ICIMOD Working Paper 2016/12

Achieving the Sustainable

Development Goals in
Chittagong Hill Tracts – Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs
Government of the People's Republic
of Bangladesh

Challenges and Opportunities

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 About ICIMOD

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, ICIMOD, is a regional knowledge
development and learning centre serving the eight regional member countries of the Hindu Kush
Himalayas – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan –
and based in Kathmandu, Nepal. Globalisation and climate change have an increasing influence
on the stability of fragile mountain ecosystems and the livelihoods of mountain people. ICIMOD
aims to assist mountain people to understand these changes, adapt to them, and make the
most of new opportunities, while addressing upstream-downstream issues. We support regional
transboundary programmes through partnership with regional partner institutions, facilitate the
exchange of experience, and serve as a regional knowledge hub. We strengthen networking
among regional and global centres of excellence. Overall, we are working to develop an
economically and environmentally sound mountain ecosystem to improve the living standards
of mountain populations and to sustain vital ecosystem services for the billions of people living
downstream – now, and for the future.

ICIMOD gratefully acknowledges the support of its core donors:

the Governments of Afghanistan, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Bhutan,
China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Norway, Pakistan, Switzerland, and
the United Kingdom.

Corresponding author: Golam Rasul, Sr Economist and Theme Leader for Livelihoods at ICIMOD
and the ICIMOD focal point for Bangladesh, [email protected]

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ICIMOD Working Paper 2016/12

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

in Chittagong Hill Tracts – Challenges and
Opportunities

Authors
Golam Rasul, ICIMOD
Naba Bikram Kishore Tripura, Secretary, Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs

Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Kathmandu, Nepal, November 2016

i
 Copyright © 2016
International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)
All rights reserved, published 2016

Published by
International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development
GPO Box 3226, Kathmandu, Nepal

ISBN 978 92 9115 431 9 (printed) 978 92 9115 432 6 (electronic)

Production Team
A. Beatrice Murray (Consultant editor)
Christopher Butler (Editor)
Dharma R Maharjan (Layout and design)
Asha Kaji Thaku (Editorial assistant)

Photos: Arannayk Foundation – cover, pp 4, 31, 37; Aye Aye Maung – p x, 3, 16; Kabir Uddin – p 12;
Uma Partap – p 21

Printed and bound in Nepal by

Quality Printers Pvt. Ltd., Kathmandu, Nepal

Reproduction
This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profit purposes
without special permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowledgement of the source is made.
ICIMOD would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this publication as a source.

No use of this publication may be made for resale or for any other commercial purpose whatsoever without
prior permission in writing from ICIMOD.

Note
The views and interpretations in this publication are those of the authors. They are not attributable to ICIMOD.

This publication is also available at www.icimod.org/himaldoc

Citation: Rasul, G. and Tripura, N.B.K. (2016) Achieving the sustainable development goals in Chittagong Hill
Tracts – Challenges and opportunities. ICIMOD Working Paper 2016/12. Kathmandu: ICIMOD

ii
Contents
Message from the Hon’ble Prime Minister v
Foreword, ICIMOD vi
Acknowledgements vii
Acronyms and Abbreviations vii
Executive Summary viii

Introduction 1

The SDGs in the CHT: Status and Challenges 5

SDG 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere 5
SDG 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote
sustainable agriculture 6
SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages 7
SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and quality education and promote lifelong learning
opportunities for all 8
SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls 9
SDG 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all 9
SDG 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all 10
SDG 8: Promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and
productive employment, and decent work for all 11
SDG 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization,
and foster innovation 13
SDG 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems,
sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse
land degradation and halt biodiversity loss 13
SDG 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development,
provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable, and
inclusive institutions at all levels 14

Achieving the SDGs in the CHT: Potential, Opportunities and Lessons 17

Intensification and diversification of agriculture to enhance productivity and sustainability 17
Diversification of livelihood options and enhancing resilience 19
Skills enhancement for women 20
Protecting agrobiodiversity in farming 20
Horticulture and high-value products 21
Forest resources 22
Livestock 23
Fisheries 24
Kaptai Lake 24
Agro-based micro-enterprises 25
Engaging the private sector in marketing and skills development 26
Watershed restoration 26
Tourism 27
Migration 28
CHT: A gateway to the east 28

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 Looking Forward: Framework for Promoting Growth and Achieving the SDGs 29
Key insights and messages 29
An integrated strategy 30
Key policy priorities 30
Strategic actions 32

Conclusion 38

References 39

Annexes 42
Annex 1: The Bangladesh-ICIMOD Partnership: A Reflection 42
Annex 2: Table A1: Progress towards achievement of the MDG targets in Bangladesh and
the CHT districts – selected indicators 44
Table A2: Power and functions of key organizations in the CHT 45

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Message from the Hon’ble Prime Minister

v
 Foreword
The United Nations General Assembly held in September 2015 laid out a common vision and chartered a path
for transforming the world towards sustainable development over the next 15 years. At that meeting, the world
community adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which collectively represent a transformative
agenda that will transform the economies and societies of developing countries with a view to eliminating poverty
by 2030. The agenda is not simply about protection from vulnerability or destitution; it is about broader economic,
social, and political transformation. It aims to end poverty and hunger, reduce inequalities, empower women, and
generate inclusive growth, ‘leaving no one behind’.

Bangladesh has had an impressive economic growth rate over recent years. With its rapid pace of development,
the government aims to reduce poverty and inequality and achieve middle income country status by 2021. The
government is also committed to creating a more inclusive and equitable society by streamlining disadvantaged
ethnic and tribal communities into mainstream society and economy. Bangladesh has achieved most of the MDGs,
and today, the government is in the process of implementing the Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh, however, face greater development challenges because of its hilly
terrains, inaccessibility, remoteness, and two decades of conflict. CHT requires a massive development thrust to
make up for lost time and put it on a fast track. To achieve transformative change, careful attention must be given to
understanding the hill and mountain context of the CHT, the spatial disadvantages and advantages, the ethnic and
cultural diversity, and constraints and opportunities. It calls for special attention towards implementing the SDGs in
the CHT with particular consideration for the local context.

