Appendix 3. Country papers/presenta

Appendix 3. Country papers/presentations
Coastal forest rehabilitation and management in Bangladesh2
Md. Mozaharul Islam, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Divisional Forest Officer, Sundarbans
West Forest Division, Khulna, Bangladesh
Introduction
Bangladesh is a tropical maritime nation on the northern border of the Bay of Bengal. The coastal
region lies between latitude 21° to 23° north and longitude 89° to 93° east. The coastline is
approximately 710 kilometres long and the coastal zone covers an area of about 2.85 million hectares,
which is 23 percent of the country’s total area. The coastal region includes offshore islands, mudflats,
chars and new accretions. Because of the large population (140 million) in a very small country (147
570 square kilometres), the coastal areas of Bangladesh are densely populated. More than 35.10
million people live here. Agriculture is the main occupation in the zone. Other important occupations
include fisheries and salt production. With respect to natural resources such as gas and minerals and
further prospects for aquaculture, capture fishery, salt production, the zone has the potential to make a
significant contribution to the national economy. However due to the geomorphology of the area, the
coastal zone is particularly susceptible to tropical storms and tidal surges which occur frequently in the
Bay of Bengal. These natural calamities ravage the area almost regularly and are considered the
greatest hindrance to the development of the region and the country as a whole. For this reason,
mangroves as coastal shelterbelts are considered most important for the country.
The coastal zone has extensive areas of both natural and planted mangrove forest. Natural forest
includes the Sundarbans, the Chakaria Sundarbans and fringe mangroves along the eastern coast. The
Sundarbans is the world’s single largest tract of mangrove forest and in terms of mangrove
biodiversity, the richest forest in the world; it is a Ramsar site, part of which has been designated as a
World Heritage site. For about a century the Sundarbans has enjoyed the status of Reserved Forest and
has been managed for its productive value.
After a cyclone devastated the coastal region in the 1960s — except for Khulna District, which is
protected by the Sundarbans — coastal afforestation with mangrove species was initiated to protect
life and property from cyclones and tidal surges. Later, industrial raw material and fuelwood
production, conservation of coastal ecosystem and the environment, protection of wildlife and aquatic
resources, protection of agricultural land against salt intrusion, tourism, poverty reduction and
enhancing land accretion were added to the objectives of development programmes. In this context,
over the last four decades the Forest Department has successfully implemented several massive
projects (Box 1) and has established some 148 000 hectares of mangrove plantations scattered over
on- and offshore areas mostly along the central part of the coast.