Detrimental deforestation

Local people (wood cutters) taking away their wood-cut from the forest of Eidgaon (Cox's Bazar) to be sold in the local market for about Taka 30/- only each bundle.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation has released preliminary results from a global forest study that considered tropical deforestation from land clearing between 1981 and 1990. It found that the world is losing its tropical forests at the alarming rate of almost 42 million acres per year, an increase of 50 per cent from an estimate made a decade earlier. This means that nearly 1.3 acres of tropical forest disappear every second. The largest areas of forest loss occurred in Latin America, followed by Africa. However, when deforestation is measured as a percentage of the remaining forest, the most losses occurred in Asia, where 1.2 per cent of the forest was destroyed per year during the 1980s. At the current rate tropical forest will be gone within 115 years.

The Bangladesh forest with its exuberant majesty and biodiversity depleted and shrank to 6 per cent from 20 per cent of land area within a time span of 50 years after 1947. This happened due to policy weakness, over-exploitation and law and order failures. It is fact that, there is lack of legislation to provide protection to the national forest but poor implementation mechanism of the existing rules perhaps cause a greater damage in this regard. Since the beginning of the British rule, the Indian subcontinent including Bangladesh appeared to hold inexhaustible forest resources base. Rennel's map (1886) indicated that the Sundarbans, sal forest of the Bhawal-Madhupur tracts covered an area several times larger than it is at present. The hill forests of Chittagong, CHT, Sylhet, Mymensingh and Comilla were also densely populated by more than 2000 flowering plant species including 300 tree species. Nearly 30 tree species in hill forest, 20 species in plain land forest and 30 species in the littoral forests used to be commercially exploited. In addition, the homesteads were covered with valuable fruit, fodder, timber, fuel wood, bamboo and many multipurpose tree species.

The demand for forest products was low and population size was three times smaller. Hence, the government and the people at that time could collect products from forests freely as per need. This demand-supply situation is now a matter of the past. For over the centuries the policy pursued by administrators was to expand the agricultural land area by clearing of forest by ignoring or underestimating the tangible contributions of forest. The destructive policy, rapid change of society from rural to urban and growth of population put extra stress on forests that consequently depleted Bangladesh forests to the present level.

Environmental Biology and Biodiversity Laboratory (EBBL), University of Dhaka has recently made a study on the traditional and cultural involvement of local people and the causes of deforestation in some forest areas of Chittagong and Cox's-Bazar districts. The local people (because they are poor and illiterate) are culturally habituated to go inside the forest every morning and have some wood or undergrowth plants (throughout the day) cut for selling in the market nearby in the same evening for a few taka only. Most interesting at the sometime alarming is that, out of 351 such individuals interviewed 137 were found with age limit below 12 years only (from 6 years - 12 years). When age was considered, upto 60 years old individuals were also found as wood cutters. In the question of gender, 66.4 per cent were men and 33.6 per cent were women. The local people were illiterate and the children were not found school-going. Most of the local people were found "governed" by the local leaders and influential men. They were not only illiterate, size of their family was found to be very large. Out of 351 interviewed individuals, 164 were found with family members varying from 7 to 10. This cultural and local tradition in the forest areas definitely create high population pressure; and the unwanted and unplanned illiterate people become main cause of deforestation for the natural forest areas.

Enactment of appropriate policy and legislation and their proper implementation could probably help to save the country from present precarious situation in respect of forest resources. In that perspective the existing forest policies and legislation are reviewed here.

The first outline of the policy for forest conservancy was laid down in 1858 as Charter of Indian Forests during the reign of Lord Dalhousie. Subsequently, the Forest Policy, 1894 indicated regarding the role of forest in the conservation of soil, climate, watershed and prevention of erosion, siltation, flood, cyclone, torrent, etc. However, preference on agricultural use of land over forestry practice remained unchanged. Hence, clearing of forest for agricultural use of land continued unabated and unchanged even after enactment on the policy. The Forest Policy 1995 dealt with primarily the issues related to West Pakistan forest and thus it grossly neglected the issues that relate to Bangladesh forest. On the contrary, it was assumed under it's provision that Bangladesh has vast forest coverage hence emphasis in framing the policy was put on increased exploitation of natural forest and the need for conservation, development and management were undermined and ignored.

Consequently, a Forest Product Laboratory was set in Chittagong and Paper Mill at Chandraghona during the mid-fifties for increased extraction and utilisation of forest products at commercial scales. The Forest Policy, 1995 was revised in 1962, but the policy discrimination regarding Bangladesh forest continued even after adoption of this policy. However the need for strengthening of Forest Department and initiation of research on Forest Management Research in Bangladesh were felt necessary under the revised Forest Policy, 1962. This policy also failed to support all round growth perspectives of forest and failed to recognise the need oriented forestry research, development and utilisation. Hence, degradation of forest in Bangladesh continued.

