Community-managed forests flourish amid hill deforestation in CHT

On a morning in late Chaitra, we arrived at Beganachhari village. The heat of the morning sun had already crept up. After crossing a stretch of flat paddy fields and moving closer to the forest, a cool breeze welcomed us. Dense trees and bamboo groves almost completely hid the sky. Bamboo leaves swayed in the wind. The call of birds and the familiar sound of lizards reached our ears. Large stones made the paths difficult to traverse. Even in this dry season, moss had formed on the stones due to the constant flow of a stream.

Human footprints were clearly visible on the stones. Inexperienced feet would occasionally slip on this path, but Kaloboron Chakma and Mamata Rani Chakma walked with ease. For them, this path was familiar. Likewise, the flowing stream of Beganachhari is nothing unusual for them even in this dry season. Yet, in nearby Shubhalong waterfall—one of the major tourist attractions—there was not a drop of water. We also saw disappointed faces of tourists. How can Beganachhari maintain its flow when Shubhalong, only 10 kilometers away, is dry?

From our forest journey companion, jhum cultivator Kalpa Ranjan Chakma, we learned that the water of this stream comes from the hill forests. The nearly seventy-year-old Kalpa Ranjan said, “I have never seen Beganachhari without water. There is water because there is forest. Tree roots retain water.”

From Rangamati town in the hill district, one must cross Kaptai Lake and the old Karnaphuli River to reach this riverside village of Barkal upazila—Beganachhari. Here lies a different kind of forest, closely connected with the stream. Forest, stream, and the nearly hundred households dependent on them—Beganachhari is a unique interaction among these three elements.

Such “different kinds” of forests exist in the Chittagong Hill Tracts by the hundreds. They are known by various names: village forests, mouza reserved forests, reserved areas, VCFs (Village Common Forests). These forests are found across all three hill districts—Rangamati, Khagrachhari, and Bandarban.

RH Sneyd Hutchinson, a former British administrator of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, once gave a remarkable description of the region’s forests. Describing its natural beauty, he wrote:

“The scenery throughout the district is very picturesque, the mixture of hill and valley, densely covered with forest and luxurious vegetation, yields the most beautiful and varied effects of light and shade. To be viewed at the best it should be seen from the summits of the main ranges, where the apparently boundless sea of forest is grand in the extreme. The cultivated areas of the valleys, dotted here and there, appear as islands, carpeted with emerald green, cloth of gold, or sober brown according to the season of the year. The rivers slowly meandering on their way to the sea, now shimmering like liquid gold, and again reflecting in heavy dark shadows every object within reach, all combine to make a picture not easily forgotten.”

Today’s nearly destroyed forests of the Chittagong Hill Tracts and its barren hills bear little resemblance to that century-old description. Yet there was a time when these forests were under the control of hill communities. These forest-dependent people did not distinguish between different categories of forest. But after British rule was established in the hills, the Chittagong Hill Tracts district was created in 1860, and forest division began. In 1871, the entire hill forest was declared “government forest land.” Different categories of forest were then created. The total area of the Chittagong Hill Tracts is 5,093 square miles. Of this, 1,244 square miles—about 24 per cent—are reserved forests where public access is restricted. There are also more than 54 square kilometers of protected forests under the Forest Department. In addition, there are more than 3,800 square kilometers of unclassified forest land.

VCF or mouza forest is a forest system entirely controlled by local communities. It belongs neither to individuals nor to the government. The entire village collectively uses and conserves this resource. Before state control over forests in the hills, there was no clear distinction between forest land, jhum cultivation land, or homesteads.

But when such divisions were introduced into the vast hill forests, local people began protecting mouza forests or VCFs out of necessity, according to Chakma Circle Chief Raja Debashish Roy. He told Prothom Alo that practices of VCF conservation vary among different ethnic groups in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and have done so historically as well. Therefore, it is not accurate to say that VCFs originated in a specific year. After British authorities imposed control over forests, forest-dependent people intensified their efforts to protect their resources and began managing mouza forests or VCFs. Later, due to population growth and depletion of natural resources, some level of obligation to conserve mouza forests emerged even during the colonial period.

During British rule, these mouza forests or village forests were placed under the management of local headmen. This system was given legal recognition in the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regulation of 1900.

