1.

Introduction:
Social forestry may be defined as the science and art of growing trees in and outside traditional
forest areas and managing like existing forest with intimate involvement of the people and more
or less integrated with other operation resulting in balanced and complementary land used with
view to provide wide range of goods and services to the individual as well as to the society. The
main goal of forestry is to create and implement systems that allow forests to continue a
sustainable provision of environmental supplies and services. The term social forestry was first
used by a forest scientist named Westoby in 1976.
Bangladesh with a population of about 142.3 million (BBS, 2011) in a total area of 1, 47,570 sq.
kilometers is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. The estimated forest area
of the country is about 2.6 million hectares (0.02 hectare/ person) and this is about 17% of the
total land base of the country (BBS, 2011). Agrarian rural people around the forest heavily
depend on forests for their livelihood. As a result of the tremendous demographic pressure 964
people/ sq. km (BBS, 2011) for both housing and agriculture, use of land between and within
the forest areas is accelerating the rate of deforestation with loss of ecosystem, wildlife and
biodiversity, leading to overall environmental deterioration. Forestry Master Plan suggested that
between 1981 and 1990 the annual loss of forests has been 37,600 hectares and predicted, with
great concern, that if this rate is contained, the forest of Bangladesh will not last through the
period of 20 years (FMP, 1992).
Social forestry ensure economic, ecological, and social benefits to the people, particularly to the
rural masses and those living below poverty line, especially by involving the beneficiaries right
from the planning stage to the harvesting stage.
It is very difficult for the government alone to be successful in managing social forestry. The
general people need to be aware and govt. must create awareness among them by different social
activities or programs like different seminar and other arrangements. Social forestry was
introduced in Bangladesh in early 1980s and has proved to be extremely successful.

2. Social Forestry
Social forestry can be broadly defined as a people oriented forestry program or activity.
Sometimes it is simply described as forestry of the people, by the people and for the people.
Others define it as any forestry activity aimed at providing goods and services for the benefit of
rural communities (Magno, 1986).
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO, 1978) defined social
forestry as any situation which intimately involves local people in a forestry activity. It excludes
large scale industrial forestry and other form of forestry which contributes to development solely
through employment and wages, but includes activities by forest industry enterprises and public
services to encourage and assist forestry activities at the community level. Social Forestry is to
mean the active participation by rural people in the planning, implementation and benefitsharing of tree growing schemes (GOB, 1987).
Other terms more or less interchangeably used with social forestry are: community forestry,
forestry for local community development, village forestry, rural forestry, and participatory
forestry (Magno, 1986).

2.1 Development of Social Forestry in Bangladesh:

Only about 30 years ago social forestry program began in independent Bangladesh. In 1981 the
first social forestry project named Community Forestry Project started its initial activities in 7
districts of North Bangladesh with the aid of Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Asaduzzaman,
1989). This project was carried out only on marginal fallow lands such as roadsides, the sides of
railway lines, and institutional premises, but now social forestry is also being practiced in the
degraded forest areas. A major Social Forestry Program started in 1987-88, called Thana
Afforestation and Nursery Development Project, which was carried out with an ambitious target
to implement social forestry all over Bangladesh through upazilla administration (Rudra, 2012).
The participants became more interested after getting their share of income generated by the
project. The development of this system is shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Social forestry projects in Bangladesh

