Gerhard Oesten

Floral composition and biodiversity conservation in homestead forests in Mymensingh, Bangladesh

Continued denudation of forest vegetation in national forests and protected areas of Bangladesh, due to increasing population and other biotic and abiotic pressures, poses a threat to forest productivity and biodiversity. Homestead forests, although mostly in scattered areas, provide most of the total supply of timber and timber products in Bangladesh. This study investigated the biodiversity of homestead forests in the Mymensingh District, Bangladesh. We studied the composition, diversity and structure of homestead forest species through empirical field research. A total of 43 woody perennials and 38 vegetables species were found in the study sites. Banana, betel nut, jackfruit, mango, mahogany, teak and acacia constituted the major floral composition. The abundance of horticultural species was higher than that of the timber species in all the study sites. However, among the newly planted homestead plants, timber species are gradually increasing. This trend of floral dynamics indicates a probable change in future homestead plant structure and composition. This study confirms that the homestead forests of Bangladesh are rich in plant species diversity even distributed sporadically in small areas. With appropriate models, based on both traditional and scientific knowledge, homestead forestry could emerge as an effective means for both economic well-being and biodiversity conservation in Bangladesh.

Attitudes of rangeland holders towards sustainable range management in Iran: a case study of the Semnan rangelands

Rangeland depletion is a persistent problem in many developing countries and is often a result of inappropriate management activities such as overstocking, particularly in the regions of West Asia and North Africa (WANA). To convert to a sustainable system of range management, programs aimed at improving rangeland condition, such as range management or livestock development plans, which are mainly based on the range succession model, have been developed and implemented by several governments. A primary objective of these programs is to maintain stocking rates at a sustainable level. However, in many cases, rangeland users’ ignorance of socioeconomic factors has caused ineffectual implementation and thus a reduction in the effectiveness of these programs overall. In this study, a survey was conducted on rangeland communities in central northern Iran where the livestock population is 15% above the proposed carrying capacity 20 years after the inception of the Range Management Plan (RMP). The focus of this study was to investigate reasons that the RMP has not been successful, from the perspective of the rangeland holders. The data were collected using open-ended interviews. The data analysis indicated that the primary barriers to the successful implementation of the RMP are quite well matched with the description of the ‘diffusion of innovations’ theory. The three characteristics of the RMP innovation, including the lack of high relative advantages, incompatible structure of the RMP with the traditional rules, and lack of observability of short-term benefits from the RMP, were realised as the main barriers to the success of the RMP adoption. An additional concern for the rangeland holders was drought, which they felt was not adequately addressed or dealt with in the RMP. Lastly, the government’s failure to fulfil the initial commitments of the RMP, for instance financial supports, has resulted in a loss of confidence of rangeland holders in the enforcement agency and governmental policies.

Economic dependence of rural people on homestead forestry in Mymensingh, Bangladesh

Homestead forests contribute substantially to the rural economy of Bangladesh. Rural people depend on trees and plants for their energy usage, housing, food and other forms of subsistence livelihood. In order to identify the potential role of forests on homestead dwellers, an empirical field investigation was conducted in the four Upazilas of Mymensingh district of Bangladesh. It was found that land holdings of the respondents within the four sites are the highest in Mymensingh. The study made an important observation that among all homestead vegetation between 5–6 years old, tree species are generally preferred over plants. This is perhaps due to the efforts of the social forestry extension service to demonstrate that planting trees is an important long-term investment. In all four Upazilas, there was a significant correlation between household annual income and homestead forestry, agriculture and fisheries practice, suggesting that higher income families tend to have larger holdings of homesteads, farms and pond areas. Three Upazilas displayed a strong positive relationship (nearly 45%) between homestead forest areas and annual family income; however, the Fulbaria Upazila showed a very poor relationship (0.2%) in this regard. The results of this study suggest that homestead forests play a positive role in the rural economy, in addition to helping mitigate the increasing problem of deforestation in Bangladesh.

Conflict and Corollaries on Forest and Indigenous People: Experience from Bangladesh

The South Asian nation of Bangladesh, with a total population of approximately 150 million (mill) and an area of 147,570 km2, is one of the most densely populated country in the world. The current population density is ~1,127.3 people km-2 (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [FAO], 2005), up from 755 people km-2 in 1991 (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics [BBS], 1993). The economy is based on agriculture and the society is agrarian, with approximately 75% of the population living in the rural areas (United Nations Population Fund [UNFPA], 2006). Per-capita land holdings are approximately 0.12 ha (Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh [GOB], 2002). Moist, humid, tropical-monsoon climate, with moderately warm temperatures, high humidity, and a wide seasonal variation in rainfall prevail in Bangladesh (GOB, 2001a). Bangladesh is prone to frequent natural calamities and is perceived as a major climate change victim. Forest cover is shrinking Worldwide, despite many efforts to halt deforestation. Forest land and resources in many developing countries are serious pressure due to extreme poverty exacerbated by overwhelming increasing population. The forestry situation is even worse in Bangladesh that biotic and abiotic pressure associated with inter and intra competition between different landuses, conversion of forest land into industrial and other non-forest uses resulted in denudation and degradation of the hills, loss of forest areas, biodiversity and wildlife habitat in Bangladesh. Traditional forest management system failed to improve the forestry situation in the country. Large scale participatory social forestry program was introduced in the early eighties of the past century throughout the country’s denuded and degraded forests as well as in marginal and newly accreted land. Forests are the home to more than half of all species living around including human being. Population estimates show that there are about 300 400 mill indigenous people worldwide (Hinch, 2001; United Nations, 2009; World Bank, 2000). In developing countries approximately 1.2 billion people rely on agroforestry farming. They are recognized as the inhabitants of the World’s most biologically diverse territories, possessor of unique linguistic and cultural diversity as well as they are in possession of huge traditional