The Profitability of Strip Plantations: A Case Study on Two Social Forest Divisions in Bangladesh

Social forestry, involving local people in a benefit-sharing mechanism, has been introduced to Bangladesh as a remedy to stop rampant deforestation. To date, few studies designed to evaluate the performance of the social forestry program in Bangladesh have been conducted. The purpose of this study was to measure and compare the profitability of strip plantations from the viewpoint of both government and participants. Prior to social forestry, there were no government forests in the study areas located in the Bogra and Jessore Forest Divisions in Bangladesh. Since program implementation, strip plantations totaling 5,848.3 km² have been grown in these areas. Although, in principle, these social forestry plantations are meant to be harvested after 10 years; after associated legal and administrative dilemmas, they have come to be harvested on a regular basis since 2000. Strip plantations in the study sites were profitable to participants, generating an increase in annual income. Taking net present value (NPV) and benefit cost ratio (BCR) into account, investment in this type of plantation is more profitable in Jessore than in Bogra. The NPV km⁻¹ of the strip plantation was US$2,883 and US$1,331 in Jessore and Bogra, respectively, while the corresponding BCR values were 1.89 and 1.31. The Bogra respondents earned a greater financial return from the strip plantations than did those of Jessore, receiving on average, US$711 compared to US$439 in Jessore. The average return year⁻¹ participant⁻¹ from the strip plantation was US$44.5 (Bogra) and US$55 (Jessore), but 13 years were required for the total return to be realized. This added income is a significant contribution to local monetary resources and improves the socioeconomic conditions of the poor. The application of social forestry practices to strip plantations in Bangladesh could be a key factor in significantly reducing poverty and could also stem the rising tide of forest resource losses.