CHT’s unique natural and social history offers opportunities as well as challenges. Bangladesh has implemented
a large degree of decentralization and devolution and this institutional innovation can support creative and
cooperative development in CHT, with local institutions and people empowered to work effectively towards
delivering the SDGs.

CHT is also undergoing its own economic and social transformation. Formal education, new roads, mobile
connectivity, and the internet are changing the aspirations of the rural population, and broadening their
opportunities. The greatest challenge will be how to support this transformation in a sustainable way.

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is a regional intergovernmental
organization focusing on mountain issues in the eight countries of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (Afghanistan,
Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan). We have a long history of partnering with the
Government of Bangladesh, particularly since the establishment of the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs
(MOCHTA) in 1998. ICIMOD and MOCHTA recently implemented an innovative community-led project in
Bandarban, and worked together to frame the strategic vision for CHT that contributed to shaping the development
perspective on the CHT in the 7th Five Year Plan of the Government of Bangladesh.

MOCHTA and ICIMOD have joined talents in another endeavour to localize the SDGs in the CHT context. This
effort is in the form of a working paper entitled, “Achieving SDGs in the Chittagong Hill Tracts - Challenges and
Opportunities”, which explores the development potential of the CHT and identifies options and mechanisms to
expedite sustainable socioeconomic development. This paper is the first of its kind to provide an SDG-focused
assessment of the CHT.

I hope this paper will serve as a benchmark to support the design of successful policies and strategies for achieving
the SDGs in the CHT. We look forward to continue our work and support of MOCHTA and the Government of
Bangladesh in their efforts to promote inclusive growth, peace, progress, and prosperity.

David J Molden, PhD

Director General, ICIMOD

vi
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to Dr David Molden and Dr Eklabya Sharma for their support and encouragement of this
publication. We also extend thanks to Dr Sharma and Dr Arabinda Mishra for providing constructive comments
on our work. Special thanks and appreciation goes to Mr Manbar S. Khadka and Mr Narendra Dangol for their
dedicated research support. The authors also wish commendation for the valuable editing input of Dr A. Beatrice
Murray, and for Dr Christopher Butler and Mr Dharma Maharjan for the production of this document.

This study was partially supported by core funds contributed to ICIMOD by the governments of Afghanistan,
Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Norway, Pakistan, Switzerland, and the
United Kingdom. The views and interpretations in this paper are those of the author’s.

Acronyms and Abbreviations

ADC Austrian Development Cooperation IFAD International Fund for Agricultural
BBS Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics Development
BFDC Bangladesh Fisheries Development LDC Least Developed Country
Corporation MoCHTA Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs
BFRI Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute MDGs Millennium Development Goals
CDM Clean Development Mechanism NGO Non-Government Organization
CEGIS Center for Environmental and Geographic NSSS National Social Security Strategy
Information Services PF Protected Forest
CF Community Forestry PPP Public Private Partnership
CFUG community forest user group RF Reserved Forest
CHT Chittagong Hill Tracts SDGs Sustainable Development Goals
CHTRC Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council UN United Nations
CSBAs Community Skilled Birth Attendants UNDP United Nations Development Programme
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and
GDP Gross Domestic Product Cultural Organization
HDC Hill District Council UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund
ICC Indian Chamber of Commerce USF Unclassed State Forest
ICIMOD International Centre for Integrated Mountain VCF Village Common Forest
Development VDC Village Development Committee
ICS Improved Cook Stoves

vii
 Executive Summary
Bangladesh has shown a strong economic performance in recent years. Following commendable achievements
towards fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the government is now committed to achieving the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The SDGs represent a transformative agenda and visionary plan
of action that will transform the economies and societies of developing countries with a view to eliminating poverty
by 2030. The agenda is not simply about protection from vulnerability or destitution; it is about broader economic,
social, and political transformation. There is wide disparity in development across the nation and some areas like
the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) – left behind economically and with a history of social tensions – will require special
attention to ensure timely achievement of the SDGs while promoting social harmony. To avoid intensifying existing
inequities, CHT will require context-specific strategies to achieve the SDGs.

The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) is an ethnically, culturally, and topographically diverse region of Bangladesh with a
population of approximately 1.6 million, including 12 ethnic communities with distinct tribal cultures and traditions.
The region has rich natural and environmental resources with hills, forests, rivers, and lakes, a diverse flora and
fauna, and areas of outstanding scenic beauty. The majority of the population relies on subsistence farming, and
especially jhum farming practices. With increased environmental degradation and a low capacity to adapt to the
impacts of climate change, the current agricultural practices can no longer sustain the population of the region. The
region provides important ecosystem services that play a significant role in economic development, environmental
protection, ecological sustainability, and human wellbeing, both in the CHT itself and downstream. Nevertheless,
the CHT remains one of the most disadvantaged regions in the country and lags behind in almost all development
indicators. More than 60% of households live below the poverty line and more than half do not have access to safe
drinking water or sanitation facilities.

This paper sheds light on the importance of localizing the SDGs, while exploring the socioeconomic issues,
development challenges, and potential and opportunities in the CHT. It discusses the development potential of
the region in various sectors, assesses the present situation, identifies key issues and gaps, and suggests policy
options and strategic mechanisms to optimize the full potential, expedite socioeconomic development, and achieve
the SDGs.

This paper provides examples of good practices drawn from experience in neighbouring countries facing similar
issues that can be replicated in the CHT region. The CHT has a significant potential for development in horticulture,
high-value agricultural products, beekeeping, livestock, fisheries, agro-based micro-enterprises, tourism, forestry,
and water resources management. Value chain development with agribusiness can play a key role in enhancing
rural livelihoods, while tourism can help increase opportunities for off-farm employment. Forests will play a vital
role in stabilizing the fragile landscape, protecting water resources, biodiversity conservation, and supporting
daily needs. Integrated watershed management, together with community-led forest management to halt forest
degradation and promote conservation and regeneration, can contribute substantially to development efforts.

