National Environment Management Action Plan- Chittagong Hill Tracts (NEMAP-CHT)

1. National Environment Management Action Plan- Chittagong Hill Tracts (NEMAP-CHT) Dr MahfuzulHaque

2. NEMAP-CHT • NEMAP 1995 was based on intensive consultation with people all over the country excluding CHT mainly due to security reasons • Under the Sustainable Environment Management Programme (SEMP), the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) supported by UNDP undertook a consultative process to identify environmental issues and concerns of CHT and their remedies

3. CHT Reality • One-tenth of Bangladesh with sparsely populated area scattered all over the hills • Heterogeneous population: Pahari (11 ethnic communities, majority being Chakma, Marmaand Tripura), Bangalees (local and Settlers) • Around 3,75,000 people from the plains settled in the CHT during 1980-82 period, known as “Settlers”- a derogatory term

4. CHT Reality • Plains land people were closed in Guchha Gram in 1986 due to security reason and have been receiving ration (80 kg wheat/week) since then • No schooling, no health support, no hygienic condition in the neighbourhood • No agricultural land for the “settlers” • The “Jhumiyas” live scattered on the hilly region facing encroachment by the Forest Department and Banglaees on their ancestral land • Land is an important issue there

5. CHT Reality • The area witnessed prolonged guerrilla warfare between ShantiBahini and the Army. Militarization of CHT continued • Irrespective of changes of regime in Dhaka, policy of the government towards CHT remained unchanged • The area also saw in-fighting between PCJSS and UPDF even today

6. Eleven ethnic communities

7. Hill people for land rights

8. Settlers for their rights

9. Children of the settlers with no future

10. PCJSS and UPDF in-fighting continues

11. The Challenge • The challenge was how to develop an Environmental Action Plan in an area so different and so diverse from the rest of Bangladesh in relation to topography, population, religion, language, culture and a political history • Land issue and ethnic-divide may come up prominently during the workshops • How to group the participants?

12. The ChallengeHow to Group the participants? • Ethnic divide • Religious divide • Linguistic divide • Gender divide • Bengalee settlers (early/recent) • Professional divide • Topography divide • Literacy divide • Effluence and poverty divide

13. Methodology • In order to avoid conflicting interests, the participants were carefully divided into following 7 professional/gender groups: • Government Officials; Journalists • Teachers • Farmers (mostly hill people) • Peoples’ Representatives (hill/non-hill) • Headmen and Karbaaris (all hill people) • Social Workers; NGOs • Women

14. Methodology • Discussion with local people to finalize number, venue, time and composition of participants in the workshops • Selection of venues: topography; inaccessibility • Both Launching and Concluding workshops were held at Rangamati • Launching Workshop: 26 Oct 1999 • Concluding Workshop: 2 Sept 2000 • District, grassroots level workshops took place over a period of a year (1999-2000)

15. Methodology • Launching Workshop (Rangamati): 01 • Grassroots Workshops: • Bandarban: 04 • Khagrachhari: 04 • Rangamati: 06 • District level workshops: 03 • Concluding Workshop (Rangamati): 01 • Total Workshops: 19

16. Methodology • Participatory planning process-bottom up consultation at the grassroots level undertaken • All the representative areas and communities living in the CHT were covered • Conflicting communities-hill and non-hill people, various indigenous groups, unequal level of development were considered in the selection of participants

17. Methodology • Following brief inauguration, following five thematic groups were formed: • Natural Resource Management: Agriculture, Land Use and Livestock • Natural Resource Management: Water and fisheries • Natural Resource Management: Forestry • Education and Awareness • Health, Hygiene and Sanitation

18. Methodology • After inauguration, group discussion took place in the thematic groups • Seven professional groups were distributed among the five thematic groups • 30% women participation was ensured • Findings of the groups were presented in the afternoon plenary • Two participants used to share their views on the workshop at the end

19. Environmental Issues identified • Deforestation • Lack of safe drinking water • Lack of hygiene and sanitation • Uncontrolled Jhum cultivation • Malaria and diarrhea • Lack of environmental awareness • Destruction of wildlife • Depletion of fisheries

20. Other Environmental Issues • Decrease fringe-land cultivation due to high level of Kaptai hydro-electric project, lack of proper land use management, landslide, lack of irrigation facilities, hill cutting, natural disaster, uncontrolled use of agro-chemicals, use of polythene, river erosion, unplanned settlement, food scarcity, attack of wild elephants, top-soil erosion, tobacco cultivation, unplanned waste disposal, pest attack, use of fire woods in brick kilns, canal siltation etc.

21. Other issues • Lack of education, lack of communication, lack of health care, poverty, lack of electricity, lack of marketing facilities of local products, malnutrition, alcoholism and drug abuse, unemployment, no land ownership, absenteeism among govt officials/school teachers, crowding of cluster villages etc.

22. Probable projects • Alternative Sources of fuel: renewable energy • Awareness building, health education relating to malaria, dengue, diarrhea • Green Hill: Natural Biodiversity Park • Community-based Spice Gardening • Community-based Surface Water Management • Participatory Management of Protected Areas • Fish Culture in Hill Creeks • Sustainable Hill Agriculture

23. Probable Question • How would you develop in a participatory way, an Environmental Action Plan in the CHT- an area so diverse from the rest of Bangladesh?

24. THANKYOU