Tapan Kumar Nath

Impacts of Participatory Forestry on Livelihoods of Ethnic People: Experience from Bangladesh

As a strategy of social development, the Bangladeshi government has attached the highest priority to participatory forestry (PF) since the early 1980s. In this article, we examine the impacts of PF on livelihoods of ethnic people, drawing empirical data from three villages involved in two PF projects. The projects have varying impacts on livelihoods of participating villagers. Disparities in income and forest conditions in the study villages were traced to factors including forest production technologies (agroforestry), the top-down approach of project management, failure to create awareness about project benefits, and the inability of project staff members to organize planters. Findings also indicate that PF projects are not sufficient to conserve and develop forests without assuring peoples basic needs—food security and regular income sources. Meeting the diversified needs of people necessitates a long-term integrated plan that focuses on sustainable management of land, water, and other resources with a coordinated approach.

Shifting Cultivation (jhum) in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh: Examining its Sustainability, Rural Livelihood and Policy Implications

Despite the trend of dwindling productivity, tribal people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) still practise shifting cultivation as a dominant hill farming system to support their livelihood. Drawing on an empirical study in Khagrachari district of the CHT, this research examined how far the production from present shifting cultivation supports the tribal peoples livelihood and what alternative livelihood strategies they have adopted for subsistence by using data on input/output and income/expenditures, and analysing current government policies. The findings showed that productivity declined markedly, yields were almost equal to input values and farmers experienced food shortages for at least two to six months in a year. To make a living, farmers have adopted new occupations such as wage labour, animal husbandry, cultivation of annual monocrops and extraction and selling of forest products. Policy analysis indicates that previous policies were unable to reduce shifting cultivation intensity or improve tribal peoples livelihoods or the regions forest resources. Reorientation of government policies, easy access to institutional support and the active participation of local people in development intervention are of the utmost importance in order to find alternative land uses for sustainable hill farming, to improve the farmers living standards and to conserve forests and protect watersheds.

THE KHASIA TRIBE OF NORTHEASTERN BANGLADESH: THEIR SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS, HILL FARMING PRACTICES AND IMPACTS ON FOREST CONSERVATION

ABSTRACT An exploratory survey of the Khasia tribe in Sylhet district of Bangladesh was carried out to investigate their socio-economic conditions, hill farming practices and impacts on rural livelihood and forest conservation. Farmers were classified into three categories based on their mean monthly income. Eight households were selected at random from each category in each village. Field data were collected by interviewing 72 farmers from three villages and visiting their farms. Farmers were asked about their family size, education, landholdings, occupation, housing, income and income sources, hill farming practices and division of labour in farming activities. Officials of the Forest Department were interviewed to explore the impacts of the farming system on forest conservation. The lives of the Khasia people are centered on the hills and hill resources. Their economy is basically forest based, using simple traditional technology. Their principal occupation and source of livelihood is betel leaf based hill farming. Besides providing income and employment opportunities, this type of farming plays an important role in the conservation of the forest and its floral diversity. A buoyant market for betel, ease of establishment and maintenance and the regulation of different tree age-classes make it a sustainable production system that assists in conserving biodiversity and might be adapted for use elsewhere.

The upland settlement project of Bangladesh as a means of reducing land degradation and improving rural livelihoods

Because of illegal logging, increased population pressure and intensified shifting cultivation, forest coverage of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) has decreased drastically resulting in land degradation. Many development projects have been implemented to combat forest loss and land degradation and also to improve the livelihoods of the hill people. This paper reports an empirical study of the Upland Settlement Project (USP) of Bangladesh which was undertaken to prevent land degradation and enhance the standard of living of the people. Planters were found to have given up shifting cultivation and adopted soil conserving agroforestry practices, and forest coverage has been increased in the project village. Interacting with project staff members, government officials and NGOs assisted planters in diversifying livelihood strategies thereby reducing dependency on project resources. Rich planters, utilizing their own capacity, expanded their income sources successfully. Poor planters still remain wage labourers because they do not have sufficient finance and networks to invest in productive ventures. Planters’ participation in project activities and the information flow between them and project staff were found to be minimal. Suggestions are made for the continuity of project functions, which involve greater participation of planters in rubber management functions, improved information flow, resolution of land tenure and greater equality in distribution of rubber revenue.

Sustainability attributes of a small-scale betel leaf agroforestry system: a case study in North-eastern hill forests of Bangladesh.

The Khasia ethnic community of Bangladesh has been a population of forest villagers in the north-eastern hill forests of Bangladesh since the early 1950s, practicing a betel leaf-based agroforestry system on land granted by the Forest Department. Taking a sample forest village of the Sylhet forest division as a case study, this article examines the sustainability attributes of betel leaf production in the agroforestry system. The presence of several positive attributes of sustainability including the composition of agroforestry, disease control, soil fertility management, profitability, socio-cultural acceptability and institutional support indicate that betel leaf production within the agroforestry system is stable under the prevailing traditional management system. Income from the sale of betel leaf is the principal livelihood means and villager’s reciprocal contributions help to conserve forest resources. However, problems with land ownership and regular agreement renewal need to be resolved for the sake of their livelihoods and forest conservation.