Careful attention must be paid to understanding the hill and mountain context of the CHT, the spatial disadvantages
and advantages, the ethnic and cultural diversity, and the constraints and opportunities. The SDGs need to be
tailored to the CHT context so that they provide the scope for creating a long-term vision and planning appropriate
action, while successful implementation will necessitate fostering multi-stakeholder engagement among government,
local communities, development agencies, the private sector, NGOs, academia, and research organizations.

An enabling framework is presented with a multipronged integrated strategy for working towards realization of the
SDGs. The key elements of the framework are:

ƒƒ Ensuring peace, stability, and governance, putting in place appropriate policies, strengthening institutions,
and making the financial and technical resources available to provide the overall framework conditions for
implementing the SDGs;

Sal production forest area

viii
ƒƒ Focusing on infrastructure, environment, health, and human resources as key drivers for economic growth and
development;
ƒƒ Focusing on land (food), water, and energy as fundamental requirements for existence and prosperity;
ƒƒ Developing the farm sector – agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and livestock – as the key to reducing poverty and
achieving food and nutrition security; and
ƒƒ Developing the non-farm sector as the key to creating decent work opportunities, accelerating economic growth,
and reducing poverty and vulnerability.

In addition to ensuring peace, stability, and governance and strengthening institutions and coordination, the major
policy priorities include poverty alleviation and achieving gender equality and empowering women. One of the first
priorities will be to implement the outstanding elements of the 1997 wPeace Accord, especially the resolution of
land disputes. This will go a long way to reducing social tensions and promoting social coherence, while helping
local people to improve their livelihoods.

There are a range of areas where strategic action will help contribute to achieving the SDGs. They include
education and skills development, especially for ethnic communities and women, and providing greater access to
health care. Improving rural connectivity is essential to provide access to markets, education and health facilities,
and employment opportunities, but care must be taken to ensure that road construction does not precipitate an
increase in landslides and other hazards. Water conservation, harvesting, storage, and distribution systems need
to be developed, along with improved sanitation. Efforts should be made to revive the traditional water sources,
springs, and ponds and protect village common forests. A range of renewable energy sources – solar, biomass,
biogas, hydropower, and wind – can be harnessed to provide affordable and environmentally sustainable energy
security in off-grid rural areas. If proper care is taken to avoid negative social and environmental impacts, especially
small and very small hydropower schemes can go a long way to fulfilling energy needs.

Development of the farm sector, while taking care not to degrade the environment, can contribute to economic
growth and food and nutritional security and reduce inequalities. Transformation of jhum to agroforestry,
horticulture, animal husbandry and other more productive systems is crucial. Post-harvest management, value chain
development, processing, packaging, and market access all need to be strengthened and access to information
facilitated. Credit facilities and loans should be provided to ethnic minorities to enable them to engage in income
generating activities.

Non-farm based sources of livelihood are becoming increasingly important to diversify livelihood opportunities.
Tourism has an immense potential for development, but needs to be properly planned and coordinated; community-
based ecotourism can help ensure that the benefits accrue locally and negative impacts are avoided. Labour
mobility and labour migration can also contribute to reducing the pressure on limited farmland resources and
can be supported in various ways. Especially the ethnic minorities need to be encouraged and supported in
entrepreneurial activities and developing trading and business relationships. Processing, packaging, and branding
of farm-based produce; production of handicrafts from local resources; and service delivery all have potential
as enterprises.

The unique situation in the CHT offers opportunities as well as challenges. There is already a large degree of
decentralization and devolution and this institutional innovation can support creative and cooperative development,
with local institutions and people empowered to work effectively towards delivering the SDGs. Integrating the CHT
economically with the rest of the country and the wider world can provide a pathway for transforming poverty into
prosperity and achieving the SDGs. But these efforts can only be successful if the people of the CHT are involved
from the beginning and play an integral part from planning through to implementation and monitoring. Mutual
respect, and trust and confidence, will provide the basis for facilitating transformation of the CHT from a conflict to
a cooperation zone and moving from an unsustainable to a sustainable path of development.

ix
Introduction
In September 2015, Heads of State and Government at the United Nations General Assembly laid out a common
vision and agreed to set the world on a path towards sustainable development through the adoption of the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development (UN 2015). The Agenda includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals,
or SDGs, which set out quantitative objectives across the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of
sustainable development – all to be achieved by 2030. The goals provide guidance to national development
and international development cooperation over the next 15 years in a framework for shared action “for people,
planet and prosperity”. The SDGs represent a transformative agenda that aims to eradicate extreme poverty and
hunger by 2030 and to “leave no one behind.” It intends to transform economies by making economic growth
more inclusive and equitable, achieving decent work for all, decoupling growth from environmental degradation,
and investing in climate-resilient development pathways. The Agenda is critically important for hills and mountain
areas in developing countries as these areas tend to face multiple challenges and lag behind in socioeconomic
development. Globally, mountains provide a wide variety of goods and services critical for human sustenance such
as water, energy, and biodiversity. They are also home to many disadvantaged groups and ethnic minorities, who
continued to experience multiple deprivations including poverty and vulnerability. Thus mountain areas will require
special attention under the SDGs.

With a strong economic performance, and commendable achievements made towards fulfilling many of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Government of Bangladesh is now committed to achieving the SDGs
by 2030. Bangladesh is growing fast. The country is aiming to accelerate economic growth, reduce poverty and
inequality, and become a middle-income country by 2021, while creating a more inclusive and equitable society
through the inclusion of ethnic, religious, and cultural minorities into a national and social force. To achieve these
goals and promote social harmony, special attention needs to be paid to the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) – a
region that lags behind the rest of the country in terms of various development indicators and which has a history of
social tensions.

