Economy of the Sundarbans

Economy of the Sundarbans

By dr.fourkan Ali

While in terms of ecology the resources of the Sundarbans mangrove forest are invaluable, the direct economic uses of the Sundarbans Reserve Forest (SRF) are numerous. More than 50 "products" are harvested from the SRE which can be categorized as wood products, non-wood products, fisheries and other services like tourism. More than four million people who live around the Sundarbans derive part of their subsistence extracting resources of this forest. And millions of others are indirectly dependent on the mangroves in the country’s southwestern coastline, According to forest officials, everyday some 50,000 people from around the neighboring localities and districts enter into the forest for their livelihood.

Extraction of different forest resources varies from season to season. From November to March, woodcutters -- locally known as Bawalis -- go there mainly to collect Golpata leaves used for thatching huts. And from January to March they extract Garan, From April to June the honey collectors, called "Mouals“, make their forays into the thickets of the Sundarbans. November and December are the months suitable for collecting "jhinuk" (shells). The fishermen, constituting the largest forest dwelling community derive their livelihood catching fishes round the year.

Over the centuries, the Sundarbans with its different products has attracted the interest of various traders and consumers. The medieval Phoenicians and the Arab mariners preferred the Sundari les for the masts of their shi and the timbers of Passur for making furniture as those were considered to be more saline tolerant than other woods. The Sundari was widely used in shipbuilding throughout the medieval period. The value of the mangroves had long been glorified by the local people living along the coastal regions, particularly for its use as building materials, medicinal plants, fuel wood and natural barrier against the rages of the sea.

Currently officials said, more than 18,000 cubic meters of timber; 63,000 cubic meters of pulpwood/matchwood, 61,000 tones of fuel wood, 69,000 tones of Golpata/Hantal, 5,700 tones of fishes, 1,400 tones of Crustaceans, 253 million shrimp fries, 200 tones of honey/wax and 8,300 tones of grass are extracted annually from the SRF.

According to forest department estimates, the annual value of wood products extracted from the SRF is about Tk. 68 crores (Tk. 678 million). Almost half this value is from Gewa pulpwood. Market prices at the ghat (terminals) are used for all products except for Gewa pulpwood because there is no competitive market price for this wood (the newspaper mills have a monopoly right of purchase of Gewa), Therefore economic price was rived from imparted pulp landed at the mills.

The value of the forest from the perspective of its standing volume has been calculated upon volume information from permanent sample plots, multiplied with market prices to determine a value per hectare. Once this is multiplied by the current forest area (406,900 hectares) the value of standing timber is calculated at Tk. 12,521 crores (Tk. 125 billion).

The annual value of fishes caught is Tk.l83 crores (Tk 1.84 billion), which is three times higher than the annual value of forest products being removed. Assuming mat this recorded level of production represents a sustainable level of production, the present value of the Sundarbans resources to the nation at a discount rate of 12 percent is Tk. 1,525 crores (TK.15.3 billion).

Non-wood forest products (NWFP) from the SRF play a major role in the lives of hundreds of thousands of people who live in its vicinity. These products are harvested for both subsistence and commercial purpose and represent an important source of income for landless poor families, especially during the winter months of food deficit. The annual value of non-wood products like varieties of thatches, honey and wax being harvested from the Sundarbans is Tk 53 crores (Tk. 533 million). At a discount rate of 12 percent, this gives a present value of Tk. 443 crores (Tk, 4.4 billion).

But because of its very nature, it is extremely difficult to quantify the level of illegal extraction. Forest officials admit unrecorded use and under-measurement of extraction of trees and other resources in the SRF involve a huge amount. According to a UNDP-sponsored integrated R5ource Management Plan (IRMP) study the unrecorded extraction represents lost revenue of around Tk. 300 million, i.e., one and half times the officially recorded revenue of Tk. 200 million.

Under-measurement occurs because of conservation errors and the use of proxy measures or assumed rates of harvest per unit effort (amount per person per day) where it is considered difficult to measure the actual resource extraction. A so-called "Boat Loading Certificate" (ELC) is issued as a means of recording the production of fuel-wood, Golpata, Hantan, shell and other minor products. The BCL is a weight measure calculated on the basis of an estimate of the volumetric carrying capacity of the boat. The formula was derived last century and at that time it might have given a reasonably accurate measurement of cargo capacity. But such measurement system is not applicable today The IRMP report said that the use of ELC may under-estimate extraction by 40 percent.

The report estimated that the illegal harvest of Goran might be around 20 percent of the officially recorded cut; the illegal harvest of Golpata might be around 25 percent of the official record, actual honey and wax production might be 5.5 percent higher than what is recorded, the illegal harvest of the Sundari might be 100 percent of the officially recorded cut (because of the ban) and the illegal harvest of the Gewa might be around S0 percent of the officially recorded cut. A valuable indirect use that the SRF provides is a nursery function for many different species of marine fishes.

According to a consultant report prepared in 1996, the total direct benefit from the Sundarbans in terms of revenue is Tk.14, 756 crores while indirect benefit was calculated at Tk. 2,033 crores. The total net benefits were calculated to be Tk. 167 billion C1'k.1, 670 crores). On the other hand, the total cost was calculated at Tk. 62 crores or US$ 5.839 billion after deducting the management cost of the SRE. This estimate suggests the value of per square kilometer of the reserve forest including its water bodies to be $658,068 or $9,267 per hectare of land.

But whatever may the economic value of the Sundarbans, a fuller understanding of the ecosystem and its components is required both for its sustainable production models and for its conservation over the long term.

"It is imperative that mangrove-based terrestrial and aquatic resources be managed in an integrated manner: This implies that no single-resource use should be maximized per se to the point where the sustainable potential of another resource is adversely affected. The traditional management paradigm implying that if forests are well managed then, ipso facto, the non-wood ecosystem components will remain stable is notionally flawed. Mangrove fishery Mari culture, and wildlife management programmes have to be structured and integrated into the overall policy implementation, and control levels of an integrated resource management system." a Fond and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report in 1994 on mangrove forests noted. The understanding and managing of the Sundarbans as an ecosystem and not simply as a reserved forest is therefore very crucial.

Dr.Fourkan Ali

Mob:01711579267

Email- dr.fourkanali@gmail.com