The endangered forests of Bangladesh: why the process of implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity is not working

Muzaffar, Sabir Bin; Islam, Md. Anwarul; Kabir, Dihider Shahriar; Khan, Mamunul Hoque; Ahmed, Farid Uddin; Chowdhury, Gawsia Wahidunnessa; Aziz, Md. Abdul; Chakma, Suprio; Jahan, Israt

doi:10.1007/s10531-011-0048-6

Cited by 44 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…The impact has been drastic particularly in the species rich moist tropical forest vegetation of Bangladesh (Appanah and Ratnam 1992). There has been a lack of concern about ecosystem restoration compounded with primitive and ineffective forest practices and on-going deforestation (Muzaffar et al 2011). The ability of many treecovered, but intensively used landscapes to support native species suggests that maintaining and creating habitats in human dominated landscapes can help to conserve a large proportion of biodiversity (Acharya 2006;Bhagwat et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Homegarden agroforestry systems: an intermediary for biodiversity conservation in Bangladesh

et al. 2012

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Biodiversity conservation is one of the important ecosystem services that has been negatively impacted by anthropogenic activities. Natural forests (NF) harbor some of the highest species diversity around the world. However, deforestation and degradation have resulted in reduced forest land cover and loss of diversity. Homegarden agroforestry (AF) systems have been proven to be an intermediary for biodiversity conservation. In this study, we evaluate the effectiveness of home garden AF practices to conserve tree species diversity in Bangladesh and compare them with tree species diversity in NF. A total of nine locations were selected for this synthesis from published literature which comprised of five AF sites and four NFs. Shannon-Weiner Diversity Index (H) was similar for home-garden AF (3.50) and NF (2.99), with no statistical difference between them. Based on non-metric multi-dimensional scaling (NMDS) ordination analysis, the AF and NF plots showed distinct separation. However, Bray-Curtis dissimilarity index ranged from 0.95 to 0.70 indicating nearly no overlap in species composition to significant overlap between AF and NF. Based on our results, we conclude that AF can serve as an important ecological tool in conserving tree species diversity, particularly on landscapes where NF fragments represent only a small fraction of the total land area. Creating and maintaining AF habitats in such human dominated landscapes should be part of the biodiversity conservation strategy.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Homegarden agroforestry systems: an intermediary for biodiversity conservation in Bangladesh

et al. 2012

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“…Lawachara is legally protected whereas Adampur is under the management of the Forest Department of the Ministry of Environment and Forests of Bangladesh, but not under formal protected areas status. Illegal logging, fuel wood collection, and hunting occurs in these areas (Muzaffar et al 2011;Islam et al 2013). Although a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity, all forested and other wilderness areas suffer from poor implementation of the principles of ecosystem management (Muzaffar et al 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new species of cryptic Bush frog (Anura, Rhacophoridae, Raorchestes) from northeastern Bangladesh

Al-Razi¹,

Maria²,

Muzaffar³

2020

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Raorchestes is a speciose genus of bush frogs with high diversity occurring in the Western Ghats of India. Relatively fewer species have been recorded across India, through Bangladesh, southern China, into Vietnam and Peninsular Malaysia. Many bush frogs are morphologically cryptic and therefore remain undescribed. Here, a new species, Raorchestes rezakhanisp. nov., is described from northeastern Bangladesh based on morphological characters, genetics, and bioacoustics. The 16S rRNA gene distinguished this species from 48 known species of this genus. Bayesian Inference and Maximum Likelihood analyses indicated that the new species was most similar to R. tuberohumerus, a species found in the Western Ghats, and to R. gryllus, a species found in Vietnam. Bioacoustics indicated that their calls were similar in pattern to most Raorchestes species, although number of pulses, duration of pulses, pulse intervals and amplitude differentiated it from a few other species. It is suggested that northeastern India, Bangladesh, northern Myanmar, and southern China represent important, relatively unexplored areas that could yield additional species of Raorchestes. Since many remaining habitat patches in Bangladesh are under severe threat from deforestation, efforts should be made to protect these last patches from further degradation.

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“…Illegal tree felling has been widespread in the LNP which is thought even quite large. Available reports suggest that annual illegal logging in 2005-2006 averaged to 1188 trees in Lawachara National Park alone (Muzaffar et al 2011). Although, these occurrences are primarily attributed to inadequate staff, logistics and equipment; however, greed and frail morale of the park officers and staff are also questionable in this regard (Feeroz and Islam 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Notes on the Status of Mammalian Fauna of the Lawachara National Park, Bangladesh

Aziz

2013

Ecoprint

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This paper presents a checklist of mammalian species of the Lawachara National Park, Bangladesh with notes on their status and conservation threats. A total of 39 species belonging to seven orders and 21 families were recorded. Of these, Carnivora (38%), Rodentia (24%), Primates (15%), Chiroptera (13%) and Artiodactyla (5%) were major. Thirty six per cent of the recorded mammals were common followed by uncommon (26%), rare (23%) and very common (15%). Nationally, 51% of the recorded species face different categories of threats followed by not threatened (28%) and data deficient (21%). In terms of global status, 23% of the species are threatened and 73% species are under lower risk category. Primates, herbivores and carnivores face severe threats primarily stemming from habitat loss and fragmentation, wildlife poaching and human disturbance. Arresting illegal tree felling and over-exploitation of forest resources, restoration of degraded habitats and regulative tourism activities should urgently be addressed for long-term conservation of mammalian species in the park.

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The endangered forests of Bangladesh: why the process of implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity is not working

Cited by 44 publications

References 9 publications

Homegarden agroforestry systems: an intermediary for biodiversity conservation in Bangladesh

Homegarden agroforestry systems: an intermediary for biodiversity conservation in Bangladesh

A new species of cryptic Bush frog (Anura, Rhacophoridae, Raorchestes) from northeastern Bangladesh

Notes on the Status of Mammalian Fauna of the Lawachara National Park, Bangladesh

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