Bangladesher Biponno Bon

Bangladesher Biponno Bon

Dec 22, 2005 | Adivasis and Forests

Factors that have lead to the deforestation of huge parts of Bangladesh forests, the role of various actors and the impact on forest people.
2005, Bangla, 276 pages, Paperback | Tk. 250 / US$15

Bangladesh is amazingly green with great biodiversity. But at the same time it is a forest-poor country that has lost its forest cover from about 20% in 1927 to a mere six per cent today. Outside the Sundarbans, only tiny patches of forests survive today.

The hills of the Chittagong Hill Tracts are bare today. The gorgeous garjan forest with myriad local species that one could see while traveling along the Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf highway, even a decade and half ago, are all gone. Plantations of exotic tree species (primarily acacia and eucalyptus) have taken the place of natural forest in many places. In the North-central and Northern regions, the sal patches have been replaced by “simple plantation” of exotic species. The remnants of the sal forests have become fragmented and only tiny patches survive today. The condition of the forests in the Northeastern region is no different. With the vanishing forests, the unique wildlife, forest-dwelling communities and their knowledge, traditions, and lot more have also become endangered or gone extinct.

What factors have led to this perilous condition? The typical response that come from the Bangladesh Forest Department, international financial institutions IFIs), donors and different other interest groups is that growing population, poverty, migration of landless people into the forest areas, shifting cultivation, illegal felling, fuelwood collection, etc. cause the degradation of the forests. But we normally do not look into other deep-rooted causes other than these official contentions.

The underlying factors for the destruction of the forests are an area where Philip Gain has investigated for the last one and a half decades. “Bangladesher Biponno Bon” is the outcome of his investigation. It’s an updated Bangla edition of his book, “The Last Forests of Bangladesh”.

Publication Details

Published: 2005
Language: English
Paperback: 276 pages
Author: Philip Gain
Price: Tk.250 / US$15

Shrimp Fry Collection and Its Trade

Shrimp Fry Collection and Its Trade

Dec 21, 2005 | Environment

A survey on shrimp fry collectors in Cox’s Bazar, Bhola, Khulna, Bagerhat and Satkhira of Bangladesh.
2005, English, 57 pages, Paperback – Tk.150 / US$5

A survey on shrimp fry collectors in Cox’s Bazar, Bhola, Khulna, Bagerhat and Satkhira of Bangladesh.

Shrimp cultivation has taken place extensively in the coastline of Bangladesh. Now the entire coastal belt has turned into a web of shrimp farms. It is very massive in the districts of Khulna, Satkhira, Bhola, Noakhali, Patuakhali, and Cox’s Bazar. The severe consequence of shrimp cultivation is best illustrated in the complete destruction of the Chokoria Sundarban, a unique mangrove patch in Chokoria Thana of Cox’s Bazar District.

Demand for shrimp in the markets of the West as well as loans and grants from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) in particular have encouraged the rapid growth of shrimp farming in Bangladesh. Shrimp brings a lot of cash fast, but not without affecting the local environment, society and economy. However, the profiteers from the shrimp industry stay blind to the consequences.

One major factor in sustaining the shrimp industry is the harvest of shrimp seedlings from nature. It is considered to be very harmful for the marine environment and therefore, banned in many countries.

While significant attention is given to the state of shrimp cultivation in Bangladesh, as well as other countries, the issue of fry collection remains largely unattended.

SHRIMP FRY COLLECTION AND ITS TRADE presents the findings of a survey of 1,200 shrimp fry collectors that discuss different aspects of the trade especially its effects on nature, local environment, economy and society.

With data, analysis, anecdotes, photos and maps, the report is an important resource for anyone interested in shrimp fry collection, its trade and the whole shrimp industry.

Publication Details

Published: 2005
Language: English
Paperback: 57 pages
Prepared: Philip Gain, Lucille Sircar, Shishir Moral, Aneeka Malik, Philip Kofel and Md. Kamruzzaman
Price: Tk.150 / US$5

Stolen Forests – Documentary

Stolen Forests – Documentary

Dec 21, 2005 | Documentary Films, Environment

Details the devastation happening to the forests of Bangladesh. 2005, English 76 mins, Bangla (Biponno Bon) 45 mins
DVD Tk.200 / US$10, CD Tk.100 / US$5

Biponno Bon (Stolen Forests) is a documentary film on the forests of Bangladesh (except for the Sundarbans) that have been devastated. The hills in the Chittagong Hill Tracts are bare today. The traditional sal forest has become history in most parts. The monoculture plantations of exotic and invasive species in place of hundreds of species of the native forests are not forests at all. This is the central theme of the documentary film Stolen Forest.

The film is divided into two parts. The first part tells the story of the sal forest destruction. The second part of the film is on the appalling state of the forests in Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar and the Chittagong Hill Tracts belt. Like what is seen in the sal forest, “simple plantation” afforestation with few species has replaced the towering native forests of Garjan, Chapalish, Chikrashi, and numerous other species in this vast expanse. Acacia, eucalyptus, teak, and pine are the dominant invasive species seen in these areas. This dramatic change has largely been caused by different projects financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank.

The key message of the film is that man can plant trees but can never create a forest. Trees alone don’t form a forest. Hundreds of species of trees and bushes and a large number of other vegetable species grow at all stages and on the forest floor. The knowledge of the forest-dwelling communities, their traditions, culture, history, education—all are parts of a forest. The forest cover in Bangladesh has now shrunk to merely six per cent. This includes more than 400,000 hectares of plantation established since 1872. Given [monoculture] plantation is not real forest, the actual forest cover is less than six per cent.

Publication Details

Published: 2005
English: 76 minutes
Bangla: 45 minutes
Director: Philip Gain and Junaid Halim
DVD: Tk.200 / US$10
CD: Tk.100 / US$5

Chokoria Sundarban: A Forest without Trees – Documentary

Chokoria Sundarban: A Forest without Trees – Documentary

Dec 21, 2005 | Documentary Films, Environment

A documentary film on the destruction of the Sundarbans and the impact on the marginalised people of the area.
2005, English and Bangla (Chokoria Sundarban: Je Bone Gaachh Nei), 34 mins
DVD Tk.200 / US$10, CD Tk.100 / US$5

Chokoria Sundarban: A Forest without Trees (Chokoria Sundarban: Je Bone Gaachh Nei) is a documentary on the destruction of the Chokoria Sundarban that used to be a 21,000-acre unique mangrove patch in the coastal district of Cox’s Bazar. The forest has been entirely destroyed and replaced by thousands of shrimp farms. Once the dense mangrove forest was full of diverse vegetation and wildlife. It also had abundant fish and naturally spawned shrimp. The mangrove, with its complex nature, provided a safe shelter to the wildlife, fish, shrimp and aquatic reptiles.

With concrete information, visuals and satellite images the documentary presents the current condition in the Chokoria Sundarban and how shrimp production became the single most incentive for the destruction of the forest. It also shows how shrimp cultivation has impacted the local environment and the subsistence economy of the marginal people.

Publication Details

Published: 2005
Language: English and Bangla
Length: 34 minutes
Director: Junaid Halim
DVD: Tk.200 / US$10
CD: Tk.100 / US$5