East Pakistan has an area of 55126 square miles • Out of this ,
about 8,800 square miles comprising part of Chittagong, Noajchali
Patuakhali, Barisal and Khulna Districts including all Off-shore
Islands come under the Cyclonic Belt and Tidal bore zone • As per 1961
Census , the population of these five Districts is 96,27,843 • A part
of this population is being affected every year by the Cyclone and tidal
Lore more frequently since i960 . On the black 12th November, the
cyclone and tidal waves struct 14 Police Stations of these Coastal
Districts inhabited by about 31 Lakhs of people spread over 2600 square
miles of area causing lakhs to die and damage to property including
live-stock worth crores of Rupees ( not yet fully estimated ).
The Bay of Bengal is one of the World’s great producers of
tropical storm . This Bay produces regularly about half a dozen of
Cyclones in a year • All are not equally serious, but one out of six
hits with full force • The structure , size and speed of these cyclones
are well known t0;he meteorologists . The Geography of the Bay of Bengal
is such that the effect of these Cyclones is magnified in the form of
tidal bore • The shape o^4his Bay is just like a funnel and the sea
bed over which it passes, gradually shallows to the broken coast lines .
So the cyclone moving towards north here produces the biggest wave in
the world which ultimately hit the coast line of the Bay. of .Bengal…

Sylhet district’ has an area of 4,785 square miles and a population
of 34,89,589’as per 1961 census.Government Forests cover an area of
300.91 square miles with following, break up
Reserve Forest 150*99 square miles
A.F. and proposed R.F. 149*92
300.91 square miles.
It is the reserved and part of the acquired forests that still
remains in condition both on paper as well as on the ground *
Most of the forests are located close to the international
boundary and is scattered all over the district • In the past-these
forests were jhumed by Tippras and in order to stop further deterioration
of these areas due to jhuming etc. catchment areas of main cheras which
had some sort of forest cover were gradually proposed for reservation
long before 1947 • Assam Government of those days, .realized the gravity
of the situation that laid to investigation of the land use pattern of
Sylhet district by competent people »

There are many organizations that are carrying out research on
subjects directly or indirectly connected, with forestry . The Commonwealth
Forestry Institute and the British Weed Research Organization were visited
The Forestry Commission research station at Alice Holt could not be visited
as the organization was preoccupied with other visitors during the period .
At Oxford opportunity was taken to discuss the research programme
in East Pakistan in general and the experimental designs in particular . The
consensus of opinion was that replications should be introduced in each
research station. The plot size should be reduced from one acre to quarter
acre and four replications introduced .

summary of data for the month of April to June,1971:
station: Forest Research Institute, Chittagong.
Time of observation : 0800 hours.

The coastal belt of East Pakistan covers a substantial part of
Khulna , Bakhargonj , Patuakhali , Noakhali and Chittagong districts along
the Bay of Bengal . In the western part of the belt, lies the Sundarban
Forests with a width of about 60 miles and almost equivalent depth • The
presence of mangrove and other species of the Sundarbans along the stream
banks and around the homestead, almost throughout the balance part of the
coastal belt , indicates that the Sundarban Forests extended throughout the
coastal belt in the past • The ramnants of such forests are still visible
in the Matamuri Delta about 30 miles north of Cox’s Bazar town , known as
“Chakaria Sundarban Forests” .

INTRODUCTION :
In agreement with the United. Nations Organisation’s programme
on the promotion of economy and at the request of Food and Agriculture
Organisation ( P.A.Oo ) U.N.O., the Soviet Union organised the International
Symposium on Forest Influences and Watershed Management from.August 17 to
September 6,1970 .