Lesson 1/34 min
Forest area and regions
How much forest
- A country needs 25% forest land to keep its environment in balance
- Ministry of Forests and Environment figure: 17.62% of the area is forest (both books give this)
- Forest research centre: Chattogram
- Social forestry began in 1981 at Rangunia, Chattogram
- The coastal green belt has been made in 10 districts
Watch out: The books differ on the FAO figure (Khandokar 14.1%, Zubair 10%). The latest FAO-based World Bank series shows about 14.5% for 2020. They also differ on how many districts have no state forest (29 or 28), so check a recent source instead of memorising either number.
Four forest regions
- 1. Hill forests
- 2. Mangrove forests
- 3. Sal forests of the plains
- 4. Village forests
Where the forests are
- Largest forest region: Chattogram and the Chattogram Hill Tracts
- By division, the most forest is in Chattogram and the least in Rajshahi
- By district, Bagerhat has the most forest land
- Enough forest cover exists in 7 districts: Bagerhat, Satkhira, Khulna, Chattogram, Rangamati, Bandarban and Cox's Bazar
- A tidal forest other than the Sundarbans: the reserved Chakaria forest (Zubair)
Sal forests and other forests
- Famous for sal trees: the Bhawal and Madhupur forests
- Bhawal garh: Gazipur; Madhupur garh: Gazipur, Tangail and Mymensingh
- Madhupur's main tree, and the local name “gajari”: sal
- Ratargul swamp forest: Gowainghat, Sylhet; called the “Amazon of Bengal” and “Sundarbans of Sylhet” (Zubair)
- Satchari National Park: Habiganj
Did you know?: A mangrove forest grows in coastal salt water or mud, with trees that have breathing roots. The forest flooded regularly by salt water is the mangrove (43rd BCS).
Check yourself
What percentage of forest is needed for ecological balance?
At a glance
- 1
25% forest is needed for ecological balance; the government figure for Bangladesh is 17.62%.
- 2
Four forest regions: hill, mangrove, plain sal forest and village forest.
- 3
Most forest by division: Chattogram; least: Rajshahi; by district: Bagerhat.
- 4
Social forestry began in 1981 at Rangunia; the forest research centre is in Chattogram.
- 5
Bhawal and Madhupur are famous for sal; gajari = sal.