Introduction, Aims, and Outline

Abstract

This chapter presents the background of the inception of community-based forest management (CBFM) in tropical countries, and in particular Bangladesh. It also sets the aim(s) of this book. The CBFM programs have been promoted in many countries as an innovative and potential approach to improved forest management and conservation strategies with a comprehensive blend of ecological and socioeconomic objectives. Many countries have now developed, or are in the process of developing, changes to national policies and legislation that institutionalize the CBFM. The government of Bangladesh has also put emphasize on the CBFM since the early 1980s and a number of forestry projects have been implemented with the participation of local community having both success and failure in intended project outcomes. In this book, we aim to shed light on evolution of the CBFM in Bangladesh and critically evaluate the performance of various CBFM practices. Stress is given on how to sustain the CBFM and integrate these into (i) carbon forestry projects (e.g., REDD+) for meeting the triple benefits of forest management: poverty reduction, forest conservation, and climate change mitigation; (ii) mutual rotating fund for creating alternative income generation opportunities so that dependency on forests is reduced and (iii) corporate social responsibility activities of corporate agencies so that they provide funding for environmental conservation and social development. These strategies might facilitate sustainability of CBFM in Bangladesh. So far our knowledge goes, there is no such book publication available in Bangladesh. Therefore, we believe that this publication would fill this gap and be useful for scholars, policy makers, and students as a reference book.