Chittagong Hill Tracts plantation forests
The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) is a unique and ecologically rich region located in southeastern Bangladesh, characterized by its elevated terrain and diverse plantation forests. Covering an area of approximately 8,000 square miles, this area features steep hills that rise between 2,000 to 3,500 feet above sea level, creating a distinctive landscape. The region experiences a tropical monsoon climate, which supports a wide range of flora and fauna, making it an important ecological zone.
The forests in the CHT are predominantly tropical and subtropical evergreens, covering about 15% of the area. They are home to various tree species, including teak, which is known for its high quality, as well as bamboo and other plantation crops such as rice, tobacco, and tea. However, these plantation activities have led to significant degradation of natural forests, threatening biodiversity.
The unique ecosystem is also home to numerous endangered animal species, including the royal Bengal tiger and various bird species. In response to environmental challenges, local communities have initiated conservation programs aimed at protecting forests and wildlife while promoting sustainable livelihoods. Overall, the Chittagong Hill Tracts represent a delicate balance between agricultural development and ecological preservation, reflecting the complexities of human interaction with nature in this region.
Chittagong Hill Tracts plantation forests
Category: Forest Biomes.
Geographic Location: Bangladesh.
Summary: The forests of the Chittagong Hill Tracts support a variety of species that are threatened mainly by the activities of many groups of indigenous peoples whose hunting and agricultural methods are degrading the habitat.
Chittagong Hill Tracts, formerly Korpos Mohol, is an area in southeastern Bangladesh, inland from the Bay of Bengal. Its terrestrial borders run along India and Burma (Myanmar) and cover an area of 8,000 square miles (13,000-square kilometers), about one-tenth of the area of Bangladesh. The Chittagong Hills constitute the only significant elevated area in the country, creating the western shoulder of the north-south mountain ranges of Burma and eastern India. The Chittagong Hills rise steeply to narrow ridge lines, with altitudes from 2,000 to 3,000 feet (600 to 900 meters) above sea level. The highest elevation in Bangladesh is at Mowdok Mual, at 3,500 feet (1,050 meters) altitude, in the southeastern part of the hills.
Fertile valleys lie between the ranges, which generally run north-south. West of the Chittagong Hills is a broad plain, cut by the rivers that drain into the Bay of Bengal, then an area of low coastal hills, and finally a narrow, wet coastal plain located between the seaport cities of Chittagong in the north and Cox's Bazar in the south. The Chittagong Tracts extend into and overlap with the Mizoram-Manipur-Kachin Rainforests of Burma (Myanmar) to the east. This large rainforest ecoregion represents the semi-evergreen submontane that supports high biological diversity.
Chittagong Hill Tracts region has a tropical monsoon climate based around a seasonal change in prevailing wind direction. The mean annual rainfall is roughly 79 inches (200 centimeters) in the north and east, and up to 118 inches (300 centimeters) in the south and west. The mean annual temperature is 73 degrees F (23 degrees C). In the summer, air moves from the ocean toward the land, and in winter air moves from the land toward the ocean. The tropical climates here create the conditions that allow a significant amount of vegetative production.
Flora and Fauna
The forests of tropical and subtropical evergreens in the Chittagong Hill Tracts cover about 15 percent of the region. Bangladesh is known as a land of trees. The hills, rivers, and cliffs of the Chittagong Hill Tracts are covered with dense bamboo breaks, tall trees, and creeper jungles. The valleys are covered with thick forest. The vegetation is characterized by semi-evergreen (deciduous) to tropical evergreen, dominated by tall trees belonging to the two-winged-fruit tree (Dipterocarpaceae), spurge (Euphorbiaceae), laurel (Lauraceae), pea (Leguminosae), and madder (Rubiaceae) families. Teak (Tectona grandis) was introduced to the Hill Tracts in the last century; the quality of the wood grown here approaches that of Burma's (Myanmar's) and is much better than Indian teak.
Each season produces its special variety of flowers; among them, the prolific water hyacinth (Eichhornia spp.) flourishes. Its carpet of thick green leaves and blue flowers gives the impression that solid ground lies underneath. Other decorative plants that are also widely spread here are jasmine, water lily, rose, hibiscus, bougainvillea, magnolia, and an incredible diversity of wild orchids in the forested areas.
Plantation trees that grow in this area include coconut, mango, banana, jackfruit, teak, palm, and bamboo. Crops of cotton, tobacco, rice, tea, and oilseeds are also raised in the valleys between the hills. Unfortunately, the creation of these plantations and croplands contributes to the degradation of natural forests. Of recent significance is the recognition that many of the different groups of indigenous peoples in the area use various plants for medicinal purposes. These plants and their uses are only very recently being documented.
Many animal species in the Chittagong Hills have become critically endangered due to indiscriminate poaching and rapid depletion of forests; these include rare species of wildlife like yak (goyal), the royal Bengal tiger, panther (chitabagh), large and small civet cat, pangolin, gibbon (Ulluk), barking deer, samber, slow loris (Lajjabati Banor), and peacock. Some of these animals may already be on the verge of extinction in the Chittagong Hill Tracts forests. Meanwhile, many common animals such as deer, wild pigs, and wild birds are also fleeing the forests across the border as increasing population, illegal poaching, and degradation of forest reserves are causing their habitats to diminish.
Other animals that are now only rarely seen in the Chittagong Hills are elephants (migratory), wild buffalo, bear, and porcupine. Reptiles that can be found in this ecosystem include the mud turtle, river tortoise, tiki-tik gecko, crocodile, python, king cobra, and a variety of other poisonous snakes. There are more than 250 species of birds here, including little grebe, heron, egret, common moorhen, common coot, Asian openbill stork, white-winged wood duck, and other waterfowl.
Water crises forced many native peoples to move to places where they could find water during the dry season. Realizing that their forests were in peril, residents of Chittagong Hills communities started an initiative with conservation programs in 2021. These programs provide funding to train individuals to work in new occupations to stop them from relying on forests for sustenance. Community members also assigned some individuals to work as guards in an area to prevent poaching, which is illegal, and forest destruction.
Bibliography
Chowdhury, Khairul. “Politics of Identities and Resources in Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh: Ethnonationalism and/or Indigenous Identity.” Asian Journal of Social Science 36, no. 1 (2008).
Gain, Philip, ed. The Chittagong Hill Tracts: Life and Nature at Risk. Dhaka, Bangladesh: Society for Environment and Human Development, 2000.
Gunter, Bernhard G., Atiq Rahman, and Ataur Rahman. How Vulnerable are Bangladesh's Indigenous People to Climate Change? Falls Church, VA: Bangladesh Development Research Center, 2008.
Siddique, Abu. "In Bangladesh, a Community Comes Together to Save a Lifegiving Forest." Mongabay, 19 May 2022, news.mongabay.com/2022/05/in-bangladesh-a-community-comes-together-to-save-a-life-giving-forest/. Accessed 29 Jul. 2022.