Name of Project

Duration

Community Forestry Project

1981-82 to 1986-87

Thana Afforestation and Nursery

1987-88 to 1994-95

Development Project
Extended Social Forestry Project

1995-96 to 1996-97

Urban Afforestation Project

1996-97 to 1999-00

Forestry Sector Project

1997-98 to 2005-06

Bamboo, Cane and Murta Development

1998-99 to 2005-06

Project
Poverty Alleviation Through Social Forestry

2010-11 to 2012-13

Project
Biodiversity Conservation and Poverty

2008-09 to 2012-13

Alleviation in Greater Rajshahi and Kushtia

Districts Project
Source: Rudra, 2012.
Apart from the major government projects, there had been several small-scale and localized
fruitful social forestry programs that ran under non-government initiatives in the past and there
are also others which are on-going. These include the Betagi and Pomora Agro-forestry
experiments in Chittagong, Jalchatra (Tangail) agro-forestry scheme, the Swiss Development
Corporation Village and Farm Forestry with emphasis on both bari (homestead) and khet (farm)
land, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committees (BRAC) homestead plantation in
Manikganj, and Proshika Manobik Unnayan Kendras Social Forestry activities along roads, on
khas lands and homesteads (Asaduzzaman, 1989). The leading national NGOs (i. e. NonGovernmental Organizations) in Bangladesh like BRAC, Proshika and Grameen Bank - set out
to integrate women into development activities initially with the community based development
approach such as social forestry (Halim, 1999). There are also various programs of other NGOs
like Rangpur-Dinajpur Rural Service (RDRS), Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), etc.
(Asaduzzaman, 1989).

2.2 Objectives of Social Forestry:

According to Magno (1986), the objective of social forestry is basically to uplift the
socioeconomic well-being of the rural villagers. Other secondary objectives are:
1. Maximization of land productivity through the planting of fuel wood and timber species along
roads, highways, railway lines, and canal embankments;
2. Enhancement of ecological stability through the greening of open, idle, and otherwise
unproductive land areas such as along roads and highways, railway lines and canal
embankments;
3. Protection of landscape by increasing overall tree resource base of the country;
4. Development of aesthetically appealing landscapes and eco-tourism;
5. Conservation and enrichment of biodiversity;
6. Watershed management and erosion control;
7. Management of sustainable supply of forest goods and services etc.

2.3 Types of Social Forestry:

Social forestry may mean a wide variety of tree growing and harvesting practices, the common
element among all of which is participation of the rural people in management and benefit
sharing. According to Asaduzzaman (1989), participation may result from involvement through
ownership or control of land and management of land. He reported that there may be 3 types of
control or ownership of land (state, community or private) and 2 types of management
(communal or private). He also suggested another categorization on the basis of the technologies
used for growing trees; technologies may be either pure tree growing or mixed with farming for
crop production (i. e. agro-forestry). Agro-forestry is likely to be practiced mostly on public land
either on a communal or an individual basis or on private farm land by individual households).
The probable combinations of mode of participation, type of land, and technology of tree
growing are presented in Table 2.

Table 2: Types of social forestry

Ownership/Control of Management

Technology

Location

land
Private

Pure

*NP

Mixed

*NP

Pure

Homestead

Mixed

Homestead,

Pure

Farmland
Mosque, School etc.

Mixed

Mosque, School etc.

Pure

*NP

Mixed

*NP

Pure

Strip Plantation,

Mixed

Block Plantation
Agro forestry

Pure

Strip and Block

Mixed

Plantation
Agro forestry

Commercial
Private

Commercial

Commercial
Private

State

Commercial

Private

*NP: not likely to be practiced

Source: Asaduzzaman, 1989.

3. Social Forestry Activities:

According to Magno (1986), the following criteria should be considered in selecting social
forestry project:
1. It must demonstrably help the poor people of the rural areas.
2. It should enjoy strong governmental support.
3. It should be carried out with the active participation of the local people including women and
youth.
4. It should be selected based on socioeconomic rather than technical considerations.
Considering these criteria, the various social forestry activities are mainly of

Figure 1: Roadside strip plantation (Source: web -1)

(i)

Strip plantation: Planting of trees beside roads, highways, railways, etc. The

participants plant trees along major roads, feeder roads, railways, canals and river
embankments where 10% of the proceeds go to the land owning agency, 5% to the Union
Parishad (smallest local government unit composed of a number of villages), 65% to the
groups of participants and 20% to BFD (Halim, 1999). A strip plantation of banana tree is
shown in Figure 4.
(ii)
Woodlot plantation: Plantation of fuel producing trees on a small-scale. These
are to be mostly established on khas land. After the maturation of the trees, 60% would be
taken by the government and 40% will be distributed amongst the participants.
Participants must be landless and locally selected, and BFD is supposed to sign a oneyear contract (Halim, 1999).
(iii)
Agroforestry plantation: Involving the allocation of certain plots to the
participants where they are encouraged to grow crops, vegetables and spices, while
commercial trees are planted on the edge of the plots. Plots of 3.5 acres of land allocated
to the participants. The government will take 60% after the trees grown on the edge of the
agroplots are matured, the remaining 40% to he distributed among the participants
(Halim, 1999).
(iv)
Embankment plantation: Plantation of deep rooted trees on river embankments
for erosion control.

