Community development through collaborative management of protected areas: evidence from Bangladesh with a case of Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary

Abstract

Community involvement in protected area management is a relatively new practice in Bangladesh, initiated with the dual purpose of limiting forest degradation and enhancing community development. In this article, we focused on the latter, presenting the results of a community survey in and around Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary, where collaborative management has been underway since 2004. A total of 302 members of the forest user groups (FUGs) were randomly selected and interviewed (23% of whom were female). Informants reported a satisfactory level of socio-economic development in the community since the initiation of the new management strategy. Two activities included in the collaborative management strategy- the provision of training for alternative income generating (AIG) activities and the allotment of available vacant lands for agriculture- significantly increased the community's annual income. Empowerment and improved social dignity of female participants was an additional outcome of the collaborative management approach. Community members also identified numerous shortcomings of the collaborative management project including failure to provide AIG training options that truly met the needs of the community, inequity in the distribution of training, and absence of pro-people manners of the local Co-management Committee toward community members. These shortcomings need to be addressed before the full potential of this, or any other participatory program of protected area management in Bangladesh can be realized.