Perception Based Assessment of Ecosystem Services of Madhupur Sal Forest in Bangladesh
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE European Journal of Agriculture and Food Sciences www.ejfood.org Perception Based Assessment of Ecosystem Services of Madhupur Sal Forest in Bangladesh Soumitra Saha, Shaikh Shamim Hasan, Md. Enamul Haque, and Tofayel Ahamed ABSTRACT Madhupur Sal (Shorea robusta) forest, the largest belt of natural Sal forest in Bangladesh, is rich in ecological resources and biodiversity. In recent Published Online: January 15, 2021 years, human disturbance leads to biodiversity loss from the forest, and it ISSN: 2684-1827 has a successive effect on the services that the forest provides. Thus, it is crucial to explore the present condition of the forest’s available ecosystem DOI: 10.24018/ejfood.2021.3.1.194 services with local people’s consciousness about the ecosystem. The present study investigated the available ecosystem services of Madhupur Sal forest, Soumitra Saha respondents’ perception towards those services and the socio-demographic Dept. of Agril. Extn. & Rural Devt., characteristics of the respondents that influenced their perception. Data BSMRAU, Gazipur, Bangladesh. were collected by interviewing 90 respondents with a focus group discussion. (e-mail: soumitra.saha56@ bsmrau.edu.bd) Most of the respondents in the study area were ethnic people (Garo). A total Shaikh Shamim Hasan * of 20 ecosystem services were identified where soil erosion control, mental Dept. of Agril. Extn. & Rural Devt., BSMRAU, Gazipur, Bangladesh. peace and maintenance of soil fertility were the top-ranked services. About 83% of the respondents had moderately favorable perception towards (e-mail: shamim.aer bsmrau.edu.bd) Md. Enamul Haque ecosystem services. The study results showed that the respondents with a Dept. of Agril. Extn. & Rural Devt., higher level of education, higher family annual income, and more training BSMRAU, Gazipur, Bangladesh. received on agriculture perceived ecosystem services to a greater extent than (e-mail: denamul_2008 yahoo.com). others. So, improvement of their perception towards ecosystem services can Tofayel Ahamed make them aware of forest biodiversity conservation. Dept. of Agroforestry & Environment, BSMRAU, Gazipur, Bangladesh. (e-mail: tofayela gmail.com). Keywords: Ecosystem Services, Madhupur, Bangladesh, Perception, Sal Forest. *Corresponding Author evaluated the effect of ecosystem change on human day to I. INTRODUCTION life. It [8] showed the connection between the livelihoods of Natural ecosystems contribute to human welfare by people and ecosystem services. It found that the deterioration offering different types of services that are crucial to their of ecosystem services negatively affected the livelihood of survival [1]. Forests are the harbor of immense terrestrial and people [9]. According to [8], the ecosystem services are those aquatic biodiversity, provide environmental services that are that provide several benefits to the people and are primarily fundamental for the Earth’s life support systems [2]. They grouped into provisioning (tangible products like food fiber, provide a vast array of ecosystem services such as timber timber, fuel, etc.), regulating (regulates the natural production, non-timber forest products, maintenance of water phenomena like soil erosion control, maintenance of soil supply and quality, carbon sequestration, climate change fertility, protection from extreme natural events, etc.), mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity conservation, etc. supporting (enables other services to function like primary Besides, forests are the host of various social, cultural, production, soil formation, nutrient cycling, etc.), and cultural spiritual, aesthetic, recreational, and educational benefits [3], services (intangible benefits that include recreational, [4]. However, in recent years, sustaining ecosystem services spiritual, cognitive development, or aesthetic experiences, has become a major challenge in a rapidly changing world. etc.). Despite this recognized function of forests in maintaining This article focuses on the local peoples’ perception livelihoods, deforestation is continuing at a rapid pace towards Madhupur Sal forest’s ecosystem services of Tangail worldwide. Human societies are altering ecosystems locally district. According to [10], local people’s perception towards and globally. The rapid rate of global environmental change ecosystem services is important not only for evaluating the makes it continuously difficult for the biotic world to adapt socio-cultural dimension of ecosystem services but also for [3], [5]. assuring the behavioral compliance with management and Any benefits that humans acquire from ecosystems, either policies. The Madhupur Sal forest (also known as Madhupur directly or indirectly