(v)

Forest-shore plantation: Plantation of trees along the forest-shore to protect the

land from natural calamities.

(vi)
Coastal belt plantation: Plantation of trees on coastal areas to protect the land
from cyclone, tidal surges etc.
(vii)

Village homestead plantation: This involves growing mainly fruit trees within

the vicinity of the home (Halim, 1999).

(viii)

Nursery plantation: This involves production of seedlings for sale and

distribution (shown in Figure 5). Some are set up by the government to provide saplings
to the plantation sites, others by villagers (in groups or individually with the credit
provided by NGOs) to supply saplings to other beneficiaries. Production of tree seedlings
is a promising profitable small-scale business (Halim, 1999).

Figure 2: A nursery of flower and fruit seedlings in Dhaka (Source: BFD,

2011)

4. Plant Groups Used in Social Forestry:

Selection of plants and use of plant species according to the requirement of people as well as the
environment are of great importance for successful social forestry program.

5.1 Principles of Plant Selection:

Selection of species is important for the success of social forestry. Bangladesh Forest Research
Institute (BFRI, 2010) suggested the following criteria for the selection of species:
1. Trees should be fast growing, early maturing and yielding,
2. They should have multiple usages (for food, fodder, fuel, manures),
3. The tree trunk should be strong and stout,
4. The species should be suited to climate and soil of the place,
5. They should have dense foliage,
6. They should possess capacity to tolerate adverse climate and soil conditions,
7. They should have deep root system,
8. The leaf shedding should be in early spring and not in summer,
9. They should have coppicing capacity (ability to produce shoots from cut portion),
10. They should not have prominent thorns.

4.2 Plants Used in Social Forestry of Bangladesh:

Bangladesh contains about 5700 species of angiosperms and four species of gymnosperms
(Khan, 1977). Khan (1996) reported that there are about 86 timber species, 130 species of
yielding fiber, and 29 medicinal plant species available in the country.
Trees can be grouped according to peoples requirements. For the selection of trees, people
should identify locally available species first and then only go for exotic species. This principle
should be kept in mind always before a species is selected for social forestry. Bangladesh Forest
Research Institute (BFRI, 2010) suggested a model classification of trees according to the needs
of people. The scientific names with Bangla names in parenthesis are given in the classification.
A. Fuel trees: Fast growth and high yield are the most important criteria for selecting firewood
trees. Trees requiring 5-15 years for attaining full growth are considered suitable for fuel

production. Fuel wood can be grown by two methods: (a) coppicing (cutting and regrowing
branches continuously). All the trees do not have regrowth capacity. Some fast growing cropping
fuel trees are: eucalyptus, babla, etc. Common firewood trees are grown under a wide range of
climatic conditions.
Examples:
(a) Acacia nilotica (Babla);
(b) Albizzia lebbeck (Shirish);
(c) Azadirachta indica (Neem);
(d) Emblica officinalis (Amloki);
(e) Zizyphus mauritiana (Koroi); etc.
B. Fodder species: Fodder species should be included in a social forestry program to ensure
balanced feed to the animals. Fast growing leguminous species are more valuable as fodder due
to their high protein content (Shada babla). In addition to being a legume, trees with succulent
and dense foliage with better silage making quality are preferred for fodder. Fodder trees are
generally planted close and maintained in the form of a bush by repeated coppicing. Some of the
fodder trees are classified according to climate.
Examples:
(a) Acacia nilotica (Babla);
(b) Zizyphus mauritiana (Koroi);
(c) Albizzia lebbeck (Shirish); etc.
C. Fruit trees: Choice of the local people should be given due consideration for selecting fruit
trees in social forestry along with soil and climatic factors as the fruit trees do not flourish unless
they get a suitable environment. The objective for raising the fruit trees should also be
considered. If it is for commercial purpose, marketing facilities should be first ensured.
Examples:
(a) Tamarindus indica (Tetul);
(b) Emblica officinalis (Amloki);
(c) Artocarpus heterophyllus (Kathal);

