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Baseline Survey Report
Name of the project
Indigenous Community Based Sustainable Management of Chimbuk Hill Forest in Bandarban Hill District
Implementing entity
HUMANITARIAN FOUNDATION, Bandarban partner NGO of ARANNAYK FOUNDATION
Prepared by
Prof. Dr. Mohammed Jashimuddin, Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences,
University of Chittagong, Chittagong 4331, Bangladesh. Email: [email protected]
1 Introduction:
This report describes the baseline survey result designed to establish the initial conditions of the project “Indigenous Community Based Sustainable Management of Chimbuk Hill Forest in Bandarban Hill District” implemented by Humanitarian Foundation, Bandarban, partner NGO of Arannayk Foundation. Forests and forest lands play a pivotal life-supporting role in the lives of tribal community across the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHTs). They provide them all with many benefits including their livelihoods, vital ecosystem services, raw materials, fuel and goods for trading. Yet these benefits are being seriously eroded by the mounting momentum of deforestation. The survey was designed to observe the socio-economic conditions of the local indigenous people and current status of the biodiversity resources especially timber, fuel, medicinal plants, wildlife and their uses in and around Chimbuk hills of Bandarban. Two community based forest/village common forest (VCF) dependent communities are involved in the proposed project. VCFs are usually managed under the leadership of village karbaries and mouza headman or run by elected committees. The VCFs in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHTs) are generally managed through semi-structured or unstructured methods. Both male and female are involved in the conservation of the VCFs, but female do not generally have any role in major decision-making processes. The areas around Korang para and Kapru para are both rich in biodiversity and under extreme threat of loss due to illegal logging and fuel wood collection. The project initially assumed that food insecurity including declining access to land, forest products and income from agricultural products is the most important constraints for livelihood security in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHTs). At present unavailability of forest products (Bamboo, Cane, Timber, and Non-timber etc.) causes unyielding of the production of natural resources based production. This situation arises due to pressure of increasing population, over-use of land for cultivation, allotment of hill-lands at private ownership and improper management of the government sponsored plantation/forestation projects or through declaring reserved forests. The majority of the indigenous people in CHTs have low incomes and most of the trade and commerce are controlled by outsiders and political elites linked to national political parties. Once jhum or swidden (shifting) cultivation was highly productive and jhum technology had been helpful to sustain life and livelihood of the hill people. The indigenous people were once self sufficient to meet their demand for food, clothes and shelter. But now the situation has changed due to population pressure, over exploitation of natural resources, shortening of the fallow period from 15-20 years to 3-4 years for jhum, political unrest etc. and the indigenous people are facing food insecurity that in a sense destroying the biodiversity and the natural resource base of the CHTs. In this connection the proposed base line survey tried to gather information on the current status of the homesteads and owned or leased hilly lands to which the local people depend for their food, timber, fuel and medicinal products and income. The survey also tried to appraise the biodiversity of the homesteads and the hills.
2 Objectives of the baseline survey:
To assess the socioeconomic conditions of the people living in the study area.
To identify the biodiversity available in the homesteads and hilly areas of the study area.
To identify the lost/endangered biodiversity from homesteads and hilly areas.
Methodology of the baseline survey:
The baseline survey was conducted at the homesteads and hilly areas of the proposed project area of Humanitarian Foundation in Chimbuk Hill Forest areas of Ruma and Lama Upazillas of Bandarban Hill District, a hill forest zone with semi-evergreen and sub-tropical forest types, to assess the forest resources, households’ economic status, their dependence on forest resources and gender role in agro-forestry practices. The proposed project includes two community reserves or village common forest (VCF) of Korang para of Ruma Upazilla and Kapru para of Lama Upazilla. The baseline survey was conducted in two phases. First, a homestead survey was conducted with a pre-structured questionnaire in the study area. A total of 35 households were surveyed from two villages/paras, namely, Korang para (n= 20) and Kapru para (n= 15) villages from where project participants will be selected by Humanitarian Foundation. The head of each selected household was interviewed to gather required information. Then a forest survey was conducted by passing through the forest reserves of Korang para and Kapru para with a group of experts to identify and list the plant species present in the forests. The collected data were analyzed and presented in the result section.
Description of the study area:
Korang para is located under 364 Galengga Mouza, Galegga union, Ruma Upazilla of Bandarban Hill District. The distance of Korang para from Bandarban Sadar is 39 km. The Korang para is situated by the left side from Bandarban-Thanchi road. Ethnicity of the community people is Mro. The number of family of Korang para is 27. Religion of the community people is Christian and Crama. 11 families are Christian and 16 families Crama. The name of the Karbari of Korang para is Palea-Mro. The name of the Headman of Galengga is Menroth-Mro. The total number of population of Korang para is 183. There are one Girza, one community centre and one temporary school upto class five. The main source of income of the community people is Jhum cultivation and six families partly depend on business. The method of Jhum cultivation is traditional. Area of the community forest of Korang para is 100 acre. Kapru para is located under 304 Lemu-Palong Mouza, Soroui union, Lama Upazilla of Bandarban Hill District. The distance of Kapru para from Bandarban Sadar is 45 km. The Kapru para is situated by the right side from Bandarban-Thanchi road and opposite from Nilgiri Porjaton Complex. Ethnicity of the community people is Mro. Religion of the community people is Christian. The name of the Karbary of Kapru para is Ing-Chang-Mro. The name of the Headman of Lemu Palong is Babu Khaing-Oai-Mro. The number of family of Kapru para is 38. The total number of population of Kapru para is 270. There are two Girza and one temporary school upto class five. The main source of income of the community people is Jhum cultivation and two families partly depend on business. Area of the community forest of Kapru para is 200 acre.
