Forest Co-management and Restoration Programs Enhanced the Vegetation Coverage: Evidence from the Baraiyadhala-Hazarikhil Forest Landscape in Bangladesh

Abstract

The detection process of the land use and land cover change can denote a change in the continuous characteristics of land features. The study identified the land use and land cover (LULC) change in the Baraiyadhala-Hazarikhil forest landscape consisting of Baraiyadhala National Park and Hazarikhil Wildlife Sanctuary (HWS) from 1990 to 2020. The LULC changes were identified through analyzing the Landsat satellite imageries of 1990 and 2020. The study also investigated the drivers of LULC through key informant interviews. Finally, the potential strategies and techniques to continue gaining forest cover and combat the drivers of deforestation and degradation were recommended and discussed. The study identified five major land uses, i.e.,  dense vegetation, light vegetation, agriculture, barren land, and settlement. The remaining land covers that fall outside these land uses were grouped as “other land uses”. The finding of the satellite imageries indicated an increase of dense vegetation (75%) and light vegetation (17%) from 1990 to 2020. Moreover, the barren land, agricultural land, and other land use areas were also reduced by 92%, 93%, and 38%, respectively. All these can be deemed as a positive change of forest cover. However, there are also some negative changes, including the increase of settlement (142%). The vegetation increase is attributed to the plantation projects, forest conservation initiatives, and forest co-management programs conducted under the leadership of the Forest Department. The increase in landscape settlement can be explained by the incursion of landless people from the nearby island in the Bay of Bengal due to the frequent occurrence of natural disasters. The study recommends eviction or relocation of illegal settlements, strict enforcement of forest laws, control of road network expansion inside the landscapes, awareness-raising among local people, covering barren land with environmentally sound restoration initiatives, and motivation of the political leaders for further improvement of the forest cover and overall forest health in the landscape.

The Chittagong Univ. J. Sci. 46(1): 1-23, 2025