Chakaria Sundarbans: A mangrove forest killed by aid and greed

We are telling the story of a forest that has been reduced to a single mangrove tree. Can a single tree make a forest? Certainly not. But once this was a rich and thriving mangrove forest, home to thousands of species of trees, shrubs and animals. It spanned more than 30 square kilometers. Adjacent to the sea, its lower lands would be inundated during high tide, teeming with various kinds of marine fish. The forest and local communities shared a deep and interdependent bond.

Today, about eight kilometers from Chakaria’s upazila headquarters in Cox’s Bazar, near the New Mosque area of Fasiakhali, two "Sundari" trees can be seen. But in truth, it is one tree—the roots of both trunks are the same. Just 20 feet away lies the Dohazari-Cox’s Bazar railway line. The area around it is sparsely populated.

One recent afternoon, we visited this lone tree. There were no birds chirping in its branches. Only silence, as if the tree stands alone in mourning for a forest long gone. It is a living witness to the destruction of an entire ecosystem.

It was there we met local resident Abdul Latif. For him, Chakaria was synonymous with the Sundarbans. He personally witnessed the gradual disappearance of the forest. Latif now lives in Shogir Shahkata of Dulahazara Union in Chakaria, though his ancestral home is in Badarkhali.

“We used to fish in the Sundarbans as children,” says Abdul Latif. “We would go there to collect golpata (nipa palm). There were Sundari, Gewa, Goran, Keora, Dhundul, and golpata trees. We also saw tigers, deer, monkeys, langurs, wild cats, crocodiles, snakes—so much wildlife. Now it’s all gone. Nothing remains except fish enclosures and salt fields. Only a single Sundari tree stands today. People now come just to see that.”

But it’s not just the disappearance of a forest. With it, local communities lost their source of fuel. Natural fisheries vanished. People whose livelihoods depended on the forest lost their jobs. Wetlands were destroyed. Soil salinity increased. Biodiversity suffered. And the natural buffer that protected the coast from cyclones and tidal surges was wiped out. The financial cost of this destruction is also massive.

Economist Hossain Zillur Rahman told Prothom Alo, “Chakaria shows us how, under the patronage of multinational agencies, so-called state-led development projects can destroy a rich natural treasure. It’s a mix of flawed development philosophy, misguided plans by lending agencies, and the greed of privileged classes in the state. We’re already facing the consequences of this destruction. And its impacts will linger for a long time.”

The Chakaria Sundarbans was once one of the oldest mangrove forests in the Indian subcontinent. Bangladesh is home to three distinct types of Sundarbans: the world’s largest, located in the Khulna region; the second-largest, the now-vanished Chakaria Sundarbans; and the third, an artificially regenerated mangrove zone in the Barishal and Bhola regions. The Chakaria Sundarbans was once surrounded by water on all sides.
In its prime, the dense Chakaria Sundarbans was bordered on the east by the Arakan Road, on the northeast by human settlements, agricultural land, and salt fields, and to the south lay the Maheshkhali Channel. The forest area on the western bank of the Matamuhuri River was known as Rampur, while the eastern portion was called Charan Dwip.

Chakaria Upazila town lies along the route from Chattogram to Cox’s Bazar. On either side of the main road, rows of shops line the town. Branching off to the right is the Badrakhalī Road. As one travels west along this road, endless salt farms stretch out as far as the eye can see.

Just beyond Chakaria Sadar, in the Bahaddarkata area of West Boro Veola Union, we came across a group of laborers beside the road. Spread across a vast area were salt enclosures. The workers were stacking harvested salt in large mounds along the roadside. Among them was Jahurul Islam, 42, who said he remembers seeing parts of the forest as a child. “Those are just memories now,” he said.

According to a government document titled “Cox's Bazar Working Plan for the Period from 1950 to 1969–70”, the Chakaria Sundarbans was declared a reserved forest in 1903. It was one of the oldest mangrove forests in the Indian subcontinent. Over the decades, it was subjected to increasing human encroachment for agricultural expansion, firewood collection, and fishing.

In the 1950s, the forest covered approximately 21,102 acres. Eventually, 18,508 acres were designated as reserved forest, while the rest was classified as protected forest.

Professor Mohammad Al-Amin of the Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences at the University of Chittagong said,
“First the forest was cleared for shrimp enclosures, then shrimp farming collapsed. After that came salt farming. That’s the history of the Chakaria Sundarbans. With relentless salt production on former forest land, the soil has now lost nearly all its fertility. The clearing of the forest began in earnest in the mid-1970s.”

Human settlement in the Chakaria Sundarbans began long ago. Portions of the forest were cleared to accommodate local communities. Yet, even in the early 1970s, Chakaria still had a thriving and healthy forest.
The settlers mainly depended on producing salt from seawater for their livelihoods. For processing the salt, they relied heavily on firewood from the forest. This practice contributed to forest degradation, but it was not catastrophic.