How does local governance affect project outcomes? Experience from a Participatory Forestry (PF) project in Bangladesh

By sampling two contrasting villages of the Upland Settlement Project (USP), a PF project of Bangladesh, this research examines: the present conditions of the USP in terms of progress towards achieving targeted objectives; issues of local-level governance that affect attaining those objectives. Findings indicate that the project authority could not adequately attain project objectives because of low level of participation, lack of accountability and transparency in handling project money, gaps in communication and information flow and the poor response of project staff. For better project outcomes, governance situation need to be improved through the formation of social capital.

The competitiveness of the phytosociological attributes of the protected areas in Bangladesh with that in the other tropical countries

ABSTRACT Many forest reserves in Bangladesh have been converted to protected areas (PAs) to conserve the forests resources from further depletion. This study has investigated if such initiatives have improved the state of biodiversity of these PAs amid tremendous anthropogenic pressure on forest resources. We have assessed the phytosociological attributes of the PAs in the country through a case study at Kaptai National Park (KNP) and compared the attributes with those of the adjacent areas and of the tropical forests across the world. We have identified 52 species belonging to 45 genera and 28 families. The most dominant species in KNP was Dipterocarpus spp. and the adjacent area was dominated by Tectona grandis. Unexpectedly, the Shannon-Wiener index of KNP has dropped down from 2.98 in 2000 to 0.90 in 2014. However, in terms of relative density, relative dominance, and relative frequency, KNP was better than the adjacent areas. In contrast, the mean Shannon-Wiener index in KNP (0.90) was smaller than that in the tropical countries (2.99). We recommend strengthening effective comanagement of PAs and enabling nonforestry income generation activities for the forest-dependent people so that the biodiversity of the PAs can be enriched while people’s livelihoods are ensured.

Transformation Strategy for Managing Coupled Socio-Ecological Systems: Case Studies from Bangladesh and the Philippines

This study demonstrates the potential of transformation strategy (an approach that emphasizes strengthening interdependence among social and ecological systems) to rehabilitate degraded land by examining two cases in Bangladesh and one in the Philippines. The study considers the benefits obtained from forests and forest-related activities in the form of income and energy sources as key parameters to link the social system (local people) with the ecological system (forest). Qualitative and quantitative analysis of data on land use and socio-economic changes indicates that the transformation strategy improved both the wellbeing of local people and forest cover. In the case of the Philippines, social and ecological linkages were found to be strong, with local people rehabilitating the degraded land while also obtaining a high proportion of their total income from the activity. For the two Bangladesh cases, however, the level of dependency on the forest for livelihood declined as local people used their income from the forest and forest-related activities for diversification to non-forest activities.

Phytosociological characteristics and diversity of trees in a comanaged protected area of Bangladesh: Implications for conservation

ABSTRACT The Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS), a degraded protected area in southeastern Bangladesh, had been under comanagement since 2004. This study examined phytosociological characteristics and diversity of trees in CWS and discussed villagers’ opinions on the impact of comanagement on forest conservation. Following a stratified and systematic sampling 140 circular plots, 17.84-m radius each, were laid out in seven forest beats for the assessment of phytosociological characteristics and tree diversity. Several key-informant interviews and 15 focus group discussions were held to explore the impact of comanagement on forest conservation and on villagers’ livelihood. A total of 93 tree species were identified having a diameter at breast height (dbh) of ≥ 5 cm in 36 plant families. The dominant species were Acacia auriculiformis, Dipterocarpus turbinatus, Ficus hispida, and Tectona grandis. The average density of trees was 239 trees/ha of which 60% was composed of planted exotic species. Nearly 90% trees were belonging to 5- to 15-cm dbh class and the Shannon-Wiener index was 3.15. The comanagement governance had brought positive changes in forest conservation. However, to sustain the engagement of poor villagers in the comanagement and conservation of degraded CWS, more collective efforts are needed to support their living.

Small-Scale Rubber Planting for Enhancement of People's Livelihoods: A Comparative Study in Three South Asian Countries

South Asian upland cultivators are transitioning from subsistence production to commercial production using mainly small-scale rubber cultivation, which helps this transition and reduces poverty. This study, conducted October 2007 through February 2009, examines how small-scale rubber planting enhances peoples livelihoods. Data were gathered from Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka. We found differences in rubber tree stock, growth, management, and livelihood impact. Plantations in India and Sri Lanka were doing well, while Bangladesh tree stock was low. Strong institutional support, proper silvicultural practices, funding for plantation maintenance, and participant awareness of benefits contributed to satisfactory plantation conditions in India and Sri Lanka, where participants realized good earnings from tapping, while Bangladeshi participants earned little. Because monoculture rubber plantations present risks, participants should practice mixed cropping. Rubber agroforestry can be the best alternative to monoculture rubber plantations because it reconciles economic and sustainable uses of natural resources, and biodiversity conservation.