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Contextualization of Forest Governance for Implementation of Redd+ in Bangladesh

Md. Danesh Miah
Corresponding author
Institute of Forestry & Environmental Sciences, University of Chittagong, Chittagong 4331, Bangladesh

Gazi Azizul Islam
Institute of Forestry & Environmental Sciences, University of Chittagong, Chittagong 4331, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Poor governance accelerates deforestation and forest degradation through corruption in Bangladesh due to the enhancement of prevalent activities such as an excessive collection of forests products, trafficking of logs out of reserve forests, land grabs by powerful actors, illegal encroachment of forests, etc. The study was conducted with a view to assessing the present scenario of the forest governance system based on five UN principles in Bangladesh which will be the driving force to the successful implementation of the REDD+. The study was conducted in Rangamati, Madhupur, and Sreemangal, through focus group discussion, key informants interviews, and an online survey. The study shows that lack of transparency, accountability, and integrity is one of the main underlying drivers of deforestation and forest degradation. Restriction to accessing reports on fiscal activities, lack of laws and regulation concerning to public funds, lack of independent institution, ineffective monitoring and testing systems, and inadequate detection, investigation, and prosecution practices, etc. enhance the corruption in the forestry sector and the hindrances of effective REDD+ implementation in Bangladesh. The study suggested taking legal protection, engaging civil society and improving the organizational structures of the forest department to check the corruption in the forestry sector of Bangladesh.

Keywords: Corruption, Fiscal activities, Laws and regulations, Public accounting, Procurement policy

Location: Rangamati, Madhupur, and Sreemangal of Bangladesh

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Conservation and Biodiversity

Commodity: Sustainable livelihood

Objectives:

To take measures against corruption and the proper implementation of the REDD+ program in Bangladesh.

Methodology:

To realize the objectives of the study, Five Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and 15 Key Informant’s Interview (KII) were performed in each of Rangamati, Madhupur, and Sreemangal. The online survey was conducted using the ‘Survey Monkey’ professional version. In an online survey, 200 personnel were requested to participate in the survey. The online survey form was sent to the respondents who were relevant with the forestry sector, REDD+, and anti-corruption activities. However, the ‘Survey Monkey’ received 68 respondents (34%) only. Among the received survey, 88% were male and 12% were female. In the online survey, the highest numbers of the respondents (47%) were in the age group 20 and 35, while the lowest numbers of respondents (2%) were in both the age groups below 20 and 51 to 65. About 46% of respondents were in the age group 36 to 60. About 12 work/occupational class respondents participated in the online survey. They were from Local Government, Business Sector, International Institutions/Groups, Non-Government Organization, Indigenous Peoples’ Organization, Academic Institution, Forest Department, Civil Society, Government Administration, Sawmill, Furniture industry, Anti-corruption agency/enforcement bodies. The maximum numbers of respondents (16%) were from international Institutions/ groups while the minimum numbers of respondents (1%) were from local government offices. In the online survey, about 55% of respondents had work experiences in Bangladesh lifelong and about 26% had over 10 years of experience. About 5% of respondents had 5 years of work experience. The FGD considered three groups separately, i.e., timber traders and furniture makers, sawmill owners, and forest-dependent people. The members of a group were in a range of 20-301. The KII considered the local journalist, academician, leader of the ethnic community, lawyer, NGO activist, and officer of the Bangladesh Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). The total number of the key informant interviewee was 15 in the survey. For the study, all the selection of the respondents was purposive.

Source of Information: The Chittagong Univ. J. Sci. 41(1) : 148-177, 2019

Article Link (Online Journal): DOI: https://doi.org/10.3329/cujs.v41i1.51921

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

The study revealed that lack of transparency, accountability, and integrity are the main underlying drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in Bangladesh because of the low accountability and discretionary powers, the source of illegal logging and extortion of bribes in the forestry sector. Restriction to accessing reports on fiscal activities, lack of laws and regulation concerning to public funds, lack of independent institution, ineffective monitoring and testing systems, and inadequate detection, investigation and prosecution practices, etc., are the sign of weak governance systems in forestry sector that facilitate the forest officials to involve themselves in corrupt activities in Bangladesh. Poor governance systems also decrease the possibilities of getting revenue from donor country through REDD+ in Bangladesh. To improve the governance system in forestry sector needs to legal action against corruption, engage civil society to ensure the accessibility of all stakeholders in all spheres of organizational structure and to the structural change of forest department in Bangladesh.

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