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Preprint
Co-Management Effects on Forest Restoration in Protected Areas of Bangladesh: A Remote Sensing and GIS-based Analysis
Preprints.org, Vol.23 August 2024, 2024081735
MDPI AG
2024
Abstract
Co-management is increasingly recognized as an effective approach of forest governance while recognizing local people's forest dependency and traditional rights. Moreover, co-management is expected to positively impact forest cover and ecosystem health. Bangladesh, facing a rapid decline in forest cover, has one of the lowest per capita forest areas worldwide. For quite a while, co-management practices have been used to improve forest cover and the livelihoods of forest-dependent people in Bangladesh. Several studies have assessed the efficacy of co-management in different protected areas in Bangladesh from livelihood, social, and cultural aspects. However, the overall changes in forest cover due to co-management from the very beginning of co-management initiatives in the country have been overlooked. We used remotely sensed Landsat images to assess the changes in forest cover and overall land use in five forest protected areas where co-management was piloted. Three major vegetation indices (NDVI, EVI, and MSAVI) were examined to ensure the study's robustness. This study aims to assess the scope and weaknesses of the current policy that incorporates co-management in the country's first five protected areas (SNP, LNP, RKWS, TWS, and CWS), which were brought under co-management in 2003, and compare the efficacy of the co-management relative to non-comanaged protected areas (RRF). The land cover analysis based on NDVI, MSAVI, and EVI values indicated dominant dense forest coverage (41–71%) across five protected areas. During the co-management period (2004–2015), there was a significant decrease in the dense forest proportion, with slopes ranging from -3.7 to -0.96. Similarly, the RRF showed a decreasing pattern, with the slope of the decreasing trendline ranging from -0.48 to -0.62 across the three indices. Agriculture and forest-agriculture mosaics showed a significant increase, with varying slopes among protected areas in both co-managed and non-comanaged sites. Pixel-to-pixel changes revealed dynamic shifts in vegetation indices, and Global Forest Watch data highlighted forest cover losses, notably in CWS (158.77 ha) and SNP (0.49 ha).
Details
- Title
- Co-Management Effects on Forest Restoration in Protected Areas of Bangladesh: A Remote Sensing and GIS-based Analysis
- Authors
- Md Rezaul Karim (Corresponding Author) - University of TorontoMd. Abdul Halim (Author) - University of TorontoImrul Kayes (Author) - University of TorontoWenxi Liao (Author) - University of TorontoSharif A Mukul (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Tropical Forests and People Research CentreTuihedur Rahman (Author) - University of SaskatchewanSean C Thomas (Author) - University of Toronto
- Publication details
- Preprints.org, Vol.23 August 2024, 2024081735
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Date published
- 2024
- DOI
- 10.20944/preprints202408.1735.v1
- ISSN
- 2310-287X
- Copyright note
- This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
- Data Availability
- The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.
- Organisation Unit
- Tropical Forests and People Research Centre; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991064798002621
- Output Type
- Preprint
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