Bridging Livelihoods and Forest Conservation in Protected Areas: Exploring the role and scope of non-timber forest products Field experience from Satchari National Park, Habiganj, Bangladesh A dissertation paper submitted for the partial fulfillment of B.Sc. (Honors) in Forestry Submitted by Sharif Ahmed Mukul Registration no: 2001631031 Bridging Livelihoods and Forest Conservation in Protected Areas: Exploring the role and scope of non-timber forest products Field experience from Satchari National Park, Habiganj, Bangladesh Research Paper Prepared and Submitted by Sharif Ahmed Mukul Registration no. 2001631031 Department of Forestry School of Agriculture and Mineral Sciences Shahjalal University of Science and Technology May, 2007 ii Certification This is to certify that this paper entitled, ‘Bridging Livelihoods and Forest Conservation in Protected Areas: Exploring the role and scope for non-timber forest products’ is an original paper prepared by Registration no. 2001631031 (Session 2001- 02) based on his field study at Satchari National Park, Habiganj, Bangladesh for the partial fulfillment of his B.Sc. (Hons.) in Forestry degree at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh. He has completed the work under my supervision and I do hereby approve the style and contents of this paper. A.Z.M. Manzoor Rashid Assistant Professor Department of Forestry iii Declaration This is to declare that, it is an original paper prepared by myself based on my one year field investigations at Satchari National Park, Habiganj, Bangladesh; to submit as a requirement for the partial fulfillment of B. Sc. (Hons.) degree in the Department of Forestry at School of Agriculture and Mineral Sciences of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh. This paper has not been submitted or considered elsewhere for achieve any other degrees. I also confirmed that, the author of this paper is fully responsible for its contents and views expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflected those of Department of Forestry of SUST or of the other funding. Finally, I authorize the reproduction or citation1 of the publication for educational or other non-commercial purpose provided the source is fully acknowledged. Sharif Ahmed Mukul Reg. No. 2001631031 May, 2007 1 Recommended citation: Mukul, S.A. 2007. Bridging livelihoods and forest conservation in protected areas: Exploring the role and scope of non-timber forest products. Field experience from Satchari National Park, Habiganj, Bangladesh. BSc. Dissertation. Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh. xi + 95 pp. iv Acknowledgement The research was partially funded by USAID under a joint fellowship programme of East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii and Nishorgo Support Project, Bangladesh. Firstly, I would like to thanks my course supervisor Mr. A.Z.M. Manzoor Rashid for his invaluable guidance and constructive criticism during preparing this research paper. I am also gratefully acknowledged the advice and co-operation provided my earlier supervisor and research collaborator Mr. Mohammad Belal Uddin. I am indebtfully grateful to Dr. Jefferson Fox of East-West Center for his consistent comments in preparing a abridged version of this paper. Thanks are also due to Dr. Eva Wollenberg, Dr. Manuel Ruiz Pérez, Dr. Brian M. Belcher, Dr. Carol J. Pierce Colfer, Dr. Douglas Sheil and Ms. Patricia Shanley of Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR); Jenne H. de Beer of Non-Timber Forest Products Exchange Programme (NTFP- EP) for South and South-East Asia and Dr. Grazia Borrini- Feyeraband of IUCN-TILCEPA for their guidelines as well as for providing me with some of their valuable publication. Finally, I would like to thanks Mr. Joydip Roy, Site Facilitator of Nishorgo Support Project at Satchari National Park for his all-out support during my field visits. Field assistance of Tito, Nobel and Pranto are also gratefully acknowledged. Constructive advice and comments on the present paper provided my other classmates were also appreciable. At last, I express my deep gratitude to the inhabitants of the study area for their heartiest cooperation throughout the study period. I pay my sincere gratitude to them. Author May, 2007 v Dedication Dedicated to my beloved parents and lovely brother, Munim; whose love and patience sustains me to conduct the work. vi Contents Certification ii Declaration iii Acknowledgement iv x Acronyms xi ABSTRACT CHAPTER 1: Introduction 1 Study context 2 3 Study objectives CHAPTER 2: Literature Review 5 Forests and rural livelihoods 6 6 Deforestation and diminishing global biodiversity 8 Protected Areas: A means of biodiversity conservation? 