An evaluation of protected area management planning and policy in Bangladesh

This study reviews and evaluates the current status of management planning and policy in Protected Areas (PAs) in Bangladesh via a case study of two Wildlife Sanctuaries and one National Park. Using a mixed method approach, the research evaluates the perceptions and attitudes of local residents and other stakeholders towards the effectiveness of protected area planning and management, specifically co-management plans for the case study areas. The research was based on semi-structured and in-depth interviews with key informants, focus group discussions, and questionnaire surveys of village residents. The study revealed a complex socio-economic context characterised by poverty; within this, a diverse range of stakeholders exist whose interests in, and perceptions of, protected area management do not necessarily coincide with those of the Forest Department officials, leading to situations of conflict and difficulty for the Forest Department in enforcing the law over areas of forest in Bangladesh, a situation that has not been helped by the limited availability of manpower and modern equipment. It is concluded that the co-management approach, by taking into account the interests, wishes, and aspirations of the local communities, holds out better prospects of protecting the forest, meeting the objectives of the protected area management plans, and development ambitions of local communities. However, the findings suggest that community participation needs to be improved if effective forms of co-management are to be achieved, in turn improving the chances of conserving the forest for future generations while permitting the present generation to pursue sustainable livelihoods. Based on this study, it is clear that not only is action required to increase the participation of the local community, but human resource development is required to produce parallel institutional capacity building within the Forest Department. Moreover, programmes designed to support the generation of alternative livelihood opportunities are required to reduce dependency on forest resources. All of these lines of development are essential to increase the capacity of the local communities and officials to work together to develop and implement the management objectives of the National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries. However, without genuine political will to act it will be difficult to achieve the aforementioned ambitions/objectives