Bangladesh aspires to build a secular, tolerant, and liberal progressive democratic society. It aims to promote social
justice, good governance, and reduce inequalities and regional imbalances. The country has made impressive
progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), particularly in reducing poverty and hunger,
and improving health, education, life expectancy, and other related socioeconomic indicators in recent years.
Bangladesh has now started the implementation process for the SDGs, but given the variation in the level of
development across the country, it is imperative to localize the SDGs at a sub-national level in order to address the
development challenges in different regions, including, and especially, in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) is an ethnically, culturally, and topographically diverse region extending over
13,295 square kilometres, about 10% of Bangladesh’s land area, and divided into three districts: Bandarban,
Khagrachari, and Rangamati (Figure 1). The population of more than 1.6 million includes 12 ethnic communities
with unique cultures and traditions. The region has rich natural and environmental resources with hills, forests,
rivers, and lakes, a diverse flora and fauna, and areas of outstanding scenic beauty. The CHT provides important
ecosystem services that play a significant role in economic development, environmental protection, ecological
sustainability, and human wellbeing, both in the CHT itself and downstream. About 40% of Bangladesh’s forest land
is in the CHT. The forests play an important role in conserving biodiversity, protecting the regional environment,
preventing erosion, maintaining water quality, regulating water flow, reducing the severity of floods, and regulating
local and regional climate.

Even though the CHT has immense biological, cultural, and environmental resources, it remains one of the most
disadvantaged and vulnerable regions in the country. The CHT lags behind in almost all development indicators,
such as poverty, income, food security, health, and education, and in access to roads, infrastructure, electricity,
and credit facilities (Zohir 2011; Sen et al. 2014). According to a survey conducted by Barkat et al. in 2009,
the incidence of poverty in the CHT is about 60%, much higher than the national average of 32%, and some of
Bangladesh’s ‘hardcore poor’ are found in this region (Table 1). The Planning Commission lists Bandarban in the

1
 CHT as one of the three poorest districts in Bangladesh. Even after the huge development efforts that followed the
signing of the Peace Accord in 1997, much of the CHT remains physically and socioeconomically less advanced.
There are several reasons for this, including the rugged and inaccessible terrain. Although recent developments
have brought considerable improvement, much remains to be done.

Figure 1: Map of Bangladesh showing CHT

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The national-level priorities Table 1: Key socioeconomic indicators in the CHT and Bangladesh overall (%)
of accelerating economic
growth, reducing poverty and Indicator (%) CHT National
inequality, and creating a Poverty rate 62 (2009) 32 (2010)
more inclusive and equitable Population in extreme poverty 2010 b
26.2 17.6
society are well aligned with Measles vaccine coverage b
80 77
the Sustainable Development
Access to suitable source of drinking water b
65 75
Agenda, which cuts across
Anaemia prevalence (6–59 months) b
62 49
the three dimensions of
Anaemia prevalence (13–19 years) b
43 28
sustainable development
Primary school net enrolment (boys/ girls)b 82/82 82/86
– economic development,
social inclusion, and Never been enrolled in school (boys/ girls)b 16/17 15/13
environmental sustainability. Deaths due to malaria b
33 in 100 –
The SDGs constitute a charter Underweight prevalence (0-59 months)<-2 SD c
39 32
for people and the planet Stunting prevalence (0-59 months) <-2 SD c
48 42
in the twenty-first century to Wasting prevalence (0-59 months) <-2 SD c
14 10
respect and safeguard Mother Low birthweight infants <2.5 kg c
30 26
Earth, secure peace and
Under 5 mortality/1000 live birthsa 64 64
prosperity, and reinvigorate
Infant mortality/1000 live births a
50 49
a global partnership for
Child delivery attended by skilled personnel a
9 24
sustainable development. The
central goals are to eliminate Neonatal tetanus protection c
59 81

extreme poverty, hunger, and Child under five with diarrhoea in the last two weeks c
8 4
malnutrition; to conserve the Households using solid fuel for cooking c
98 88
environment; and to foster Use of improved drinking water sources c
59 98
peaceful, just, inclusive, Use of improved sanitation facilities which are not sharedc 35 56
and prosperous societies Safe disposal of child’s faeces c
27 39
that enable all to enjoy Place to wash hands available with water and soap c
42 59
prosperous and fulfilling lives
Source: MICS (2009); UNICEF (undated); MICS (2014)
a b c

in harmony with nature. The

SDG framework attaches central importance to equality and non-discrimination and inclusiveness and pledges that
‘no one will be left behind’ and to ‘reduce inequality within and among countries’.

Ethnic minorities and tribal areas in Asia and elsewhere remained largely marginalized in socioeconomic
development (McDougall 2015). As in other tribal areas, development in the Chittagong Hill Tracts has been slower
than in other parts of the country as a result of several factors including social tension. The signing of the Peace
Accord has enhanced the prospects for promoting lasting peace and improving governance, inclusive growth, and
sustainable development in the CHT. However, successful implementation of the sustainable development agenda
will require an approach that is tailor-made for the region. This implies localization of the SDGs, with planning,
implementation, and monitoring of activities at sub-national level, and national strategies designed such that they
support implementation of SDGs at a local and regional level (Global Task Force 2016). This will help to ensure
social inclusion and to promote faster and peaceful development in the region.

Localization of the SDGs is crucial as many development interventions occur at subnational level under the
jurisdiction of local bodies. Indeed, achievement of the SDGs will largely rest on local and regional governments
as they are delegated with the responsibility of providing basic services and promoting inclusive and sustainable
territorial development (Global Task Force 2016). Local bodies are best situated to link the global goals with
local communities. For example, the sustainable development goals are linked to improving human lives through
provision of better education, health, and quality water, and preservation of air and natural resources, all of which
are related to local development processes. Local bodies are also well placed to inform local communities about
the sustainable development goals and their importance locally (Global Task Force 2016).

