Community’s Perception and Involvement in Co-management of Bhawal National Park, Bangladesh

Natural forests in Bangladesh have been severely degraded due to over exploitation, encroachment, fire, uncontrolled and wasteful commercial logging, illegal felling, overgrazing, and the collection of fuel wood to support the energy needs of a large population. This paper investigated the livelihoods of local people and their involvement in management of Bhawal National Park. Based on primary and secondary data, it revealed that community in the study area was heavily dependent on forestry-related activities to support livelihoods. Local community participation in ecotourism activities and resource protection and in protected areas can be pursued through collaborative management. At present, the natural resources of the park are degrading due to indiscriminate use by the locals and visitors mainly in the form of encroachment and tourism incompatible activities. The local community was left out in decision making process where the core problem still not addressed. This study also investigated the problems that affected natural resources and local community involvement in management to mitigate such problem. Results showed that the relationship between the local community and park administration is not significant where their participation in the management is minimal. In overall the study provides the premises where the local community supported their participation in the decision making process and participate in management for a better stewardship of the park. Keyword: Community, Perception, Co-management, Bhawal National Park, Banglades