Social-ecological and institutional factors affecting forest and landscape restoration in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh

Ronju Ahammad; Mohammed Kamal Hossain; Istiak Soghan; Rakibul Hasan; Shekhar R Biswas; Sharif A Mukul

doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2022.106478

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Social-ecological and institutional factors affecting forest and landscape restoration in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh

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Social-ecological and institutional factors affecting forest and landscape restoration in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh

Ronju Ahammad, Mohammed Kamal Hossain, Istiak Soghan, Rakibul Hasan, Shekhar R Biswas and Sharif A Mukul

Land Use Policy, Vol.125, pp.1-11

2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2022.106478

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Abstract

Ecological restoration

Social-ecological restoration

Forest and land tenure

Monoculture plantation

Community-based restoration

Sustainable development goals

Bangladesh government has recently pledged to restore 0.75 million ha of degraded forestland as part of its commitment to the Bonn Challenge, however little is known about the potential challenges and opportunities involved in achieving that goal. Using secondary literature complemented by expert consultation and a field survey, we examined the outcomes and limitations of previous restoration programmes and identified key social, ecological and institutional aspects crucial for a successful forest restoration programme in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh. The CHT region accounts for over a third of state-owned forests, and it supports a large part of the country's forest-dwelling ethnic populations, although most of the forestland is severely degraded. Our analysis revealed that past programmes had utilised participatory tree planting, horticulture and rubber-based agroforestry to restore degraded forestland and improve community livelihood in the CHT. However, past restoration programmes merely emphasised improving tree cover without considering the ecological functionality, biodiversity and carbon co-benefits of restored forests. The duration of these programmes was also relatively short, and there was no clear plan for engaging local communities in the restoration activities beyond the programme period. Among other things, the local ethnic community's land rights issue remained unresolved and the participant's land ownership influenced their willingness to participate effectively in any restoration programme. Households with secured land rights had a more positive attitude towards participating in forestland restoration than those with unsecured land rights. Suitable acts and policies that would allow people to legally continue to use tree-based land in the regions (i.e. forest and land tenure rights) are also lacking. Future forest and landscape restoration (FLR) programmes may thus need to focus on improving the biodiversity and ecological functionality of those restored forests, resolving local people's forest and land tenure rights and involving them in site-specific restoration interventions. The engagement of local and regional-level multi-stakeholders in such an FLR programme is also essential for realising the restoration's multiple social and ecological benefits.

Details

Title: Social-ecological and institutional factors affecting forest and landscape restoration in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh
Authors: Ronju Ahammad (Corresponding Author) - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Mohammed Kamal Hossain (Author) - University of Chittagong
Istiak Soghan (Author) - World Bank
Rakibul Hasan (Author) - Arannayk Foundation
Shekhar R Biswas (Author) - East China Normal University
Sharif A Mukul (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Tropical Forests and People Research Centre
Publication details: Land Use Policy, Vol.125, pp.1-11
Publisher: Elsevier Ltd.
Date published: 2023
DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2022.106478
ISSN: 1873-5754; 0264-8377
Copyright note: © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY licence.
Organisation Unit: Tropical Forests and People Research Centre; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99693698702621
Output Type: Journal article