A research study titled “Demise of Chakaria Sundarbans: Who Is to Blame” by Laskar Muksedur Rahman and Nikhil Chakma details how the destruction unfolded. According to them, the first major blow came in 1977 when the Ministry of Agriculture issued a government order leasing 563 acres of reserved forest in the Rampur block of Chakaria Sundarbans, specifically in the Badarkhali Ghona area, for one year. The lease was granted to “Shrimp and Duckery Farm,” owned by local influential figure Gias Uddin Chowdhury. The stated purpose was shrimp cultivation, duck farming, and agro-fishery. This marked the government’s first lease of reserved forest land in Chakaria for shrimp farming—an action that opened the door to widespread destruction of the forest.

The large-scale devastation began when the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank started investing in shrimp farming in the area.
According to the same study, ADB began funding shrimp farming projects in 1982. Under this initiative, over a hundred shrimp farms—each about 11 acres in size—were established, and a 16-kilometer-long embankment was constructed. These were developed under ADB’s so-called “Aquaculture Project.” The Ministry of Agriculture later issued a second directive transferring an additional 2,000 acres of reserved forest land to the Department of Fisheries.

The mass cutting of trees in Chakaria started in full force during the 1980s.

An extraordinary documentary titled “Chakaria Sundarbans: The Forest Without Trees” was produced by Philip Gain, director of the Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD), a leading environmental and research organization. He was the first to publicly expose the destruction of this forest on a large scale.

In his book “Stolen Forest”, Gain writes that multilateral development banks provided loans to the Government of Bangladesh to support export-oriented initiatives. In 1986, the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched aquaculture projects in the region. Under these initiatives, $26 million was invested in shrimp farming. With World Bank funding, 500 shrimp ponds—each around 10 acres in size—were established in forested areas.

After the launch of these projects, the once-thriving forest gradually vanished. The destruction unfolded before the eyes of Chakaria resident Sadekul Islam, now 75. “The government backed this destruction,” he said. “I saw them cut down Keora, Bain, and Sundari trees in the Sundarbans to make shrimp enclosures.”

At Prothom Alo’s request, satellite imagery of the Chakaria Sundarbans was obtained from the Bangladesh Space Research and Remote Sensing Organization (SPARRSO). The images revealed a direct correlation between forest loss and the rise of shrimp enclosures. The forest remained largely intact until 1979, when it still covered more than 15,000 acres. By 1995, it had shrunk to just 866 acres—almost completely vanished.

Those who benefited from the deforested land included local elites as well as influential individuals from Dhaka, both in government and private sectors.

Grameen Bank received 30 ten-acre plots from the Forest Department. Their fish farming project continues. In the Rampur Mouza of Chakaria, the Grameen Fisheries and Livestock Foundation remains active near the Icharkhali outpost, operating in what was once dense mangrove land.

In a 1989 report, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) itself acknowledged that 1,976 acres of forest had been cleared. The report stated that due to this clearing, the area experienced a clear decline in shrimp and fish breeding and nursery grounds—particularly noting that approximately 1,976 acres of mangrove forest in the Chakaria Sundarbans were destroyed within the project area.

Philip Gain, who has worked for over three decades on the environmental impact of international financial institutions in Bangladesh’s forest and ecological sectors, points out that it was local influential figures who first initiated the destruction of the Chakaria forest. “By the mid-1970s, large-scale shrimp farming—funded by the World Bank and ADB—wiped out the forest completely,” he said.

“Despite the destruction of such a vast natural resource,” Gain added, “these multinational institutions never stopped their ecologically destructive financing.”

Because of its geographical location, Bangladesh's coastal region is highly prone to cyclones. The Sundarbans have long acted as a natural barrier or shield against such disasters. Disaster experts believe that even when massive cyclones like Sidr or Aila struck the Khulna region, the damage was relatively less—thanks to the protective role of the Sundarbans.

Researchers compare the location of the Chakaria Sundarbans to a funnel or a natural conduit, where cyclonic winds would often make landfall. When the forest was intact, it served as a crucial line of defense. But by the time the catastrophic cyclone of April 29, 1991, hit the Cox's Bazar coast, Chakaria had already been reduced to a barren wasteland. That single night, over 100,000 people lost their lives.

Professor Mohammad Ali Ameen of the Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences at the University of Chittagong, who has long studied coastal forests, considers the destruction of the Chakaria Sundarbans a major environmental catastrophe. He noted that the forest was home to countless species of flora and fauna, but beyond biodiversity, it played a vital role as a natural buffer against storms. “The immense loss of lives and property in the 1991 cyclone might have been prevented if the forest had still existed,” he said.

Zainal Hossain, a local resident and worker at an NGO, echoed this sentiment: “If a major cyclone hits again, countless lives will be lost. Forests like Chakaria were our life-saving shield—but they are gone for good. By clearing this forest, the entire Cox's Bazar coast has been exposed to death.”

After the forest was cleared, shrimp production was relatively high for the first five years. But then, yields began to decline. Based on research, Professor Mohammad Ali Ameen said, “The reason lies in the loss of microorganisms destroyed during deforestation—those never came back. Over time, they degraded further. The soil's quality deteriorated. And we are now paying the price for that.”

