier the policy emphasized revenue earning from the forest sector. Clear felling followed by artificial regeneration became a general practice for the country at that time. The recognition of forests as a limited resource that needs to be managed for future sustainability and environmental equilibrium lead to the eventual imposition of a government moratorium on all logging in natural forests in 1989. However,only mature plantation raised under social forestry projects are felled and sale proceeds are divided among the parties under agreement. During 1999-2000 to 2012-2013 about 23,253 hectares block plantation and 10,729 kilometers strip plantation have been felled where government received BDT 1.90 billion and 1,05,920 participants received BDT 2.08 billion. Forest Department earns about BDT 757.5 million annually as forest revenue. Estimates of earning by private plantation owners throughout the country may exceed this figure.

Most of the forest product based industries in Bangladesh used to be owned by the Government through corporations such as Bangladesh Forest Industries Development Corporation (BFIDC) and Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC). Local private entrepreneurs are emerging to establish new industries in pulp and paper, composite wood, etc. mostly based on recycling of the paper and small wood from rural homesteads. Sawmills are the primary wood consumers. Though furniture making has the highest number of establishments; there are more than 10,000 sawmill operating in the country. The number of major wood based industries recorded for 1995-96 was 1,642. In general major categories of forest product based industries in Bangladesh are: sawmills, manufacture of wood products including furniture, production of hardboards, particleboards, chipboards, etc., manufacture of pulp, paper, newsprint and paper products; match factories; manufacturing of packaging paper: production of various products as handicrafts from wood, bamboo, cane, patipata, etc. in small cottage industries.

Furniture industries traditionally developed in Bangladesh during the 1990’s have transited from cottage based industry to mechanized mass production oriented industries. The main varieties of products are engineered or composite wood, rattan and bamboo. The export of furniture products from Bangladesh started from 1995. It is estimated that by 2015 Bangladesh has export potential of crafts furniture accessories worth of USD 10 million along with furniture worth USD 40 million. The Government has declared the furniture industry as a ‘Thrust Sector’. The sector’s contribution to GDP is 0.29% on an average.  In both local and international market, the growth of Bangladesh furniture market is evident. While the industry is growing at a rate of 9.55%, the demand for furniture is increasing by 20%. Local production for furniture of USD 958 million along with USD 16.84 million imports. Bangladesh earned USD 19.26 million from exports of wooden furniture in fiscal year 2009-2010. Local manufacturers export to the US, Canada, Australia, UK, Middle East, Gulf countries, and other Asian countries, like India, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Bangladesh has some 871 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles according to figures from the World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Of these 1.1% is endemic, denoting species which is only found in Bangladesh and nowhere else in the world. Bangladesh is home to at least 5000 species of vascular plants. There are 17 wildlife sanctuaries and another 17 national parks developed and managed by the Forest Department.

Apart from these there are good few numbers of eco-parks, botanical gardens developed and managed by Forest Department. The protected area covers nearly 10.72% of total forest area and about 2% of total area of Bangladesh. All these contribute to national economic activity. But monetary value for all these has not been determined.

Nature-based tourism provides revenues and employment in many countries. Tourism in Bangladesh is a developing foreign currency earner. The country was listed by Lonely Planet in 2011 as the “best value destination”. Apart from, historical archaeological sites and monuments, resorts, beaches, picnic spots, Bangladesh’s major tourist attraction is its lush natural beauty including the mangroves, a unique wilderness of the world, forest hills with beautiful landscape and splendid natural beauty and wildlife of various species.

In Bangladesh, 19% of total expenditure incurred by overnight tourists accrues to the poor in different sub-sectors (Katalyst 2010). As of 2008, the Tourism Industry’s contribution to GDP was 3.9% according to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). It is estimated that real GDP growth for the travel and tourism direct industry and economy in Bangladesh is 2.6% and 1.7% as of 2010 and it is expected to average 6.3% and 6.4% respectively per annum over the next 10 years (WTTC 2010).

The forest sector provides employment and livelihoods

In government owned production forestry forest workforce, for their subsistence and income, increased from 78000 in 1990 to 93000 in 2005, continuing a trend apparent since the 1970s. Non-wood forest products (NTFPs) are all forest plants and animal products except timber. The harvesting and processing of NTFPs provide major employment opportunities worldwide. In Bangladesh, this amounts to a contribution of about 1.3 billion BDT annually to the economy and employment for nearly 300,000 people. These figures do not include the increasing number of people who work in other sectors, such as tourism, forest industries, research and education whose activities are dependent, in one way or another, on forests and also employees responsible for forest management and conservation.

The furniture industry is comprised of around 41,560 enterprises and employs nearly 0.20 million skilled and semi-skilled people. There are a total of 9,913 wooden and 2,628 non wooden furniture manufacturers in Bangladesh employing around 1,19,810 workers (Khan 2011). Further there are around 74,926 carpentry households employing another 1,54,285 workers. Adding to this, there are 1,20,000 craftsmen producing soft furniture and 200,000 suppliers supplying raw and semi-processed materials. Out of this huge employment, almost 1,00,000 workers are women. Among the employees working in furniture sectors, 20% are working in large industries and 80% are working in small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Policy, governance and Institutional framework of forestry of Bangladesh:

 The forests of Bangladesh sustain the natural environment by providing supportive and regulatory ecosystem functions and services to the people of the country. There are several recognizable challenges, nevertheless, that affect current forestry sector performance. These may be partitioned into

(1) an institutional component, which is concerned with the strengthening of forestry sector public institutions - including the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the Bangladesh Forest Department (BFD), the Bangladesh Forest Research Institute (BFRI), the Bangladesh National Herbarium (BNH) and the Bangladesh Forest Industries Development Corporation (BFIDC) - as well as the inadequate forest research and technical capacities;