(d) Cocos nucifera (Narikel);

(e) Mangifera indica (Mango);
(i) Syzygium cumini (Jam); etc.
D. Timber trees: Timber trees are of two types, namely small timber and commercial timber for
logging. For social forestry purposes, normally small timber is raised which is used for village
housing for making farm implements and tools handles.
Examples:
(a) Albizia lebbeck (Shirish);
(b) Azadirachta indica (Neem);
(c) Cocos nucifera (Narikel);
(d) Dalbergia sisoo (Shishu ); etc.
E. Trees for soil erosion control: For soil erosion control, planting methods and designs are
more important than the kinds of tree.
Trees with the following characteristics are suited for soil erosion control:
1. Profuse branching from the base (e. g. Bilati babla),
2. Extensive root system (e. g. Casurina)
3. Trailing branches (e. g. Cathbadam),
4. Ability to produce saplings from cutting (e. g. Shishu); and
5. Tolerance to close growing condition (e. g. Bamboo).
F. Trees for improvement of poor soils: Saline, alkaline, waterlogged and marshy lands
constitute the poor soil. These lands cannot be used for agricultural purposes. Planting trees
resistant or tolerating these types of soils, still not only help in reclamation of soil, but also yield
useful products like fuel or fodder. Planting trees on water logged areas will lower the watertable
to certain extent.
Examples:
(a) Acacia nilotica (Babla);
(b) Albizzia lebbeck (Shirish);
(c) Azadirachta indica (Neem); etc.

G. Windbreaks: Windbreak refers to one or three rows of trees planted as a protective against
strong wind. Windbreaks are planted perpendicular to the direction of the wind in the locality.
They reduce the wind velocity and consequent movement of sand and soil is arrested, thus they
(1) reduce soil erosion (2) conserve precipitation and (3) increase soil moisture.
Examples:
(a) Albizzia lebbeck (Shirish);
(b) Tamarix dioica (Jhau);
(c) Saraca indica (Ashok); etc.
It is essential that the species selected for planting should be directly or indirectly related to the
socio-economic needs of the people. Therefore, there must be full participation of local people in
selecting species for planting. At the same time people have to be taken through the process of
reflection and analysis to make them aware of the socio-economic conditions of their life in
relation to social forestry before they choose the type of trees to be planted. Planning should take
into account not only the immediate needs but also the future increasing requirements.

5. Social Forestry Types of Practiced Models in Bangladesh:

Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, especially because of its
low elevations. Hassan (2012) reported several types of social forestry models practiced all over
the country (illustrated from 5.3.1. to 5.3.5) with the following objectives:
Protection of human habitation;
Protection of life, property, and agricultural crop from natural disaster;
Stabilization of newly accreted land;
Increase of forest resources of the country;
Amelioration of the environment from degradation, and improvement of biodiversity;
Afforestation and community adaptation against adverse impact of climate change.

5.1 Homestead Agro-Forestry in Coastal Zone:

On private lands, homestead agro-forestry plays a vital role in providing fuel-wood, fodder,
fruits, and timber all over Bangladesh. Besides these, homestead agro-forestry also supplies
vegetables, spices, climbers, etc. Well planned and well managed agro-forestry can play a great
role in improving homestead production of these products in Bangladesh towards food security
and nutrition. The increasing population is creating demands for more food, fuel, and timber,
thus resulting in rapid deforestation. Due to the acute fuel-wood shortage, people are burning
cow-dung and crop residues, and using more of the inorganic fertilizers in the crop fields which
in turn depleting the fertility and water holding capacity of the soil. This cow-dung which is
being burnt now, could otherwise contribute towards enhanced production of organics (fruits,
vegetables, etc.) leading to the nutrition of the people in general. In order to sustain agricultural
productivity, alternative sources of fuel need to be sought. Homestead agroforestry is a better
land-use system which can help to maintain and improve the soil fertility.

5.2 Silvo-Fishery:
During 1995-2000 under Green Belt Project, participatory dyke plantations were raised in newly
accreted chars of Noakhali Division with a view that in addition to share timber, participant can
use the ditches made in between the dykes for fish farming. The participants and local people
reared shrimps and white fishes in the ditches which generated additional income for them
towards improved livelihood.