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Village common forests (VCF) or para reserves are usually managed by the community people. Usually one committee formed from the community people is responsible for the management of this reserve. The community people usually do not cut trees or bamboos from the reserve. But if some one cut or extract any resource without prior permission of such committee or steal any resource from the reserve then he is fined for his action. However poor people are allowed to extract any resource from the reserve to meet their emergency need if they seek permission from the management committee. The community people usually live on jhum. They also collect fuel wood from the nearby forest areas of their reserves.
Results:
Part I: Homesteads survey
Respondents’ age, sex, occupation and education level
The result of the survey shows that the average age of the respondent is 38 years and they are most responsible person of the community. Among the respondents most of them are male (86%) and the rest are female (14%) (Table 1). It is found that almost all the families (94%) are engaged in jhum/shifting cultivation and tree farming and only a few (3%) are involved in business and service as primary occupation. However, some of them (26%) are also involved in secondary occupation that includes mainly business, jhum and daily labourer (Table 2).
Table 1: Distribution of respondent households by respondents’ age, sex and educational level (Note: M= male; F= Female) (values in the parentheses denote percentages).
Para name Age Sex Educational status
M F Total Illiterate Primary Secondary S.S.C. Total Korang para
(n=20)
38.50 15 (75)
5 (25)
20 (100)
11 (55)
7 (35)
2 (10)
- 20
(100) Kapru para
(n=15)
37.53 15 (100) 0
15 (100)
8 (53)
2 (13)
2 (13)
3 (20)
15 (100) Total
(n=35)
38.09 30 (86)
5 (14)
35 (100)
19 (54)
9 (26)
4 (11)
3 (9)
35 (100) Table 2: Distribution of respondent households by occupation (values in the parentheses denote percentages)
Para name Primary Occupation Secondary occupation
Agriculture Business Service Total Agriculture Business Service Other Total Korang para
(n=20)
19 (95)
1 (5)
- 20 (100)
1 (5)
4 (20)
- - 5
(25) Kapru para
(n=15)
14 (93)
- 1
(7)
15 (100)
1 (7)
- 1
(7)
2 (13)
4 (27) Total
(n=35)
33 (94)
1 (3)
1 (3)
35 (100)
2 (6)
4 (13)
1 (3)
2 (6)
9 (26)
4 Family size, sex and earning member
Average family size in the study area is 5.8 of which 3.0 (52%) are male and the rest 2.8 (48%) are female (Table 3). Among the family members almost half of them were found in the younger age category of 0-20 years (49%). On average each family has 2.57 (44% of the total family size) earning members of which 1.54 are male (27% of the total family size) and 1.03 are female (18% of the total family size) (Table 3). This result shows that both male and female are earning members of the family meaning women are more or less equally involved in income generating or livelihood activities. But women are usually deprived of their labour compared to male. If women work as daily labourer they get less wage compared to the male member of the community. It is interesting to see that female member of the community especially younger married one works more in the jhum compared to her younger counterpart. The community people wake up early at the dawn and women usually cook and prepare rice for the whole family, take rice in the early morning with their families including the children, wrap some rice with banana leaves for lunch, keep some of the wrapped rice for children at home and then each member of the family except the infant go out to work in the jhum taking one wrapped food with them which they take during lunch.
Table 3: Distribution of respondent households by family size, sex and total earning members (values in the parentheses denote percentages) (Note: M= Male, F= Female, T= Total).
Para name
Family size (age class) Earning
members (% of total family size) Sex <10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50 >50 Total
Korang para (n=20)
M 0.95
(16)
0.60 (10)
0.80 (13)
0.55 (9)
0.15 (2)
0.35 (6)
3.4 (56)
1.75 (29)
F 0.7
(11)
0.70 (11)
0.35 (6)
0.40 (7)
0.25 (4)
0.30 (5)
2.7 (44)
1.05 (17)
T 1.65
(27)
1.3 (21)
1.15 (19)
0.95 (16)
0.4 (7)
0.65 (11)
6.1 (100)
2.8 (46)
Kapru para (n=15)
M 0.80
(15)
0.33 (6)
0.47 (9)
0.47 (9)
0.27 (5)
0.13 (2)
2.5 (46)
1.27 (23)
F 0.87
(16)
0.67 (12)
0.73 (14)
0.33 (6)
0.13 (2)
0.20 (4)
2.9 (54)
1.00 (19)
T 1.67
(31)
1.00 (19)
1.20 (22)
0.80 (15)
0.40 (7)
0.33 (6)
5.4 (100)
2.27 (42)
Total (n=35)
M 0.89
(15)
0.49 (8)
0.66 (11)
0.51 (9)
0.20 (3)
0.26 (4)
3.0 (52)
1.54 (27)
F 0.77
(13)
0.69 (12)
0.51 (9)
0.37 (6)
0.20 (3)
0.26 (4)
2.8 (48)
1.03 (18)
T 1.66
(29)
1.17 (20)
1.17 (20)
0.89 (15)
0.40 (7)
0.51 (9)
5.8 (100)
2.57 (44)
5 Land resources
Land resources occupied by each family in the study area are 460.97 decimals of which most of the lands are hilly (96%) and only 4% area is occupied by homesteads (Table 4). Hilly lands are usually used for jhum or tree plantation. The situation in Kapru para is different from Korang para in that in Kapru para most of the areas in homesteads (5.91%) are used for trees compared to Korang para (0.50%). However, average land resources occupied by each family are higher in Korang para (484.55 decimals) compared to Kapru para (429.53 decimals) (Table 4).