Land administration in the Chittagong Hill Tracts differs from other parts of Bangladesh. Here, three circle chiefs collect land revenue on behalf of the government: the Chakma Circle (Rangamati), the Bomang Circle (Bandarban), and the Mong Circle (Khagrachhari). Under these circle chiefs, mouza headmen operate. Several villages or paras together form a mouza. Under headmen, there are also karbaris at the village level. In some areas, VCF leadership is now also under karbaris. In others, both headmen and karbaris are supported by other local leaders. Women are also increasingly involved in this management system. Regardless of who leads—headmen, karbaris, or others—the ownership of the forest does not belong to any individual.

Every one of the 11 ethnic communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts practices some form of village- or mouza-based forest system. The Chakmas call it Rizab or Service; the Marma call it Riza; and the Bawm call it Kuya Rizab. Despite differences in language, these forests are known by different names, but their management systems are largely similar. That management is quite strict.

Jhum cultivation is not allowed at the main water sources within the forest. Nothing that could damage water sources is permitted. Committees are responsible for monitoring to ensure that fire from jhum fields does not enter the mouza forest. All village members maintain regular vigilance over areas in the mouza forest where illegal cutting of bamboo or trees may occur. Harvesting plants or aquatic resources such as shrimp, fish, crabs, snails, etc., requires caution. During flowering and fruiting seasons, or breeding periods of aquatic species, harvesting is suspended for two to three months.

It is not that forest resources cannot be used at all. Kaloboron Chakma of Beganachhari says that if someone needs wood or bamboo to build a house or for other purposes, they can cut it with permission from the committee.

Beganachhari has no national electricity supply. The villagers rely on solar power. There is also a “natural AC.” The source of this cooling system is the diverse tree species in Beganachhari’s forest and the streams flowing down from the hills.

Mamata Rani Chakma points to a tree and says, “This is Chakka Chhola.” This plant is used for stomach pain. Kalpa Ranjan Chakma said he benefited from its sap about two months ago. There are no pharmacies in this village, nor in nearby areas. For forest-dependent people, this forest is not only a source of medicine but also of food.

Beganachhari covers only 300 acres. The villagers we spoke to do not know how many species of trees exist in this forest. They only know that the forest is deeply connected to their lives. Mamata Rani Chakma says, “If there is no forest, we do not exist.”

People living around VCFs often have no formal education and do not know how many species of plants or animals exist in the forest. Yet their traditional knowledge and management systems have sustained these forests for centuries. Research on VCFs has revealed remarkable biodiversity.

One such study was conducted by Professor Khaled Mizbahuzzaman of the Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, University of Chittagong. He studied 20 VCFs across the three hill districts, including Beganachhari. He recorded 161 plant species in this forest: 48 large tree species, 55 edible plant species, 126 animal species, 56 insect species, and 53 bird species.

The study titled “Community Managed Forests Landscapes of the Chittagong Hill Tracts: A Model of Resilient Rural Livelihood Systems in Bangladesh” was conducted in 2020. It found that even the lowest number of plant species recorded in any forest was 80, while the highest was 213.
Professor Khaled Mizbahuzzaman told Prothom Alo that the forests of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, which have survived for hundreds of years, serve as a teacher to us. Their biodiversity is truly astonishing. While deforestation is an everyday occurrence in Bangladesh, these village forests are an exception. They are neither government forests nor protected reserves, yet indigenous communities have developed, preserved, and sustained them for centuries.

At least five government protected forests in the Chittagong Hill Tracts have largely been destroyed. A study titled “Management of Village Common Forests in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh: Historical Background and Current Issues in Terms of Sustainability” was published in the Open Journal of Forestry in 2012. Researchers Md Jasim Uddin of Bangladesh and Makoto Inui of Japan compared four VCFs in Bandarban with government forests. They identified 163 plant species belonging to 60 families in one VCF, including several rare plant and animal species. Due to ongoing deforestation and land degradation, such species are generally no longer found in protected or classified state forests.

Professor Jasim Uddin of the Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, University of Chittagong, told Prothom Alo, “We conducted the study about 15 years ago. Since then, the condition of government forests has deteriorated further. Not all VCFs are in good condition either.

However, in terms of biodiversity, they are still ahead of government forests.”

