Wildlife management in Bangladesh has evolved from timber production to diverse objectives including conservation, biodiversity, and public participation. The country's forest cover has drastically reduced from 24% in 1947 to only 6.5% in 1980, primarily due to population growth and agricultural needs, leading to a decline in wildlife. Recommendations for improvement include increasing food availability for wildlife, enforcing laws, raising awareness, and restoring natural habitats.

1. Montasir Shamim
DFES, SUST

2. Wildlife management
Wildlife management can be defined as the
“Manipulation of wildlife populations and habitat to
achieve goals such as sustainability, population
increase.”

3. Present management status
The present forest management is different from the past one in
respect of its objectives. At first forest management objective
was to produce timber.
But at present the objectives are much more diverse.
The objectives of the forest management are-
• enhancing environment preservation and conservation
• act as a major source of biodiversity and nature-based tourism.
• increasing public participation and benefit from the forest
• institutional strengthening
• improving management practices
• addressing climate change issue

4. Present management status
Protected Area: Present status of Protected areas
•Total 51 protected areas
•Among them 39 are officially declared
17 National Park
17 Wildlife Sanctuary
5 Other category (Botanical garden, Eco park, safari
park)

5. Habitat evaluation
•According to the Department of Environment,
Bangladesh, 24 percent of its land area was forested in
1947.
•This has been reduced to only 6.5 percent in 1980 as
estimated by the World Resources Institute.
•The reduction of forest cover in Bangladesh between
1947 and 1980 is thus estimated to be 75 percent.
Main reasons behind these are,
Increase in population
Need of more agricultural land
Lack of awareness of people

6. Habitat evaluation
Bangladesh has approximately 15 percent tree, 35
percent shrub and woody climber, and 50 percent
herb species
There are presently
•22 species of amphibians
•109 species of reptiles
•628 species of birds including migratory ones, and
•110 species of mammals.

7. Reasons of declination
A sharp decline of wildlife has taken place for various reasons
such as:
• indiscriminate hunting;
• poaching of animals;
• export of animals;
• habitat destruction;
• lack of people’s awareness;
• poor management of protected areas and reserved forests;
• lack of a plan for compatible forest and wildlife management;
• inefficient implementation of law for wildlife conservation;
• natural calamities like flooding, tidal surge.

8. Food availability
•There is no such management system that provides
food source to wild animals.
•The only source is natural habitat.
•Food such as Dumur for monkey, keora for deer,
tigers and carnivores species prey their food from
their territory.
•Some Keora plantation have done in areas like
Sundarban, Nijhum deep etc. for deer.

9. Research & training
•Crocodile breeding centre has been established on
Karamjal, Sundarban by government funding.
•Bangladesh forest department has not yet been
directly involved with any research or training
activities but they are in collaboration with different
NGOs like IUCN, CARINAM etc.
•Besides this, the tourist guides are trained by forest
department to fulfill the objectives of ecotourism.

10. Deficiency
•Lack of wildlife survey, plan and policy.
•Lack of data for conservation of wildlife.
•Lack of cooperation between govt. , NGO’s and
Universities.
•Absence of wildlife specialised resources.
•Absence of wildlife management institution

11. Recommendation
•Increase food availability
•Strict law enforcement
•Raise awareness towards conservation
•Increase availability of breeding habitat
•Introduction of sustainable management through co
management, social forestry
•Restoration of natural habitat