are recognized as ecosystem services Garh) is an attractive area located in Dhaka division of [6]. While some of the benefits are tangible (food, fuel, or Bangladesh, landform is Pleistocene terrace, placed between timber), other benefits like soil erosion control, climate the river Bangshai in the west and Banar in the east [11]. The control, pollination by native bees, or, nutrient cycling have Garh is a northern part of the Madhupur tract, and situated a been hardly acknowledged [7]. The international program, few meters above the surrounding flood plains; 36% of the namely Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA), forest coverage declined during the years of 1975 to 1983 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24018/ejfood.2021.3.1.94 Vol 3 | Issue 1 | January 2021 39 ORIGINAL ARTICLE European Journal of Agriculture and Food Sciences www.ejfood.org [12]. Generally, forest can supply all major ecosystem with a semi-structured interview schedule was used to collect services from provisioning to cultural. The forest aids forest- data from the respondents. The respondents were selected dwellers for meeting their daily needs since ancient times. from the three villages of Madhupur Upazila of Tangail The forest communities support a wide array of threatened district. All the respondents of three villages whose livelihood species, including the disappeared species. In recent days, strategy directly or indirectly associated with the Sal forest social and religious values related to the forest have declined were the population of the present study. The total number of mostly due to technological development and urbanization respondents of the three villages was 764. Out of them, 90 [13]. respondents were selected as a sample through a Madhupur Sal forest, also the third-largest forest of proportionate random sampling technique. The data Bangladesh, once housed numerous species, including collection process was completed within December 2019 to different fruit trees, vegetables, medicinal plants, various March 2020. herbs, and creepers. Now, most of it has been converted into B. Measurement of Dependent Variables gardens of banana, pineapple, rubber, fuelwood, turmeric, and papaya. Over the last two and a half decades, forest land The perception of the respondents towards ecosystem has experienced massive environmentally harmful changes. services was the dependent variable of this study. A five- The natural forest vanished along with its rich biodiversity, point Likert type scale, consisting of 21 statements on causing inestimable and possibly persistent loss to the ecosystem services was used to measure respondents’ environment. The Forest Department has sown the alien and perception towards ecosystem services. Among the invasive species in the forest area, mostly eucalyptus and statements, 14 were positive and 07 were negative. Reverse acacia, by clearing of Sal trees [12]. scoring was assigned for negative statements. Score 5, 4, 3, The loss of the natural forest has also devastated the life 2, and 1 was assigned for strongly agree, agree, undecided, and livelihood of the ethnic people (Garo) of the forest. The disagree and strongly disagree statements respectively. Same ‘Garos’ have been deemed the earliest dweller of the scale was used in the studies of [21]-[26]. Madhupur, and originally migrated from Tibet. The Garos To get respondents’ perception score towards ecosystem have a matrilineal society; women are the main bread earner services, individual scores of 21 statements were added who mostly exploit the forest’s biological resources. But the together. Thus, the perception score of a respondent could destruction of the indigenous Sal forest, which has become range from 21 to 105, where 21 indicating ‘very low intense after the liberation war of Bangladesh, has made their perception’ and 105 indicating ‘very high perception’. By task complicated [14]-[16]. using the formula of mean ± SD, the respondents’ perception Until the beginning of the 20th century, this forest scores were categorized into less favorable (up to 58), remained as a large continuous belt with rich biodiversity, but moderately favorable (58 to 68) and highly favorable increasing pressure has been placed on them due to the rapid perception (more than 68). population growth. Encroachers have occupied most of the C. Measurement of Independent Variables forest area [17]. So, the services that the forest in the early The independent variables of the present study were days offered to the local public are on the way to gender, age, family size, level of education, land ownership, deterioration. Researches on the Madhupur Sal forest have farm size, family annual income, extension media contact, emphasized mainly on conservation [11], [18] and ecology and training received on agriculture. [19], [20] of the ecosystem.