Family income
Analysis of the family income by the respondent households’ show that average family income in the study area is 32193 Taka/year of which maximum amount of the income (86%) comes from farming including 38% income from crops or jhum products (paddy, vegetables, spices etc.) and 49% income from tree products (fruits and timber) followed by other category (8%) including daily labourer. However, average family income was found a little higher in Korang para (32840 Taka/year) compared to Kapru para (31329 Taka/year) (Table 5).
Table 4: Distribution of respondent households by land resources (in decimals) (values in the parentheses denote percentages).
Para name
Homestead
Hilly areas
Total land Dwelling unit Tree areas Animal
shed Yard Total Korang para
(n=20)
3.95 (0.82)
2.4 (0.50)
0.05 (0.01)
0.65 (0.13)
7.05 (1.45)
477.50 (98.55)
484.55 (100) Kapru para
(n=15)
3.40 (0.79)
25.40 (5.91)
0.40 (0.09)
2.33 (0.54)
31.53 (7.34)
398.00 (92.66)
429.53 (100) Total
(n=35)
3.71 (0.81)
12.26 (2.66)
0.20 (0.04)
1.37 (0.30)
17.54 (3.81)
443.43 (96.19)
460.97 (100) Table 5: Distribution of households’ family income (Taka/year) in the study area (values in the parentheses denote percentage of total income)
Para name Farm income
Total Agricultural products Fruits Timber Subtotal Service Others
Korang para (n=20)
13065 (40)
12275 (37)
4000 (12)
29340 (89)
- 3500 (11)
32840 (100) Kapru para
(n=15)
10810 (35)
10511 (34)
4341 (14)
25663 (82)
4000 (13)
1667 (5)
31329 (100) Total
(n=35)
12099 (38)
11519 (36)
4146 (13)
27764 (86)
1714 (5)
2714 (8)
32193 (100)
6 Plant diversity
Table 6 list the plant species and Table 7 shows the plant diversity measures present in the homesteads of the study area. A total of 40 different plant species were found in the homesteads and hills of the study area (Tables 6 & 7). Table 6 lists the plant species present in the study area with their local and scientific names. Usually the community people are more dependent on crops and tree products that are grown in and around the homesteads and hilly areas occupied or owned by them. Among plant diversity different timber, fruit and medicinal species are found growing. It is evident that Gamar (90%), Am (90%), Komola (90%), Jambura (90%), Segun (85%), Fuljhumuri (80%) and Banana (75%) were found dominating in the homesteads and hills of Korang para and on the other hand Segun (100%), Am (100%), Gamar (100%), Banana (100%), Jambura (100%), Fuljhumuri (100%), Koroi (100%), Papaya (100%), Komola (93%) and Achar gula (93%) were found dominating in the homesteads and hills of Kapru para (Table 7). Species density was found higher for Gamar (342) followed by Segun (314), Banana (210), Komola (82), Jambura (40) and Am (30) in Korang para. The same result was also observed in Kapru para regarding the species density with higher species density for Segun (457) followed by Gamar (343), Banana (197), Komola (41), Jambura (31), Koroi (21), Am (14) and Achar gula (13) (Table 7). In total species density was found higher for Korang para (1452) compared to Kapru para (1360). However both the measures are good from bio-diversity point of view. In case relative density highest percentage was also observed for Gamar (24) followed by Segun (22), Banana (14) and Komola (6) in Korang para and more or less similar result was observed in Kapru para with higher relative density for Segun (34%) followed by Gamar (25%) and Banana (14%). It is interesting to see that the species density and relative density is higher for Segun and Gamar compared to other plant species in both the para reserves of the study area (Table 7). This is because the local people are planting this species at greater numbers to get economic benefits in and around their homesteads and hills.
Table 6: List of plant species present in the study area.
