Connecting Communities and Conservation: Co-management Initiatives Implemented by IPAC in Wetlands and Forests of Bangladesh Connecting Communities and Conservation: Co-management Initiatives Implemented by IPAC in Wetlands and Forests of Bangladesh January 2013 USAID Contract No EPP-100-06-00007-00 Edited by: Jefferson Fox M. G. Mustafa Bryan R. Bushley Stephen M. Brennan Laurie Durand Cover Design: M.S.Hossain Chanchal INTEGRATED PROTECTED AREA CO-MANAGEMENT IN BANGLADESH Submitted to: USAID/Bangladesh This book is a product of the USAID funded Integrated Protected Area Co-management Project implemented under the management of IRG. The book was prepared under the technical leadership of the East- West Center and the WorldFish and is available at the East - West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii (www.EastWestCenter.org/Publications). Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction: Co-management Initiatives Implemented by 1 IPAC in Wetlands and Forests of Bangladesh Jefferson Fox and M.G.Mustafa Participation and governance Chapter 2: Effectiveness of Co-management Committees in Teknaf 10 Wildlife Sanctuary Md. Ariful Hoque Belal Chapter 3: Attitudes towards Co-management: Is Satchari National Park 24 a Suitable Model for Bhawal National Park? Rafiqul Islam Chowdhury Chapter 4: Sustainable Rural Livelihoods and Co-management 44 Intervention: The Case of Mokosh Beel, Gazipur, Bangladesh Umme Kulsum Ferdousi Chapter 5: Impact of MACH Project Activities on Socio-economic and Environmental Conditions in Keuta Beel of Sherpur District 62 S.M. Abul Bashar Livelihoods Chapter 6: Impacts of Alternative Income-generating Activities on Livelihoods and Forest Dependence at Madhupur National 81 Park in Bangladesh Ranadhir Kumar Das Chapter 7: Benefits and Weaknesses of Collaborative Management: A Case Study in the Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary 102 Hoq Mahbub Morshed Chapter 8: Impacts of Co-management and Related Institutions on Fish Biodiversity and Livelihoods of Fishers of Baikka Beel 115 Fozlul Kabeer Chapter 9: Reducing Dependence on Fisheries in the Ecologically 131 Critical Area Bordering the Sundarbans Reserved Forest Jahir Uddin Akon Chapter 10: Impact of Community-based Natural Resources Management and Co-management on the Livelihoods of People in the 143 Hakaluki Haor Area Mohammed Solaiman Haider Resources Chapter 11: Elephant Habitat and Human-Elephant Conflict: A Case 159 Study in Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary, Bangladesh Md. Jahidul Kabir Chapter 12: Impact of Baikka Beel Sanctuary on Protection and 177 Restoration of Fish Biodiversity and Enhancement of Local Livelihoods Md. Mahbub Ul Haque Chapter 13: Impact of Co-management on Fish Biodiversity in Dhali- 192 Baila Beel, Kangsha-Malijhee, Sherpur District Mohammad Abdur Rouf List of abbreviations ACF Assistant Conservator of Forests ADB Asian Development Bank AIGA Alternative income-generating activities BBS Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics BCAS Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies BECA Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act BNP Bhawal National Park BRAC Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee CBAECA Biodiversity Conservation and Social Protection CBFM Community-based fisheries management CEGIS Center for Environmental and Geographical Information Services CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CMC Co-management committee CMO Co-management organization CNRS Centre for Natural Resources Studies CoP Conference of the Parties CPG Community patrolling group CRU Conservation response unit CWBMP Coastal and Wetland Biodiversity Management Project CWS Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary DAE Department of Agriculture Extension DC District commissioner DFO District Fisheries Officer DFO Divisional Forest Officer DoE Department of Environment DoF Department of Fisheries EbA Ecosystem-based Adaptation EC Executive committee ECA Ecologically Critical Area ECCO Bangladesh Environment and Climate Change Outlook ETP Effluent treatment plant FD Forest Department FGD Focus group discussion FRUG Federation of resource user groups FUG Forest users group GD Group discussion GEF Global Environment Facility GIZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GTZ German Development Co-operation HEC Human-elephant conflict HH Household IFESCU Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, Chittagong University IPAC Integrated Protected Area Co-management IPM Integrated pest management IRG International Resources Group IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature KI Key informant LDF Landscape development fund MACH Management of Aquatic Ecosystems through Community Husbandry MIKE Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants MoEF Ministry of Environment and