Demo_Forestry (Including Biodiversity)

8/2/2019 Demo_Forestry (Including Biodiversity)

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Forestry (including Biodiversity)

Professor NIAZ AHMED KHAN Ph.D. (Wales)

University of Dhaka, Bangladesh

University of Wales, UK


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Profile of the Sector, Key Features and Trends

2.56 million hectares (17.8% of the total land area) isclassified as forestland -- the lowest compared to anySouth Asian country

Two parallel systems of production forestry exist inBangladesh: Government forestland (some 1.49 m ha)

Home gardens or Village Forest Groves constitute 0.27 m ha andare scattered all over the country.

Some debate about the impact of introduction ofexotic species (notably Eucalyptus) and promotionof commercial plantations

The forests on state lands have been particularlysubjected to organized illicit commercial logging,unplanned and abrupt conversion to agricultureand other non-forestry uses, fire, grazing and otheranthropogenic influences.


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Forest type Location Area million ha (% of total land+)

Growing stock million m3

(stocking m3/ha++)Remarks

Mangrove (evergreen)Sundarban

Coastline

Southwest coast onbay of Bengal 0.57 (4.0)

0.11 (0.76)

13.19 (23.1)

5.05 (45.9)

Includes 0.17 millionha of water

Hill Forest (tropical moist semi-evergreen)Managed Reserved Forest

Un-classed State Forests (scrubforest)

Eastern Hill Tracts

Eastern Hill Tracts0.67 (4.65)

0.72 (5.00)

28.32 (42.3)

Negligible(Mainly treeless)

Plain Land Forests (tropicalmoist deciduous)

Central and northwest 0.12 (0.83) 1.13 (0.94)

Sub-total government forest 1.91 (15.2) Excluding waterbodies

Village Forest Groves (Mixedspecies)

0.27 (1.87) 54.68 (202.5)

Total Forest 2.18 (17.1) Excluding waterbodies


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(continued)

Northwest Bangladesh has only about 2% tree cover.

In 1980s, the rate of forest destruction was 8,000 haand the annual deforestation rate was estimated to be3.3%.

Consequently, per capita forestland has declined from0.035 ha in 1969 to 0.02 ha in 1990

The impacts and manifestations of such alarming rateof deforestation are multifaceted. Deforestation causesdecrease in water holding capacity, increased soilerosion, and loss of habitat and biodiversity. The costof these impacts on the economy was estimated to be1% of GDP in 1990

About 70% of the plain land Sal forests areencroached

Other forestlands are also degraded; consequently,their productivity is unacceptably low


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(continued)

Productivity of mangrove forest has declined by 25%over a period of 25 years. The yield of hill forestshas declined at the same rate.

Present productivity of forests has declined to arange of 1.5-2.5 m3 per hectare per annum from 7-8

m3 twenty years ago. Eccentric spatial distribution: Almost 48% of the

government forests are located in the eastern region(hill forests). Another 23% is on the southwesterncorner along the Bay of Bengal (mangrove forests).The vast flat countryside has only 0.12 m ha of plainland Sal forests. Out of the 64 Districts of thecountry, 28 districts have no public forest at all


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(continued)

In view of the above problems, communitybased participatory afforestation practices(Social Forestry), increasingly felt to be themost feasible strategy

Between 1990 and 2000, every year about16503 ha of land has been brought undertree cover, indicating an annualenhancement rate of tree cover by about

1.3%. This is apparently the contribution ofSF activities


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Sector Policies and Priorities

Poverty reduction is the stated overarching thrust ofBangladesh governments development philosophy andpractice.

