News Flash
By Md Aynal Haque
RAJSHAHI, May 4, 2025 (BSS)- Social afforestation has benefited numerous people-most of them marginalised-either directly or indirectly, by providing them with rightful dividends in exchange for their role in nurturing the trees.
Besides, the participatory social afforestation programme has improved livelihood conditions of the beneficiary poor and landless farmers in the region, including its vast Barind tract, by increasing their income to some extent as they get profit share after being sold trees following 10 years of plantation.
Khairun Sundary, 58, a resident of Badalpur village under Dhamuirhat Upazila in Naogaon district, remained engaged in the social afforestation activities since 1993.
Last year, she received a profit-share worth around Taka 8.75 lakh as a beneficiary of the department of forest.
Talking to BSS on Thursday, Sundary said she nurtured and cared transplanted tree saplings along with protecting those from various menaces and destructions during the last 31 years.
"I'm very much happy over getting the profit share and expecting to grow more gardens through transplanting trees again" she said with a smiling face.
Rebeka, Khatun, 62, another beneficiary at Parasheuly village under Patnitala Upazila in the same district, got her profit-share worth Taka 7.32 lakh last year. She attained success through her 34-year painstaking efforts for growing a tree orchard that inspired her to make more gardens again.
"I have become successful in the field of growing orchards after a long 31-year relentless effort," said Bano Bala 65, another beneficiary at Pustailpara village under Dhamuirhat Upazila, while talking to BSS on Friday.
She received her profit share of Taka 7.23 lakh last year.
Apart from the aforesaid beneficiaries, many people were benefited from the social afforestation venture in the region.
Rafiquzzaman Shah, divisional forest officer (DFO), told BSS that the participatory afforestation activities have been expedited with the main thrust of encouraging the rural people to plant saplings and nursing the transplanted trees.
The department has been implementing various lucrative programmes in all 31 upazilas of Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Natore and Naogaon districts, he said.
People of the respective areas were given the responsibility to look after the planted saplings and they get a 55 percent share of the sale after 10 years of plantation while 20 percent and five percent are distributed among land owners and local government institutions concerned.
The beneficiary people got around Taka 3.12 crore while the land owners got Taka 40.35 lakh and Union Parishads (UPs) got Taka 24.85 lakh in the last two years.
Successful implementations of the social forestry programme always supplement the government's poverty reduction effort while facing the adverse impact of climate change in the drought-prone areas.
Profitable afforestation activities encouraged many people to plant saplings of wood, medicinal and fruit-bearing trees at homesteads, roadsides, office premises, embankments, forest areas, religious institutions' premises and other places.
DFO Rafiquzzaman Shah said they are implementing a five-year project in 32 upazilas of Rajshahi, Naogaon, Chapainawabganj and Natore districts from November, 2020 with the main thrust of conserving and improving biodiversity in the region at present.
The Taka 35.13-crore project titled "Environment Protection through Social Forestry in the Rajshahi Barind Tract Region" has a provision of improving the eco-friendly natural tourist spot of Altadighi National Park at Dhamoirhat upazila in Naogaon district.
With the intervention of the scheme, around 4,150 people have started getting capacity-building support through their involvement in social forestry activities related to biodiversity protection together with adaptation to climate changes.
Apart from this, 3,250 households of ethnic minorities and other less-incoming groups are getting assistance in socio-economic development through their participation in forestry activities and different income-generating ventures.
Various infrastructures, including an observation tower, seating bench, road, parking area, concrete guide map, footpath, toilet and water supply will be constructed centering the park.
It also has a provision of distributing around six lakh saplings of fruit, forest and herbal trees among poor community people for transplantation free of cost so that they can meet their demands of nutrition and fuel.
DFO Rafiq Shah said they will generate a 600-kilometer strip forest on a participatory basis, a 100-hectare woodlot garden and a 50-hectare garden with saplings of endangered, extinct and long-term tree species during the project period until June 2026.
They will also transplant 40,000 saplings of domestic and ornamental plant species, three lakh palm trees, and 5,000 stick plants.
The role of the palm tree is very important to reduce the rate of casualty caused by a thunderbolt that claims the lives of both people and domestic animals every year. A herbal orchard will be generated with around 1,250 saplings of medicinal plants.
Enrichment plantations will be made on 20 hectares of land for the development of a natural Shal forest in addition to establishing two arboretums with extinct species of trees and a generation of herbal orchards with medicinal plants.
Seating seats, footpaths and other essential infrastructures will be constructed on the embankments and adjacent areas of Sonadighi and Dibor Dighi to make those attractive to visitors and tourists.
Beneficiary people and community watchers will be imparted training on orchard creation and its management, environment conservation, the adverse impact of climate change along with its adaptation and mitigation, eco-friendly eco-tourism management and wildlife conservation, he added.
