ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES RELATING TO CLEAR-FELLING SYSTEM

Clear-felling in natural forest

Clear-felling followed by artificial regeneration is practiced in tropical semi-evergreen hill forests of Bangladesh. After applying this system, the hill forests faced the most common environmental problems such as soil erosion, over exploitation and loss of soil fertility. In the mangrove and bamboo forests, poor water quality and soil erosion are found the severe environmental problems. However, environmental impact assessment experience is limited in Bangladesh, and legislation, and policies are weak. The major environmental issues that prevail in Bangladesh are declining plant and animal varieties, present exploitation levels are not sustainable, productivity is unacceptably low, social equity remains unresolved and absence of effective environment monitoring.

The environment is highly responsive to silvicultural practices done in forest whole over the world. The best applicable silvicultural method may help to mitigate the hazard for the environment. It is badly necessary to find out the long-term effect of clear felling on environment, and it is done with strict supervision and as a continuous basis. Bangladesh has only recently created organized mechanisms for environmental management through the Ministry of Environment and Forests, and the Department of Environment. A major issue is how to build the institutional capacity and how to use existing national-level expertise more in environmental impact assessment, monitoring, and evaluation of the forest sector.