National Strategy for Economic Growth, Poverty Reductionand Social Development

UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the socialtargets laid out in the Partnership Agreement on PovertyReduction(PAPR with the ADB)

Forestry development is viewed within the broader contextof the above development vision

Forestry Sector Master Plan(1995-2015), emphasizes the

crucial importance of people-oriented programs for thedevelopment of Bangladesh forestry

The National Forest Policy (1994): targets increasing forest coverto 20% by 2015, and delineates a number of objectives: To meetthe basic needs of the present and future generations by takingup various afforestation programs


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Sector Policies and Priorities (continued)

Goals of 1994 Forest Policy:

By creating employment opportunities, strengthening therural and national economy, the scope for povertyalleviation and trees and forest based rural developmentsectors will be extended and consolidated

Through participation of the local people, illegal

occupation of forest lands, illegal tree felling and huntingof wild animals will be prevented

The above vision is in conformity with the countrys National RuralDevelopment Policy 2001

The Fifth Five Year Planidentifies SF as one of the major thrusts of thestrategy of the forestry sector

PRSP-National Strategy for Accelerated Poverty Reductionemphasizes: Policy for social forestation, planting of fruit treesalongside timber, fuelwood, NTFP; Womens involvement in homesteadand farm forestry; SF developed through the tripartite arrangementsamongst government, NGOs and poor households; Institutionalcapacity building for forestry training, research and FD.


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Major Issues, Challenges, and Ways of

improvements for the Forestry Sector(Recommendations)

(Please see the attached word file)


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Biodiversity (Sub) Sector

Biodiversity defined: Variability among living organisms from all

sources including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems andecological complexes of which they are part.

Richness in biodiversity: more than 1000 paddy varieties; 5000 plant

varieties; 350 bird species; 5000 species of flowering plants; 500 fish

varieties; 19 amphibians; 124 kinds of reptiles; 125 mammalian

species

Major Ecosystems:

A. Terrestrial: Alluvial plains; Hilly areas with evergreen forests;

Mangrove forests; Deciduous forest of Sal; Uplands of Barind;

Undulating terrain in northern Tentulia-Panchagar areas with acid

soil; Coastal islands & coral reef; Chars; Polder-land in coastal

regions.

B. Other Aquatic: Bay of Bengal; Estuarine zones of river systems;

Freshwater zones of river sys; Beel (swampy lands); Haors (tectonic

depressions); Baors (oxbow lake); Ponds; Borrow pits; Lakes


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Current status

absence of accurate data and coordinated management framework Population explosion adverse affecting ecosystems depleting

biodiversity

Endangered species: 18 wildlife spp disappeared in last century; 129spp (37 mammal, 21 reptiles, 69 birds, 2 amphibians ) in IUCN RedList; nearly 50% of all wildlife spp are rare or threatened; 27 Plant spp

threatened Major Factors/Challenges affecting Biodiversity Status

High population growth; Extreme poverty (poverty acts as catalyst tomany forms of environmental degradation)

Natural hazards; Deforestation

Water pollution; Salinity intrusion; Commercial shrimp cultivation Inadequate legislation and ineffective institutional arrangements

Poor Protected Area Management (14 PA)

Failure of conventional administration; inadequate peoplesparticipation; Low priority and commitment


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(Sub)Sector Policies and institutions

Convention on Biodiversity (CBD): Bangladesh signatory to

CBD; provision for in-situ and ex-situ conservation;

Protected Area management(14 PA) &Ecologically

Critical Areas (6: Coxs Bazar, Teknaf; Sonadia; St. Martin;

Hakaluki Haor; Tanguar Haor; Msarjat Baor) Various policies have provisions for biodiversity conservation: Forest

Policy, Forestry Sector Master Plan, Bangladesh Wildlife Preservation

Act 1974; Forest Act 1878 (& amendments);Fish Act 1950 and Rules

1985; Bangladesh Biodiversity Action Plan; Conservation Act 1995 and

Rules 1997; National Conservation Strategy; PRSP-National Strategy

for Accelerated Poverty reduction ( Action plan to save endangeredanimals, fish and plants),

Various Projects: NCSIP, SEMP, pioneered by IUCN; limited NGO

activities (Caritas, IUCN, NACOM, CNRS etc.); Key government

agencies: FD, DoE, DoF etc.

Documents

Demo_Forestry (Including Biodiversity)