Data collection begins under 2nd forest inventory programme to asses forest assets, carbon levels

The preliminary data collection of the "2nd National Forest Inventory Programme" have started across the forest areas under the jurisdiction of the Kalabagi Forest Station in the West Forest Division of the Sundarbans on Tuesday (19 March) morning.

"The collected data will serve as a crucial tool for informed decision-making in forest management," said Mohammad Jahir Iqbal, deputy conservator of forests.

The data will be collected by 30 representatives conducting surveys until 5 April in the Sundarbans.

Earlier on 25 February, Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Saber Hossain Chowdhury, inaugurated the second Bangladesh Forest Inventory.

"The government is committed to ensuring sustainable utilisation of forest resources through meticulous planning," the minister said.

With technical support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the programme is expected to enhance the capacity for sustainable forest management, he added.

The second BFI initiative is funded by a Tk25 crore loan from the World Bank. Earlier, from 2016 to 2019, Tk50 crore was spent on the first forest inventory.

The results of the preliminary data of the second inventory will be compared with previous inventories, which will provide insights into changes in forest assets over time.

The survey, divided into five zones encompassing Sal, Hill, Sundarbans, Coastal, and Rural Forests, aims to collect data from 1,858 plots across the country.

The first inventory, conducted in 2019, revealed out of 1,858 plots surveyed, 390 tree species were identified, with 9% being foreign species.

Additionally, the total forest area in the country was estimated at 384 million hectares, with 66% located outside designated forest zones.

Moreover, the inventory highlighted the significant carbon storage capacity of forests, with 1,276 million tonnes of carbon stored in trees and soil, 22% of which is in protected forest areas.

The economic importance of forests was projected in the findings, with forests contributing 29% to the Gross National Income (GNI) and accounting for 3.11% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the 2017-18 fiscal year.

The forest inventory programme by the Bangladesh Forest Department aims to bolster forest management and sustainability by providing comprehensive data on forest coverage, tree diversity, carbon levels, and the economic contribution of forests to the nation.