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Separate wildlife department key to saving forest

The Daily Star roundtable told change in laws is a must

Emran Hossain
Creating a new wildlife department separating it from the forest department has become urgent at the moment to save the country's remaining wildlife and forests, speakers said at aroundtable.
The speakers underlined the necessity for making a political commitment to save the wildlife and to ensure the rights of the indigenous and local communities living in the hills and forests and their effective involvement in the forest management process.
The roundtable on The Vanishing Forests: How to Save
FROM PAGE 1
The Last Bit' was organised by The Daily Star on July 30.
The speakers also proposed making amendments to the existing laws and policies regarding forest and wildlife, which are almost century old, with a view to bring about an attitudinal change in the colonial approach being practised to save forest by 'using rifle' or making fence around the forests.'
Citing examples from neighbouring countries like India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, the speakers observed that forest and wildlife cannot be saved if indigenous and local-communities are not made a part of the conservation process, whatever might be the name of the process like social forestation, reserved or protected forest or wildlife preservation.
They also observed that different government initiatives taken up so far with the objective of making profit-oriented business out of forest have failed to yield success and destroyed the forest and wildlife instead.
The speakers said the present status of the forests and existing rules and policies reinforce the perception that the policy and rules the governments have so far taken have been anti-poor or prorich.
They came down heavily on the government for planting alien species of trees including Acacia, Eucalyptus, oil palm and rubber in the name of different projects and plantations that they said is causing damage to the environment, and the forests.
Prof Dr Reza Khan, noted wildlife expert and head of the Dubai Zoo, Inam UI Haque, eminent bird expert and photographer, Prof Anwarul Islam, bio diversity expert, Prof Farid Ahsan, chairman of Zoology Department of Chittagong University, Raja Devasish Roy, special assistant to the chief adviser on Chittagong Hill TYacts, adivasi leader Sanjib Drong, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, director, programme, Bela, and journalist Pinaki Roy, among others, attended the roundtable while news editor of The Daily Star Inam Ahmed moderated the discussion.
The speakers made several proposals to ensure preservation of forest and wildlife. These include no-settlement in the forest area, effective and strengthened governance, mobilisation of forest officers, no-demarcation in forest, handover of forest land to local or 1 u ni ty
fore3try>no*plantatiwrr in natural -forest, national level committee with equal participation from forest officials, NGOs and local people.
DRREZAKHAN
"Forest department cut down trees, and may be it is needed to collect revenue. But it has to be taken into account that wildlife is related to the forest. And nowadays it has become a dire necessity to create a separate wildlife department to save the wildlife, "Dr Reza said.
He said many countries in the world have introduced wildlife departments that do not have the power to cut down trees. The departments are entrusted with the job of preserving soil, water and air given under its jurisdiction.
"Means of earning can also be introduced using wildlife. The earning can be made by collecting flower or fruits or honey or cultivating leech and different other worms," Dr Reza said.
He said creating a separate department of wildlife will also be helpful for the forest department as donors are willing to grant money for dealing with issues regarding wildlife. But they do not grant money for issues regarding forest
"Whatever you mean by saying Chittagong Hill TYacts or whatever you name that area, the fact is that around 90% forests have just disappeared gradually since 1970. Only 10% forest might be found existing at this moment and even these forests are not virgin or primary and created by plantation," said Dr Reza.
"Now we do not have a piece of forest left that can be called natural forest except for the Sundarbans," he said. "Even in the Sundarbans you are not going to find trees above the height of 70 feet, indicating that, most probably, ages of the trees in Sundarban are less than 30 years."
Dr Reza said: "We are very much unfortunate as the forest is going down with our forest department only watching that their area is reducing. And even the truth of declining forest is not reflected in the statistics forest department publish."
INAM UL HAQUE
"We are lucky that we have such a good piece of forest like Sundarbans, the biggest and the finest mangrove forest in the world. It is an excellent piece of forest. But I wonder as I find no friend for the forest. Our media and intelligentsia are far behind talking in favour of the forest." said Inam.
"But we do have enemies of forest like syndicated loggers and gangs, poor people who scavenge in forest and do not have adequate knowledge about forest and lastly the forest department," he added.
Inam UI Haque said, "People do not know about forest and we could not make it clear to them that wc are friends of forest. It would be the best to create a separate wildlife department. Few pieces of forests must be given to another department who would care for wildlife. At least 20% forests be given to the
wildlife department and 80% can remain with the forest department."
"The concept of wildlife depart ment will be useful as it will come up with a new agenda. A new department with new agenda will save the wildlife and boost people with the spirit to work in favour of wildlife and forest," he said.
Citing example ofTanguar Haor where the government is facing difficulties to preserve wildlife, Inam said, "Unless wc have a department, wc cannot function with issues like this. And we cannot develop capacity to carry out that kind of work unless there is a department to look after the task"
"All the wildlife centres, zoos, safari parks and captivating centres must be brought under the wildlife department and its jurisdiction should not be restricted merely to forests but to wildlife,” he added.
