Mountains cannot be protected through guarding alone

Chattogram and the hills of the Chittagong Hill Tracts are not merely geographical territories. They are an integral part of the lifeblood of our national life. This region is home to important water sources, an abundant reservoir of biodiversity, a natural shield against climate vulnerability and a key source of livelihood for many people. Yet for several decades, we have treated the hills not as a gift of nature but merely as an area for resource extraction. The inevitable consequences are now visible before our eyes. Indiscriminate deforestation, soil erosion in the hills, degradation of the natural flow of streams and creeks, sudden landslides and a rapid and dangerous decline in biodiversity are all taking place.

The purpose of this article is not merely to repeat the crisis. Rather, it is to present a forward looking and solution-based framework. We now have to completely change the fundamental philosophy of our economy and development. We have to move away from extraction or exploitative resource use and make room for the philosophy of regeneration or the revival of nature.

One of the deepest crises facing the hilly areas at present is their completely inappropriate land management. In order to cultivate profitable seasonal crops such as cassava, taro, ginger, turmeric and pineapple, the original and natural vegetation covering the hills is being completely destroyed or cleared. Such unplanned cultivation on hill slopes becomes a hugely costly burden for the environment and the national economy in the long term. Before cultivation begins, the natural trees and grasses on the hillsides are cleared and the soil is left completely exposed. As a result, the fertile topsoil of the hills is washed away with heavy monsoon rain and directly deposited in the streams, creeks and rivers below. This rapidly reduces the natural fertility of the soil, fills riverbeds and destroys navigability, damages aquatic habitats and increases the risk of landslides many times over during the monsoon.

In view of this harsh reality, it is now necessary to formulate a completely separate special agricultural and land management policy for the hills. The agricultural policy for the hills cannot remain limited to the conventional calculation of how many tons of crops have been produced. New criteria must be added to this. These should include how much soil has remained protected, how many natural water sources have remained functional, how much tree cover has been maintained, how sustainable the farmers' income has become and how much protection has been ensured for overall biodiversity.

To achieve this goal, I am proposing a three-tier economic structure for the hills. The first tier will be the highest peaks of the hills. Here, natural forests, native trees and long-term timber-based afforestation must receive the highest priority. This area will be the foundation for future water conservation, biodiversity protection and the carbon economy. The second tier will be the middle slopes. Here, mixed perennial fruit-based agriculture can be developed with mango, jackfruit, lychee, malta, lemon and other fruits. The third tier will be the lower slopes and valleys. Here, sustainable agricultural systems that include bananas, bamboo and crops that keep the soil covered at all times can be encouraged.

"Forests, water, carbon and biodiversity. We have to put people at the center of everything in our national framework. If local people do not benefit financially from this, no conservation initiative in the world can succeed in the long term."

We can learn from Nepal's specific historical experience in conserving the hills. Nepal is one of the most successful and widely discussed examples of community led forest management in mountainous areas. There, more than 23,000 Community Forest User Groups are involved in successfully managing nearly 2.5 million hectares of forests and are directly connected with more than 3.5 million families. The key to Nepal's success is placing ownership and genuine participation in the hands of local people. There, local people themselves prepare forest management plans, legally use forest resources to secure their income and spend a specific portion of that income on local public welfare and development. As a result, forest conservation has become a matter of their own existence and interests.

It is never possible to protect forests simply by enforcing laws or deploying guards. To protect the people of the hills, sustainable alternative sources of income must be provided to them. It is urgently necessary to develop a specific Green Jobs Strategy in Chattogram and the hill regions. This could include profitable fruit processing industries, environmentally friendly bamboo-based cottage industries, nature-based ecotourism, forest and non-forest product-based enterprises, modern nurseries, planned reforestation activities and the global carbon economy. The state should introduce special incentives for environmentally friendly investment. With special tax benefits, easy access to loans and necessary infrastructure support, the private sector will be encouraged to establish green industries in the hills.

Any discussion about the hills in Bangladesh often becomes trapped in the long-standing debate over conservation versus development. Yet it is entirely possible to successfully advance both of these seemingly opposing approaches together. If necessary, investment can be attracted for local fruit and bamboo processing, forest products, nature-based tourism, carbon projects and small-scale processing industries, thousands of new jobs could be created in the region. This would allow ordinary people in the hills to secure their livelihoods and income through forest conservation instead of destroying forests.

The carbon market is expanding rapidly around the world. Turning forest conservation, forest restoration and environmentally friendly carbon storage into economic assets is no longer an unrealistic dream. Bangladesh's hilly areas could play a highly important role in global nature-based carbon projects in the future. However, there is one fundamental and essential condition. Local communities must be direct beneficiaries of these projects. If the carbon economy becomes an exclusive source of income for large organizations managing the projects, it will never be sustainable in the long term.

The most important and central message of this entire discussion is the community. Forests, water, carbon and biodiversity. People must be placed at the center of everything in our national framework. If communities or local people do not benefit financially from this, no conservation initiative in the world can succeed in the long term. The experiences of Nepal, Vietnam, Costa Rica and other successful countries around the world give us one fundamental lesson. Make people partners in development and people themselves will protect nature through their own responsibility.

Restoring the hills is not a five-year project. It is a continuous effort spanning an entire generation. Mistakes will be made along this long and difficult path. There will be criticism from various quarters and some initiatives may temporarily fail. But we must never change our goal simply because of these concerns. We have to remain patient, keep communities by our side, make science-based decisions at every step and most importantly focus on implementing solutions rather than merely lamenting the problems. If we can establish a sustainable foundation based on the right policies, the right investment and the right partnerships, it will be possible to transform the hills of Chattogram and the Chittagong Hill Tracts into a shining international example of sustainable restoration by 2035.

The most effective and humane way to save Bangladesh's hills is not to forcibly remove people from forests. Rather, it is to ensure stable and improved incomes for people while protecting the forests. The time has come for a new historic national commitment. We must view the hills not merely as areas for resource extraction but as our most valuable natural capital. This is how the golden future of the Chattogram hills will be written and this will be the true path to restoration by 2035.

Author: Environmental Activist, Conservationist