Sl. No. Species name/Local name Scientific name
1 Achar gula Microcos paniculata
2 Akashmoni Acacia auriculiformis
3 Am Mangifera indica
4 Amloki Phyllanthus emblica
5 Amra Spondias pinnata
6 Ata Annona squamosa
7 Bamboo Bambusa vulgaris
8 Banana Musa sapientum
9 Bel Aegle marmelos
10 Bhadi Gariga pinnata
11 Bohera Terminalia bellerica
12 Boroi Zizyphus mauritiana
13 Chalta Dillenia indica
14 Fuljhumuri/Itchri Anogeissus acuminata
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15 Gamar Gmelina arborea
16 Garjon Dipterocarpus turbinatus
17 Guava Psidium guajava
18 Gutguttya Bursera serrata
19 Haritaki Terminalia chebula
20 Jalpai Elaeocarpus floribundus
21 Jam Syzygium cumini
22 Jambura Citrus grandis
23 Kanak Schima wallichii
24 Kanthal Artocarpus heterophyllus
25 Komola Citrus sinensis
26 Koroi Albizia procera
27 Lebu Citrus spp.
28 Litchi Litchi chinensis
29 Mahagony Swietenia mahagoni
30 Narikel Cocos nucifera
31 Neem Azadirachta indica
32 Painna gula Flacourtia jangomas
33 Papaya Carica papaya
34 Rong gach Morinda angustifolia
35 Sajna Moringa oleifare
36 Segun Tectona grandis
37 Sofeda Manilkara zapota
38 Supari Areca catechu
39 Tentul Tamarindus indica
40 Tetua koroi Albizia odoratissima
Table 7: Analysis of the plant diversity present in the study area (Note: Nos. = Number of trees/culms; HH= Households; SD= Species density; RD= Relative density)
Sl. No .
Species name
Korang para (n=20) Kapru para (n=15) Frequency
SD RD
(%)
Frequency
SD RD
Nos. (%)
HH (%) Nos. HH
(%)
1 Achar gula 420 50 42.00 2.89 186 93 13.29 0.98
2 Akashmoni - - - - 29 33 5.80 0.43
3 Am 531 90 29.50 2.03 209 100 13.93 1.03
4 Amloki 30 45 3.33 0.23 33 40 5.50 0.41
5 Amra 6 5 6.00 0.41 2 7 2.00 0.15
6 Ata 4 10 2.00 0.14 29 53 3.63 0.27
7 Bamboo - - - - 150 33 30.00 2.21
8 Banana 3150 75 210.00 14.47 2960 100 197.33 14.53
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9 Bel - - - - 25 53 3.13 0.23
10 Bhadi - - - - 43 33 8.60 0.63
11 Bohera - - - - 19 40 3.17 0.23
12 Boroi 59 25 11.80 0.81 35 87 2.69 0.20
13 Chalta 3 10 1.50 0.10 5 33 1.00 0.07
14 Fuljhumuri 314 80 19.63 1.35 150 100 10.00 0.74
15 Gamar 6150 90 341.67 23.54 5150 100 343.33 25.29
16 Garjon 10 5 10.00 0.69 66 73 6.00 0.44
17 Guava 169 40 21.13 1.46 153 67 15.30 1.13
18 Gutguttya 130 45 14.44 1.00 91 87 7.00 0.52
19 Haritaki - - - - 2 13 1.00 0.07
20 Jalpai 26 35 3.71 0.26 11 33 2.20 0.16
21 Jam 197 65 15.15 1.04 95 60 10.56 0.78
22 Jambura 715 90 39.72 2.74 460 100 30.67 2.26
23 Kanak 207 60 17.25 1.19 83 93 5.93 0.44
24 Kanthal 335 45 37.22 2.56 228 93 16.29 1.20
25 Komola 1469 90 81.61 5.62 580 93 41.43 3.05
26 Koroi 10 5 10.00 0.69 313 100 20.87 1.54
27 Lebu 30 5 30.00 2.07 29 67 2.90 0.21
28 Litchi 110 25 22.00 1.52 153 53 19.13 1.41
29 Mahagony 25 20 6.25 0.43 54 87 4.15 0.31
30 Narikel 19 30 3.17 0.22 59 73 5.36 0.40
31 Neem - - - - 28 60 3.11 0.23
32 Painna gula 42 25 8.40 0.58 23 60 2.56 0.19
33 Papaya 505 20 126.25 8.70 170 100 11.33 0.83
34 Rong gach 15 15 5.00 0.34 156 80 13.00 0.96
35 Sajna - - - - 6 13 3.00 0.22
36 Segun 5330 85 313.53 21.60 6860 100 457.33 33.68
37 Sofeda - - - - 47 40 7.83 0.58
38 Supari 3 5 3.00 0.21 166 67 16.60 1.22
39 Tentul 55 35 7.86 0.54 23 60 2.56 0.19
40 Tetua koroi 51 30 8.50 0.59 41 33 8.20 0.60
Total 20120
1451.6 2
100.0 0
1892 2
1357.6 9
100.0 0 Most of the households (81%) responded that the plant species are planted by themselves and only few (20%) responded that they are naturally occurring (Table 8). Most of the households (51%) have planted these species from their own source followed by nursery (41%) and others (8%) (Table 8). Among the agricultural crops the households responded that they also grow vegetables (100%), paddy (94%), zinger (94%) and turmeric (89%) (Table 9).
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Table 8: Distribution of respondent households by mode of occurrence (%) and sources of seedlings (%).
Para name Mode of occurance (%) Source of seedlings (%)
Planted Natural Total Nursery Own Others Total Korang para
(n=20) 85 15 100 51 42 7 100
Kapru para
(n=15) 75 25 100 28 63 9 100
Total
(n=35) 81 19 100 41 51 8 100
Table 9: Distribution of respondent households by agricultural crops planted. Para name→
Crop name↓
Korang para (n=20) Kapru para (n=15) Total (n=35)
Frequency % Frequency % Frequency %
Pineapple 0 0 3 20 3 9
Paddy 18 90 15 100 33 94
Zinger 18 90 15 100 33 94
Turmeric 18 90 13 87 31 89
Olkachu 3 15 11 73 14 40
Vegetables 20 100 15 100 35 100
Collection of forest resources
The respondent households were asked to know the type and quantity of forest resources they usually collect from the neighbouring forests. It is observed that respondent households usually collect fuel wood. Each family in the study area was found to collect 225 mounds of fuel wood per year travelling a distance of 1.33 kilometres. They usually spend about 8.49 hours a day on average in jhum and also collecting forest resources (Table 10).
