The government, in the name of social afforestation, has replaced a vast natural stretch of Sal forest in Sherpur district with “alien” Acacia trees, which scientists say has social, economic and most importantly environmental costs.
About only a decade ago, the Rangtiarange in Sherpur used to be 2,832-hectare stretch of Sal forest.
But the government’s forest department, in association with some local influential people, has felled the Sal trees in 2,023 hectares and planted Acacia in their place.
The acacia plantation was part of the forest department’s “social forestry” scheme meant to ensure a safe income source for the local peoples around various forests in the country whose livelihoods depend on the forest.
There are allegations that unscrupulous officials of the forest department and some local influential people have pocketed most of the money earned from selling off the felled Sal trees.
First of all, according to scientists, the acacia is not native to the Rangtia forest which means that the soil in the area is not accustomed to its behaviour.
Second, the local birds do not like acacia because they do not eat the fruits. Moreover, the leaves are not good enough for them to build nests. As a result, many of these birds have lost their habitat and the local biodiversity have been put under threat.The livestock do not eat the acacia leaves either.
Third, exposure to acacia pollen is said to be the cause of various kinds of allergies and respiratory complications such as asthma.
Fourth, the acacia timber sells for much less than Sal timber. An assistant conservator of forest from the local government office said: “The quality and price of Sal timber are much better than acacia. Most importantly, Sal is a local species.”
The official also said local trees like Gamari, Arjun and Chapalish that also grow quickly and whose fruits are useful as well, could have been a much better choice than acacia.
Among other reasons, the fact that the timber of these trees was much better in quality than acacia, could be enough to select them for the social forestry scheme, the official said, requesting anonymity.
Interestingly, the “social forestry scheme” of the government is exclusive to Bangladesh. Environmentalists say no other country in the world has any scheme like that.
The idea behind the scheme was that after ten years, when the acacia trees would grow to the full, the government would cut and sell them and share 40% of the proceeds with local people, who were involved with the plantation and responsible for looking after the trees.
According to the local forest office, the first lot of the mature acacia trees was sold last year, bringing Tk1.75 crore for the government exchequer.
However, one major fallout of cutting the mature acacia trees is that the monkeys and other living beings dwelling these trees would suddenly lose their habitat.
Dr Reza Khan, former professor of zoology at the Dhaka University and now the curator of Dubai Zoo in United Arab Emirates, said: “Social forestry has never brought any good to the biodiversity and the environment.”
According to Dr Reza, who is an advisor to a government project for locating the endangered species in Bangladesh, said the Sal forests in the entire region were already in trauma when the government started the “social forestry” scheme.
He said: “Even 40 years ago, the Sal forest was rich in biodiversity. Apart from Sal, it contained species such as Bohera, Haritaki, Arjun, Sonalu, Cheshra, Jiga, Sajna, Amloki, Tamal, Khailadamor, Kakdumur, FaskaDumur, Olotkomol, Chatim, Pakor, Mohuya, Udhal, Sheora, Debdaru, and Behula.
“During late 19th century, elephants and rhinoceros got extinct from this ecosystem... Other animal species such as the Asiatic Black Bear, Sambar Deer, Spotted Dear, Barking Deer and Red Frog also disappeared four decades ago. In the recent years, species like Leopard Cat, Fishing Cat, Jungle Cat, Indian Civet and Capped Langur have disappeared from these forests,” Dr Reza regretted.
However, Conservator of ForestMdMozaharul Islam from the Social Forestry Wing of the Forest Department claimed that acacia species were suitable to the soil and climate of Bangladesh.
Jamil Mohammad Khan, ranger of the local forest, told the Dhaka Tribune that 10 years ago, they had no option but to launch the social forestry scheme because the greenery was endangered by mass deforestation.
About two years ago, Hasan Mahmud, the then forest minister, told this correspondent in an interview that selecting acacia for the social scheme was a mistake and that they were moving towards planting more animal-friendly species such as jackfruit and Chapalish.