| Author | Amin, Mohammed Ruhul |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.NR-06-08 |
| Subject(s) | Forest management--Social aspects--Bangladesh--Chittagong
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| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. NR-06-08 |
| Abstract | This study was conducted to evaluate the impacts of the social forestry program implemented in the Matamuhuri Reserve Forest of the Chittagong Hill Tract, Bangladesh. The impact was assessed through the two way comparisons of the social, economic, environmental and institutional aspects of the participating community. Firstly, the relative changes in these aspects of two homogeneous communities (one with social forestry and another without social forestry) are compared and secondly, the condition of the participating community before starting the program was compared to its condition after three years of the implementation of the social forestry program. The perception of key informants and findings of the impacts are analyzed to determine the future implications of the social forestry program. Data were collected by household survey with structured questionnaire, key informant interviews with semi-structured questionnaire, group discussion and field observation and they were analyzed by different statistical tools like descriptive statistics, weighted mean index, X2- test, t- test, Mann-Whitney U Test etc. with the help of SPSS. The impact of the social forestry program was different in case of different aspects of the community. Among five social aspects impact on housing, water sources and sanitation was very high, high and moderate respectively and the participants were satisfied. On contrary, social forestry could not contribute to develop education and health according to the most of the participants and they were dissatisfied to the impact of the social forestry program on these two aspects. But without any development in the education and health sectors it is not possible to improve the overall social status of the community. The participants were given government recognition of land ownership and their land holding was increased greatly. Social forestry also contributed in raising livestock, procuring household assets and increasing household income and social forest was emerged as an additional source of forest products. But most of them (76.5%) could not produce sufficient food for their own requirements and they had to take loans in the offseasons for buying foods from the professional money lenders in a very high interest rate. To develop the economic status of the participating community, the scope of income generation and long term loan facilities have to be developed. The vegetation cover and plant diversity were improved and soil erosion, land slide and flood damage were decreased. But the occurrence of wildlife was decreased and the water flow and quality of water of the Matamuhuri River were also deteriorated. Enrichment plantation instead of pure block-wood plantation and carefulness in site preparation will reduce disturbance to the wildlife. Gully plugging and contour planting measures during plantation should be maintain properly to control soil erosion and landslide and it will also help to maintain flow and quality of river water. The awareness and knowledge of the participants were improved but the fields of employment were not expanded enough. Social institutions were not established and social capital was not developed. Participants should be involved in every stages of decision making and social institutions have to be developed within the existing social structure of the participating community |
| Year | 2006 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. NR-06-08 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Natural Resources Management (NRM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Shrestha, Rajendra Prasad; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Shivakoti, Ganesh P.;Gautam, Ambika P.; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Ministry of Environment and Forest, Bangladesh Asian Development Bank; |
| Degree | Thesis (M. Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2006 |