"And right of the people living in or around the forests comes first. And we should be weariless when there are indigenous people as they are willing to listen to us. They do cause damage to the forests, but, of course, less than we do," Inam observed.
PROF ANWARUL ISLAM
The wildlife department introduced in Sri Lanka two years back operates smoothly now. Protected forest is not the only place where animals inhabit. There are animals living beyond the protected area of forest, said Prof Anwarul Islam.
"Now the protected area of forest stands less than 2% of the total forest though the govern ment in the last convention on Conventional Bio diversity pledged to raise protected forest area by 10% by 2010," he said.
"Though we say that 35 species of amphibians, 650 species of birds and 112 species of mammals are available in our country do we actually know how many of a species have survived?"
Prof Anwar said, "The ecological and cultural erosion we are causing to the forests can not be reversed in a thousand years as ecological engineering is so slow. If action is to be taken in this regard it should be taken right now."
"We have to understand that if a gibbon survives, the forest will survive with it and the people living there will also survive. But we did not get any fixed opinion or agenda or mission from any of our earlier ministers in this regard," he added.
He said, "We must look for a way to make political commitment .regarding all thege issues. Jhese; must be a national - accounting system.”
"It is a mystery that once harmful cultivation of rubber has become profitable and non-harmful and rubber plantation in private arrangement is going on in the hills," he added.
FARID AHSAN
"All the forest we have now are secondary forests and it has become a necessity to set up wildlife management. It is unbelievable that the wildlife advisory board of the forest department did not hold its meeting in the last three years," said Prof Farid Ahsan.
RAJA DEVASISH ROY
"I wonder what difference wildlife department will bring if it is introduced comprising the same persons from the forest department In it we must ensure presence of those people who really love wildlife,” he added.
"Forest department thought that they would preserve forests with rifle and I fear if changes cannot be brought in the attitudes of forest department officials the new department will come in no help," he added.
"Jhum cultivation is neither harmful nor not-harmful to the hills and forests. Nowadays hill people get rice in only four months from Jhum cultivation and who will provide them with rice if Jhum cultivation is stopped. A Jhum farmer knows how to cultivate in the hills and forests and he has every reason to cultivate," said Raja.
"You have to have viable alternative livelihood for hill people if you want to stop Jhum cultivation and managing a viable alternative livelihood is not that simple," he added.
"The forest policy we have at presentwas formulated in 1994 while our forest master plan will expire in 2013. The present caretaker government cannot take such big decisions regarding forests. But we can begin with some work Let the elected government come and talk and let them say if they have clear idea about these issues or not," Raja said.
"If we follow the yellow stone model of preserving forests introduced by the British colonizers it will violate human rights and continue widening the gap between people and forest department officials. We have to recognise rights of indigenous people with a holistic view," Raja said.
"The people who have been surviving in a forest using its land and produces will never cut down trees risking existence of the forest as they have to hand the forest over to next generation," he added.
"It cannot be happened in this way that you announce an area as reserve forest and do not allow people to cultivate. We cannot think of forest as an industry. Wc must recognise the knowledge of local or indige -nous communities,"he added.
SAN JIB DRONG
"Who lives out there on the hills or in the forests arc human beings. What you call or name as "resources', wc call that "our land." The people have been living in the forest for thousand years," said San jib Drong. "If you want to preserve the forests, it must be done by recognising knowledge of those people who have been protecting forests for thousand of years. The most important point for preserving forest is to pay heed to the people who live there. You cannot preserve forests by fencing around" or "using rifle","he added.
"Government must think before establishing an eco park If the government must establish an eco park, then do it on empty land where people do not live. I do not find any reason why the government is unwilling to share the issues regarding forests with local people or why the government do not want to use knowledge of the people?" Sanjib Drong added.
"Inc way the forest department treat indigenous people seems that they arc not human being. If you want to run a project in forest, talk with indigenous people and involve them with it. Give local people a partnership in it," Sanjib Drond^ added.
SYEDA RIZWANA HASAN
"The forest law was formulated in our country with the objective of collecting revenue using forest and through profit-oriented business in forest Recently, India has brought amendment to their act acknowledging that historical injustice has been done to their forests. If India can confess to their fault, then why should we not follow them," said Rizwana.
"But we are wearing the same shoe we wore during the period of British colony. Our forest act was amended only once in the last 81 years since 1927 and that was for incorporating social forestation which was opposed in almost every area in Bangladesh," she added.
"And we could not have village forestry rules by this long period though there is provision in the forest act for introducing village forestry," sheadded.
"The act does not tell anything like "compassion to wildlife" while the constitution of India has this mentioned in particular. Both ofour forest and wildlife acts must be amended, " she said.
"The indigenous people are preserving forest in Nepal while community forestry has become successful in India. On the other hand, in Bangladesh, Eco-parks are being built by replacing indigenous people," she added.
"Forest department must be open to the people in maintenance of forests and wildlife. The settlement policy must be changed as lands on char are being given to shrimp wNtehndlMs
are beingfoYcediomove-in forest for habitation. Forest officials must be aware of compassion to wildlife," she added.