0839-A1
K.B. Sajjadur Rasheed[1]
Forestry contributes to a great extent to the economic and ecological stability of Bangladesh. However, the country has a classified natural forest area of only about 10% of the total land area, though in reality, a mere 6 to 7% has canopy cover. About 50% of the destruction of forests has taken place in the last 20 years, affecting the quality of topsoil and causing land degradation. Social forestry and homestead plantations have not been able to keep pace with the rate of deforestation. It is estimated that about 0.8% of the forest area is annually converted to non-forest uses like farming and infrastructure development.
Under the management of the Forest Department, there are three main types of forests in three separate areas of the country. These are (with their respective proportions of forest areas given in parentheses): (a) tropical evergreen or semi-evergreen hill forest in the southeastern Bangladesh (47%); (b) moist deciduous forest in central Bangladesh (9%); and (c) tidal mangrove forest in southwestern Bangladesh (44%). In the hill forests, the tropical evergreen plant communities are mixed with tropical deciduous trees, in association with diverse shrubs, herbs and bamboo jungle. Due to anthropogenic intervention, the nature and distribution of these forests have changed in the past 30 years. Slash-and-burn farming practices of the past have been replaced by sedentary farming, and timber demand for construction purposes in urban areas has helped in systematic deforestation even within reserved or so-called protected areas. The southwestern mangrove forest ñ the worldís largest mangrove tract ñ has also suffered from degradation due to saline ingress as well as encroachment for agriculture and shrimp production. The deciduous forest of central Bangladesh now covers an area of only 123†000 ha, although it was twice this size just 30 years ago. This region, known as the Madhupur Tract, consists of older alluvium of low fertility with yellowish-red soils. The predominant tree in this forest is Sal (Shorea robusta), which accounts for nearly 75% of all trees. There are some other commercially valuable trees too, some used for medicinal purposes. Being located very close to the dense population of central Bangladesh and the capital city, Dhaka, this Sal forest has experienced maximum depletion over the years.
Since very early times, the Madhupur Tract forests have been used by communities who live around the forest zone. The legal occupance pattern is not clear, but it is believed and claimed that some parts were inhabited by indigenous groups, while large tracts of forest were purchased by big landlords from the government (on the ground that the forests are public lands) during the British colonial days (i.e., prior to 1947). After 1947, the government acquired the forests from the landlords after their estates were abolished, and the Forest Department was given the responsibility of maintaining the forest. Nonetheless, human settlements continued to expand, often illegally, and forest depletion continued unabated. The overall objectives of this study was to understand the complexities of the forest-people nexus in this deciduous forest of central Bangladesh.
The specific objectives can be summarized as:
(a) to obtain information on the local communities dependent on forest products in the Madhupur Tract; and
(b) to examine the impact of forest resources depletion on local population living in and around the Sal forest areas of the Madhupur Tract.
In order to understand the livelihood profile of the people who live within or adjacent to forest lands and depend on forest resources for their survival, sample study sites had to be selected through reconnaissance survey in the area. Funding and time constraints restricted the study to one sample site, which was considered ideal for the objectives of the study. The sample study area for this study was one mauza (village revenue unit) ñ Arankhola ñ in Tangail district. The mauza has an area of 5772 ha, and an estimated population (2000) of about 10,000 - divided into some 1800 households.
The data for this study were collected through Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) techniques. Assuming that the forest-fringe inhabitants of the study area are extremely knowledgeable with respect to conditions in the forest, in-depth probing (through informal discussions) of the actual users of the forest products was undertaken. The local population who fully or partially depend on forest products were identified and interviewed. In the field, all categories of forest product users ñ ranging from landless people who depend fully on forest products for their survival to wealthy traders who cut down trees illegally. In addition to informal discussions, a semi-structured questionnaire, in the form of an Informal Schedule, was administered to 80 households in the study area. Besides the forest product users, village elders, local elite, forest department officials and local NGO personnel were also interviewed. The field methodology also included direct observation as part of the RRA techniques.
Socioeconomic Profile. The respondents for the household questionnaire survey were chosen through purposive sampling. The male-female ratio was 3:1. Both male and female respondents were grouped together because no gender-based differences in the pattern of forest product utilization were observed. However, it is a fact that female members of a family are generally more engaged in the fuel collection task.
Very young children were often observed as being engaged in collecting and carrying dried leaves and twigs for fuel, although most of the respondents who were interviewed as household heads were between the ages of 25 and 60. Nearly one-fourth of the respondents belonged to the indigenous Garo tribe, who practise matrilocal residence pattern.
The majority of the respondents belonged to the low income group ñ earning less than US$ 2 per day. As regards occupational characteristics, about 60 percent of them did not have any farmland of their own, and cited tree product collection as their primary occupation, and wage labor and irregular job as their secondary occupation. Irregular jobs included such miscellaneous activities/occupations as honey collection, itinerant vendor, rickshaw van driver, fish and poultry sale and shallow boat operator.
Tree Types and Tree Products. The study area falls within the Sal forest zone, yet demonstrates extensive encroachment and degradation. Sal forest stands are often interspersed with tracts of Sal coppice, and these coppice areas are also being encroached upon by homesteads. Denuded Sal areas ñ although public land under government control ñ have, in some cases, been converted into pineapple plantations by private operators. Apart from Sal, other important species (of medicinal value) are also found in the area ñ either standing in short rows along the road or growing gregariously in small clusters in the Sal forest zone. These species include Amloki (phyllanthus embelica), Ajuli (dellenia pentagyna roxb.), Boyra (terminalia belerica roxb.) and Hartaki (terminalia chebula); and their principal products and uses are fuel, fruit as well as raw materials for traditional herbal medicine. The types of uses from tree products in the study area can, therefore, be summarized as (a) manufacturing of furniture, plows, poles, wheels for bullock carts, paddy husking pedal, house frames and other similar timber uses; (b) twigs and leaves as the principal source of fuel for the low income groups; and (c) gums, berries, nuts and barks of certain trees for medicinal use.
