Management of the Sundarbans

1
Evolution of Forest Management Practices in the Sundarbans

Before 1658 The mangrove of Sundarbans was considered common land & was subjected

to unrestricted use

1658 A levy was imposed on harvesting by a local king, Shah Sujah.

18th century Under the control of district collector.

Collection of revenue from selling fuel & timber wood was the key objective
The Sundarbans was categorised as ‘production forest’. Ruthless exploitation…

1872-74 Exploitable minimum girth (111.3 cm) was prescribed by foresters & formed
the foundation of the Sundarbans’ management

1875 Declared Reserved Forest & jurisdiction of the Forest

Department

1893-94 1st working plan (Heining’s Working Plan) 2

Evolution of Forest Management Practices

1903-04 & 1906-07

1st working plan was revised in 1903-04 (Lioyds’s Working Scheme) and again in
1906-07 (Farrington’s Working Scheme). Selection system for the management
of the forests is in practice from the beginning till now. The felling cycles and
exploitable diameter limits were adjusted at every revision for the
commercially important species like Heritiera fomes, Xylocarpus mekongensis,
Bruguiera sexangula, Sonneratia apetala and Amoora cucullata.

1912-13 to 1931-32
Trafford prepared a regular working plan for the period from 1912-13 to 1931-
32. A selection system with exploitable girth limit for H. fomes, A. cucullata, B.
sexangula and X. mekongensis was prescribed. The felling cycle was 40 years
and improvement felling at 20 years interval in less saline areas was prescribed.
Trafford’s plan divided the whole forest into two working circles (Eastern and
Western) covering saline areas with relatively poor crop and less saline areas
with good quality trees. It prescribed exploitable girth for H. fomes (107 cm), S.
apetala (120 cm) and the remaining species at 61 cm. 3
Evolution of Forest Management Practices

1925 Species out of restriction were overcut. So some restrictions were imposed in 1925.

1930 The growing stock of E. agallocha, X. mekongensis, C. decandra and N. fruticans was
severely affected by 1930 as a result of unregulated felling.

1931 Curtis’s Plan came into force in 1931. Extensive inventory data were collected. The
plan mainly aimed at managing and production of timber, fuel wood and thatching
materials. For the purpose of felling, exploitable diameters were fixed for different
site quality classes. A 20-years felling cycle for less saline areas and 30-years for
moderate saline areas were prescribed. The silvicultural system was selection-cum-
improvement felling. It covered all the important species. The plan was criticized for
being too intensive for the purpose of execution.

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Evolution of Forest Management Practices

1937 Choudhury’s Modification came into force in 1937 when Curtis’ plan was found to be
impossible for execution by the then infrastructure of the Forest Division. In
Choudhury’s Modification selection-cum-improvement management system was
maintained. The yield was fixed by area on a cutting cycle of 20 years. The exploitable
diameter of the important species were fixed. Thinning at dense stands was
permitted and regulated harvesting of N. fruticans was allowed.

1947 Choudhury’s Plan Expired. DFO’s scheme came into action. The schemes were more
or less an extension of the past plans modified to the extent needed by the changed
market due to the partition of Bengal.

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Evolution of Forest Management Practices

1960-61 to 1979-90
• The Plan of A. M. Choudhury was prepared for 1960-61 to 1979-80.
• It was based on the inventory carried out by the Forestal in 1959.
• Selection-cum-improvement feeling was proposed for the management of forest.
• The working plan divided the forest into Gewa, Sundri, Keora Working Circles.
• Prescription for other species were also made. A felling cycle of 20 years was
prescribed for various tree or shrub species.
• Minimum diameter limits for the exploitation of different species for 3 site quality
classes were fixed. Exploitable age for various timber yielding species as mentioned in the
table is unknown.
• The yield of the forest was regulated by area.
• The main objective of Choudhury’s plan was to manage the forest on sustained
yield basis for the availability of timber, fuel wood and other produce. Only the increment
of the forest produce was intended to be harvested in order to prevent depletion of the
stocking.
• Moratorium on the felling of X. mekongensis for conserving the mature stock was
introduced and is still in force.

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Evolution of Forest Management Practices

Pakistan period (1947–1971)

Forest Policy was declared in 1955 and emphasis was placed on commercialisation of
forestry. Industries (e.g., Khulna Newsprint Mill, Khulna Hardboard Mill) were set up to use
the major timber species E. agallocha and H. fomes and a management plan was formulated
accordingly.

