Home ›› 13 May 2023 ›› Front
The weather of the country’s northern region – considered the food bank of Bangladesh – has been experiencing extreme ups and downs in different seasons during the last decade due to the impact of climate change.
This region is experiencing record temperature and low rain during the summer, coupled with untimely and extreme cold in winter, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department.
The change in weather condition has significantly affected the agriculture, people’s health and animal life of the entire Varendra region, and the districts of greater Dinajpur, Rangpur, Bogura, Rajshahi, and Pabna, drastically changing the patterns of farming, according to environmentalist, meteorologists and local residents.
Expressing concerns over the alarming change from green to desertification, they pointed out encroachment of state forest as the main reason behind this change that resulted in a 1.5 degree increase in temperature in the last 12 to 15 years.
The Varendra region has experienced an alarming decline in state forest over the last decade. Cutting of trees and grabbing of land continues unabated, especially in Dinajpur and Rangpur social forestry during this period.
A certain influential quarter and their accomplices are encroaching thousands of acres of state forests illegally. Besides, the public representatives are also in the list of occupiers, alleged by the local populace.
Even though this situation has been going on for a long time, the forest division is yet to take any action, they claimed.
Abdul Jabbar Mandal, 90, a resident of Dinajpur, said, “The soil cracks open during the summer, and it becomes almost impossible to survive due to the unbearable heat.
“The rivers, canals and ponds have dried up as a result of the misdeeds of the encroachers who are turning the locality into a desert by cutting government forests. The situation was not like this in the earlier days, or even 20 years ago. The earth is becoming a desert.”
32% forest encroached in Dinajpur
Panchagarh, Thakurgaon and Dinajpur districts are under the Dinajpur Forest Division. Around 32 per cent of state forest in these three districts has been encroached in the last decade. The traditional forests have vanished into thin air.
Thousands of charges have been filed against the encroachers, but in vain, as it failed to halt their activities, according to authorities concerned.
Dinajpur Forest Division officials said more than 6,000 acres of land have been encroached in Dinajpur only, which is one-third of the total forest area of the district.
During a recent visit in Dinajpur, this correspondent learned that encroachers are carrying out farming activities cutting trees of 30 acres of forest at Harirampur ward under Harirampur union at Parbatipur upazila in the district.
The situation is almost the same at the areas adjacent to Harirampur, including Khagraband, Madhyapara, Gurguri and Kushdah where local influential people are cutting down vast areas of social forest. Currently, corn and rice are cultivated on the encroached forest lands.
According to the locals, many encroachers even sell land after illegally taking possession.
Local people of Khagraband ward alleged that Majnu Shah, Mahfuzur Rahman Shah, Angur Shah, Alfaz Shah and many others are in the list of forest encroachers. But Majnu Shah, Angur Shah and Alfaz Shah claimed that these lands had been recorded in the name of their ancestors.
According to officials of Madhyapara Forest Range, the total forest land in Parbatipur upazila is around 5,969 acres and out of it, 2,900 acres have already been grabbed, cutting down thousands of trees.
Singra, Birganj, Ramsagar and Nawabganj are four national parks under Dinajpur Forest Division. Apart from Ramsagar, the rest of the gardens were not spared from the hands of the encroachers.
Pointing out the key reason behind this unabated forest encroachment, local people alleged that the forest division does not take strong action against the encroachers. And even if cases are filed, those remain pending for years, resulting in permanent dispossession of the land.
Several residents of Dinajpur and Rangpur claimed that forest officials are also involved in encroachment of forest land. They refrain from taking strong action being silenced by bribes.
Forest officials, however, categorically denied the allegation.
Madhyapara Forest Range Officer Abdul Hai said, “Forest destruction is increasing alarmingly. The forest division does not have the necessary power to prevent such malpractice. If someone encroaches on forest land nothing can be done except filing a civil lawsuit.”
Meanwhile, the forest land grabbing is also continuing in Badarganj upazila under Rangpur Social Forest Division. Visiting various villages of the upazila including Dalua, Khagraband, Lohanipara, Kalupara, Osmanpur, and Mahdipur, this correspondent saw the alarming scenario of forest land encroachment.
Tuhin Wadud, professor of Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur and also an environmental activist, said, “Due to the indifference of all stakeholders, the forests of the country’s northern region are on the verge of destruction. Manpower shortage in forest division is a major problem in forest conservation.”
Dinajpur Divisional Forest Officer Bashirul-al-Mamun said, “The list of people involved in forest encroachment includes 6,800 names. At present, 348 cases are ongoing. No matter how powerful the occupiers are, they will not be spared.
“But, it is not possible to stop the malpractice without everyone’s awareness.”
Impact on the environment
In order to find out the long-term impact of deforestation on the country’s northern region, this correspondent spoke to a group of people including local residents, environmentalists, meteorologists, soil scientists and botanists.
And almost all of them depicted a very scary situation.
Citing an example from his research, Bazlur Rashid, a meteorologist of Bangladesh Meteorological Department, said, “In the last decade, the climate of the northern region changed drastically.
“The temperature has increased by 1.2 degrees, resulting in the change in duration of seasons.”
He added, “Earlier, summer was from March to May, and monsoon used to set in from mid-June. But in the last 10/12 years, the change in climate has brought forth severe heat waves from March to October.
“Now there is no separate rainy season. Deforestation is the major but not the only reason behind this radical change in climate in the region. It is also related to global climate change. Burning fossil fuel, carbon emission and rapid urbanisation are the other reasons behind the change.”
Former Senior Assistant Officer of Dinajpur Meteorological Office Tofazzur Rahman said in June 2020, the rainfall in Dinajpur was 400 mm, but on June 17, 2021, it was only 90 mm. In 2022, it was less than half compared to the previous year.
He believes that the destruction of trees at both public and private levels in Dinajpur has played a major role in this rapid and continuous decline of rainfall.
Meanwhile, an official from Dinajpur Soil Resources Development Institute, on condition of anonymity, said, “Due to the drying up of one after another river, deforestation and increased number of brick kilns, the soil salinity is increasing in the entire northern region.
“Nine out of the 16 nutrients required to maintain soil fertility are deficient in the soil of the region, which is a sign of desertification.”
Botanist Professor Md Mosaddek Hossain said, “In the northern region, the green forest land is reduced and the growth of brown plants is seen in the soil.
“In addition to deforestation to account for this situation, drying up of rivers and over-exploitation of groundwater is accelerating the desertification. Various plants including Croton, Dudhia, Dudhswara, Surya Shishir bear this signature.”
