A Half-yearly Peer Reviewed Journal of Bangladesh Forest Research Institute
Ecosystem exists at all scales. Ecosystem ranges from a grain of soil to the entire planet and include forests, rivers, wetlands, grasslands, estuaries and coral reefs. The global economy has seen incredible growth over recent decades; growth that has been fuelled by the erosion of the planet’s natural assets. Ecosystem degradation is an environmental problem that diminishes the capacity of species to survive. Ecological restoration has a growing role in policy aimed at reversing the widespread effects of environmental degradation that includes activities to assist the recovery of ecosystem structure and function; and the associated provision of goods and services. On 1st March, 2019, the United Nations
(UN) General Assembly (New York, USA) declared the decade of 2021-2030 the “UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration”. The purpose has been to recognize the need massively accelerate global restoration of degraded ecosystems, and to fight the climate heating crisis and protect biodiversity on the planet. The Sundarbans is the largest mangrove forest in the world; and it is known for its’ rich biodiversity. Due to the increasein salinity, natural disasters, sea-level rise, illegal felling of trees and over-exploitation of scanty available natural resources, the Sundarbans is losing its rich biodiversity. Thus, this review aims in highlighting the restoration initiatives taken to reverse and conserve the Indian Sundarbans ecosystem. Nurturing this vision, there are three main goals of the UN Decade’s strategy: prevention of degradation, increasing multiple benefits and implementing the idea of ecosystem restoration in education system. There could be a strong corporation between Indian and Bangladesh Governments for long term, sustainable and holistic management of the entire Sundarbans region.
The rural people depend largely on homestead forestry for their fuel, energy and house building materials (Alam et al. 1988). Deforestation of this homestead forstry have been causing severe environmental degradation and poor yield of crops, livestock, fisheries, etc. (Haq 1986).
Considering these facts, the present study was conducted to find out the perception of the farmers regarding the impact of homestead
afforestation and deforestation on environmental upgradation and degradation respectively. The Salna village under Kaultia Union which is adjacent to the national forest area of Gazipur district was selected for thisstudy. Out of 378 farmers 100 were selected randomly as sample. Data were collected through personal interview, using a semi-structured interview schedule during October24 toNovember23,1996. The trend of plant population was measured by considering 1975 as the baseline year and then the change was shown after 10 years (1985), 5 years (1990), 5 years (1995) and the study year which is 1996. The 5 years gap was used for two times because it was assumed that the awareness programme regarding deforestation wasstrengthened from that time. The number of tree during the past period was measured on the basis of number mentioned by the farmers depending on their memory. For this reason, the farmers aged above 40 years were selected for the study.
Welcome to the Bangladesh Journal of Forest Science (BJFS) – a leading platform for advancing the knowledge and understanding of forest science in Bangladesh and beyond. Established with a commitment to excellence, BJFS serves as a cornerstone for researchers, practitioners, and enthusiasts dedicated to the sustainable management and conservation of forest ecosystems.