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7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: CHUNOTI CO-MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE, Bangladesh
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Equator Initiative Case StudiesLocal sustainable development solutions for people, nature, and resilient communities
Bangladesh
CHUNOTI CO-MANAGEMENTCOMMITTEE
Empowered live
Resilient nation
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UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIES
Local and indigenous communities across the world are advancing innovative sustainable development solutions that wo
or people and or nature. Few publications or case studies tell the ull story o how such initiatives evolve, the breadth
their impacts, or how they change over time. Fewer still have undertaken to tell these stories with community practition
themselves guiding the narrative.
To mark its 10-year anniversary, the Equator Initiative aims to ll this gap. The ollowing case study is one in a growing ser
that details the work o Equator Prize winners vetted and peer-reviewed best practices in community-based environmen
conservation and sustainable livelihoods. These cases are intended to inspire the policy dialogue needed to take local succto scale, to improve the global knowledge base on local environment and development solutions, and to serve as models
replication. Case studies are best viewed and understood with reerence to The Power o Local Action: Lessons rom 10 Years
the Equator Prize, a compendium o lessons learned and policy guidance that draws rom the case material.
Click on the map to visit the Equator Initiatives searchable case study database, where you can fnd more Equator Prize winner ca
studies.
EditorsEditor-in-Chie: Joseph Corcoran
Managing Editor: Oliver HughesContributing Editors: Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Erin Lewis, Whitney Wilding
Contributing WritersEdayatu Abieodun Lamptey, Erin Atwell, Jonathan Clay, Joseph Corcoran, Sean Cox, Larissa Currado, David Godrey, Sarah Gordon,
Oliver Hughes, Wen-Juan Jiang, Sonal Kanabar, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Rachael Lader, Erin Lewis, Jona Liebl, Mengning Ma
Mary McGraw, Brandon Payne, Juliana Quaresma, Peter Schecter, Martin Sommerschuh, Whitney Wilding
DesignSean Cox, Oliver Hughes, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Amy Korngiebel, Kimberly Koserowski, Erin Lewis, John Mulqueen,
Lorena de la Parra, Brandon Payne, Mariajos Satizbal G.
AcknowledgementsThe Equator Initiative acknowledges with gratitude Chunoti Co-Management Committee and USAIDs Integrated Protected Area
management (IPAC) Project, and in aprticular, the guidance and inputs o Mr. Anwar Kamal (Chunoti CMC) and Ms. Reema Islam (IPAC)
photo credits courtesy o Chunoti Co-Management Committee. Maps courtesy o CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia, except or map
p.6 courtesy o: USAID, Nishorgo Network: Interactive Map o Network Sites. Accessed at http://www.nishorgo.org/?id=42
Suggested Citation
United Nations Development Programme. 2013. Chunoti Co-Management Committee, Bangladesh. Equator Initiative Case Study SerNew York, NY.
http://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=747:10years&catid=189:2012-eventshttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=747:10years&catid=189:2012-eventshttp://www.nishorgo.org/?id=42http://equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=casestudysearch&Itemid=858http://www.nishorgo.org/?id=42http://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=747:10years&catid=189:2012-eventshttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=747:10years&catid=189:2012-events7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: CHUNOTI CO-MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE, Bangladesh
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PROJECT SUMMARYChunoti Co-Management Committee (CMC) protects theonce-degraded Chunoti Wildlie Sanctuary through thecoordination o volunteer patrols and reinvestment oecotourism revenues into conservation activities. Illegallogging and unsustainable resource extraction werethreatening the Chunoti orest, until the communitymobilized and advocated or a protected area co-management arrangement with the government. Women-led community patrol groups now monitor the orest toprevent illegal logging and poaching.
Forest conservation has revived resident populations oAsian elephants and bird species. An ecotourism enterprisehas created jobs and oers a revenue stream to undinvestment in community inrastructure projects. Localwomen have also been supported to start small-scalebusinesses. The Chunoti co-management model has beenreplicated across Bangladesh, and has resulted in ocialrecognition by the national government o the need toinclude communities in protected area decision-making.