Forests MoL Ministry of Land MNP Madhupur National Park NGO Non-governmental organization NRM Natural resources management NSP Nishorgo Support Project PA Protected area PF People’s forum PRA Participatory rural appraisal RKWS Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary RMO Resource management organization RRA Rapid rural appraisal RUG Resource user group SEMP Sustainable Environmental Management Program SNP Satchari National Park TGR Teknaf Game Reserve TWS Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary UFC Upazila fisheries committee UFO Upazila fisheries office UNEP United Nations Environment Programme UP Union Parishad USAID United States Agency for International Development VCF Village conservation forum VCG Village conservation group VIA Vulnerability and impact assessment Introduction: Co-management Initiatives Implemented by IPAC in Wetlands and Forests of Bangladesh Jefferson Fox and M. G. Mustafa In 2003 the Forest Department of Bangladesh (FD) launched, in associated with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Nishorgo Support Project with the objective of enhancing biodiversity conservation in target protected areas through the active and formal involvement of local communities in the management of these sites. Nishorgo sought to empower local communities to sustainably access benefits from protected areas as a way to counter much greater threats from organized commercial timber theft, extraction for commercial brick fields or sawmills or land-grabbing (Roy and DeCosse 2006). Nishorgo also sought to increase the number of protected areas, improve infrastructure and capacity to receive visitors at parks, develop policies to promote better protected area management, strengthen institutional systems, and build the capacity of key stakeholders. The ultimate aim was to develop a model for protected area management systems that could be replicated throughout the country. In addition, Nishorgo sought to strengthen the capacity of the Forest Department and local academic institutions to conduct applied research to support the design of new and more appropriate management plans and policies. To this end, Nishorgo and the East-West Center, with support from FD and USAID, arranged a series of workshops for FD officials and local researchers. These workshops enabled participants to develop study proposals, conduct field research in the pilot protected areas, and to write up their results. These workshops resulted in the publication of two edited volumes. The first volume published eight papers focusing on issues of rural livelihoods in the pilot co-management sites (Fox et al. 2007); and the second volume contained eleven papers that analyzed the co-management initiatives implemented by Nishorgo to assess their overall effectiveness (Fox et al 2008). In 2008 the Bangladesh Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock (MoFL) launched, in association with USAID, the Integrated Protected Area Co-management (IPAC) program as a successor to Nishorgo and MACH. The Management of Aquatic Ecosystems through Community Husbandry (MACH) project was launched in 1998, also with the assistance of USAID, to develop community-based participatory approaches to wetland management. The project continued until 2005 and during that time officials worked with partners to secure dry season water rights, establish fish sanctuaries, reduce fishing pressure by exploring alternative income generating activities, promote policy-level coordination, link resource users, and improve local wetland habitats (USAID 2007). 1 IPAC seeks to improve the management of both protected wetlands and forests. The program was designed to meet the needs of co-management arrangements at national, regional, and local levels including policy development, institutional capacity building, and support for site-specific implementation. IPAC operates under the Government of Bangladesh’s Nishorgo Network, a national network of protected areas. As with Nishorgo, IPAC also sought to strengthen the capacity of the Forest Department, as well as the Department of Fisheries, the Department of Environment, and local academic institutions to conduct applied research to support the design of new and more appropriate management plans and policies for protected forests and wetlands. In collaboration with WorldFish, the East-West Center ran another series of workshops to enable participants to develop study proposals, conduct field research, and to write up their results. The first volume in the IPAC series but third in the Nishorgo/IPAC series contained eleven papers that focused on co-management and livelihoods in the protected sites (Fox et al. 2011). For this fourth and final volume, we invited an analysis of co-management initiatives implemented by IPAC in wetlands and forests in the Nishorgo Network sites. We invited applications