Mehreen Bhuiyan

2231142610
ENV107.25

REMA KALENGA WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

Introduction

Bangladesh has a rich and diverse ecosystem with vast flora and fauna owing to its climate

conditions due to its unique geophysical location. However, environmental issues are

omnipresent globally, and this does not exclude the regions where civilization has not started.

Loss of forest land and biodiversity has become ubiquitous due to the impacts of climate change,

land use, and environmental effects caused by human beings. To preserve these regions,

Bangladesh has announced several areas as protected forests, wildlife sanctuaries, national parks,

ecologically critical areas, eco-parks, safari parks, and botanical gardens. Among these areas is

the Rema Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary, a tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen forest

(Mountfort and Poore, 1968; Sarker and Haq, 1985).

The purpose of this paper is to dive into the environmental issues in the area and provide

strategies to implement and gain a positive outcome. The paper used resources from journals,

articles, and other online sources.

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 Location and Geography

The Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary is an evergreen and dry reserve forest and wildlife

sanctuary in Chunarughat of the Habiganj district in Bangladesh. The sanctuary is within an area

of 1795 ha and is 80 km southwest of Sylhet (Sobuj, N. A., & Rahman, M. , 2011). According to

an article published by Hossain, G. M., & Hossain, A. E. (2014), “In 1982, this area was declared

as a wildlife sanctuary through a Gazette Notification No. 11/For-68/89/882, Date 22/12/1981 by

the Government under the Bangladesh Wildlife (Preservation) Order, 1973 (Amendment Act

1974) to provide for the preservation, conservation and management of wildlife in Bangladesh”.

Location and impact area map of Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary. Source: CREL Project, personal communication.

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The forest is said to be the second largest forest after the Sundarbans. It covers an area with low

and medium-high hills made from soft sandstones and, therefore, is a mixed tropical evergreen

forest (Champion, 1936). The area has numerous hills with different elevations and low-lying

valleys, with its highest at 67 m from sea level. (Rizvi, 1970). The forest’s soil ranges from clay

to sandy; it is immensely fertile and has a low pH. The sanctuary has a tropical climate with high

precipitation from April through September and a comparatively dry period from November to

March (Sobuj, N. A., & Rahman, M., 2011).

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 Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the different species of flora and fauna found within a community. In 1997,

BCAS held a survey and recorded 72 species of vascular plants in the Rema Kalenga Wildlife

Sanctuary (Sobuj, N. A., & Rahman, M., 2011). According to a study released by Sohel, S.,

Rana, M. P., & Akhter, S. (2009), the sanctuary also has “7 species of amphibians, 18 species of

reptiles, 167 species of birds, 37 species of mammals…”. The sanctuary is also home to eight

indigenous groups- Bunargi, Goala, Kharia, Kurmi, Munda, Santal, Tripura and Urang. In a

study conducted by Sobuj, N. A., & Rahman, M. (2011) on plant diversity, they produced a list

of trees (Table 1), shrub species (Table 2), and herb species(Table 3) within the area.

Table 1

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Table 2

Table 3

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 Environmental Challenge

According to a study done by Rahman, M. H., & Miah, M. D. (2017), they state “Collection of

fuelwood, bamboo, house building materials, and other NTFPs were the top drivers of

deforestation and forest degradation in RKWS…”. People local to the region also set fire to

bushes to drive out wild animals and clear ground for logging. All of these actions lead to the

burning of seeds, barks, undergrowth vegetation, and regeneration dynamics of trees promote

deforestation and forest degradation (Rahman, M. H., & Miah, M. D, (2017). Over the past few

decades, Bangladesh has lost significant natural resources and biodiversity, and a big reason for

this is leaving local people out of the conservation process (Sohel, S., Rana, M. P., & Akhter, S.,

2009).

Discussion

Forests and people are interrelated and, therefore, to conserve forests, active participation from

local people is necessary (Sohel, S., Rana, M. P., & Akhter, S., 2009). However, due to the

awareness from local people of the long-term benefits of conserving these regions, people

continue to cut and burn down trees and hunt animals in wildlife sanctuaries. (Rahman, M. H.,

& Miah, M. D, (2017). The natural forest of Rema Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary is negatively

affected by illegal felling and cattle grassing (Sobuj, N. A., & Rahman, M., 2011). The Nishorgo

Project (NSP) initiated opportunities for the local people in selected protected areas, such as the

Rema Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary, as a means of income to promote sanctuary conservation.

This initiative would not only preserve protected areas but also help improve the quality of

livelihood of the locals (Sohel, S., Rana, M. P., & Akhter, S., 2009).

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 Conclusion

The Rema Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary is a large forest with a rich biodiversity; it has a wide

variety of species of trees, shrubs, herbs, and animals. It is home to multiple ethnic groups who

earn a living from working in the wildlife sanctuary. Although, previously, some actions of the

locals and non-locals affected the area, through more awareness of the importance of protected

areas, it can get back to its original state. Moreover, active participation from the locals can be of

great benefit to the preservation. Furthermore, the NSP initiative helps workers and the wildlife

sanctuary alike. The NSP preserves the protected areas by providing opportunities for the locals

to earn money by helping restore the forest.

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 Citations

Champion, H.G. (1936). A Preliminary Survey of the Forest Types of India and Burma. Indian

Forest Records. 1: 1.

Hossain, G. M., & Hossain, A. E. (2014). Effect of exotic tree plantation on floristic composition

and phytodiversity of Rema-Kalenga wildlife sanctuary, Bangladesh. Jahangirnagar University

Journal of Biological Sciences, 3(2), 33-47.

Mountfort, G., Poore. D. (1968) Report on the second World Wildlife Fund Expedition to

Pakistan. Unpublished report.

Rahman, M. H., & Miah, M. D. (2017). Are protected forests of Bangladesh prepared for the

implementation of REDD+? A forest governance analysis from Rema-Kalenga Wildlife

Sanctuary. Environments, 4(2), 43.

Rizvi, S.N.H. (1970) East Pakistan District Gazetteers for Sylhet. Government of East Pakistan

Services and General Administration Department, Dhaka

Sobuj, N. A., & Rahman, M. (2011). Comparison of plant diversity of natural forest and

plantations of Rema-Kalenga wildlife sanctuary of Bangladesh. Journal of Forest and

Environmental Science, 27(3), 127-134.

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Sohel, S., Rana, M. P., & Akhter, S. (2009). Evaluation of Co-Management Impact in Protected

Area: Field Experience from Rema-Kalenga Wildlife. Journal of Forest Science, 25(1), 43-48.