Forestry

Bangladesh is situated in north eastern part of South Asia. It has three major rivers viz Padma, Meghna and Jamuna and their numerous tributaries. The country covers an area of 1,47,570 sq. km and bounded by India and Myanmar.

Forestry is a long-term system. It has various contributions towards the welfare of mankind. The multiple uses of forest resources have been familiar from the advent of civilization. The Forestry sector contributes about 5 percent of the total GDP of Bangladesh. This does not show the true contribution of this sector. The rural population uses fuel wood and other minor forest products free of cost. Forest also plays an vital role in protecting watersheds and hydraulic structure, also in keeping the rivers and ports navigable. It also plays due role in protecting the coastal areas from natural calamities. The role of forest in defending the environment from pollution and its contribution towards bio-diversity is immense.

The participatory social forestry contributes towards rural poverty reduction considerably. In the last 3 years, out of total sale proceeds of timber and fuel wood about 308 million taka has been distributed to 23561 participants.

In 2001-2002, about 2% of the total manpower of the country was engaged in the forestry sector. Many people benefited directly from forestry-related activities e.g. in wood based industry, saw milling, furniture making, establishing private nursery. Besides this in Sundarban millions of people are dependant on the mangrove forest for their livelihood.

Fuel wood is the main wood product required today, Bangladesh needs over 8.0 million cubic meter fuel wood each year. Domestic cooking uses an estimated 63%, which is 5.1 million cubic meter yearly. Industrial and commercial use is also important, which is 2.9 million cubic meter per year.

Wood is the main fuel for cooking and other domestic needs. It is not surprising that population pressure has an adverse effect on the local forests. By 1980 only about 16 percent of the land has been forested.

In Bangladesh the largest areas of forest are in the Chittagong Hills and the Sundarbans. The evergreen forests of the Chittagong Hills cover more than 4,600 square kilometers and are the source of teak for heavy construction and boat making as well as other forest products. The Sundarbans, a tidal mangrove forest covering nearly 6,000 square kilometers is the source of timber used for a variety of reason, including pulp for the domestic paper industry, poles for electric power distribution, and leaves for thatching for living.