5.3 Silvo-Horticulture:
In the year 1996-98 under Green Belt Project, 40 hectares dyke plantations of Jhau, Rain-tree,
Koroi, etc. were raised in Majher Char of Patherghata Range, Patuakhali Forest Division,
wherein coconut saplings were also planted.

5.4 Agro-Forestry on Embankment:

In Coastal Forest Divisions, especially in Barisal Forest Division, agro-forestry is being practiced
since early 1980s in strip plantations. Participants grow crops like Arahar, Mash-kolai, brinjal,
gourd, papaya, etc. during the first and second year of plantation, and they enjoy all the harvests
from the agricultural crops. Growing of leguminous plants and crops enriches soil fertility; act as

nurse crops to forest seedlings, and also supplies protein rich seeds as foods for the poor local
people. The branches of Arahar plants serve as fuel-wood for the rural forestry participants.

5.5 3-F Model for Community Based Adaptation to Climate

Change:
One aspect of community based adaptation to climate change through afforestation in
Bangladesh projects agro-forestry work has been the development of the FFF model (or Triple
F or dyke-ditch model) by making 8-9 dykes and 8 ditches per hectare (allotting 1 dyke and 1
ditch to a single participant) and that comprises short, medium and long term resource generation
shown in Figure 3.
Size of ditch: 54m 3.5m (top) 3.0m (bottom) 2m
Size of dyke: 60m 3.5m (bottom) 3.0m (top) 2m

Figure 3: 3-F Model for Community Based Adaptation (Source: Hassan,

2012)
The FFF model uses a combination of protective and productive vegetation and fish nursery
pond to create multiple resource of income and climate risk protection for the long run.

6. Achievements of Social Forestry in Bangladesh:

Social forestry has acquired great significance in Bangladesh as a strategy for both forest
resource management and rural development. By the year 2003 an area of 31304.0 hectares
encroached and treeless forest land had been brought under plantations; about 31000 families,
mostly poor had been integrated in the plantations as beneficiaries or participants with 1(one)
hectare forest land allotment to each family under written agreement; and 35060.0 km strip
plantations in which almost 300,000 landless and poor families had been involved asparticipants

also under written agreements (GOB, 2003). The growing stock of the woodlots and bamboo
resources are estimated to be 54.7 million m3 and 7480 million culms respectively, and about
20,000 ha of plantations have been established (Islam, 2003). During 2000-2003 more than
23,000 individuals benefited from the final felling of different social forestry plantations
(woodlot, agroforestry and strip plantation) (Muhammed et al., 2005).
After the development of social forestry, the characteristics of forest and other wooded land
show great improvement in productive plantation and protective plantation from the year 1990 to
2005 which is illustrated in Table 3.
Table 3: Characteristics of forest and other wooded land
Forest Resource Assessment
1990

Area (1000 hectares)

2000
2005

Categories
Primary forest

Modified natural forest

643

608

592

Semi-natural forest

Productive plantation

173

195

195

Protective plantation

66

81

84

Total

882

884

871

2005

Source: FAO, 2005.

The practice of social forestry increases the outputs of food, fuelwood, fodder, timber and other
forest products. The harvested forest products from social forestry plantation are presented in
Table 4.
Table 4: Summary of Harvested Social Forestry Plantation (1999-00 to 2011-12)
Area

Timber

Fuelwood

Poles

Total

Participant

Participan

Tree

GOB

Felled

Quantity

Quantity

(Thousan

sale

Involved

Farmin

Revenu

km/ha

(Thousan

(Thousand

Procee

(Thousand

Share

Cubic m.)

Nos)

No.s)

(Crore

Fund

(Crore

Tk)

(Crore

Tk)

Cubic m.)

(Crore
Tk)

Tk)

21879

426992.24

479319.97

4405.66

391.64

102.48

176.53

38.56

ha, or
10468k
m
Source: Web 1.

7. Sustainability of Social Forestry:

Sustainability is one of the major objectives of social forestry. Social forestry rules have been
developed, funds are being raised, and nature oriented tourism is being practiced for ensuring the
sustainability of social forestry.