(2) an environmental component, which encompasses concerns with deforestation and forest degradation, forestland encroachment, forest and wetland ecosystems degradation, conversion of forest lands to non-forest uses, wildlife poaching and trafficking, low forest productivity, climate change, and the loss of biodiversity; and

(3) a socioeconomic component, which incorporates considerations of increasing demands for forest products and forestland, inadequate involvement of forest-dependent communities - including women, youth and indigenous people - in participatory and collaborative forest management, weakened forest governance, and the lack of effective communication and outreach to stakeholders, including public decision makers, civil society and the private sector. The proximate drivers of these various factors include population pressures; poverty; expanding cultivation, urbanization and industrialization; the lack of appropriate institutional capacity and policies; and insufficient manpower and investment for forest protection and development.

 The principal objectives of the National Forestry Policy are to:

 1.Reduce forest degradation and halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and conserve environmental services, biodiversity and wildlife, promote food and water security and enhance community livelihoods to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

2.Intensify efforts to ensure that 20% of the country's area is under forests and tree cover, including 100% of state forests, 80% of hill land areas, 30% of terrain land areas, and 10% of plain land areas, by 2035 through afforestation, reforestation, social forestry, and ecological restoration and sustainable forest management programs involving the government, conservation and natural resources management non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the private sector in partnership with local communities.

 3.Enhance forest resilience through the conservation of forests and biodiversity, arresting forest fragmentation and degradation, establishing and linking forest corridors, encouraging participatory afforestation with climate resilient species, and strengthening forest resources patrolling activities by expanding the use of MIST and SMART monitoring and reporting systems and linking their applications with the actions of rapid response forest crime enforcement teams.

 4.Strengthen biodiversity conservation by mitigating threats and drivers of forest degradation and the loss of biodiversity and expanding and sustainably managing protected area landscapes and wildlife, including forest corridors.

5.Increase contributions to revenue generation and the enhancement of local employment and income opportunities through the establishment of sustainable and profitable forest products enterprises, the development and expansion of nature- and culture-based tourism, and the optimization of carbon credit and other related sources of conservation funding.

 6.Promote innovative forms of collaborative, participatory forestry to increase forest productivity with positive implications on climate change mitigation, poverty alleviation and the equitable distribution of socioeconomic benefits to local communities.

 7.Restore and sustainably manage degraded and other marginal areas, including coastal areas and wetlands, under climate resilient, participatory afforestation, reforestation, rehabilitation and ecological restoration processes to increase carbon sequestration consistent with the production and distribution of co-benefits that contribute to meeting local community requirements.

 8.Launch and sustain a country-wide conservation movement by encouraging, especially, women, youth and indigenous people to promote climate resilient private tree growing and forge innovative conservation partnerships with the private sector, civil society and conservation and natural resources management NGOs to forestall forestland encroachment, impede deforestation and forest degradation, and control wildlife poaching and trafficking.

Probable influence and implication of forest in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is endowed with a number of natural forest ecosystems including inland Sal forest, dipterocarp forest, savanna, bamboo bushes in the hilly regions and freshwater swamp forests. It also have littoral mangrove ecosystems. An attempt was made to qualitatively analyse the impact of climate change on forest resources of Bangladesh.

It was found that increased rainfall during monsoon would cause increased runoff in forest floor instead of infiltration into the soil. As a result there would be enhanced soil erosion from the forest floor. The erosion problem would be more pronounced in poorly dense hill forest areas. Prolonged floods would severely affect growth of many timber species, while it would cause high incidence of mortality for Artocarpus species. In contrast, enhanced evapotranspiration in winter would cause increased moisture stress, especially in the Barind and Madhupur Tract areas, affecting the Sal forest ecosystem. The tea plantations in the north-east would also suffer due to moisture stress. It was found that the Sundarbans mangrove forest would be the worst victim of climate change. Due to a combination of high evapotranspiration and low-flow in winter, the salinity of the soil would increase. As a result the growth of freshwater loving species would be severely affected. Eventually the species offering dense canopy cover would be replaced by non-woody shrubs and bushes, while the overall forest productivity would decline significantly. The degradation of forest quality might cause a gradual depletion of rich diversity of the forest flora and fauna of the Sundarbans ecosystem.

Bangladesh has got a wide diversity of Ecosystems including Mangrove forests at the extreme south of the country. The “Sundarbans” a World Heritage, is the largest Mangrove Forest in the world, comprising 577,00 ha of land area along the Bay of Bengal. A total of 425 species have been identified there, the most significant is the famous Royal Bengal Tiger. Therefore, Climate Change impacts will have negative effects on the Ecosystem of the Forest recourses in Bangladesh while the Sundarbans is likely to suffer the most.

Conclusion

This study in general reflected that the “Forests and Forestry in Bangladesh” (Forestry

Sector) is experiencing problems. The existing trends are in no way favourable for the

overall development of the sector. By 2020 there may be a big gap between the demand

and supply of wood. Peoples’ expectations from the FD will increase manyfold, especially

for forest based recreation, small wood supply, environmental parameters, peoples’

participation, etc.Though most of the forest lands are managed by the FD the major supply of wood comes from homesteads. All possible lands especially the USF should be brought under proper management. The process of degradation should be stopped.

 The FD should be drastically reorganized on par with other Government administrative set

ups. At the same time the Government should allocate adequate funds for the forestry

sector and encourage large scale social forestry programmes.

 A national level forestry forum should be put in place to provide guidance to the forestry

sector of the country. Of the four scenarios indicated the Government should aim for the

first scenario.