Roles of institutions are crucial in guiding the course of events and ensuring that the goals and purposes falling within their purview get fulfilled. Institution characteristics depend on their policies, laws, regulations and conventions, and those of related organizations. Influenced by socio-political systems and related forces, institutions are public or private, government or non-government, traditional or modern, bureaucratic or non-bureaucratic or a mixture of these. Dynamism of institutions depends on their capability to change with the time, to adjust to the changes in socio-political realities and people's aspirations. Many of the socio-economic problems faced by developing countries are often the result of inability of their institutions to accept or adopt changes. Today, forestry and forestry institutions are judged in a much wider context than formerly. The interrelated and multiple roles of forests, covering the wide spectrum of environment, conservation and rational utilization of forest resource are vital for human welfare and sustained socio-economic development. Forestry's scope and importance in a country are reflected in its forestry institutions.
Analysis of institutions carried out by the Forestry Master Plan considered five interrelated areas: policy, legislation, organizational structure, human resource development, research and extension. Policy refers to the principles that govern actions directed towards given ends. Legislation is an important instrument to facilitate policy implementation. Organizational structure defines the agencies and mechanisms for translating policy directions into action, on the one hand, and the authority for enforcing legislation on the other. Quality and impact of policy implementation reflect the type of education, training, specialization and attitudes of the human resource employed. Research on all aspects of forestry (scientific, technical, economic, social, environmental, and institutional) is essential to keep the sector dynamic and to support development. Effective extension distributes improved development actions and benefits.
Major institutional issues Relevant institutional issues racing Bangladesh forestry today are: · Inadequacies of the current National Forest Policy (1979) and the need for a new, comprehensive and dynamic policy. · Irrelevance of the current Forest Act (1927) and related regulations to address the present concerns of forestry and the need for a new law for the conservation and development of forests, trees and wildlife in Bangladesh. · Weaknesses, shortcomings and conflicts in the functioning of the public forestry organizations and the urgent need to restructure them. · Lack of an effective and coordinated system of human resource development for the forestry sector and the urgent need to remove the constraints. · Poor impact and weaknesses of forestry research and the need to strengthen it with appropriate orientation, funds, facilities and autonomy. · Inadequate forestry extension effort. |
Institutional improvement needs to be effected as a package, with each of the aspects receiving commensurate attention. Important features influencing institutional evaluation are:
· Increasing rates of deforestation, encroachment and forest degradation, and productivity declines.
· Inadequate maintenance and poor quality of forest plantations.
· Loss of wildlife and biodiversity.
· Under achievement in targeted forestry programmes.
· Increasing importance of the homestead forests as the major source of forest products.
· Emergence of margins of roads, railways, field boundaries, and embankments and charl and potential sources of forest products and services.
· Increasing wood shortage for domestic and industrial use.
· Increasing bureaucratization, and lack of efficiency/accountability criteria in forest resource management.
· Inadequate reflection of national forest policy related to public and especially women's participation, rural development, decentralization, involving private and cooperative sectors and Forest Department activities.
· Lack of recognition of lessons available from global development in forestry.