7.1 Social Forestry Policy and Regulation in Bangladesh:

The present basis of forest management is the 20-year Forestry Master Plan which is prepared in
1993 (GOB, 1993) and implemented since 1995 (GOB, 1995). Bangladesh National Forest
Policy 1994 (GOB, 1994) became effective in order to put forward the social forestry activities
with respect to the Master Plan, so that Forest Act and Social Forestry Rules can provide legal
support to social forestry and will also ensure sustainability to this program.

7.2 The Tree Farming Fund (TFF) for Sustainability of

Social Forestry:
Participatory plantations are being raised from development budget using both government and
loan money. Social forestry cannot be made sustainable using government fund only. The
Ministry of Finance has approved Tree Farming Fund (TFF) operated by the participants which
has been developed using 10% money from the final harvest to reduce dependency on
government and donor fund; TFF will provide 50% of the replanting cost and the remaining 50%
cost will be provided by the project; if TFF doesn't cover 50% of the replanting cost, the
participant will contribute voluntary labor to cover the gap (Web 1). TFF and participatory
labor contribution will make social forestry sustainable.

167.89

7.3 Ecotourism for Sustainability of Social Forestry:

Salam et al., (2000) suggested that nature oriented tourism (i. e. ecotourism) can be one means to
help achieve sustainability in the reserve forest as well as protecting the important world heritage
site. Well-planned tourism could provide economic and political incentives for proper
management and for conservation and could bring additional benefit to local communities and
regional economies.

8. Benefits of Social Forestry:

Social forestry benefits the environment, economy, society as well as the rural communities.

8.1 Environmental benefits:

Reduction of pressure on forests and therefore more forest trees in place to protect upland
areas from environmental degradation (Magno, 1986);
Recycling of materials in soil by deep rooted trees (Armson, 1977);
Better protection of upland ecological systems through stabilization of nomadic/ shifting
cultivation (Magno, 1986);
Presence of tree roots and stems impede the process of surface runoff, nutrient leaching and
soil erosion (Armson, 1977);
Improvement of microclimate, such as lowering of soil surface temperature and reduction of
evaporation of soil moisture through a combination of mulching and shading (Magno, 1986);
Through the process of photosynthesis, sink of atmospheric CO2 which is the major
greenhouse gas responsible for global warming; it is estimated that 1 hectare of woodland
consumes 3.7 tonnes of CO2 and gives out 2 tonnes of O2 per year (Tiwari, 1983);
Increase of soil nutrients through addition and decomposition of litter fall, and improvement
of soil structure through the constant addition of organic matter from decomposed litter (Magno,
1986).

8.2 Economic benefits:

 Increases in the outputs of food, fuelwood, fodder, timber and other forest products (Magno,
1986);
Increase in potential for generating direct and indirect employment, particularly among rural
masses; it is roughly estimated that 1 hectare of plantation raised needs, on an average, about 300
man days of labor (Birla Institute of Scientific Research, 1984);
Reduction of the incidence of total crop failures common to single cropping or monoculture
system and increase in levels of farm incomes due to improved and sustained productivity
(Magno, 1986).

8.3 Social benefits:

Increase of income opportunities and living standards for rural people from sustained
employment (Huq and Alim, 1995);
Improvement in nutrition and health due to increased quantity and diversity of food outputs
(Magno, 1986);
Stabilization and improvement of upland communities through elimination of shifting
cultivation practice (Magno, 1986).

8.4 Benefits to rural communities:

The plantation of trees has been called an investment, savings and insurance for rural people
which encourage the development of self-reliance (or shonirbhor in Bangla).
The benefits of forest products and services and their beneficial characteristics are shown in
Table 5.
Table 5: Benefits of forestry to rural communities and their beneficial characteristics
Output

Beneficial characteristics

Fuel

Low cost in use

Producible locally at low cash cost
Substitutes for costly commercial residues
Substitutes for agricultural residues

 Prevents destruction of protective ground cover

Prevents diversion of household labor
Maintains availability of cooked food
Low cost in use

Building materials

Producible locally at low cash cost

Substitutes for costly commercial materials
Food,

fodder

Maintains/ improves housing standards

and Protection of cropland against wind and water

grazing

erosion
Complementary sources of food, fodder and forage
(i.e. in dry periods)
Environment for supplementary food production
(i.e. honey)

Saleable products

Increased productivity of marginal lands

Raising farmers/ community income
Diversifying the community economy

Raw materials

Additional employment
Inputs to local handicraft, cottage and small scale
industries
Benefits as from saleable products

Source: FAO, 1978.

