Community-managed forest landscapes of the Chittagong Hill Tracts: a model of a resilient rural livelihood system in Bangladesh
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Village Common Forests (VCFs) of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in Bangladesh are the community managed landscapes that harbor rare native plant and animal species which
profoundly influences local people’s livelihoods. The purpose of the investigation was to examine whether the VCF management system has any potential for maintaining a resilient local
livelihood system in the mountainous landscape of CHT. The investigation was conducted in 2016-2018 in 20 VCFs located in remote hill villages that consisted of sample surveys of floral
and faunal diversity in the VCFs and questionnaire-based surveys involving respondents from the respective villages to explore the community management practices concerning resources
available in the VCFs and the surrounding agricultural and aquatic ecosystems. The communities meticulously maintain harvesting of plant parts and animals considering the seasonality and
reproductive potential of the species. They closely monitor their forestry operations in VCFs, for example, through sporadically maintaining old growth trees in their forests, and protecting tree vegetation in peaks and cliffs of hills, bushy plants in the sloping areas, and bamboo clumps in the foothills in order to sustain availability of water in local water bodies. They follow forest management regimes that help maintain a regulated tree harvesting and a sustained flow of organic matter in VCFs in order to maintain soil fertility both in forests and in the surrounding agricultural lands. The villagers observe that agricultural productivity and diversity of crop land races in areas where no community managed forests exist has been declining due to inadequate soil fertility and availability of water. However, communities lack proper knowledge for monitoring events of climate change that affect their landscapes. Resilience of the VCF
landscapes that support both livelihood and ecosystem functions could be further improved through sharing of knowledge among the communities.
Keywords: Biodiversity conservation, Landscape management, Sustainable forest management, Food systems, Agriculture.
ID: 3483222