Local peoples' responses to co-management regime in protected areas : a case study from Satchari National Park, Bangladesh

Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) is a rather recent and widely promoted, and hence, accepted paradigm for managing protected areas in most developing countries. Protected area managers in Bangladesh face challenges because of the complex sociocultural and political dynamics that result from the high population densities and extreme poverty of people living in or near lands designated for conservation. In recent years the government of Bangladesh, with active support from international aid and conservation agencies, has tried to develop a holistic approach to protected area management involving forest communities and user groups. This study seeks to explore the initial response to such intervention in a newly declared protected area in order to gain insights about wider implications in other parts of the country. The study was conducted between January 2006 and January 2007 in four villages located in or near Satchari National Park. Results suggest considerable change took place in household forest resource collection patterns, and people's dependency on non-forest income increased significantly during the project implementation period. The study also indicated that although changes occurred slowly, they brought improvements to the livelihoods of those relying on local forests.