9. Constraints of Social Forestry:

There are some constraints of social forestry that limit the practice and participation of people in
social forestry.

9.1 Negative Environmental Factors:

Possible competition of trees with food crops for space, sunlight, moisture, and nutrients
which may reduce food crop yields (Magno, 1986);
Monoculture plantation leads to a loss of plant diversity (Halim, 1999);
Damage to food crops during tree harvest operations (Magno, 1986);
Introduction of plant species with detrimental effect on other plant species and on animal
populations;

 Potential of trees to serve as hosts to insect pests that are harmful for food crops (Magno,
1986);

9.2 Undesirable Socioeconomic Factors:

Requirement of more labor inputs which may cause labor scarcity at times in other farm
activities (Magno, 1986);
Lack of access to resources made available for the rural areas by the government;
Much of the land in Bangladesh is used for farming and people understandably do not want to
give it up for forestry (Halim, 1999);
Longer period required for trees to grow to maturity and acquire an economic value (Magno,
1986);
Intensification of agriculture and clearing of forest land for agricultural production to generate
income especially where land is scarce;
Social forestry is more complex and difficult to apply or practice than single crop farming
(Magno, 1986).

10. Strategies to Overcome Constraints of Social Forestry:

Through skillful management practices, any or all of the constraints can be avoided or reduced.
For example, once it is known that trees compete with food crops and may reduce food yields, it
is easy to adopt some or all of the following strategies:
Farmers should be consulted on the choice of trees;
Selecting legume trees that have small or light crown so that sufficient sunlight will reach the
food crops for photosynthesis (Magno, 1986);
Suppression of obnoxious weeds by planting fast growing and useful legumes (Birla Institute
of Scientific Research, 1984);
Selecting tree species that are deep rooted so that they will absorb moisture and nutrients from
the deeper subsoil while the food crops will get their share from the surface layer of the soil
(Magno, 1986);

 Implementation of techniques of growing locally useful species and genetically improved

strains of local varieties (Birla Institute of Scientific Research, 1984);
Multi-species plantation can provide with sufficient biomass to meet essential needs;
Spacing the trees further apart to reduce their competitive effects on the food crops (Magno,
1986).
Forestry should be introduced in the curriculum to encourage young people to take part in
social forestry (Birla Institute of Scientific Research, 1984);
Training is needed for efficient planning, implementing, monitoring and reporting in social
forestry (Birla Institute of Scientific Research, 1984).

11. Conclusion
Social forestry, which is an appealing land-use strategy by local poor landless community, has
been in practice in Bangladesh for more than twenty years. It has become a highly attractive and
acceptable program to the rural people, especially the landless and small farmers. It has
generated sufficient resources and income to raise the rural poor above subsistence level and
proved that social forestry can play a significant role in rural poverty alleviation in Bangladesh.
Apart from the creation of resources, employment and income, social forestry is playing a vital
role in preserving the environment, which also helps alleviate rural poverty. To ensure economic,
ecological, and social benefits to the people, particularly to the rural masses and those living
below poverty line, especially by involving the beneficiaries right from the planning stage to the
harvesting stage. The target of the social forestry is the rural poor and not the tree alone.
These supports, however, is not just to ensure that the trees get planted and survive but rather to

ensure that the people who plant the trees receive adequate sustenance to live with dignity before
reaping the harvest from the raised crops. Besides of these Bangladesh govt. should take
necessary steps, build up true public participation. Govt. must arrange different social forestry
programs; help the rural area people or farmers financially for encouraging social forestry.
Bangladesh govt. should extent the training program in rural and urban areas and must develop
information system about social forestry so that farmers get information about demand and
prices of the products.

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Web References:

Web 1: http://www.bforest.gov.bd/index.php/forest-management/social-forestry