3
CHUNOTI CO-MANAGEMENT COMMITTEEBangladesh
KEY FACTS
EQUATOR PRIZE WINNER: 2012
FOUNDED: 2004
LOCATION: Chittagong Division
BENEFICIARIES: Approximately 9,400 households
BIODIVERSITY: 7,764-hectare Chunoti Wildlife Sanctuary
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Background and Context 4
Key Activities and Innovations 7
Biodiversity Impacts 9
Socioeconomic Impacts 9
Policy Impacts 10
Sustainability 12
Replication 12
Partners 13
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A sanctuary and elephant migration corridor
he Chunoti (also written as Chunati) Wildlie Sanctuary, located
0 km south o Chittagong City in Bangladesh, was established as
protected area in 1986. The 7,764-hectare sanctuary originally
upported mixed tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen orests. The
rea has gradually been degraded, however, and now contains mainly
econdary growth, scrub and extensive areas o sungrass (Imperata
ylindrical, a perennial grass that is harvested as a non-timber orest
roduct). Additionally, a large part o the surrounding landscape has
een converted to plantation land, using non-endemic tree species.
Despite this degradation, the sanctuary still plays a signicant role in
upporting local biodiversity, housing 19 mammal and 53 bird species,
ncluding the red-breasted parakeet (Psittacula alexandri), as wells a range o amphibian, reptile and plant species. Importantly, the
anctuary serves as a corridor or Asian elephants migrating between
angladesh and Myanmar.
Pressures on the sanctuary
Around 9,400 households a population o more than 50,000 people
depend on the natural resources o the Chunoti orest to a large
xtent or their livelihoods and ood security. This dependence has put
normous pressure on the orest and has resulted in unsustainable
xploitation o both timber and non-timber orest products. Since
s establishment, the ecological integrity o the sanctuary has been
hreatened by the encroachment o human settlements. Slash-and-
urn agriculture is common, as is unregulated extraction o orest
esources to meet ood and livelihood needs. Because Chunoti Wildlie
anctuary is located in such close proximity to Chittagong City, several
rick kiln actories have been constructed on or near its borders to
ervice construction supply needs in the city. These actories use
wood rom the orest to re their kilns, creating an additional driver o
eorestation and biodiversity loss. Large-scale land conversion and
mber poaching have been additional challenges. The orest within
nd around the sanctuary was signicantly degraded during the 1980s
nd 1990s, as many low-lying areas in valleys were converted or rice
cultivation and destroyed by illegal logging and poor managemA lack o alternative, more sustainable livelihoods has driven mu
this degradation. There are 15 villages, comprised o 70 settlem
located in the immediate buer zone o the wildlie sanct
Within these settlements, more than one-third o the popul
is unemployed, and those who nd seasonal work as agricul
labourers are typically employed or only six months o each year
Initiating co-management
By 2004, when Chunoti Co-Management Committee (CMC) b
its work, the orest had been clear-cut and reduced to low grassl
with a ew scattered trees. Sanctuary grasses were burned regu
preventing natural regeneration o the orest. Despite the sevo the situation, and the rapid pace o environmental decline,
reliance on the orest or jobs and incomes translated to widesp
opposition to conservation eorts. The situation demanded a solu
that would serve to protect the integrity o the sanctuary w
acknowledging and meeting the livelihood and subsistence nee
local communities.
In the early 2000s, local communities living adjacent to the sanct
began to work in cooperation with the Forest Departmen
promote co-management o the protected area. The process b
quite organically, with the committee orming through comm
meetings and discussions and developing into an ocial
Management Committee in 2004-5. The Committee was or
under the USAID Nishorgo Support Project (NSP), which wor
Bangladesh to enhance protected area stewardship through
management arrangements. NSP provided technical support to
Committee rom 2004 to 2008. From 2008 to present, the Chunot
Management Committee has been run with reduced support u
complementary initiative the USAID Integrated Protected Area
Management (IPAC) project which has provided technical adv
services and other support over a ve-year period (2008-13) to
government agencies responsible or the conservation o prote
orests across Bangladesh. IPAC is implemented in cooper
Background and Context
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5
with the Ministry o Environment and Forests and the Ministry o
isheries and Livestock through a consortium o partners led by the
nternational Resources Group (IRG).