Table 10: Distribution of respondent households by the collection of forest resources.
Para name Fuel wood
(Mound/family)
Distance (Km)
Time spent per day in jhum and collecting
forest resources (Hour)
Korang para (n=20) 226 1.33 8.50
Kapru para (n=15) 223 1.33 8.47
Total (n=35) 225 1.33 8.49
10 Lost Species
The homestead survey tried to find out the species that are lost from the homesteads and hilly regions of the study area. The respondent households were asked to identify the name(s) of the lost species from their homesteads and hilly lands. It is found that a total of 19 tree species were identified by the respondents of the study area that were lost from the locality. Among the lost species Latkon (66%), Garjon (63%), Darmara (54%), Goda (54%), Civit (49%), Jaganna gula (43%) and Gila lata (29%) are the mostly answered plant species that are lost from the study area (Table 11).
Table 11: Frequency distribution of respondents’ perception about lost species in the study area (Note: HH= Number of households responded).
Sl.
No. Species name Scientific name
Korang para (n=20)
Kapru para (n=15)
Total (n=35)
HH % HH % HH %
1 Achargula Microcos paniculata 2 10 0 0 2 6
2 Bartha Artocarpus lacucha 3 15 2 13 5 14
3 Civit Swintonia floribunda 9 45 8 53 17 49
4 Dharmara Stereospermum personatum 10 50 9 60 19 54
5 Dumur Ficus semicordata 1 5 3 20 4 11
6 Garjon Dipterocarpus turbinatus 13 65 9 60 22 63
7 Gila lata Derris trifoliata 8 40 2 13 10 29
8 Goda Vitex peduncularia 12 60 7 47 19 54
9 Gutguttya Bursera serrata 0 0 9 60 9 26
10 Jaganna gula Ficus racemosa 8 40 7 47 15 43
11 Koroi Albizia spp. 3 15 4 27 7 20
12 Latkon Bixa orellana 17 85 6 40 23 66
13 Meda Litsea monopetala 7 35 4 27 11 31
14 Tulshi Ocimum sanctum 4 20 4 27 8 23
Causes of and problems faced due to loss of species
The respondents were also asked to identify the causes of and problems faced due to loss of plant species from the study area. It is found that population pressure (83%) is identified as the major cause of biodiversity loss followed by jhum/shifting cultivation (69%) and fuel wood collection (49%) in the study area (Table 12). The respondent households were also identified a lot of problems they are facing due to biodiversity loss from the study area. All of them (100%) answered that they face problems due to biodiversity loss (Table 13). Some of the mentionable problems identified by majority of the respondents are lower production (83%), reduced water in the streams (74%) and less rainfall (63%) (Table 13).
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Table 12: Frequency distribution of respondent households by the causes for biodiversity loss in the study area (values in the parentheses denote percentages).
Reasons for loss of biodiversity Para name Total (n=35)
Korang para (n=20) Kapru para (n=15)
Population pressure 19 (95) 10 (67) 29 (83)
Natural calamities 7 (35) 6 (40) 13 (37)
Jhum cultivation 15 (75) 9 (60) 24 (69)
Forest fire 9 (45) 7 (47) 16 (46)
Fuel wood collection 8 (40) 9 (60) 17 (49)
Homesteads establishment 3 (15) - 3 (9)
Table 13: Frequency distribution of respondent households by the problems faced due to biodiversity loss in the study area (values in the parentheses denote percentages).
Difficulty faced
Para name
Total (n=35) Korang para
(n=20)
Kapru para (n=15) Do you face any
difficulty
Yes 20 (100) 15 (100) 35 (100)
NO - - -
Types of difficulty
Less of rain fall 12 (60) 10 (67) 22 (63)
Reduced water in the stream 16 (80) 10 (67) 26 (74)
Lower production 18 (90) 11 (73) 29 (83)
Increasing temperature 1 (5) 11 (73) 12 (34)
Increased soil erosion in hilly
area 4 (20) 8 (53) 12 (34)
Recommendation for biodiversity conservation
The respondent households were asked to know their perception about how to overcome the loss of biodiversity from the study area. It is evident that most of the households responded to plant trees with jhum or shifting cultivation (97%) followed by mixed plantation (71%) and to plant indigenous species (57%) (Table 14). All of the respondents (100%) will consider all types of species to plant in and around their homesteads and hills when they are asked to choose species to plant (Table 15). All the respondents (100%) opined that they do not face any problem of technical knowledge for planting trees and most of them (80%) have not received any training for biodiversity conservation (Table 15).
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Table 14: Frequency distribution of respondent households by their recommendation for biodiversity conservation (values in the parentheses denote percentages).
