Foresters’ trick to finish it off

Trackback URL

Download PDF

The government ban on cutting trees in the Sidr-ravaged Sundarbans has apparently saved the forest as a section of forest officials were ready to sell the damaged trees for their own benefit, witnesses and experts said.

The forest officials had already started marking the damaged trees to chop off and sell those before the ban was imposed last week, the witnesses added.

Experts said the affected mangrove forest of the Sundarbans will naturally regenerate itself if it is left untouched.

Yet, the guardians of the World Heritage Site — the forest department — wasted no time in deploying local people in Sharankhola and Chandpai ranges to mark the “trees to be sold” even before completion of a damage assessment, they added.

“Fortunately, the government order came and the forest department’s move to sweep clean a quarter of the Sundarbans has stopped,” an environmentalist said.

The environmentalist who declined to be named has just returned from the forest after a weeklong visit to see the damage caused by Cyclone Sidr last month.

From the general impression, forest department high officials had earlier told the press Sidr has damaged at least one-fourth of the Sundarbans, 10 percent severely.

The 600,000-hectare Sundarbans offers more than 400,000 hectares of forest, the remaining part comprising water bodies.

However, a leading environmentalist speaking anonymously told The Daily Star the forest department might inflate the damage assessment so that an unscrupulous section can benefit from selling trees.

The forest department is perceived to be one of the most corrupt departments of the country and often accused of damaging forestry and wildlife instead of protecting them.

The environmentalist explained to The Daily Star why regeneration of the forest is the best when it is left alone. “The decaying trees provide good nutrients for the soil. If the forest floor is swept clean, it will become difficult for regeneration as direct sunlight may dry up the sub-soil.

“In addition, the logging activities will bring in hundreds of wood cutters. It will be a living hell for the wildlife that already lost their habitats in the cyclone.

“The animals should also be left alone to help them find their new homes and settle down,” he added.

The forest department usually works on its own as there is no agency to monitor its activities. Allegations are rife that unscrupulous officials thrive on selling trees illegally.

“They illegally lease out parts of the forest to woodcutters, even to outlaws, and make quick cash,” said another environmentalist. “This was exactly what was about to happen there.”

“My impression of the real damage is that the forest has lost about 10 percent trees. Judging from the nature of the Sundarbans, it will take about five years to regenerate and make up for this loss,” he noted,

“Already I have seen new sprouts coming out in the damaged areas.”

Leave a Reply