his combination o community-based action and international
upport has eected a dramatic change in the way protected area
management is perceived in Bangladesh. Chunoti Co-Management
Committee was ounded with the main goal o conserving the
Chunoti Wildlie Sanctuary and its surrounding areas. The chosenpproach was collaborative management o natural resources by the
ocal communities, with government agencies acting in a supporting
ole. The committee was a pioneer o the community-based natural
esource management model in Bangladesh, breaking new ground
or community orest and resource governance in the country. The
uccess o Chunoti Co-Management Committee in meeting local
velihood needs while also conserving and restoring nature led to
government order in November 2009 that recognizes and creates
egal space or local community participation in the management o
rotected areas in Bangladesh. The co-management mechanism has
ince been expanded to all other protected areas in the country.
Governance and institutional structure
Co-management has demanded the development o a governance
ramework in which community members actively participate in
ecision-making and in the management o Chunoti Wildlie Sanctuary.
his participatory governance imperative has been accomplished
hrough the ormation and election o a co-management committee
nd council, village conservation orums, and peoples orums.
Village conservation orums (VCFs) have been established or all
the orest and wetland-dependent communities living around
Chunoti Wildlie Sanctuary. There are currently 60 VCFs that channel
he collective interests o 48,913 people. The specic rules andegulations o each orum vary, but the principles o accountability,
ransparency and ull participation are standardized. The VCFs eed
nto two peoples orums, where each village is represented by one
man and one woman. Where VCFs address the concerns and needs
individual villages and, thereore, the management o natural
esources in that particular area the peoples orums address larger
organizational considerations and resource governance issues
have broader implications or management o the area. In this
decisions taken at both the local level and at the landscape leve
be directly infuenced by local constituents.
The relatively elaborate governance structure adopted inclu
both a co-management committee and a council ens
representation rom nineteen dierent stakeholder groups, inclu
the village conservation orums and peoples orums. The cocomprises sixty-ve members appointed rom village conserva
orums, peoples orums, and local government oces. At
twenty-two o these council members namely, one-third o
council must be peoples orum members. The primary unction
purview o the council is making operational decisions concer
the management o Chunoti Wildlie Sanctuary.
Chunoti Co-Management Committee, meanwhile, consists o twe
nine democratically elected members. These elections are ope
community members rom VCFs, peoples orums, community p
groups, local government, and the projects Nishorgo Shaha
(trained community acilitators.) Although indigenous groups are
represented in VCFs as they technically reside outside the lands
zone or village catchment area one man and one woman rom
o the local Rakhaine and Marma ethnic groups are represente
Chunoti Co-Management Committee. The initiative has plans to m
ormally incorporate indigenous lands in the uture. The comm
unctions with donor support, as well as roughly 50 per cent o
revenue collected rom Chunoti Wildlie Sanctuary entrance ees
During the initial implementation period o Chunoti Co-Managem
Committee, relations between the Forest Department and commu
members were strained. The series o inaugural meetings w
oten break down due to lack o agreement and strong dierenc
opinion on the governance structure and process or taking decisThis early discordance proved to be a short-lived (and per
necessary) stage in the process o introducing a new approach,
Chunoti Co-Management Committee now unctions with a high
o cooperation and mutual respect between its members. Importa
the committee is also now widely appreciated at the community
as a platorm or positive change.
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6
Map 1: Map o Bangladesh showing reserve orest, protected areas etc.
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77
Key Activities and Innovations
The project aims to oster successul co-management o Chunoti
Wildlie Sanctuary by the Forest Department in tandem with
esident local communities. The overall objective is the conservation
and regeneration o the local orest and surrounding ecosystems.