Monghla Mant, program director of the NGO Progressive Rangamati, found in his study that 10 per cent of forest land in the Chittagong Hill Tracts disappeared between 2002 and 2022.

Chittagong Hill Tracts Nagorik Committee President Gautam Dewan said that at one point the Forest Department proposed bringing VCFs under its control.

“We then said that if that happened, these VCFs would no longer survive. In most cases, local communities are not involved in protecting government forests. That is why government forests are in such poor condition,” he said.

Forests and hills in the Chittagong Hill Tracts have been subjected to various development projects for centuries. According to researchers, causes of forest destruction include the loss of traditional forest rights, the displacement of hundreds of thousands of hill people due to the Kaptai Hydroelectric Project in the 1950s, the settlement of at least 400,000 Bengalis in the hills during military rule in the 1980s, rubber cultivation, and the extraction of natural resources for the Karnaphuli Paper Mill.
These impacts have also affected traditional mouza forests.

One such mouza forest is Duluchhari. After Beganachhari, we visited this forest in Rangamati Sadar upazila and found three villages there. After traveling via Kaptai Lake and walking for about 45 minutes, we reached the forest. Very little water was found in the stream at the entrance.

Walking along the forest path, we met Sujan Tanchangya and Shyamal Tanchangya. Sujan said, “There used to be large trees in this forest. Back then, the stream had plenty of water. Some people sold forest trees ignoring the forest committee. But now the situation is different. The 105-acre forest is now protected by a collective decision of villagers. Now even cutting a single tree requires committee approval.”

The idea of protecting mouza forests and rethinking their importance began in the late twentieth century. Chakma Circle Chief Raja Debashish Roy initiated research and movements for forest conservation. Efforts began to recover forests and resources that had fallen into the hands of outsiders. Some NGOs became involved. VCF committees were reorganised. Earlier, there were no women in these committees; now in some areas, women make up more than half of the members.

From that time, mouza or village forests began to be referred to as VCFs.
Currently, the three Hill District Councils are working on the management of these forests, supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). However, they are not involved in all forests. There is still no accurate count of how many mouza forests exist in the hills.

According to Arunendu Tripura, focal person of a VCF-related project jointly run by UNDP and Rangamati Hill District Council, attention is currently focused on forests facing problems. He said VCF expansion is receiving a positive response, and that forest management is deeply embedded in the lives of hill communities. The vitality of VCFs is essential for keeping the hill ecosystem alive.

The existence of these forests is mentioned in Section 41 of the 1990 Chittagong Hill Tracts Regulation. A special directive on these forests was also issued by the district administration in 1967.

A key feature of these forests is that ownership is collective, not individual. The headman of the mouza serves as the chief administrator, and women play an important role in management.

Due to population growth and other pressures, many VCFs are not well protected. Juwam Lian Amlei, president of the Bandarban chapter of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Forest and Environment Protection Committee, said many VCFs are under threat, and conservation concerns are becoming increasingly important. NGOs are increasingly involved in their management.

A 2024 MDPI publication titled “Forest Restoration Through Village Common Forests in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh: The Role of NGO Interventions” found that VCFs managed with NGO support show better plant health and biodiversity than those without such support. Recommendations include expanding NGO involvement, adopting more integrated ecosystem-based approaches, strengthening institutional coordination, resolving land ownership issues, developing markets for ecosystem services, and enhancing local capacity for scientific forest management and ecosystem restoration.

However, Assistant Professor Supriyo Chakma of Rangamati Science and Technology University cautions that VCFs should not lose their original character. Their inherent features and autonomy must be preserved.
Questions remain about how adequately these uniquely resilient forests are being recognised, although they are now appearing in some official documents. The national forest policy drafted in December 2025 states that “legal recognition will be given to successful participatory forestry frameworks in the country, including village forests of the Chittagong Hill Tracts.”

While government-controlled forests continue to deteriorate, Raja Debashish Roy believes the achievements of VCFs remain underrecognised globally despite their importance.

Environmental and climate expert Hasib Muhammad Irfanullah has also questioned how much Bangladesh has communicated the existence of these forests internationally. He told Prothom Alo, “I am not saying these forests should be used for carbon trading or climate funds. But the fact that such forests exist in Bangladesh and are surviving under difficult conditions is not reflected in climate discussions. This hesitation is not encouraging.”