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Role of Non-timber Forest Products in Sustaining Forest-based Livelihoods and Rural Households’ Resilience Capacity in and Around Protected Area: a Bangladesh Study

Sharif Ahmed Mukul*
Tropical Forestry Group, School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia; Centre for Research on Land-use Sustainability, Maijdi, Noakhali 3800, Bangladesh

A. Z. M. Manzoor Rashid
Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, School of Agriculture and Mineral Sciences, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet 3114, Bangladesh.

Mohammad Belal Uddin
Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, School of Agriculture and Mineral Sciences, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet 3114, Bangladesh.

Niaz Ahmed Khan
Department of Development Studies, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

People in developing world derive a significant part of their livelihoods from various forest products, particularly non-timber forest products (NTFPs). This article attempts to explore the contribution of NTFPs in sustaining forest-based rural livelihood in and around a protected area (PA) of Bangladesh, and their potential role in enhancing households’ resilience capacity. Based on empirical investigation our study revealed that, local communities gather a substantial amount of NTFPs from national park despite the official restrictions. 27% households (HHs) of the area received at least some cash benefit from the collection, processing and selling of NTFPs, and NTFPs contribute as HHs primary, supplementary and emergency sources of income. NTFPs also constituted an estimated 19% of HHs net annual income, and were the primary occupation for about 18% of the HHs. HHs dependency on nearby forests for various NTFPs varied vis-à-vis their socio-economic condition as well as with their location from the park. Based on our case study the article also offers some clues for improving the situation in PA.

Keywords: Rural livelihood; Resilience; NTFPs, National park; Bangladesh.

Location:

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Socio-economic and Policy

Non-commodity: Livelihood

Objectives:

Our study was an attempt to explore the role of NTFPs in the life and livelihood of local people in and around a north-eastern PA in Bangladesh, as well as to understand the significance of NTFPs as a mean of improving households’ resilience.

Methodology:

Background of the study site To date, 37 PAs have been notified in Bangladesh,3 under the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) protected area management categories II and IV, covering nearly 11% forest area of the country (Dudley (2008). For the present study, we purposively selected Satchari National Park considering its particular richness in biodiversity, convenient access from the capital city Dhaka and nearby Sylhet , and its broad representativeness of the mainstream PAs of the country (Uddin et al. 2013). The park is also one of the PAs in which a co-management approach was pioneered in the country (Mukul et al. 2014). The word ‘Satchari’ comes from “seven streams” (locally called ‘chara’) and refers to the streams that flow through the forest. The area of the park is 243 ha which comprises of the forests of Raghunandan Hills Reserve within the Satchari Range (Uddin and Mukul 2007).. Administratively the park is located in Chunarughat Upazilla (administrative entity; subdistrict) of Habiganj district and is situated nearly 130 km north-east of capital city Dhaka. The vegetation of the park is ‘evergreen’, however large-scale conversion of the indigenous forest cover to plantations has changed its classic forest type entity (Uddin et al. 2013). Now only 200 ha of land contain natural forests; the rest is secondary raised forest. It is also one of the last habitats of critically endangered Hollock gibbons (Hoolock hoolock) in the country as well as in the sub-continent. The park has an undulating topography with slopes and hillocks ( locally called tilla) ranging from 10 to 50m in elevation. A number of small, sandy-bedded streams drain the forest, all of which dry out in the winter season after November. The annual average rainfall is 4162 mm. July is the wettest month having an average of about 1250 mm of rain, while December is the driest with no rainfall. May and October, the hottest months, have an average maximum temperature around 320C, while January is the coldest month when the minimum temperature drops to about 120C. The relative humidity of the study area is about 74% during December while it is over 90% during July-August. Sampling protocol A total of 19 villages with varied degrees of interests in the national park as well as in the reserved forest (RF) has been identified (Mollah et al. 2004). Of these villages, one village is located within the national park area and is inhabited by an ethnic community, the Tripura tribe. The other settlements that have stakes in the national park are located about 3-8 kilometers away from the park. Table 1 lists the degree of dependency that the various villages have on the RF as well as on the national park. Local people have traditionally collected various resources from the national park and adjacent RF. Many households, particularly poor households from the 19 villages studied, rely entirely or partially on the RF as well as on the park for collecting firewood, timber, bamboo, herbal remedies, and other NTFPs. Data collection We collected both quantitative and qualitative data. We randomly selected one village from each of the first four ‘forest dependence categories’ as identified by Mollah et al. (2004), including the only village inside the park, Tiprapara. We did not consider any village with only a minor degree of dependence on the PA and adjacent RF. After preliminary field visits and a reconnaissance survey, however, we performed a necessary ranking change between Deorgach and Ratanpur, given the fact that the forest is more critical to the people of Ratanpur than to the people of Deorgach. We conducted household survey in four sample villages—Tiprapara, Ratanpur, Deorgach, and Goachnagar—within a one-year time span (January to December, 2006). Before household surveys, we arranged some focus group discussions to construct a community map and a community profile of the study villages (Table 2). We also conducted a number of field visits to observe and verify the information recorded during our community mapping exercises. We interviewed 101 households in our four sample villages from a total households of 818 households within the survey villages.

Source of Information: Journal of Environmental Planning and Management,

Article Link (Online Journal): DOI: 10.1080/09640568.2015.1035774

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Our study has reiterated the critical role of NTFPs in providing subsistence and cash incomes to local communities, especially to the poorer groups, and as a provisioning option during unforeseen events that improves HHs’ resilience capacity. Recent renewed emphasis on conservation in PAs sometimes lead to restrictions on extraction of NTFPs. Such restrictions need to be viewed and considered within the broader context and reality of the high degree of dependence of poorer communities on NTFPs. A degree of flexibility in existing PA management may be warranted, such as by setting an allowable resource extraction limit for deserving community members in the light of both ecological and economic sustainability. Some species are particularly vulnerable to over-exploitation, and require special attention from PA managers. L. monopetala, in our study, for example, has experienced serious depletion due to unsustainable bark collection and rampant illegal removal. Policy makers and park managers should consider improving awareness of local communes about sustainable harvesting of NTFPs. They could also allow them to cultivate commercially important NTFPs in buffer zones to reduce pressure on core PAs. Another important issue is the lack of organized and equitable market outlets and facilities for local forest dependent communities to sell the NTFPs they collected. It makes them entirely dependent on an exploitative network of intermediaries. PA managers could therefore also facilitate direct and wider access of the poorer HHs to markets.

Knowledge Management: Journal