The Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary in Lohagara upazila, Chittagong is slowly regaining its life, thanks to a joint initiative taken by NGOs and the government to revive the forest.
The sanctuary, which covers 7,764 hectares of area and is a major corridor between Bangladesh and Myanmar for Asian elephants, is home to a diverse array of animals, some of which are on the verge of extinction.
“The latest survey, which was conducted in 2012-13, showed that the population and number of species of wildlife has increased, compared to what was found during 1997 survey. This means the forest is recovering,”said Abu Naser Md Yasin Newaz, divisional forest officer (wildlife) in Chittagong.
The forest used to be a source of livelihood to the local residents, most of whom relocated to the area from the cyclone-afflicted parts of the country, mostly in 1965 and 1990, said Abdur Rahman, assistant conservator of forest at Chunati Sanctuary Range.
“The growing human demand of source of livelihood took its toll on the forest, and it began losing its resourcefulness, both for the humans and the animals,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.
“But now, people are aware of the repercussions of overusing natural resources. They are learning about protecting the forest. They have stopped cutting down trees and occupying the land of forest.”
And that has become possible due to the joint rehabilitation project to open up diversified livelihood for 1,500 ultra poor people in the area who have been entirely dependent on the forest resources. They were given around Tk57 lakh to develop alternative livelihood.
The project has been implemented by Aranyak Foundation, Society for Environment and Human Development, and Wildlife Rescue Centre of Jahanginagar University. The Department of Forest, German Development Cooperation (GIZ) and Aranyak Foundation are funding the project.
“This project has turned my life completely around,” said Sakhina Begum, one of the project’s beneficiaries. “I used to run my seven-member family by either doing a day job, or cutting down the forest trees and selling the wood.
“But the project gave me resources to build a farm for myself, from which I could earn my livelihood. Now, I don’t have to cut down the forest trees anymore.”
Sajeda Begum, another beneficiary, said she is busy nowadays patrolling the forest to protect it from harm along with 27 other women.
“We have introduced self-management method involving people from different professions to protect the forest. And it has been proven successful: the forest is bouncing back,” Yasin Newaz said.
Besides Chunati, the initiative is being implemented in Inani Reserved Forest, Shilkhali Garjan Forest and Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary in Cox’s Bazar, covering 11.49 hectares of forest, said Ali Kabir, divisional forest officer at Cox’s Bazar South Forest Department.
