Bhawal National Park

Bhawal National Park_Mursheda
Introduction
Bangladesh has 21 Protected Areas which cover an area of 243,677 ha and include 8 National Parks (NP), 7 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 1 Game Reserve, and 5 other conservation sites. National Park, as defined in Article 2 of the Bangladesh Wildlife (Preservation) Order, 1973 [1], is comparatively large areas of outstanding scenic and natural beauty with the primary object of protection and preservation of scenery, flora and fauna in the natural state to which access for public recreation and education and research may be allowed. Bhawal National Park, about 40 km North of Dhaka (location 24°01' N, 90°20' E), besides the National Highway N3, is one such protected area having an area of 5022 ha. It was established as an NP in 1974, but was not declared officially until 1982.
The topography of Bhawal NP is characterised by low hills about 3.0 to 4.5 m high; the soil is yellow-red comprising sandy clay mixed with magniferous iron ores. The area experiences an annual rainfall of about 2500 mm. The vegetation is semi-deciduous, the upper canopy contains the deciduous species. Sal (Shorea robusta) is the dominant species of the upper canopy. There are a total of 221 species of plants [2]. The diversity of fauna in Bhawal NP is low. Species include fox (Vulpes bengalensis), jackal (Canis aureus), small Indian civet (Viverricula indica), wild boar (Sus scrofa) and black-naped hare (Lepus nigricollis). The diversity of avi-fauna is rich, although important species like the Common Peafowl have become extinct from the forest.
Bhawal is not an important wildlife conservation area but, being close to a large urban centre, it is valued for recreational purposes. The number of visitors exceeds 1.5 million a year. Apart from that, some 2000 people reside and cultivate land in an area of about 844.5 hectares inside the National Park. However, the Forest Department has recently earmarked a silent zone inside the National Park. In addition, they introduced some wildlife, e.g., peacock, deer, python, fishing cat, etc. The government, on 15 May 1990, banned any permanent or temporary lease of land in the forest area and ordered cancellation of all previous lease orders. But as many as 196 industries and other installations have been established since the forest was declared a national park. The law enforcement is generally performed by the forest officials. In case of relatively minor offences, the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) has the right to accept of compromise offer from the offenders and charge compensation equivalent to the damage done to the forest plus the value of the forest produce. When the offence involves a large area of the forest, the offenders are arrested, the produce and equipment seized, and the case is referred to a Magistrate's court for trial. The government agencies responsible for enforcement of legislation is primarily the Forest Department [3]. For controlling wildlife trade in Bangladesh, apart from the Forest Department, Customs and Excise Department, and Chief Controller of Import and Export are responsible for implementing the laws [4].
Problems, Issues, and Challenges in Conservation
In the early part of the twentieth century, Bhawal sal forest was a massive tract extending up to Madhupur. Until the independence from the British rule, Bhawal forest as well Madhupur forest were owned by the Zamindars of Bhawal and of Natore respectively. They settled people in and around low lands. In the process, much of the forest area was cleared for cultivation. In 1949, the government at the time abolished the land ownership of zamindars. But the people settled inside the forests did not move out. The illicit felling of trees remained unabated even after that.
An area of 5022 hectares was designated by the government of independent Bangladesh in 1974. However, the steps taken by the Forest Department could not deter the depletion of forest resources in the past years. In fact, about 90% of the existing sal trees are regenerated. In the past, sal forests occupied most of the central and western parts of the country but now occur only in scattered and degraded patches. The satellite photographs of this tract in 1997 and 2010, shows the difference during the period.
Figure 1: Location of Bhawal NP shown here on the right side of the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway (Courtesy of: Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS), Dhaka)
In 1994, the government enacted National Forestry Policy [3] with a view to expanding the degrading forest area of the country to about 20% of the total land area. In 1998, hunting of wildlife was banned in all protected areas including the Bhawal tract. But, by that time, the fauna had already been destroyed. Existing rules allow nothing but planting of trees only in Bhawal NP. The government's recent decision to issue environment clearance certificate for industries on privately owned lands inside the Bhawal NP is a clear violation of this [5].That will in effect legalise about 300 industrial units already existing in the area and allow setting up of industrial units inside the national park in future. Given the type of industrial units that are already established there, including dyeing factories, not only that will result in a gradual depletion of the forest area, the local flora and fauna will be severely threatened also as a consequence. The government's earlier stance of regenerating forest areas to 20% of the total land area has been negated by this decision.