Respondents’
recommendation for biodiversity conservation
Para name
Total (n=35) Korang para (n=20) Kapru para (n=15)
Tree plantation with jhum 19 (95) 15 (100) 34 (97)
Mixed plantation 16 (80) 9 (60) 25 (71)
Planting indigenous species 9 (45) 11 (73) 20 (57)
Protection of planted tree(s) 7 (35) 9 (60) 16 (46)
Stop felling tree(s) 5 (25) 5 (33) 10 (29)
Table 15: Frequency distribution of respondent households by their considerations and technical knowledge in planting tree species (values in the parentheses denote percentages).
What is consideration for planting trees in the homestead? Variables
Para name
Total (n=35) Korang para (n=20) Kapru para (n=15)
All types all species 20 (100) 15 (100) 35 (100)
Species which are needed for family
uses 0 1 (7) 1 (3)
All indigenous species 1 (5) 5 (33) 6 (17)
Species which have more economic
value 1 (5) 4 (27) 5 (14)
Do you face any problem of technical knowledge for planting trees?
Yes 0 0 0
No 20 (100) 15 (100) 35 (100)
Received any training for biodiversity conservation
Yes 5 (25) 2 (13) 7 (20)
No 15 (75) 13 (87) 28 (80)
Distribution of labour in homestead agro-forestry activities
The household survey also tried to identify the labour involvement in homestead agro-forestry activities especially on women involvement. Table 16 shows the different agro-forestry activities in the homesteads with the labour involvement based on sex. It is found that both male and female member(s) of the household are more or less equally performing most of the activities where male performs 52% and female performs 48% of the total agro-forestry activities in the study area (Table 16). In is evident that most of the agro-forestry works including planning, choice of species, seedling collection, propagation, planting, nursing, harvesting are performed at equal percentage by both male and female member(s) of the respondent households. However selling of the agro-forestry products is mostly performed (75%) by the male member of the households in both the communities although female members and children were also seen to perform this job (Table 16).
13
Table 16: Distribution of labour (%) in homestead agro-forestry activities. Para name →
Agro-forestry activities↓
Korang para (n=20) Kapru para (n=15) Total (n=35)
M F T M F T M F T
Planning 50 50 100 50 50 100 50 50 100
Choice of species 50 50 100 50 50 100 50 50 100
Seedling collection 50 50 100 50 50 100 50 50 100
Propagation 50 50 100 50 50 100 50 50 100
Planting 50 50 100 50 50 100 50 50 100
Nursing 50 50 100 50 50 100 50 50 100
Fertilizer application 50 50 100 50 50 100 50 50 100
Weeding 50 50 100 50 50 100 50 50 100
Harvesting 50 50 100 50 50 100 50 50 100
Trees 50 50 100 50 50 100 50 50 100
Fruits 50 50 100 50 50 100 50 50 100
Vegetable 50 50 100 50 50 100 50 50 100
Spices 52 48 100 50 50 100 51 49 100
Processing 55 45 100 50 50 100 53 47 100
Selling 80 20 100 70 30 100 75 25 100
Total 52 48 100 51 49 100 52 48 100
Social/Development organizations working in the study area
The study also tried to find out the organisations working in the study area for social and/or other development. It is found that there are only 2 government approved nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working in the study area for providing loans to the community people (Table 17). Only 40% households in the study area responded that they became members of the NGOs listed to get loan. CCDB (34%) and Krishi Bank (6%) are working in the study area (Table 17).
Table 17: Distribution of NGOs activity in the study area.
NGOs
Para name
Total (n=40) Activity Korang para
(n=20) Kapru para (n=20)
CCDB 9 (45) 3 (20) 12 (34) Loan
Krishi Bank - 2 (13) 2 (6) Loan
Total 9 (45) 5 (33) 19 (40) -
14 Part II: Forest Survey
Forest survey was conducted in Korang para reserve of Ruma Upazilla and kapru para reserve of Lama Upazilla. It is done by walking through the forest reserves with a group of experts and identifying and observing the species found in the forests and also identifying the regeneration status on the forest floor. The forests of the reserves seem very good with both natural and artificial plantations as these are maintained as para reserves or village common forest (VCF) for long and biodiversity are occurring naturally in these reserves (Photos 1, 2, 3 & 4). Some of the plants were also planted such as, Gamar. Both the para reserves or VCFs in Korang para and Kapru para found very rich in biodiversity and dense in numbers. Some giant trees of different trees especially Jaganna gula and Fuljhumuri were found to grow in the reserves. Some rare plant species were also found to grow in this forest especially Banspata, Civit, Jaganna gula, Painna Mandar, etc. A total of 63 different species were seen or identified in the para reserve of Kapru para and 56 different species were identified in Korang para reserve (Table 18). The regeneration status of the forests was found good as seen from Photos 1(d), 2(e & f) and 3(f). The forests are also rich in wildlife biodiversity including wild boar/boar, deer, common birds, snakes, lizards, bon murag, owl (pecha), etc. However, the study area was once home of tiger, rhinoceros, wild buffalo and vulture/kite according to the community people.
15
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
(e) (f)
Photo 1: Status of village common forest (VCF) of Korang para showing (a) Para reserves and jhum areas; (b) Trees with herbs and shrubs; (c) Common tree species; (d) Garjon regeneration occurring naturally from planted mother tree; (e) Giant Jaganna gula tree beside a small creek and acting as source of water in the creek; and (f) Giant woody climber.
