Home ›› 18 Dec 2021 ›› Nation
Illegal logging of century-old mother Garjan trees has become rampant at Medhakachhapia National Park – located in Chakaria upazila of Cox’s Bazar, raising serious concerns among environmentalists who blame the indifference of local forest department officials for this issue.
Conservationists urged authorities concerned to immediately take action against plunderers who are taking advantage of the inadequate preservation measures to fell these trees indiscriminately.
The government declared the tropical evergreen forestland in Medhakachhapia – stretching over 395.92 hectares of land – a national park in April 2005. The national park is also a Category IV protected area under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The key reason behind establishing this national park was to protect the century-old Garjan trees, scientifically known as Rhizophora Apiculata.
According to a survey done by the prominent environmental organisation Youth Environment Society (YES), the reserve forest has over 10,337 Garjan trees worth Tk 517 crore, among which 1,000 trees have already been logged illegally by plunderers.
Sources say after not being able to get adequate funds from the government to conserve the forest, the forest department of Cox’s Bazar, North applied to an NGO named Arannayk Foundation seeking an estimated budget of Tk 15 crore some two years ago, but the organisation is yet to respond.
Medhakachhapia National Park is located 40 kilometres away from the Cox’s Bazar town. During a recent visit, The Business Post found the whole area littered with thousands of illegally constructed unauthorised homesteads.
Local people said around the year 1991, people started logging trees to build their homesteads, and making a living out of plundering trees in this area, which has become a common practice here.
Jamir Ahmed, a resident of Maddham Medhakachhapia village, claimed that a former forest beat officer took Tk 1 lakh as bribe from plunderers for the illegal occupation of 40 decimals of forestland.
“These corrupt officials are taking a large sum of money from the Rohingya, assisting them in occupying these lands, logging the Garjan trees, and smuggling those off to Myanmar through the border.”
Seeking anonymity, multiple sources from the forest department and local people alleged that the former forest beat officer had sold off acres of forestland illegally to these smugglers and received crores of taka in return.
They further alleged that when some problems arose with his colleagues in the forest department centring the shares of the bribe he took, he was transferred to some other district.
On the issue, Chairman of YES Mohammad Hasan said, “Some 16 years have passed since the forest was declared a national park. But measures to ensure the conservation of this natural forest have not been even initiated as yet.
“The plundering of century-old Garjan trees here is a common practice here, and we cannot do anything about it as it happens with the blessings of the authorities concerned.”
“These corrupt officials take bribes worth crores and allow smugglers to indiscriminately cut these invaluable trees, which are natural assets of the country,” Hasan said while emphasising the need for a prompt investigation and protective measures from the government to preserve this forest.
Declining to comment about the illegal grabbing Garjan trees and land in the forest, Divisional Forest Officer of Cox’s Bazar North Range Anowarul Islam said these Garjan trees were cut years ago, and they do not have any more information about this issue.
He added, “We are not able to ensure protective measures to conserve the forest due to financial issues. We did not get enough funds to even build a boundary wall around the national park.”