Community patrol groups have been set up jointly with the Forest
Department to ensure adherence with established orest rules and
egulations. The patrols are designed to prevent and discourage
llegal logging and wildlie poaching. Patrol teams are oten
comprised o women and poorer members o the community,
who receive a stipend o USD 50 or joining the program. While
he stipend provides an incentive or participation, the patrols
are essentially volunteer-run. The collective results o Chunoti
Co-Management Committee activities have been improvementsn environmental health including the return o elephants and
certain bird species to the sanctuary and local wellbeing.
Alternative livelihood options
Chunoti Co-Management Committee maintains a commitment to
providing the local population with vocational training and access
o alternative livelihoods as a means o reducing local dependence
on the wildlie sanctuary; or, more specically, to reduce
overexploitation and unsustainable harvesting o natural resources
n the sanctuary. Among the project activities in this area has been
upport in the development o market supply-chains that ensure
air prices and reliable demand or local products. In this regard,he committee helped acilitate a Memorandum o Understanding
MOU) that links local shermen and artisans with national buyers in
he sheries and handicrats sectors. As a complement to this new
market supply-chain, community members were provided with
raining in bamboo crat-making, sh arming, the management o
ree nurseries, and basket-weaving.
The committee is currently working with the government to
promote ecotourism as an additional revenue stream to improve
ocal incomes and und ongoing conservation activities. To this
end, a group o eco-guides has been trained and an eco-cot
constructed on the edge o the sanctuary. In addition, a
Management Nature Interpretation Centre, run by the comm
now sits at the heart o Chunoti Forest. The intention is to at
visitors interested in learning more about the orest an
biodiversity and to provide the community with a higher lev
environmental education and ownership. Currently, entrance
are collected rom visitors to the sanctuary, 50 per cent o w
is allocated or the operational costs o Chunoti Co-Manage
Committee. The other 50 per cent is put towards orest conserv
activities. A plan has been put in place to govern the use o t
unds with specic conditions to ensure that revenues do no
directly to individuals.
An innovative partnership with the government is also prov
sustainable livelihood options or the local population. Chunot
Management Committee worked with relevant authorities to e
a social orestation law. Under this law, the community is allow
plant ast-growing, short-rotation trees (those that reach mat
in eight to ten years) in the buer zone surrounding the prote
area. Planting and harvesting take place within designated a
with the community holding responsibility or replanting the
ater the harvest. This rotational planting provides the comm
with a source o income, timber and building material, w
also leaving the old growth orest untouched. The revenue
community timber harvests is shared between the governmenthe local communities. Initially, 45 per cent went to particip
community members, 45 per cent to the government, and 1
cent to a tree-planting und; a recent amendment to the sch
however, now has 75 per cent o the revenue generated goi
participating communities. As a complement to this sustain
orestry intervention, high-eciency cooking stoves have
distributed to households surrounding the sanctuary. In add
to reducing indoor pollution, and by extension mitigating
negative health impacts o smoke inhalation, the stoves reduc
amount o rewood needed or cooking.
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88
Building local management capacity
he most innovative aspect o this initiative is that a platorm has
een created through which local communities can work on an
qual ooting with government authorities in the management
their orests and natural resources. Co-management, however,
as required a great deal o investment in community capacity
uilding, particularly on the management side. The history o
ension between local practitioners and the government has alsoequired an investment o time in confict resolution, building trust
nd ostering cooperation.
Local capacity building has taken place in a number o ormat
one example, seven orest conservation clubs have been orme
engage local youth in biodiversity conservation and environme
stewardship activities. Village acilitators (known as Nish
Shahayaks) have also been trained as outreach extension o
educating the local population about ecosystem health, o
conservation, climate change, and the rights o orest-depencommunities.
In my experience working in protected area co-management, three major threats are: a lac
of any sense of ownership among communities in and around protected areas; the dependenc
of ultra-poor people on these areas for their basic livelihoods; and corruption in the authoritie
responsible for protected area management.
Mr. Anwar Kamal, Chunoti Co-Management Committee
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9
Impacts
BIODIVERSITY IMPACTSThe activities undertaken by Chunoti Co-Management Committee
ince 2004 have combined to reduce the burden on the Chunoti
Wildlie Sanctuary rom surrounding communities through a
ombination o monitoring, alternative livelihoods, community
educational outreach, and advocacy. While the Community Patrol
Groups have not completely stopped illegal logging in the sanctuary
rea, their work has resulted in a considerable reduction o timber
poaching, while the provision o improved wood stoves has helped
o tackle the problem on the demand side, by reducing the volume
o rewood required by local households.