In the CHT, the local bodies (the hill district councils or HDCs) are well placed to identify the subnational needs
and priorities that align with the sustainable development agenda. The HDCs can raise awareness among local

3
 communities about the importance of the sustainable development goals and their relevance to the local people.
In doing so, they can engage with the private sector and community organizations to ensure greater participation
and collaboration for the localization and advocacy of the Agenda. The HDCs can seek a bottom-up approach
for implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the SDGs that will ensure commitment and support from
the local communities. But for this to be effective, the HDCs must be given a greater role in local resource
management, fiscal and financial devolution, and progressive environmental protection, among others. The local
level governments should be engaged in creating a sense of ownership and given responsibility in planning and
implementation of the SDGs to provide an enabling environment for the localization process.

This paper is intended to shed light on the status of and challenges for selected SDGs in the CHT. It highlights
the importance of localization of the SDGs to address the development challenges in the region and redress past
grievances and marginalization. It explores the development potential of the CHT in various sectors, assesses the
present situation, identifies key issues and gaps, and suggests policy options and strategic mechanisms to optimize
the full potential and expedite socioeconomic development, thereby achieving the SDGs. The paper is broadly
divided into five sections: this introduction; the status and challenges of the SDGs in the CHT; the development
potential and opportunities; a way forward that details various action plans for promoting inclusive growth and
achieving the SDGs in the CHT; and a conclusion.

4
The SDGs in the CHT: Status
and Challenges
The SDGs represent a transformative agenda that will transform the economies and societies of developing
countries with a view to eliminating poverty by 2030. The agenda is not simply about protection from vulnerability or
destitution; it is about broader economic, social, and political transformation.

Bangladesh aspires to achieve middle income country status by 2021, which is clearly reflected in the 7th Five-Year
Plan (2016–20). The plan also emphasizes the development priorities in the CHT and their contribution to the
overall economic development of the country. While this is a good first step towards developing the CHT, much
more will need to be done in a prioritized manner to achieve the SDGs in this region by 2030.

Especially the ethnic communities in the CHT are lagging behind in many, if not all, of the major goals and
targets. It is important to engage local people and organizations in the SDG planning and implementation
process so that the whole of Bangladesh can truly transform, bringing peace and prosperity for all and leaving
no one behind. One of the envisaged goals of the SDGs is to reduce inequality within and among countries.
At present, the socioeconomic disparity between the hills and plains areas in Bangladesh is quite marked. The
prevalence of inequality has been one of the principal causes of tensions in the CHT region. Localizing the SDGs
in the CHT context will be critically important for engaging all stakeholders, reducing inequality, and promoting
inclusive growth. Disaggregated data are needed at the district and CHT level so that pockets of poverty and areas
disadvantaged in other ways can be identified and given focused support to transform. At present, there are very few
disaggregated data related to the status of the SDGs in the CHT. In the following, we have used available secondary
information to contextualize the SDGs in the CHT context and present the status of these SDGs in the CHT while
highlighting possible challenges. This is the first attempt to gather together this information for the CHT. It is hoped
that it will serve as a benchmark and support the design of successful policies and strategies for the implementation,
monitoring of progress, and adjustment of activities for achieving the SDGs in the CHT.

SDG 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere

The world has made commendable progress in poverty alleviation over the decades with extreme poverty rates
reduced by more than half since 1990. Nevertheless, poverty eradication in all its forms remains a burning
challenge. SDG 1 intends to end poverty in all its forms everywhere – a very ambitious goal.

Bangladesh has made impressive progress in reducing poverty, however it has not been uniform across the regions.
Although considerable progress has been made recently in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the region still lags behind
significantly in socioeconomic development and poverty alleviation, as well as in achieving several of the MDG
targets (see Annex 1 for selected indicators in the CHT districts) (Planning Commission 2015). Fifteen of the 64
districts in Bangladesh have been identified as the least developed and most deprived in terms of roads, electricity,
credit, education, health, water supply, and overseas employment; they include all three of the districts in the CHT.
The highest levels of poverty in Bangladesh are found in the CHT district of Bandarban, while the Bandarban
upazilas of Ali Kadam, Thanchi, Rowangchhari, Ruma, and Naikkongchhari are among the most deprived upazilas
in the country (Khondker and Mahzab 2015). More than 62% of households in the CHT live below the absolute
poverty line – 1.6 times the rate in rural Bangladesh as a whole (Table 2). The poverty status of women is of even
greater concern. According to the National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) of Bangladesh (Planning Commission
2015), the majority of women in the CHT live below the poverty line. The incidence of poverty among the different
ethnic communities also varies considerably. Between 80 and 93% of households in the Lushai, Bawm, Chak,
Khyang, and Pangkhua communities belong to the absolute poor (Table 2). The high incidence of poverty remains
one of the critical issues facing the CHT region.

5
 Table 2: Household poverty by community (DCI Method)

Tanchangya
Indigenous

Pangkhua

Bangalee

National
Chakma

Khyang

All CHT
Marma

Tripura
people

(Rural)
Khumi

Lushai
Bawn

Chak
Poverty Level

Mro
Absolute poor 65.1 90.7 83.7 60.1 80.9 60.5 93.3 61.2 66.7 80.0 63.3 71.9 58.7 62.2 39.5
Non poor 34.9 9.3 16.3 39.9 19.1 39.5 6.7 38.8 33.3 20.0 36.7 28.1 41.3 37.8 60.5
Source: Barkat et al. 2009

The poverty in rural CHT is multi-dimensional (Barkat et al. 2009). People not only lack income, they also lack
adequate assets and productive resources and face multiple challenges such as poor health, low education, and
poor access to water, sanitation, and other basic services. Non-income poverty is also higher in the CHT than in
other parts of Bangladesh.

The high levels of poverty are largely attributed to low diversification and high dependency on agriculture.
Agriculture remains a key source of livelihood for the majority of rural people in the CHT, but most of the land is not
suitable for intensive agriculture and many families depend on wage labour for income. The opportunities for wage
labour are limited, however, and the demand is low and the unemployment rate very high. Unemployment and
economic hardship, together with limited economic opportunities, have triggered social conflicts and ethnic tensions
in the region.