Shafi Noor Islam, a researcher at Brandenburg University in Germany, highlighted the long-term consequences in his study titled “An Analysis of the Damages of Chakaria Sundarbans Mangrove Wetlands and Consequences on the Livelihoods in Southeast Coast of Bangladesh.” He wrote that mangrove ecosystems contribute to human welfare in two major ways: firstly, through the structural elements of the ecosystem—such as plants, animals, soil, land, and water—which supply the raw materials for all types of economic production; and secondly, through essential life-support functions and other valuable services, many of which are vital for human survival and wellbeing.

Studies show that the destruction of the Chakaria Sundarbans led to the loss of livelihoods for at least 400,000 people. When the forest was intact, it supported no fewer than 20 species of fish—most of which are now virtually nonexistent. The soil salinity in the Chakaria area currently measures 7.5 dS/m or higher, a level that is harmful for the cultivation of rice and vegetables in the coastal zones once protected by the mangrove forest.

No comprehensive studies have yet quantified the exact economic losses caused by the destruction of Chakaria’s natural resources. However, a recent study by Dr. Md. Sarowar Hossain, Associate Professor of Social and Environmental Sustainability at the University of Glasgow, sheds light on the financial impact. According to his research, mangrove forests contribute most significantly to ecosystem services—such as providing food, fish, timber, and climate regulation—which in turn play a vital role in both economic and social spheres.

Dr. Hossain states, “More than 19,778 acres of mangrove forest have been lost from Chakaria. Due to shrimp farming and other human activities, this loss has resulted in an annual deprivation of at least USD 16 million worth of ecosystem services.”

Recent studies show that coastal mangroves like the Sundarbans can store at least 150 megatons of carbon per hectare. Mangrove forests are considered crucial carbon sinks and are among the most effective coastal carbon ecosystems.

Researcher Dr. Sarowar Hossain explains that the destruction of these mangroves not only undermines climate adaptation but also contributes to climate change through the release of stored carbon. The deforestation of the Chakaria Sundarbans has thus played a role in accelerating climate change. Shrimp farming, which requires specific temperature and salinity levels, initially yields well but production declines quickly over time. Consequently, the replacement of mangrove forests with shrimp farming cannot be considered sustainable development—neither in terms of long-term production, trade, nor environmental protection.

The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) has been working in Chakaria for an extended period, focusing on health issues. A recent study published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health, titled “The Risk of Miscarriage Associated with Ambient Temperature: Evidence from Coastal Bangladesh,” investigates the impact of rising temperatures on maternal health. The study found that women exposed to ambient temperatures between 28°C and 32°C had a 25% higher risk of miscarriage. It also observed increased occurrences of diarrhea, local site infections, and throat pain in Chakaria under high temperature conditions.

Dr. Saleh Mohammad Ikram, a physician and researcher at icddr,b, noted:
“Our observations indicate that respiratory problems in children, kidney-related mortality, and fungal infections are comparatively higher in Chakaria. There could be a link with elevated temperatures.”

Despite the widespread deforestation, local residents believe the destruction of the Chakaria forest did not bring meaningful development to the region. One such voice is that of Md. Hafizur Rahman from Mognama Canal, adjacent to the Maheshkhali Channel. He recalls the time when dense forest stretched all the way to the channel—an area now under Badrakhali Union in Chakaria.

The surroundings of Badrakhali Bazar Para and Mognamapara, once covered with lush mangroves, are now lined with embankments and densely packed housing. Hafizur remarks that there is no visible trace today to suggest a forest ever existed there.

Md. Hafizur Rahman said, “The forest disappeared right before our eyes. The government says they have profited. They say they made money by selling fish. But we don’t see any benefit. Those who farm the fish have left. The people here gained nothing but suffering.”

While talking at a grocery store, Hafizur was surrounded by many people. Seeing the curiosity of some young boys about the forest, Hafizur opened up and shared stories. He recalled hearing the roar of tigers, seeing deer roam, and memories of fishing in the forest. The middle-aged Hafizur, along with several wide-eyed listeners, spoke of a forest that will never come back.

But will it really never return? Some believe it is possible. Once gone, restoring a forest is not impossible—especially mangroves. However, the soil in Chakaria is so polluted that bringing back the forest there is complicated. Many are unwilling to give up the profits from salt farming or the hope of earning from seasonal fish farming. Professor Mohammad Al-Amin from the Forestry and Environmental Sciences Institute at the University of Chittagong believes that if the government takes a firm stance and cancels the leases given for shrimp farming, then by protecting the land from disturbance for a few years, the forest can be restored.

What was once known as the Chakaria Sundarbans falls under the jurisdiction of the Cox’s Bazar North Forest Division. Divisional Forest Officer Md. Maruf Hossain stated that land in Chakaria Sundarbans was leased out under the guise of shrimp farming. Restoring the forest now is a long process. First, the leases granted must be canceled, which is a matter of policy. However, currently, there is no initiative for afforestation in the area.

In 2020, a proposal was submitted to the Cox’s Bazar Deputy Commissioner to evict illegal occupants from Chakaria and other areas. If an order is issued from there, eviction of illegal settlers could become possible.