Chattogram Hill Tracts is a unique hill region covering 10% of the total land area in Bangladesh. It has high ethnic diversity, vast evergreen and semi-evergreen forests, high biodiversity and is a part of the Indo-Malayalam Biodiversity Hotspot. Sangu-Matamuhury Reserve was declared in 1880 and 1981 with a total area of 74,841 ha. The proposed project site is a mountainous forest area in South-eastern part of Bangladesh which is increasingly degraded and faces many threats like degradation and deforestation and unsustainable shifting cultivation by ethnic minorities.
SMRF is the watershed of Sangu and Matamahuri rivers flowing through Bandarban and Cox’s Bazar district down to Bay of Bengal. Its degradation has impacted the bio-physical condition of the watershed and livelihood of insider inhabitants, local and downstream communities and food supply. Quantity and quality of water flows decrease during winter resulting in reduced flow of water with a direct impact on agriculture downstream.
The region’s economy is mainly agrarian, with shifting cultivation (jhum) being the main livelihood source. The forests have become severely degraded due to shifting cultivation and over-exploitation of timber and other forest products resulting in loss of biodiversity, accelerated soil erosion, landslides, and reduced stream water flow.
Bangladesh has pledged Bonn challenge with a restoration target of 0.75 mh of different ecosystems. The project will further build trust and Partnership and enable Institutional arrangement.
Gapes need to address
● Government initiatives to increase trust and strengthen partnership are not enough or sometimes not very effective
● Government funding for FLR is not enough to comply with the national and international commitments.
● Technical support is required to develop sustainable and resilient farming practices considering TEK and LEK that will bring biodiversity benefits in the long run.
Potential benefits of the project
Social
Environmental
Economic
Interest to donor
● Develop sustainable and resilient farming system that brings biodiversity benefits in the long run.
● Ensure sustainable harvesting of NTFP, improved value chain mechanism and promote AIG’s including Ecotourism
● Halt further degradation, restore biodiversity and ecosystem services
● Compliance with the National and International targets under the UNFCCC, the UNCBD, SDGs, the Bonn Challenges.
Beneficiaries of the Project
Direct
Inhabitants within SMRF--35000;
Inhabitants around MRF--100000
Employee/workers--25000
Indirect
Tourists--200000;
Inhabitants around SMRF--200000;
Down stream local people, Farmers--10000000
Budget
Build trust, partnership and enabling institutional arrangement to resolve land disputes with support from NGOs 10.0 m USD
Ensure sustainable AIGs including basic rights of health, education, nutrition, and valuing norms and culture of EGLC 20.0 m USD
Establish value chains for forest products & services and promote ecotourism through a Community-based approach 5.0 m USD
FLR and forest protection involving EGLC 20 m USD
CEPA strategy for EGLC & government officials including capacity building 5.0 m USD
Research, Monitoring, Evaluation and revised intervention: short, medium and long term 5.0 m USD
Total 65.0 m