Bangladesh Forest Department Climate Resilient Participatory Afforestation and Reforestation Project Updating Forestry Master Plan for Bangladesh BANGLADESH FORESTRY MASTER PLAN 2017-2036 (Draft Final) December 2016 This report was prepared by Agriconsulting Europe S.A., Brussels, Belgium, and Sodev Consult International Ltd., Dhaka, Bangladesh, in partial fulfilment of the contract for the Services of “Updating Forestry Master Plan for Bangladesh; Technical study for review of Forestry Master Plan and different sectoral studies for Forestry Master Plan updating; Technical study for developing strategy, update Forestry Master Plan and prepare time specific plans”, being Package BFD/S-9 of the “Climate Resilient Participatory Afforestation and Reforestation Project”. December 2016 Agriconsulting Europe S.A. Brussels, Belgium Sodev Consult International Ltd. Dhaka, Bangladesh ii – BANGLADESH FORESTRY MASTER PLAN 2017-2036 BANGLADESH FORESTRY MASTER PLAN 2017-2036 iv – BANGLADESH FORESTRY MASTER PLAN 2017-2036 Summary for Decision Makers BANGLADESH FORESTRY MASTER PLAN 2017-2036 –v Summary of The Summary Total value of ecosystem services provided by trees and forests is impossible to measure. Remaining forests and trees outside forests contribute billions of dollars to the national economy in the form of ecosystem goods and services. Jobs and livelihoods of nearly 10 million people are dependent on the forest products, and forest product-based industries and occupations. Intact Sundarban and a coastal shelterbelt of trees can save hundreds of lives and millions of dollars each year by dampening the sea storms, cyclones and tidal surges. Ecosystem services and forest dependent jobs can be enhanced significantly by reforesting vacant forest lands and enhancing tree cover outside forests. Forestry sector institutions are weak and neglected. Nearly all the senior officers of Forest Department are retiring without proper replacements in view. 50% of the top posts in Forest Department and all other institutions are vacant. There is a severe shortage of funds even for routine activities, such as duty travel. Monitoring and evaluation systems are ineffective for want of staff and IT infrastructure. Natural forests, except Sundarban, are under severe pressure from illicit felling, encroachments and shifting cultivation. Most forests are vulnerable to impacts of climate change. Wildlife populations are declining due to habitat loss and poaching. Nearly 300000 ha forest land requires urgent reforestation/restoration. Most of forest land for reforestation is situated in in the CHT area where working conditions are very difficult. Country needs to spend close to BDT. 37500 crores in 20 years to achieve all the targets of the FMP although availability of Tk. 10,000 crores seems to be the more likely scenario. Without strengthening the forestry institutions and resolution of the CHT’s land tenure issue, no achievements are likely to be possible. vi – BANGLADESH FORESTRY MASTER PLAN 2017-2036 Background A master plan, in any sector, is meant to set the long term vision and goals for the sectoral institutions and other stakeholders to pursue, and allows them to fit their annual plans or other tactical actions into a strategic framework. Such a tool also helps potential donors and other investors to make investment decisions based on the declared goals and identified needs of the sector and assures them that their intervention fits into the long-term strategic plans of the government. The master plan also guides the government and related institutions to plan long term investments in accordance with the direction and needs identified in the strategic plan. Bangladesh was one of the first developing counties to prepare a long-term Forestry Master Plan (FMP) which was in force from 1995 to 2015. The country has now decided to update the master plan in order to be able to deal with the emerging environmental and socioeconomic challenges, and capitalise the opportunities thrown up by the emerging global consensus in dealing with environmental issues. The new FMP has been prepared as a part of the Climate Resilient Participatory Afforestation and Reforestation Project (CRPARP), funded by the Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund (BCCRF). The last FMP had proposed a minimum investment of Tk. 6,024 crores over a period of 20 years but the country could provide only Tk. 2,317 crores during this period. Due to the availability of just 38% of the required investment in the sector, most goals remained unachieved. As a result, the forestry sector suffered tremendous setbacks. According to the latest assessment, only 15% of the plains land sal forest and 11% of the hill forests now have any significant natural tree cover. All