The Forest Policy for the independent Bangladesh framed in 1997 remained dormant for a long time as an office document without any effective implementation effort due to lack of sincere intention of GOB and capability of Forest Department. Under the changed socio-economic condition and deteriorating law and order that followed after 1972, there happened to be rapid exhaustion of the forest resources in Bangladesh. In addition price hike of the fossil fuel in the international market, closure of the Suez Canal and economic isolation of Bangladesh from the world community accelerated rapid exhaustion of resources including the forest resources. The Forest Policy, 1962 was found inadequate in view of UNCED (Rio Conference, 1992) that viewed forest as multi functional, multi dimensional and renewable biological resources production unit with multiple use potentials.

The policy makers being inspired by the Rio Conference did ultimately realise the need for a sectarian study for farming a 20-year Forestry Master Plan to combat the environmental and ecological degradation in Bangladesh. The Forestry Master Plan was published accordingly in 1993. The National Forest Policy, 1994 subsequently enacted by MOEF envisages (i) raising forest-cover to 20 percent by 2015; (ii) ensuring coordinated participation of FD, NGOs and private individuals in forestry related activities; (iii) strengthening capability of FD, Bangladesh Forest Research Institute (BFRI), Forest Industries Development Corporation (BFIDC), Forestry Training Academy University; (v) entrepreneureship development to deal with research, development and utilisation of forest resources; (vi) reorganisation of FD, BFRI, BFIDC and other forestry sector organisations.

The estimated resources requirement for the proposed activities was Tk. 8,000 million. ADB came forward to organise collection of fund from various donor agencies. The Forestry Sector Project (FSP) was launched in 1997 with ADB support of Tk. 4,000 million as the first project for implementing the FMP recommendations. As per ADB evaluation FSP though launched since mid 1997 is a sick project and failed to reach the physical and financial targets. The forest offences in British-India were dealt under the Indian Penal Code until the forest in several states was declared as State Forest for management, exploration and conservation purpose. The customary rights of people as well as the public interest in forestry sector recognised by the government are facilitating to conservation and management of state forests. Hence, it was soon realised that to deal with vivid nature of forest-offences that take place within the state forests special laws required to be enacted. The Forest Act, 1865 was, therefore, enacted in India to prevent crimes, protecting resources e.g., trees, wildlife, ecology, watershed, landscape, etc. and to expand and manage the state forests. Hence the Act was subsequently revised in 1878. Finally, the Forest Act. 1927 was enacted to provide full-scale legal coverage for protection and development of Reserve Forest and other types of state managed forests.

This Act was valid in Bangladesh to deal with Forest-offences until enactment of the Forest Act. 1994 with the subsequent amendment in 2000. Other laws, ordinances and rules of general nature that have a strong bearing in relation to forest administration, management and conservation include (I) Bangladesh Wildlife (Preservation) Act 1973, (Amendment) 1974 and 1998; (ii) Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act 1995; (ii) Environmental Conservation Rule, 1997, (iv) Hill Cutting Ordinance, 1986; (v) Brick Burning Act, 1989; (vi) Cattle Trespass Act, 1871 etc.

From the above discussion it becomes apparent that there had been defined policies for forestry practice in Bangladesh since 1865. But only few of these are satisfactory to the needs of time and the legislation enacted for pursuing the policies are rather punitive in nature than encouraging to private sector involvement in forestry activities. Moreover, the prevailing law and order in Bangladesh makes FD unable to implement the existing legislation and in providing protection to the national forests. For example, as per several of FD field staff and timber merchants of Cox's Bazar, Rangamati and Khagrachhari who preferred to remain anonymous, it costs nearly Tk. 70,000 in the form of extortion for moving a seven tonne truck from these stations to Dhaka. The parties involved in extorting money are 27 where FD's share is less than 20 percent. It, therefore, becomes clear that none of the single agencies including FD can totally stop pilferage of forest resources in Bangladesh. The FD officials at all levels are in favour of enactment of more harsh forest rules with provisions of severe punitive measures and non-bailable confinement. But promulgation or enactment of Acts alone may not be of much help under the existing morally and socio-economically degraded condition.

Bangladesh has got enormous possibility to protect forests and to increase afforestation with adopting some scientific and socio-cultural practices. Vast forest area of Chittagong, Cox's Bazar and Chittagong Hill Tracts could be brought under the programme of ecotourism management. With the implementation of the ecotourism programme, the local people's involvement could be made usual and fruitful. Poverty alleviation of the local and or tribal people (where necessary and applicable) could be easily adopted. In many countries ecotourism is helping the local population in this way. Example could be taken from the countries of Africa. If ecotourism management could be made functional with cooperation of local people, then the forests will automatically attain the participatory forest status. In the participatory forest status, the local people will be very much interested to protect the forests for their own interests when they will understand that the forests are essential not only for environmental soundness but also for their economic support.

Dr. M A Bashar is Professor, Department of Zoology, Dhaka University and Pro-Vice Chancellor, Bangladesh Open University, Gazipur.