Tree Plantation and Management
PROTIKAR is a pioneer national NGO in social forestry activities. It’s tree plantation activities has been going on since 1982.
PROTIKAR covered 4354-kilometer road by 4 million trees. Along with roadside tree plantation, block plantation as well as homestead tree plantation also most important activities in PROTIKAR.
PROTIKAR awarded with gold medal by Prime Minister for greening the north.
PROTIKAR employed destitute women by engaging there as caretakers for the roadside plantation. During the period between 1938 and 1997 under the World Food Programme (WFP) about 24 million trees have been planted on 2400 Kilometers roadside owned by Union Parishad (local government). Since 1995 over a million of trees were planted under the roadside. ICCO and GTZ supported to planting such trees.
Apart from roadside tree plantation, PROTIKAR facilitate federation (apex of groups) to get access to government khas lands for block timber wood plantation based on agreed and shared planting, implementation and benefit. All these Federations are now receiving their share from tree harvests and utilizing a portion of the sale proceeds for re-planting trees on the harvested lands.
About 50,000 households in 350 villages of upazilas (sub-districts) in northwest Bangladesh planted more than 1.3 million fruit, timber and medicinal trees of improved variety at their homestead with the support from European Union during 1992-2002.
As framers get the benefit from trees after a long time (after 10-20 years), community based small scale enterprises of forest product (timber and non-timber resources) should be promoted to improve and sustain the forest resources, where the targeted people will get immediate benefit (eg. income) and thus will be encouraged to continue planting and managing trees in their scarce land. If they have scope to earn money from the forest product, they will not depend on other activities, which help destroy trees and new plantation.
More than 40 million trees were planted and maintained in PROTIKAR working area as of Rangpur Division. Through this process thousand of poor people have gotten an opportunity for employment and income. Environment of the locality turns into green and healthy. Now poor and destitute women are getting due share of the trees other cutting of the matured trees.
With PROTIKAR taking land and partner role, millions of trees were planted and maintained in northwest Bangladesh, which create employment opportunities, give positive impact in environment and increase economic power of the rural poor.
Local resource management organizations (NGOs, GOs, CBOs, etc.) are facilitated to form co-management council with their local representatives to oversee the forest resources without undermining the people’s need from the forest products.
Tree plantation under various projects has provided PROTIKAR with vast and diverse experience. Worthless it was increasingly felt that problems and opportunities in the field of social forestry needed to be taken into consideration in formulating a guideline keeping that in mind, PROTIKAR developed and adopted Tree Plantation guideline which provides a sustainable tree plantation programme for the future.
Roadside tree plantation programme of PROTIKAR strives for sustainable improvement of the natural environment as well as of the lives of rural poor, particularly poor women household. A total of 2,359 women were employed as caretakers, through which survival rate of saplings was above 80%.
Caretaking by poor rural women was one of the main components of this programme. Since the early 1990’s the issue of ownership has been addressed by involving local authorities, primary groups and PROTIKAR.
The objective of tree plantation is to achieve tree sustainable improvements of the natural environment through massive plantation and economic life of the rural poor women households through engaging them as caretaker to manage the planted trees for better survival rate.
One caretaker is looking after 500 trees for one year
Long-term leases of Government roadside areas secure the impact on the target group of the rural poor. These roadside plantations have become an important source of sustainable improved living conditions of the targeted poor beneficiaries.
It was found that under caretaker system, the survival rate of trees was around 80% on average. The selection of saplings, soil condition and combination of planting was done through a participatory process, where the federation leaders, caretakers, project officials were involved. This discussion and sharing of ideas contributed towards providing a sense of ownership for the stakeholders. This also encourages the caretakers to take care of saplings as their own and ensured higher survival than anticipated.
Involvement of federations and local communities as well as caretakers also ensured that the species that will be planted varied according to the local demand. The species as short term like ghora neem was planted in combination with mid-term (shishu) and long-term species like jackfruit, mango, which has been ensured the caretakers of continuous source of income.
Selection of women as caretaker would be a vulnerable poor, either landless or divorced and or without having any income. Caretaker now earning on average Tk. 50 per day. As this is a supplementary income, somehow they are satisfied with this amount of wage.
This additional income provides more choice and flexibility in their livelihood strategies, and consequently they had greater ability to withstand and adapt to the shocks and stresses, that make them vulnerable to natural calamities.
PROTIKAR also encourages households to increase the member and variety of fruit trees on their homestead land.
The cash income the women earned had given them a new status in their own homes and families. Their presence along the roadside, caring for the saplings, has enabled them to have more equal relation with the people in the area. They are awake of their rights, the benefit they will share in long run and the deeds signed between the local authorities, federations, themselves and PROTIKAR. Also they have been consulted in species selection and site selection has also increased their sense of ownership.