16
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
(e) (f)
Photo 2: Status of village common forest (VCF) in Korang para showing (a) Bamboos; (b) Canes; (c) Dense herbs and climbers; (d) Wild insect showing the richness of biodiversity; and (e & f) Different herbs and regeneration.
17
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
(e) (f)
Photo 3: Status of village common forest (VCF) in Kapru para showing (a, b, c & d) Aerial views of para reserve and homesteads inside the reserve forest areas; (e) Dense forest with herbs, shrubs and trees including climbers and (f) Regeneration status of the para reserves.
18
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
(e) (f)
Photo 4: Status of homestead and and jhum areas in and aroud VCF in Kapru para showing (a) Jhum areas; (b) Typical homesteads with one or more elevated houses made of bamboos; (c) Storage of fuel wood stock beneath the house; (d) Sharing of household works by children; and (e & f) Tentul and jambura fruits as source of income in the homesteads.
19
Table 18: List of species found in the village common forests of the study area. Sl.
No.
Kapru para reserve Sl. No.
Korang para reserve Local name Scientific name Local name Scientific name 1 Achargula Microcos paniculata 1 Achargula Microcos paniculata
2 Alofilus 2 Akashmoni Acacia auriculiformis
3 Am Mangifera indica 3 Alphani
4 Amloki Phyllanthus embelica 4 Am Mangifera indica 5 Banadarhola Duabanga grandiflora 5 Banadarhola Duabanga grandiflora 6 Banspata Podocarpus neriifolius 6 Bhat Clerodendrum viscosum 7 Bhadi Lannea coromandelica 7 Bhadi Lannea coromandelica 8 Bohera Terminalia belerica 8 Bohera Terminalia belerica 9 Barmala Callicarpa tomentosa 9 Bon gab Diospyros montana 10 Bon verenda Jatropha curcas 10 Barmala Callicarpa tomentosa 11 Boroi Zizyphus mauritiana 11 Bon sonalu Cassia nodosa
12
Bot Ficus bengalensis
12 Bon verenda
Jatropha curcas
13
Bhat Clerodendrum
viscosum 13
Boroi Zizyphus mauritiana
14 Chalta Dillenia indica 14 Bot Ficus bengalensis
15 Chatian Alstonia scholaris 15 Bouhenia Bouhenia purpurea 16 Chikrashi Chickrasia tabularis 16 Chalta Dillenia indica 17 Dadmordon Cassia alata 17 Chatian Alstonia scholaris 18
Dakroom Heterophragma
adenophyllum 18
Dadmordon Cassia alata
19
Dharmara Stereospermum
personatum 19
Dakroom Heterophragma adenophyllum 20
Dumur Ficus semicordata
20
Dharmara Stereospermum personatum 21 Fuljumuri Anogeissus acuminata 21 Doris Doris robusta 22 Gab Diospyros peregrine 22 Dumur Ficus semicordata 23 Gamar Gmelina arborea 23 Fuljumuri Anogeissus acuminata 24 Garcinium Garcinium spp. 24 Gamar Gmelina arborea
25 Goda Vitex glabrata 25 Goda Vitex glabrata
26 Gutgutiya Butea parviflora 26 Gutgutiya Butea parviflora
27 Hafko - 27 Hona gula Oroxylum indicum
28 Hona gula Oroxylum indicum 28 Jam Syzygium grande
29 Jam Syzygium grande 29 Jambura Syzugium samarangrnse
30
Jambura Syzugium
samarangrnse 30
Jial bhadi Garuga pinnata 31 Jial bhadi Garuga pinnata 31 Jognna gula Ficus racemosa 32 Jognna gula Ficus racemosa 32 Jolpai Elaeocarpus robusta
20
33 Jongli amra Spondias indica 33 Kannari Gardenia coronaria 34 Kainjal badi Bischofia javanica 34 Kala koroi Albizia lebbek
35 Kala koroi Albizia lebbek 35 Kanthal Artocarpus heterophyllus 36 Kamranga Averrhoa carambola 36 Komola Citrus aurantium
37
Kanthal Artocarpus
heterophyllus 37
Konak Schima wallichii 38 Katgolap Brownea spp. 38 Lal Verenda Jatropha jossypifolia 39
Kola/ Banana
Musa sapientum
39
Meda Litsea monopetala 40 Komola Citrus aurantium 40 Malta Citrus sinensis 41
Konari Gardenia coronaria
41 Muli bamboo
Melocanna baccifera 42 Konok Schima wallichii 42 Narikel Cocos nucifera
43
Kuraci Holarrhena pubescesn
43
Painna mander
Erythrina variegata
44
Lal Verenda Jatropha jossypifolia
44
Payara (Guava)
Psidium guajava
45 Linostrema 45 Pitraj Aphanamixis ploystachya
46 Malta Citrus sinensis 46 Puti jam Syzygium fruticosum 47
Muli bamboo
Melocanna baccifera
47
Rong gach Morinda angustifolia
48 Nagesshor Mesua nagessarium 48 Segun Tectona grandis 49 Narikel Cocos nucifera 49 Silkoroi Albizia procera
50 Oaris Oaris robusta 50 Simul Bombax ceiba
51
Painna mander
Erythrina variegata
51
Sissoo Dalbergia sissoo
52 Papaya Carica papaya 52 Udal Sterculia villosa
53
Payara (Guava)
Psidium guajava
53
Telsur Hopea odorata
54 Pramna - 54 Tetul Tamarindus indica
55 Puti jam Syzygium fruticosum 55 Til Sesame indicum 56 Rong gach Morinda angustifolia 56 Ulotkombol Abroma augusta
57 Segun Tectona grandis - - -
58 Silkoroi Albizia procera - - -
59 Simul Bombax ceiba - - -
60 Telsur Hopea odorata - - -
61 Tetul Tamarindus indica - - -
62 Til Sesame indicum - - -
63 Toon Toona cilliata - - -
21 Conclusion:
Finally, it can be said that the people of the study area are mainly dependent on agro-forestry (with 86% of total family income) products they get from their homesteads and hills (Tables 5, 9
