DISAPPEARANCE OF THE WHITE-WINGED DUCK CAIRINA SCUTULATA FROM THE PABLAKHALI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY: A SAGA OF LARGE-SCALE DESTRUCTION OF MIXED EVERGREEN FOREST IN BANGLADESH

摘要

Bangladesh used to be a country with rich fauna and flora During the rule of the British, largely after the 1850s, the first commercial exploitation of natural resources vis-a-vis the forests was introduced. This included 'clear-felling' of trees in the Sal Forests of central and northwestern parts, and Semi-evergreen or Mixed Evergreen Forests of north and eastern parts of present Bangladesh. The same tradition was carried forward by the Pakistani authorities who ruled the then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) from 1947 to 1971. After the independence of Bangladesh, in December 1971, the forest officials kept following their predecessors in destroying forests. Forest destruction became more rampant as the new government had few environmental policy decisions. The situation was further aggravated by lumber poaching, land grabbing, and settling people in the reserved forest areas leading to tribal insurgency. All this ultimately brought an end to the existence of virgin Mixed Evergreen Forest in the northeastern parts of Bangladesh. The white-winged duck Cairina scutulata is a victim of this process. This paper examines the process of destruction of the forests and suggests measures to save the remaining habitats of the still surviving biodiversity through the creation of a Wildlife/Biodiversity Bureau separating it completely from the Forest Department that traditionally and wrongly acted against the interests of indigenous wildlife in the past.