Given the multidimensional nature of poverty in the CHT, eradicating poverty in its all forms by 2030 will be a huge
challenge. A business as usual approach will not be enough. Special efforts will be required on different fronts,
particularly accelerating economic growth to create productive jobs for both men and women, and equitable
distribution to make growth inclusive so that everybody benefits from growth and development. Economic inclusion,
particularly building sustainable livelihoods in remote areas of the CHT, remains a major challenge. In order to end
poverty in all its forms, poverty eradication and economic growth need to be accelerated and inclusive to create
productive jobs for both men and women and promote equality.

SDG 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable
agriculture
With an ever-increasing population and shrinking natural resource base, feeding the world’s population remains a
daunting challenge. The solution lies in sustainable agriculture practices. But unplanned rapid urbanization and the
subsequent loss of agricultural land, and the unsustainable use of natural resources have risked the goal of attaining
food and nutrition security for all. There is a need to change the global food and agriculture system to feed today’s
795 million hungry people and the additional 2 billion expected by 2050 (UN 2015).

SDG 2 wants to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.
Bangladesh has made impressive progress in achieving food self-sufficiency. However, much needs to be done to
end hunger and achieve food security at both the national and local levels. Realizing the mammoth goal of ending
hunger, the 7th Five-Year Plan has set targets for reducing the prevalence of stunting among children under five from
36 to 25% and the prevalence of underweight in children under five from 33 to 20% (Planning Commission 2015).

The food security situation in the CHT region is much worse than in the country as a whole. Most of the rural people
in the CHT are food insecure, especially from June to August. The rural population has a daily average energy
intake of only 1,798 kcal per person per day, considerably less than the average level among those in absolute
poverty in Bangladesh overall (2,122 kcal); the values are lowest among the Bawm (1,440 kcal) and the Lushai,
Chak, and Khyang (1,600 kcal) (Barkat et al. 2009). The Chakma community are slightly better off in terms of
energy intake at 1831 kcal per person per day, but this is still far below the average for Bangladesh. Furthermore,
the nutrition status of children in the CHT is considerable worse than that of children in the plains areas of
Bangladesh. The prevalence of underweight among children is higher in all three CHT districts than in Bangladesh
as a whole, with almost half of all children (47%) underweight in Rangamati compared to 32% over the country

6
 Table 3: The nutrition status and mortality rate of children in the CHT and Bangladesh as whole (%)

Indicators Bandarban Khagrachari Rangamati Bangladesh

Prevalence of underweight in children under 5 <-2 SDb 33.9 35.0 47.4 31.9
Prevalence of stunting in children under 5 <-2 SDb 40.6 52.9 51.4 42
Prevalence of wasting in children under 5 <-2 SD b
12.9 9.7 19.1 9.6
Low birthweight infants <2.5 kg b
32.4 28.9 28.7 26
Under 5 mortality/ 1000 live births a
85 63 45 64
Infant mortality/1000 live births a
63 49 36 49
Child delivery attended by skilled personnela
7.6 9.1 11.5 24.4
Source: MICS (2009), MICS (2014)
a b

(Table 3). The prevalence of stunting is also higher in the CHT districts than in the plains areas as is the prevalence
of wasting (19.1% in Rangamati district, compared to 9.6% in Bangladesh as a whole) (Table 3).

Agriculture remains a key source of livelihood for the majority of rural people in the CHT. More than 70% of the
rural population depends on agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and horticulture for their living. The vast majority of the
land in the region consists of steep and undulating hill slopes and only about 5% is suitable for intensive agriculture
FAO (2013). Agriculture has a very limited capacity to provide gainful employment to the growing workforce and
around a quarter of households depend on wage labour for their livelihoods.

The problem is further exacerbated by the dwindling area of common property resources and increasing
landlessness. The area of common property land used for jhum cultivation is shrinking due to a variety of reasons
including population pressure, submergence of a vast area under water by the Kaptai dam, and commercial
plantations. Land disputes, unclear property rights, inadequate recognition of common property rights, and land
grabbing, have all discouraged investment and sustainable use and management of common property land. Ethnic
communities are becoming increasingly landless due to seizing of land by others, with the level of landlessness now
36%. As a result, the jhum cycle has been reduced to three to four years, which is not enough to regenerate soil
fertility or maintain the essential forest fallow part of the cycle. The land available for jhum or any other expansion of
agriculture has become increasingly scarce and productivity has gone down. Jhum is no longer able to ensure food
security and improve the living conditions of the tribal people. Settling land disputes, improving productivity, and
transforming jhum into more productive systems, remain major challenges in the CHT.

Poor market access has further increased the challenge. The remoteness and poor accessibility of most of the
CHT make marketing of agricultural products, and moving from subsistence to cash crops, a challenge. Most
paras (small hamlets) are more than half-a-day’s walk from an all-weather road. Poor road conditions and high
transportation costs further constrain marketing. There is little value addition and post-harvest losses can reach 33%
due to the weak market infrastructure, lack of storage and processing facilities, and high transportation costs.

Various social safety net programs such as widow allowances, handicapped allowances, and handicapped
education stipend are being initiated in the region by the Government of Bangladesh. However, given the poor food
and nutrition situation in the CHT, the goal of ending hunger and achieving food security and improved nutrition by
2030 by promoting sustainable agriculture will need focused attention and efforts from all the concerned bodies. As
the majority of people depend on a combination of agriculture, forestry, horticulture, livestock, fisheries, and non-
farm activities for access to food, an integrated approach will be essential. The social safety net programs initiated
by the government will need to be scaled up further to improve food and nutrition status in the CHT.

SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Human endowment is one of the key assets to economic development and growth. In the absence of healthy human
resources, a country cannot prosper. Of late, significant progress has been made towards increasing life expectancy
and reducing some of the common factors associated with child and maternal mortality (UN 2015). But more efforts
are needed towards promoting healthy lives, providing access to basic healthcare services to the poor and ultra-
poor, and creating awareness among communities on prevention and cure of diseases.