other areas, in these forest belts, have been either under plantations or have been encroached or have become severely degraded due to shifting cultivation and illicit felling. Plantations raised in these forests have also failed or have been destroyed by biotic pressure. Social forestry plantations, however, are doing well. Sundarban, the real lungs of Bangladesh, has survived any major recent damage so far and isimproving. BANGLADESH FORESTRY MASTER PLAN 2017-2036 –vii Significance of the Forestry Sector to National Well-Being Despite the multifarious problems and handicaps that the forestry sector is beset with, forests and trees make a huge contribution to the economy and ecology of the country. Although the total impact of forests and trees on various aspects of national economy and ecology has never been thoroughly assessed, the following examples illustrate the significance of the sector to the national well-being: The overall impact of forests on human well-being can be summarised in the form of ecosystem goods and services provided by them to the Bangladesh society. Although the most valuable services provided by the forest ecosystems, like protection, pollination, water regulation, soil formation etc., are intangible and immeasurable, the value of provisioning and measurable services alone runs into several billions of dollars per annum. Forests, particularly mangroves and coastal plantations, are the only natural defence for the country against frequent sea storms, cyclones and tidal bores. Bangladesh has been adjudged as one of the countries which are most vulnerable to climate change. With intensifying climate change impacts, especially sea level rise, rise in temperatures and erratic rainfall patterns, the country is going to need much stronger defences against sea borne disasters and floods. In the absence of an extensive tree cover, the losses that the country is likely to suffer are going to be of a much higher magnitude. Forests are among the most important tools, if not the only one, for moderating climate change. Climate change is the result of excessive concentration of greenhouse gasses, particularly carbon dioxide, in the atmosphere. While technologies to reduce the rate of release of carbon into the atmosphere are being developed, the only effective way to remove the existing carbon load of the atmosphere is to plant and preserve more and more trees for trapping carbon. Planting and preserving trees to sequester carbon can earn the country millions of dollars through carbon trade, in addition to providing ecosystem services and creating jobs for the local population. Wood is the most prominent and significant produce of the forests, although other goods like bamboos and non-timber forest products are no less important. Apart from meeting the needs of the people, for timber, fuel etc. forest products generate a huge amount of employment in the country. Although estimates of the employment in forest products based industries and occupations vary, all estimates indicate a very significant contribution of the forestry sector to employment generation in the country. The total employment in the forestry sector may be as high as 10 million jobs, one of the highest in any sector, as shown below: viii – BANGLADESH FORESTRY MASTER PLAN 2017-2036 Box 1: Contribution of the Forestry Sector to Employment Generation in Bangladesh A study of the furniture sector sponsored by European Union (EU), in 2013 indicates the employment of 1.8 million persons in the furniture industry alone. Forest Resources Assessment (2015) indicates a total employment in the forestry sector as equivalent to 1.5 million full time jobs, out of which 40% are women. The Statistical Year Book of Bangladesh (2014) provides a list of 33 industries/occupations related to forestry which employ 2.13 million persons, out of which 40% are women. The most stunning value of the contribution of the forestry sector to employment generation comes from the “Household Based Forestry Survey 2011-12” of Bangladesh which shows that more than 5.83 million people are employed in operations related to homestead and private plantations and products alone, out of which 2.4 million are employed full time. Adding the downstream employment generated by the forestry products in areas like furniture manufacturing, paper and pulp industry, medicinal plants, handicrafts etc. the overall impact may be close to 9-10 million full time or part time jobs. National forests are the repository of the unique biodiversity of the country. Sundarban is the only place where the royal Bengal tiger, which is the symbol of the global conservation consciousness, survives in Bangladesh. Hundreds of species of mammals, birds, butterflies and members of other phyla survive