& 10). However, the people of Korang para (with 89% of total family income) are more dependent on agro-forestry activities compared to Kapru para (with 82% of total family income) (Table 5). Gamar (90%), Am (90%), Komola (90%), Jambura (90%), Segun (85%), Fuljhumuri (80%) and Banana (75%) were found dominating in the homesteads and hills of Korang para and on the other hand Segun (100%), Am (100%), Gamar (100%), Banana (100%), Jambura (100%), Fuljhumuri (100%), Koroi (100%), Papaya (100%), Komola (93%) and Achar gula (93%) were found dominating in the homesteads and hills of Kapru para (Table 7). Among the lost species Latkon (66%), Garjon (63%), Dharmara (54%), Goda (54%), Civit (49%), Jaganna gula (43%) and Gila lata (29%) are the mostly answered plant species that are lost from the study area (Table 11). Population pressure (83%) is identified as the major cause of biodiversity loss followed by jhum/shifting cultivation (69%) and fuel wood collection (49%) in the study area (Table 12). Some of the mentionable problems identified by majority of the respondents are lower production (83%), reduced water in the streams (74%) and less rainfall (63%) (Table 13). Most of the households responded to plant trees with jhum or shifting cultivation (97%) followed by mixed plantation (71%) and to plant indigenous species (57%) when they were asked how to overcome the problem of loss of biodiversity (Table 14). All of the respondents (100%) will consider all types of species to plant in and around their homesteads and hills when they are asked to choose species to plant (Table 15). All the respondents (100%) opined that they do not face any problem of technical knowledge for planting trees and most of them (80%) have not received any training for biodiversity conservation (Table 15). Reducing rate of harvesting, increasing rate of tree planting, providing land ownership/tenure to the villagers are some of the recommendations by the community people to conserve lost biodiversity. It is found that both male and female member(s) of the household are more or less equally performing most of the activities where male performs 54% and female performs 46% of the total agro-forestry activities in the study area (Table 16). The people of the study area are now interested to plant and restore their homestead biodiversity with all those species specially the indigenous one which will enrich biodiversity and be useful for their family purposes and can earn extra income for the family. From the forest survey it is evident that the forests of the reserves seem very good with both natural and artificial plantations as these are maintained as para reserves or village common forest (VCF) for long and biodiversity are occurring naturally in these reserves (Photos 1, 2, 3 & 4). Some of the plants were planted such as, Akshmoni, Gamar, Segun etc. Both the para reserves (VCFs) in Korang para and Kapru para were found very rich in biodiversity and dense in numbers. Some giant trees of different species especially Jaganna gula and Fuljhumuri were found to grow in the reserves. A total of 63 different species were seen or identified in the para reserve of Kapru para and 56 different species were identified in Korang para reserve (Table 18). The regeneration status of the forests was found good as seen from Photos 1(d), 2(e & f) and 3(f). It is interesting to note here that Jaganna gula, Jial bhadi and Painna mandar are found growing near the streams and the community people believes that these species can retain water and keep the stream alive. So these species should be conserved and planted along the streams to produce more water in the streams for the tribal community
22
which will act as source of water for them. The forests are also rich in wildlife biodiversity including wild boar/boar, deer, common birds, snakes, lizards, bon murag, owl (pecha), etc. However, the study area was once home of tiger, rhinoceros, wild buffalo and vulture/kite according to the community people. The study area especially the Kapru para is situated very near to Nil Giri recreational area of the Chimbuk Hills of Lama Upazilla. Many tourists including both foreign and locals usually visit the area during the tourist season and most of them frequently use to visit the Kapru para reserve as this reserve has got recreational potential due to its unique forest composition and presence of rare plant species with lots of older trees and natural regeneration and has also got the potentiality of nature walk. For this reason the community people of this area are in fear of government intervention and eviction to develop the site as recreational spot in the future. If this happens they might loose their reserve and habitation. So they are not interested to provide any information willingly. However if they can be convinced that the reserve needs attention not only for the recreational purposes but also for their livelihood security and they also need to play pivotal role in its development so that they can ensure their livings and conserve the important biodiversity of the country. As a result the reserve can be better managed and used as source of income and conserve important biodiversity for the community and the nation as well. If this project can successfully implement their activities in the study area it will bring a positive impact on the biodiversity of the region and help people earn extra money from producing plant resources that will enrich the biodiversity of the region and certainly improve the environmental quality of the locality.
