Determinants of land-use changes in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh

Abstract

Shifting cultivation is a traditional agricultural land use in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh. It is, however, changing over the time under the influence of several internal and external pressures. In some areas, it is partly or completely replaced by more intensive land-use systems, but in other areas it is still dominant. Due to steadily increasing population pressure on land arising from natural growth of indigenous population and in-migration of lowland settlers combined with the government restriction on encroachment of reserve forests, farmers have been forced to shorten the fallow period, thereby accelerating deforestation, soil erosion and nutrient depletion. Such environmental problems have threatened undermining the livelihood of people depending on it. Policies and programs aimed at promoting alternative land-use systems have failed to achieve expected goals because of inadequate understanding of the evolution of existing land-use systems and forces driving the changes. Using cluster analysis, this study identified three types of land-use systems in Bandarban, a typical hill district of CHT, which are different from each other in intensity of use, degree of diversification and commercialization. Factors influencing the development of land-use systems were explored through factor and discriminant analyses. The results show that institutional support, productive resource base and distance to the market and service center were the main factors responsible for the development of three different types of land-use systems. Sustainable land-use systems such as agroforestry, commercial plantation and horticulture have evolved in areas where such support and facilities were favorable. While in other areas with insecure land tenure, difficult access to market centers, and unavailability of credit and extension services shifting cultivation was the dominant type of land use. It has been suggested to provide necessary institutional support, such as secure land tenure, and make provision of services and facilities such as improved transportation, extension and credit to enable farmers to shift gradually from shifting cultivation to environmentally and economically suitable land uses such as agroforestry, plantation and fruit farming.