INTEGRATED PROTECTED AREA CO-MANAGEMENT (IPAC) - BIDS

Although the resource users are blamed for extraction, the real benefit they get is less than what
is required as they are exploited by moneylenders and becomes poorer day by day. The name
and fame of the Forest Department as custodian of the Forests have also suffered a lot. The
general people, whose lives and assets are protected by the Sundarbans during natural disasters,
are now more vulnerable to disaster than before. 28
Following the above background, the study, the first of this kind within SRF, aims to understand
and, where possible, quantify the economics of extraction and sale of marketed products from
the Sundarbans Reserved Forest (SRF). Information and knowledge obtained through this study
aim to provide a foundation upon which economic interventions, climate change actions, and
governance interventions can be more efficiently designed and implemented for the SRF and
associated Protected Areas, in support of the improved, collaborative management and
sustainable use of these resources. The study aims to understand the value and flow of the
various categories of SRF goods: timber; non timber forest products; fish; and other aquatic
resources.
1.2 Brief Literature Survey and Issues related to SRF Extraction
At the outset, a literature survey is carried out keeping in mind the general objective as
economics of extraction, and value chain analysis, in particular. The aspects such as livelihoods,
resource-use pattern and stakes of different groups will also be kept in perspective to some
extent.
The Sundarbans Reserved Forest (SRF) in Bangladesh is the largest mangrove forests in the
world. In addition to the national economic service, the Sundarbans has long been recognized
for the benefits it brings to people around in terms of livelihoods and protection from disasters.
It is estimated that around two million people in the immediate vicinity of the SRF earn
livelihoods while a quarter of them are directly dependent on the SRF itself most of which
population, again, are said to be living below poverty levels (Integrated Resource Development
of the Sundarbans Reserved Forest 1998) (See Chapter 2 for current poverty levels in SIZ).
There are estimates of economic value of extracted goods from the Sundarbans (e.g., by Dey
2001). There exist a number of studies on poverty analysis but mostly relating to Bangladesh, as
a whole, with little analysis specifically to SRF areas themselves. The socio-economic reports
from surveys such as MARC 1995 and the Integrated Resources Management Plan highlight
characteristics of the poor households. The study by Quddus, Ahsan and Guha (1996) captured
the extent to which the rural poor directly extracting from the Sundarbans are employed and
impacted by other forces. Almost all the population of the study area are directly or indirectly
dependent on the forest resources and a section of them are directly dependent on them.
The study by Landell-Mills (1995) explored, through benefit-cost analysis, whether sustainable
use of the mangrove forest would yield higher welfare benefits than its full or partial conversion
to aquaculture. The study concluded that a decision to develop SRF would be extremely
damaging, not only to current population’s welfare but for the future generations as well.
Quddus, Ahsan and Guha (1996) observed that the major benefit of the forest resources went to
Mahajans, officials of the Forest Range Office and the pirates in the Sundarbans area. The BBS
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(Draft) Project Proposal: Sundarbans Biodiversity Conservation Project 2004-2009, Prepared for Asian
Development Bank by Forest Department, Ministry of Environment and Forests, GoB, pp 24-25; Islam et al (2005).
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