Participatory Forest Management for the Sustainable Management of the Sundarbans Mangrove Forest

Abstract

People’s participation in forest management has become successful in many countries of the world. The Sundarbans is the single largest mangrove forest in the world, bearing numerous values and holding importance from economic, social and ecological perspectives. It is the direct and indirect sources of the livelihood of 3.5 million people. As a reserve forest, government is always providing extra care through state monopolies for its management with the introduction of policies and guidelines. Bangladesh, being the signatory of a number of international conventions and treaties, is committed to preserve its resources. In spite of all these initiatives, its resources including biodiversity have been losing gradually over the last few decades. Thus, sole management by the Forest Department has raised the question of its sustainability. The need for a critical analysis of the options of present management structure and the involvement of local people and their power-sharing to reduce degradation is inevitable. In this study, we examine the prevailing management crisis of the state machinery of forest bureaucracy and forwarded the argument for community involvement through community-based forest management for sustainable use of its resources.