The initiative has successully addressed the larger environmental
mpacts o the brick-making industry, which had sited ve brick
kiln operations on the eastern side o the sanctuary. In each case,
his location was chosen because o the immediate availability
o ree wood rom the orest. Ater a protracted struggle, the co-
management committee was able to ensure the departure o
he kilns that were located directly within the sanctuary, and has
educed the uel-wood extraction o those that remain (illegally) in
he buer. This has been a long-standing challenge, and one only
overcome through persistent personal and political eorts by the
ommittee members.
Biodiversity benets have resulted rom the conservation workundertaken in and around the sanctuary, with observed increases
n sightings o birds and elephants within the sanctuary. Understory
orest growth has increased, and migratory elephants are spending
greater portion o their time within the sanctuary, and nding
ucient ood there when they do. A study o the prevalence o Red
ungleowl (Gallus gallus) and Pu-throated Babbler (Pellorneum
ufceps) across ve Bangladeshi protected areas demonstrates that
population sizes o both these species recovered between 2005 and
2008 (see Figures 1 & 2), as co-management experiments in each o
he sites took hold. The very low numbers o Pu-throated Babblers
n Chunoti in 2005 in comparison with the other protected areas
included in the study indicates how degraded the Chunoti owas shortly ater the ormation o the co-management comm
It is widely acknowledged that the wildlie reserve has success
adapted to the co-management mechanism, and that the
would be devastated today had the project not been implemen
SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS
Involvement in co-management o their local environment
natural resources has empowered the Chunoti communitie
allowing them to actively participate in making and implemen
decisions that directly aect their livelihoods. Moreover, o
involvement o the community in the management o Chu
Wildlie Sanctuary has given legitimacy and recognition to
local knowledge base and has aorded community members
opportunity to learn about the policies and laws that aect them
involving VCFs in a range o governance and volunteer activitie
initiative has encouraged responsible citizenship and increased
resilience and unity o the communities it serves.
The social empowerment o the communities involved is dir
linked to their economic empowerment, and the co-managem
committee has done a great deal to improve the econ
circumstances o the most vulnerable community members
the community as a whole. Eorts to diversiy income sources included providing training and investments to assist comm
members in developing more sustainable and resilient inc
sources. Extra income rom such schemes has been used to pa
education and better nutrition or amily members.
Empowerment o women
The lot o women in particular has been improved a great deal b
work o the initiative a considerable achievement in a religio
conservative region, where womens participation in decision-
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making processes is not the norm. Women in the region are largely
uneducated and homebound, with their roles limited by tradition.
The empowerment o emale community members through the
creation o women-led community patrol groups, which patrol
he orest alongside a orest guard a ew times a week, has been
ecognized in international media (Sari squad protects Bangladesh
wildlie sanctuary; CNN, March 7, 2011), and women are now taking
an active role in protecting the wildlie sanctuary. In addition to the
patrol groups, the co-management committee supports womenn entrepreneurial ventures and encourages their participation in
he social orestation initiative and handicrats training. Female
Nishorgo Shahayaks have been trained to act as conservation
advocates within their communities. Many women community
patrol group members have used their volunteer stipends to
purchase cows which provide milk or consumption and sale.
n total, 424 patrol group members have received support to
mprove their incomes, and as a result many o them have moved
out o poverty and begun sending their children to school. As a
esult o Chunoti Co-Management Committees activities, signicant
mprovements in local governance have been seen, with ar greater
participation o women, youth, and poor community members in
environmental governance and landscape development issues.
POLICY IMPACTS
Chunoti Co-Management Committee is a pioneer in its eld within
Bangladesh, and, along with the success o other CMCs established in
protected areas such as Lawachara National Park, Satchori National
Park, Rema-Kalenga Wildlie Sanctuary, and Tekna Game Reserve,
essons learned rom its implementation have directly infuenced
government policies regarding protected area management.