7
 Table 4: Child health indicators (%) in the CHT and Bangladesh overall

Indicators Bandarban Khagrachari Rangamati Bangladesh

Neonatal tetanus protection 78.0 60.0 38.9 80.8
Child under five with diarrhoea in the last two weeks 0.3 13.7 8.7 3.9
Households using solid fuel for cooking 99.5 98.9 96.9 88.2
Source: MICS (2014)

SDG 3 aspires to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all people of all ages. Bangladesh has made
some progress towards achieving the MDG indicators for this, especially those related to health such as births
attended by skilled health staff and reducing maternal mortality rates. Nevertheless, much needs to be done to attain
the goal of SDG 3 of ensuring healthy lives for all by 2030. In the 7th Five-Year Plan, the Government of Bangladesh
has prioritized reducing the under-five mortality rate from 41 to 37 per 1000 live births and reducing the maternal
mortality rate from 170 to 105 per 100,000 live births.

While overall the health scenario in Bangladesh has improved, the condition of people in the CHT region remains
relatively worse than elsewhere (Table 1). The rates of maternal and infant mortality remain high and both women
and children tend to be anaemic (UNICEF 2012; MICS 2014). Women experiencing complications during
pregnancy and childbirth die due to the lack of available health care staff or services at health facilities as well as
lack of transportation to reach an appropriate health facility. The lack of facilities is reflected in the low rates for
neonatal tetanus protection (only 40% in Rangamati compared to 81% in Bangladesh overall) and high rates of
diarrhoea in the more remote districts (Table 4).

The poor state of health in the CHT is due both to lack of awareness of primary health care issues and services and
lack of actual healthcare facilities. The socio-economic baseline survey by Barkat et al. (2009) showed that most of
the ethnic communities either didn’t know where to go for primary healthcare services or the service providers were
too far from their current locality.

Given the present poor levels of health in the CHT, achieving the health targets under SDG 3 by 2030 will be
challenging. Without concerted efforts from all concerned stakeholders towards improving the health indicators,
ensuring healthy lives for all will remain an elusive goal. Improving health status means first recognizing the
local beliefs and customs and the social, economic, cultural, and linguistic differences among the tribal ethnic
communities, and then developing appropriate ethnically sensitive approaches and measures that will be effective in
reaching the local communities.

SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities
for all
Education plays an important role in human resource development and is immensely important for the development
and economic growth of a country. In recent decades, the world has made significant improvements in terms of
attaining basic literacy skills, increasing access to education at all levels, and enhancing school enrolment rates for
women and girls (UN 2015).
Table 5: Literacy rate in the CHT and Bangladesh
SDG 4 intends to achieve inclusive and equitable overall
quality education and lifelong learning opportunities
for all. While primary and secondary education District Literacy rate (%)
attainment rates are relatively good in the plains areas Total Male Female
of Bangladesh, the situation in the three CHT districts National 51.8 54.1 49.4
remains relatively low in terms of both literacy (Table Bandarban 35.9 40.3 30.9
5) and years of schooling.
Rangamati 49.7 56.4 42.3
Access to primary schools remains difficult in many Khagrachari 46.1 51.9 40.1
paras. Up to half of all children never attend school, CHT total 43.9 49.5 37.8
and those that do rarely complete even primary Source: BBS (2011)

8
school, with less than 1% achieving above secondary. Among the ethnic communities, Khumi, Mro, and Khyang
have the highest proportion of population with no education at all. In the baseline survey, 65% of respondents
reported discontinuation of their children’s education before completion of the primary cycle and a further 19% at
transition to secondary (Barkat et al. 2009).

In the 7th Five-Year Plan, the Government of Bangladesh has prioritized achieving a 100% net enrolment rate for
primary and secondary education and ensuring quality education at all levels, thus addressing the present poor
status of inclusivity and inequitable quality of education (Planning Commission 2015). The issues that will need to
be addressed in the CHT include the challenging terrain and scattered settlements, lack of qualified teachers, lack
of adequate learning spaces, high levels of poverty, high dropout rate, and financial challenges; a huge effort and
resources will be needed to achieve the SDG 4 targets.

SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
While improvements have been made towards gender equality and women’s empowerment, discrimination
and violence against women and children continue. Peaceful and harmonious societies, and thus sustainable
development, are difficult to achieve in the absence of gender equality. But much remains to be done in terms
of providing equal access to education, health care, decent work, and representation in political and economic
decision making processes around the globe (UN 2015).

Gender equality is both a means to promote inclusive and sustainable human development and a goal in itself.
As such, gender equality and women’s empowerment remains one of the most important sustainable development
goals to achieve in a number of countries. The issue of gender inequality is more prominent in many poor and
developing nations than in more developed countries. In the CHT, women work very hard growing food (jhum
cultivation), raising and caring for livestock (mainly poultry, pigs, goats, and cattle), collecting firewood, and fetching
water, while carrying out all the daily household work. Women carry their produce to the nearest market for sale
and prepare their own cloth using handlooms and thread prepared from their own cotton harvest. They also make
handicraft objects from bamboo and rattan. Notwithstanding their hard work and primary role in the management
of natural resources, women receive almost no support from agricultural extension, credit, marketing, or other
institutional services, and are largely absent from community decision-making processes (Talukder 2014). Women
have little access to information and few linkages with outside communities; they bear the burden arising from the
strenuous socio-political situation but their voices remain largely unheard. Only 11 of 375 headmen are women
and none of the three circle chiefs (Talukder 2014), while in the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council (CHTRC)
only 3 out of 25 positions for members are reserved for women. Women also have limited access to land and other
property, and limited access to non-farm economic activities such as working in hotels, restaurants, shops, and
offices (Dewan nd).