1974
• Parts of the Sundarbans were declared a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1974 to conserve
animals as well as tree

1989
• Sundarbans Division of the FD was brought under the newly created Ministry of
Environment and Forests in 1989.
• A full ban on logging from 1989

1997 UNESCO declared the Sundarbans to be a World Heritage Site in 1997

2006 A 20km buffer area around the forest was declared an “Ecologically Critical
Area” in 2006. 7
Evolution of Forest Management Practices

2007 – Now
• Salvage felling of the top-dying affected H. fomes trees continued. Extraction of E.
agallocha was maintained. But the operations of Khulna Newsprint Mill and Khulna
Hardboard Mill have been postponed which disrupted the commercial exploitation of E.
agallocha. Non-wood forest products were extracted through seasonal and yearly permit.
Projects such as the Sundarban Biodiversity Conservation Project was initiated with the
objective of conserving and protecting the biodiversity of the Sundarbans.

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Evolution of Forest Management Practices

2007 – Now
• After the devastation of Hurricane Aila in 2007, a ban on all forest extraction was put in
place
• All types of harvesting prohibited in three wildlife sanctuaries (1390 sq. km )
• Extraction of NTFP like Nypa fruticans and Honey in all areas except wildlife sanctuaries.
• Fishing allowed in other places except wildlife sanctuaries
and 18 canals
• Co-management in Sundarbans has been initiated in 2010
• Emphasis has been put on ecosystem management
• In collaboration with the Forest Department, IUCN-Bangladesh is developing health
indicators for the Sundarbans mangroves. Indicators will be developed at species, habitat
and ecosystem level.
• A draft document on the 'Code of Conduct for the Sustainable Management of
Mangroves' has been prepared under the World Bank's initiatives.

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Regulations and Treaties with relevance to the Sundarbans

10
Regulations and Treaties with relevance to the Sundarbans

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Current Forest Management Strategies and Related Problems

The management of the Bangladesh mangroves is currently facing two different problems:
on the one hand mangroves are gradually declining, while on the other hand a gradual
shift of mangrove management principles from monopolistic to a community-based
approach occurs.

In the current (1994) forest policy multiple use of the Sundarbans has been targeted
through sustained management keeping the bio-environment of the area intact.

Newly accreted lands in the coastal areas will be afforested through coordinated efforts
of the government, NGOs and local people.

The general objectives are to protect and improve the coastal environment by augmenting
tree cover in the coastal region and to help in poverty alleviation of the local people by
generating supplementary income opportunities.

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Current Forest Management Strategies and Related Problems

The main objectives of the present management plan of the Sundarbans:

(1) regulate the harvest of timber and other resources to sustainable levels
(2) improve the regenerative capacity of timber, non-timber and aquatic resources
(3) reduce the rate of unofficial extraction of timber resources
(4) generate stakeholder support and build new constituencies in resource conservation
(5) enhance biodiversity and tourism potential of the Sundarbans

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Current Forest Management Strategies and Related Problems

The main objectives of the present management plan for coastal plantations:

(1) to continue the establishment of coastal forest plantations and initiate management of
existing ones for their timber value;

(2) to protect and preserve areas of environmental value relating to conservation of

biodiversity resources;

(3) to integrate people's participation and development and

(4) to enhance and promote recreational and tourism potential.

Programs are implemented to meet the objectives, such as

(2) management of forest plantations; (2) operation of continuous forest inventory

system; (3) participatory forestry, (4) forest recreation and tourism, (5) protected area
management and (6) environmental services.

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Current Forest Management Strategies and Related Problems

Coastal mangrove plantations in Bangladesh

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Current Forest Management Strategies and Related Problems
Main drivers for deterioration of the Sundarbans Ecosystem

1. Over-exploitation of resources
2. Geomorphological changes
3. Salinity increase
4. Ecological succession
5. Regeneration problem
6. Low yield of wood
7. Decline of stocking
8. Erosion and accretion
9. Faulty harvesting
10. Top dying of Heritiera fomes

For details read pages 59 – 66 in Siddiqi 2001 (Mangrove forestry in Bangladesh)

The adopted timber management system has contributed substantially
in the changes of species dominance in the Sundarbans.

Do you agree?

For details read pages 29 – 30 in Iftekhar & Islam 2004

(Degeneration of Bangladesh’s Sundarbans mangroves: a management issue,
International Forestry Review. Volume 6, Issue 2.)
The adopted timber management system has contributed substantially
in the changes of species dominance in the Sundarbans.
The adopted timber management system has contributed substantially
in the changes of species dominance in the Sundarbans.