A high-powered committee, on the other hand, recommended stringent legislation aimed to conserve this natural forest and its rich biodiversity, considered vital for preserving the ecosystem of the region. The committee also suggested a ban on any constructions or setting up of commercial and other establishments on privately owned land in core area of the NP. It asked for immediate acquisition of private land in the core area of the park and recovery of illegally occupied forest land.
The main problem of government actions not taking any effects is that the inhabitants in the protected areas were left out in decision making processes and policy matters. This resulted in the marginalization and displacement among the people. Many researchers believe that leaving out people living in and adjacent to the park area should be given viable economic opportunities for living and be involved in the decision making process [6]. Otherwise, the sustainability of the ecology in and around the park will always be endangered.
Conservation of Bhawal National Park The national parks set up in Bangladesh were the results of unilateral decisions by the government. Recent studies established the fact that locals living inside and around the protected areas are important stakeholders in conserving the ecosystems. The systems of conserving ecosystems in all national parks in England and Wales and some in Germany and other European countries have evolved as a result of interactions between people and nature. In the Fifth Amendment of The National Parks and Conservation of Wildlife Act (NPWCA) 1973 in 2005 in neighbouring country, Nepal, the government of that country has accommodated the provision of handing over management responsibility of protected areas to local communities [7]. The people living nearby or within the protected areas have benefitted from the development where it requires local community participation in its various activities and services. The people in these areas can earn a decent living from ecotourism industry. This was possible due to the collaborative management of protected areas by the authority and people concerned. Unfortunately, this type of shared views are totally absent in most developing countries. Participation of local community is minimal in the management of protected areas. The reasons are, firstly, the mindset of the forest officials, i.e., government is that human activities are incompatible with ecosystem conservation; secondly, there is the lack of confidence among the locals for the fact that the government does not care about their well being. Discussions between this researcher with the locals living in and around Bhawal National Park, tour organisers and the park officials also portrayed similar facts.
In view to these facts, the following steps could be taken to conserve the ecosystems and maintain the sustainability of Bhawal National Park:
• The forest department should try to build trust among the locals by disseminating and exchanging information and integrate them in the implementation of management objectives.
• Following the models used in the European countries, the locals can be encouraged to engage in ecotourism in Bhawal NP. In order to do that park officials have to identify the local leaders and through them educate people about the advantages through workshops, and group discussions.
• Achieving the confidence of the people, however, is not that easy after so many years of "deprivation". As a first step, locals can be included in the decision making processes in increasing numbers and be provided with adequate and actual information about the methods of achieving sustainable use of the park resources.
• The policy makers may consider handing over the ecotourism sector to the locals in the long run like other industries and disseminate this information and the exact processes of reaching this goals in the shortest possible time. This should motivate the people becoming more involved in the activities set out in the policies. They would be responsible for the safety of the resources while performing their daily activities.
• At present, forestry department seriously lacks adequate manpower to enforce and implement various activities of management. Local people, in this respect, can be effectively involved in gathering information, the park officials can compile them and eventually share with the communities. Locals can even provide feedbacks on the management approaches and its implementation.
• The communities must have the right to intervene in the decision-making process, and should be able to express their views and opinions.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Bangladesh, being a signatory to many international treaties on Protection of Biodiversity and Wildlife Conservation, protection of Bhawal National Park is obligatory. However, in many instances, these treaties as well as the legislations enacted by the government are not being followed properly. Encroachment of forest lands for setting up of industries and other destructive economic activities as well as illicit removal of forest produce are severely endangering the biodiversity and ecological balance of the area and its surrounding regions. Forest officials' unwillingness in the one hand, and mistrust of the locals on the other, are identified to be the two major reasons for the depletion of the resources in the area. Participatory management and involving local stakeholders in ecotourism by educating them on sustainability seems to be the best option for the conservation of the protected area. Since the Forest Department does not have adequate manpower, it may seek help from NGOs and assistance from donor agencies. A study in co-management conducted in 2008 in Madhupur National Park by an NGO "Nishorgo" [8] supports this idea.