10 Global threats to Protected Areas 11 State of Bangladesh forests Biodiversity of Bangladesh: An overview 14 Threatened Biodiversity of Bangladesh 16 Protected Areas of Bangladesh 17 Non-Timber Forest Products: a potential element for PA management 20 The defined areas of Non-Timber Forest Products 21 Non-Timber Forest Products and forest conservation 21 NTFPs and rural livelihoods in Bangladesh 22 CHAPTER 3: Materials and Methods 24 25 3.1. The Study Area 3.1.1 History and background of the area 25 3.1.2 Vegetation type 25 3.1.3 Bio-ecological zone 25 3.1.4 Climate and Topography 26 3.1.5 Biodiversity 26 3.2. Methodology 29 3.2.1 Data Collection 29 3.2.1.1 Collection of Secondary Information 29 3.2.1.2 Collection of Primary Information 29 a) Selection of sample villages 29 b) Selection of the key informant 30 c) Focus group discussion (FGD) 30 vii d) Observation / Transect walk 30 e) Selection of the households 31 f) Sampling intensity 31 g) Field survey 32 h) Estimation of HHs forest dependency and related income 32 i) Study period 32 3.2.2 Data Analysis and Synthesis 32 CHAPTER 4: Results 34 1. Life and Living in Satchari National Park 35 1.1. Demographic structure 36 1.2. Educational status 36 1.3. Socio-economic condition of the HHs 37 2. Forest-Human Relationship 38 3. The dependency of households on NTFPs 39 4. NTFP collection and forest conservation: understanding people’s perceptions and beliefs in Satchari 44 5. Forest resources depletion in Satchari - The insights 47 5.1 Problems related to socio-economic features 47 5.1.1. Poverty and unemployment 47 5.1.2. Fragile socio-economic conditions in adjoining areas 47 5.2 Problems related to bio-physical features 48 5.2.1. Invasive alien species 48 5.2.2. Replacement of natural forests through large scale plantation of fast growing exotic species (monoculture) 49 5.2.3. Sawmills and brickfields 49 5.2.4. Fragmentation of forest, construction of roads and unproblematic transportation facilities 50 5.3 Problems related to Institutional features 50 5.3.1. Inadequate personnel and resources of Forest Department 50 5.3.2. Improper law enforcement 51 5.3.3. Lack of people’s awareness 51 6. Co-management of national park – A new approach for PA management in Satchari 51 6.1. People’s response towards co-management: some empirical findings 52 CHAPTER 5: Discussion 54 NTFPs and livelihoods 55 NTFPs and forest conservation 56 CHAPTER 6: Conclusion 58 REFERENCES 61 viii List of Figures Figure 2.1. The underlying causes of deforestation 7 Figure 2.2. The economics of PA 8 Figure 2.3. The diverse threat to world’s protected areas 10 Figure 2.4. Map showing the distribution of forests in Bangladesh 12 Figure 2.5. Floral diversity of Bangladesh 15 Figure 2.6. Faunal diversity of Bangladesh 15 Figure 2.7. Ecological representations of Bangladesh protected areas 18 Figure 2.8. Map showing the distribution of PAS in Bangladesh 19 Figure 3.1. Location Map of Satchari National Park 27 Figure 3.2. A juvenile Hoolock Gibbon (Hylobates hoolock) in Fig tree 28 Figure 3.3. A curious Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta) in Satchari 28 Figure 3.4. Female and infant Hoolock Gibbon in Chalta tree 28 28 Figure 3.5. A contented Hoolock Gibbon Family! 31 Figure 3.6. A community map prepared through FGD at Ratanpur village 33 Figure 3.7. Flow chart of the overall study process 37 Figure 4.1. Household’s involvement in various livelihood activities in Satchari 38 Figure 4.2. Economic classification of the HHs 39 Figure 4.3. Forest Dependency of the villages by households Figure 4.4. Relationship between income category and forest dependency in Satchari 40 Figure 4.5. Household’s involvement in major NTFPs collection in Satchari 40 Figure 4.6. C. gigantea, A. vasica and A. cardamomum; three widely used medicinal plants in the study area 42 Figure 4.7. Various types of fuelwood loads having varying price have been 44 brought from Satchari to local market Figure 4.8. Some common IA plant species of Satchari 48 Figure 4.9. A sawmill located just in the edge of Satchari National Park 49 Figure 4.10. People illegally brought timber from the national park by using the trails within tea gardens and transport it to nearby sawmills through local buses 50 List of Tables Table 2.1. Forest types (ecosystem diversity) and areas in Bangladesh 13 Table 2.2. Animal species extinct from Bangladesh at recent past 16 Table 2.3. Present status of inland and resident vertebrates (species diversity) of Bangladesh 16 Table 2.4. List of Bangladesh protected areas 18 Table 3.1. Villages located in and near the SNP and their level of stakes with the park 30 Table 4.1. Summary information of the selected villages having stakes with Satchari National Park 35 Table 4.2. Classification of HHs members based on their age distribution 36 Table 4.3. Distribution of HH members in the study area according to their educational status 36 Table 4.4. Forest Dependency of the villages 38 Table 4.5. Different NTFPs exploited from the SNP and adjacent forest by local households 39 ix Table 4.6.