Emerging Problems. Informal discussions with and questionnaires administered to the forest-fringe inhabitants revealed the problems they are facing in their dependence on the forest products. These problems/constraints (which are becoming severe with the passage of time) are summarized below.
The foremost problem, cited by the forest product users of the low income group, is the harassment they face during the collection of forest products from the forest guards. Tree felling is legally prohibited; however, dead branches of trees and dried fallen leaves are allowed to be collected for fuel by the local population, yet tree felling and cutting of branches from mature trees are punishable by law. Nonetheless, affluent residents and agents of wealthy timber merchants from Dhaka area practice an elaborate method to evade the problem through kickbacks, and corruption among the forest guards is rampant. The poor and landless residents, however, cut down trees for fuel in a clandestine manner at night, and are continuously intimated by guards even when they are collecting dead branches and fallen leaves.
The second problem relates to the general decimation of Sal forest in the study area as well as in the neighboring mauzas. Almost all the older residents lament that the tree cover was perceptibly greater some 10 to 15 years ago. Both Sal tees and coppice are fast diminishing in numbers and area, and consequently, the local people are facing fuel scarcity ñ especially twigs and leaves of Sal. Besides, supply has also dwindled in terms of other tree products like medicinal herbs, nuts, gums etc.
Distance to the forest zone is the third problem cited by the forest product users. This is the direct result of forest degradation and depletion, when ñ due to forest shrinkage ñ one is required to walk longer distances in order to collect fuel and other tree products. The fourth problem in tree product collection is the seasonal nature of the availability of tree products. This is, of course, a natural problem, since dried leaves, twigs and dead tree branches are in greater supply during the dry season, while the stock diminishes in the rainy season. The seasonal scarcity becomes more acute due to the gradual depletion of the total forest cover. One other problem identified in the study area concerns the lack of trust between the Garos ñ the indigenous community ñ and the local forest administration. The Garos, who regard the forest land as their own ancestral communal land allegedly ´usurpedí by the Forest Department, are constantly engaged in disputes with forest department personnel over their access to and use of forest products.
The people living in and around the study area are entirely dependent for their fuel needs of the local forests. The principal use of fuel is for cooking food, while other uses include boiling paddy and manufacturing molasses from sugarcane as well as heating in the cold season. With the diminishing supply of Sal trees and leaves, the people are now often forced to use rice straw, paddy husks, jute sticks, bagasse from sugarcane plants and dung cakes for fuel. It was also observed that, due to the scarcity of trees and leaves, the people were often using the lower part of the trunk of Sal coppice.
Users' Perception. During the field survey, specific questions were asked to ascertain the respondentsí perception of the local forest wealth, especially their attitudes and opinions on the problem of deforestation and measures for reforestation. Among the two principal causative factors of deforestation cited by the local people, one is the increasing demand for firewood as well as timber for such items like plow, house frame, poles etc. The other contributory factor is farmland encroachment of forest tracts. Both factors are the indirect result of fast population growth (around 2.5 percent per year) in the past three decades.
The general population are aware of the severe problems that would result from progressive deforestation. Some of the problems, cited by them, are:
(a) scarcity of firewood (fuel) including leaves;
(b) scarcity of mature timber for plows, frames, poles, furniture;
(c) loss of medicinal plants;
(d) decay of the aesthetic landscape; and
(e) increased soil erosion.
The forest-fringe population are strongly in favor of forest regeneration and protection schemes. They are of the view that, in any reforestation effort or scheme, Sal trees should be given preference over other exotic species because of its (Sal) multipurpose uses and capacity to grow from coppice even after repeated cutting. Although some new species like eucalyptus and Australian acacias have been introduced by the Forest Department in the study area on grounds of being fast growing trees, the local population do not appear to favor them due to the limited number of tree products obtainable from the new exotic species. The respondents of this survey suggested the following forest regeneration measures:
(a) new Sal plantations in lieu of non-local (imported) species;
(b) total moratorium on clear felling for at least 10 years;
(c) special protection for Sal coppice;
(d) planting fruit trees such as jack fruit, mango, blackberry and guava;
(e) and involvement of the local people in forest conservation through participatory benefit-sharing schemes (social forestry), which have proved successful in some parts of the Madhupur Tract under the initiatives of some national NGOs.
Looking Ahead. With a view to minimizing the vulnerability of the forest-fringe population in central Bangladesh, the following recommendations are offered for implementation:
Participatory forest management, through benefit-sharing scheme involving the forest-dependent population in planting and care-taking could be encouraged.
Sal tree planting should be given preference over exotic species.
Fruit trees could also be planted which would yield timber as well seasonal fruits for sale.
Greater vigilance against illegal timber trade along with radical measures to stop corrupt practices among the forest personnel is required.
Total prohibition of conversion of forest land into farmland through clandestine encroachment is essential.
Agroforestry may be introduced selectively on degraded and less fertile lands which would provide the forest-dependent people with some food products, biomass for home consumption, and some cash from sale of tree products.
Mainstreaming of the indigenous population in forest conservation/protection measures is essential to remove their feeling of alienation.
| [1] Professor of Geography
and Environment, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh. Email: [email protected] |