The issuing o a Government Order in November 2009 ormally
ecognized the participation o local communities in the decision-
making processes surrounding the management o protected areas.
The National Park Fee-sharing Order, also enacted in 2009, ensured
hat local communities in and around orested protected areas
would receive 50 per cent o entrance ees collected by management
authorities. Finally, the Social Forestry Rule o January 2010
mandated an increase in the proportion derived by communities
rom plantations they collectively manage in orested land to 75
per cent o total income, as a direct result o the social orestation
experiment conducted in the buer area o Chunoti Wildlie Reserve.
At the local scale, the co-management model aords the a
local communities the opportunity to infuence local managem
policies though ongoing dialogue with local and national F
Department representatives; the co-management comm
has made ormal recommendations or the improvement o
governance arrangement through this route. The experienc
Chunoti and other CMCs involved in the Nishorgo Support Pr
has demonstrated that this dialogue between communities
government ocials is a necessary component o developing democratic and equitable resource management arrangem
The highly participatory governance model employed by
Chunoti initiative has emerged organically as an expression o
relationship, and acts as a case study or similar co-managem
arrangements across Bangladesh.
10
If communities are engaged in protected area management and resource conservation with
honesty and integrity, they will react accordingly. If the process is dishonest or
corrupt it wont succeed
Mr. Anwar Kamal, Chunoti Co-Management Committee
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11
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Lawachara National
Park
Satchori National
Park
Rema-Kalenga
Wildlife Sanctuary
Chunoti Wildlife
Sanctuary
Teknaf Game
Reserve
Density(number/sq.
km)
2005
2006
2007
2008
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Lawachara National
Park
Satchori National
Park
Rema-Kalenga
Wildlife Sanctuary
Chunoti Wildlife
Sanctuary
Teknaf Game
Reserve
Density(number/sq.
km)
2005
2006
2007
2008
Fig. 1: The status o Red Jungleowl at ve Protected Area sites (2005-8)
Fig. 2: The status o Puf-throated Babbler (Pellorneumrufceps) at ve Protected Area sites (2005-8)
ource: Khan, M.M.H. 2008. Participatory Bird Survey to Assess Protected Area Management Impacts: Final Year Report. Dhaka: Nature Conservation Manage
ment (NACOM) and Nishorgo Support Project o the Forest Department.
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12
Sustainability and Replication
SUSTAINABILITYor ecological transormation and social change to be sustained
ver time, there must be an accepted and viable social structure
hat can manage and deploy resources in the interests o a broad-
ased group o stakeholders. Chunoti Co-Management Committee
as made excellent progress towards assuring the sustainability
its work through the development o its inclusive governance
tructure, which represents the needs and interests o a diverse
ange o stakeholders. The committee is now widely viewed as the
egitimate voice o those living and working in the sanctuary and
urrounding region.
Although the ormation o Chunoti Co-Management Committee
was catalysed by the Nishorgo Support Project (NSP), it has grown
o become an autonomous organization that is ully owned by
ts constituent VCFs, and which works with an increasing array o
artners. As a pilot initiative, NSP support was regular and intensive,
ut as the initiative has developed and transerred to partnership
with USAIDs IPAC project, donor involvement has intentionally
ecome less regular and low-level. The Co-Management Committees
ncome rom sanctuary revenue gives it a degree o independence
nd sustainability, although these unds are not sucient to manage
he entire area. The initiative remains a donor-supported project,
hereore.
REPLICATION
he model o co-management that has been implemented
uccessully in Chunoti is now being implemented throughout
angladesh. The success o Chunoti and other pilot sites provided
ncouragement to the Bangladeshi government, USAID, and
ther donor organizations to dramatically increase the scope o
he project. In 2008, USAID launched the USD 13 million IPAC
Project with the aim o replicating this conservation managem
approach throughout the country over the next ve years. Follo
the example o Chunoti, there are now over 35 co-managem
committees working in protected areas across Bangladesh, as w
many more operating in partnership with other donor organizat
As an early adopter o the model, Chunoti Co-Management Comm
serves as a model or more recently established committee
the network, and has played an important role in inspiri
paradigm shit in protected area management in Banglad
rom enorcement-based conservation to co-management
local communities. The Chunoti example has been a leader in
evolution, proving the eectiveness o co-management rst town members and communities and latterly to stakeholders a
Bangladesh. It has served as a case study in particular thanks to
high level o environmental degradation that has been reve
as well as the confict between communities and governm
ocials that characterized its beginnings. Based on the experi
o overcoming both o these challenges, the Chunoti initiative
much to share with other committees. The committee has ho
site visits rom newer CMCs in order to exchange knowledge
took part in a Co-Management Committee Congress in 200
which it shared its good practices. The committee has also beco
leader within the many civil society protected area co-manage
networks that have emerged around the country in the wake o
NSP and IPAC Project.
Chunoti has also been at the oreront o new and emer
developments in this eld. The committee recently acilitated cli
change vulnerability assessments as well as the developme
action plans based on these in all o the villages in the Chu
landscape. This is currently inorming the development
landscape-level plan that will be used to leverage government
donor support to ace the emerging challenges posed by cli
change.
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1313
PARTNERS
Chunoti Co-Management Committee was established under the
USAID Nishorgo Support Project and is currently developing with
upport rom USAIDs Integrated Protected Area Co-Management
PAC) Project. The IPAC project is implemented in collaboration
with the Government o Bangladeshs Ministry o Environment and
orests and Ministry o Fisheries and Livestock.
Ater witnessing the success o Chunoti Co-Managem
Committee, the German Society or International Coopera
(GIZ) has contributed unds to the initiative, specically to sup
the creation o alternative income generation options or
community patrol group members.
For poor protected area-dependent communities to stop destroying natural resources fo
their livelihoods, they must have the chance to ensure basic alternative livelihoods. Howeve
challenging age-old livelihood practices is no easy task. Motivation and awareness can he
enlighten communities but nothing should be imposed on them. Communities should lead th
planning and work, with only facilitation from external groups.
Mr. Anwar Kamal, Chunoti Co-Management Committee
7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: CHUNOTI CO-MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE, Bangladesh
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FURTHER REFERENCE
Chunoti Co-Management Committee Equator Initiative prole page: http://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=c
winners&view=winner_detail&id=51&Itemid=683
DeCosse, P. J., Thompson, P. M., Ahmad, I. U., Sharma, R. A., and Mazumder, Ah. H. 2012. Protected Area Co-Management: Where People
Poverty Intersect. Lessons rom Nishorgo in Bangladesh. USAID and the Nishorgo Support Project, Bangladesh Forest Department. ht
www.nishorgo.org/tbltd/upload/pd/0.13277600%201357813928_Lessons%20Learn%20-%20all%20chapters.pd
Sari squad protects Bangladesh wildlie sanctuary. CNN, March 7, 2011. http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapc/03
bangladesh.wildlie.eco/index.html
http://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=winner_detail&id=51&Itemid=683http://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=winner_detail&id=51&Itemid=683http://www.nishorgo.org/tbltd/upload/pdf/0.13277600%201357813928_Lessons%20Learn%20-%20all%20chapters.pdfhttp://www.nishorgo.org/tbltd/upload/pdf/0.13277600%201357813928_Lessons%20Learn%20-%20all%20chapters.pdfhttp://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/04/bangladesh.wildlife.eco/index.htmlhttp://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/04/bangladesh.wildlife.eco/index.htmlhttp://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/04/bangladesh.wildlife.eco/index.htmlhttp://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/04/bangladesh.wildlife.eco/index.htmlhttp://www.nishorgo.org/tbltd/upload/pdf/0.13277600%201357813928_Lessons%20Learn%20-%20all%20chapters.pdfhttp://www.nishorgo.org/tbltd/upload/pdf/0.13277600%201357813928_Lessons%20Learn%20-%20all%20chapters.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=winner_detail&id=51&Itemid=683http://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=winner_detail&id=51&Itemid=683http://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348150898.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348153030.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348151578.pdf