Mammoth efforts will be needed to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls in Bangladesh, and
even more so in the CHT. To achieve gender equality, the Government of Bangladesh in its 7th Five-Year Plan has
set the target of raising the gender parity index from 0.7 to 1 and increasing the ratio of literate females to males
for the age group 20–24 from 86 to 100% (Planning Commission 2015). The issue of gender inequality is quite
pronounced in the CHT and the indicators for gender equality and women and girls’ empowerment are generally
low. Girls’ education has a low priority, one-third of girls overall are not consulted on matrimonial issues, and
almost none in the Mro communities (Barkat et al. 2009). Only one-fifth of women in the CHT can inherit property,
and virtually none in the Mro and Khyang communities (Barkat et al. 2009). Women have little say in major
decisions, including sending children to school, involvement with NGOs, income generating activities, or using or
choosing family planning methods, among others (Barkat et al. 2009; Talukder 2014; Dewan nd). Violence against
women is also pervasive as in other parts of the country.

SDG 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
Poor hygiene and lack of sufficient and good quality water claims millions of lives, mostly of children, every year.
Furthermore, water scarcity negatively affects food security, thereby worsening hunger and malnutrition. Good health
is directly linked to clean drinking water, good environmental sanitation, and personal hygiene; while the primary

9
 causes of ill health in many poor and developing countries are related to poor hygiene and poor environmental
sanitation facilitating the spread of water-borne diseases.

SDG 6 envisages ensuring access to water and sanitation for all across the globe. Access to an adequate quantity
and quality of water and good sanitation are critical for good health and nutrition. Despite recent efforts, access to
safe drinking water and sanitation remain poor in the CHT compared to the rest of Bangladesh (Table 6). There is a
high prevalence of stunting, underweight, and wasting among children under five and the poor water and sanitation
conditions compound the vulnerability of children to morbidity and mortality from diarrhoea and other preventable
diseases. Providing access to safe drinking water is difficult due to the topography of the area and often too costly
for the local people Only 65% of people have access to safe drinking water, compared to 75% of rural people in
Bangladesh as a whole. Drinking water largely comes from perennial water sources such as streams, springs, and
lakes, but increasingly, natural water bodies are drying up and perennial water bodies are becoming seasonal.
Shortage of water for agricultural and domestic use has become a major problem, and fetching water, usually by
women and children, takes longer. The reduction in forest quality and degradation of watersheds is exacerbating
the problems faced in securing water supplies. Furthermore, open defecation is still normal practice in many areas,
which can lead to pollution of drinking water sources and health and nutritional problems (MOHAFW 2011;
UNICEF 2012; World Bank 2014). In Bandarban less than half of households have access to improved drinking
water sources or improved sanitation, compared to 98% for water and 56% for sanitation in Bangladesh overall
(Table 6). Access to improved sanitation is even lower in Khagrachari (27%) and Rangamati (33%).

The Government of Bangladesh has launched several initiatives to bring all households across the country under
the sanitation coverage, including the National Strategy for Water and Sanitation in Hard to Reach Areas of
Bangladesh (2012), National Hygiene Promotion Strategy for Water Supply and Sanitation Sector in Bangladesh
(2012), and National Strategy for Water Supply and Sanitation (2014). Under the 7th Five-Year Plan, Bangladesh
seeks to raise the proportion of the urban and rural population with access to sanitary latrines to 100% and 90%,
respectively (Planning Commission 2015). While these are notable targets towards achieving SDG 6, huge efforts
will be needed on the part of both public and private sectors to achieve them, particularly in terms of finance and
awareness creation.

Table 6: Water and sanitation indicators in CHT and Bangladesh overall (%)

Indicators Bandarban Khagrachari Rangamati Bangladesh

Use of improved drinking water sources 45.8 69.8 60.7 97.9
Use of improved sanitation facilities which are not shared 45.8 26.9 32.8 55.9
Safe disposal of child’s faeces 4.5 32.2 44.6 38.7
Place to wash hands available with water and soap 16.3 52.8 57.6 59.1
Source: MICS (2014)

SDG 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Development of a country hinges on the availability of energy resources. Today, many poor and developing
countries around the globe face acute shortages of the energy crucial for rapid economic development. Energy
is essential for jobs creation, combating climate change, and food production, among others. Moreover, access
to sustainable energy is of paramount importance for sustainable development. Promoting access to and use of
sustainable energy, requires improving the efficiency and use of renewable resources.

SDG 7 aspires to provide clean modern energy for all at an affordable price. While Bangladesh has been making
progress towards improving energy efficiency and providing energy to its vast population, energy access to people
in the CHT remains below the national average (Figure 2) and access to solar energy is also very low (Table 7). In
Bandarban, only 28 % of households have access to electricity, and a further 5% to solar power, compared to a
national average of 56%. Only Rangamati has a relatively higher electricity access (42%).

10
Table 7: Access to solar power in the CHT Figure 2: Household access to electricity

Solar (%) 60
Bandarban 5.0 50
Rangamati 5.6
40
Khagrachari 1.6
30 56.1
CHT total 4.2
20 41.8
Source: Bala et al. (2010) 32.7 34.2
28.2
10

People in the CHT rely heavily on traditional sources 0

Bandarban Rangamati Khagrachari CHT  total National
of energy such as firewood and coal as opposed to
modern clean energy sources like solar power, wind, Source: BBS (2011)

and hydroelectricity. The consumption of different

types of fuel is shown in Table 8; 573,984 t of
fuelwood and 94,260 t of coal were consumed annually as primary sources of energy, with a further – and alarming
– 48,674 t of wood used in tobacco preparation production.

To achieve the SDG 7 goal, the Government of Bangladesh has set a target of increasing electricity generation
to 23,000 MW, electricity coverage to 96%, and energy efficiency by 10% by the end of the 7th Five-Year Plan
(Planning Commission 2015). These are ambitious targets and a notable effort will be needed to achieve them.

Table 8: Annual energy consumption in the three districts of the CHT and selected upazilas

  Fuelwood Twigs Diesel Petrol Kerosene Electricity Coal Wood

(t) (t) (l)  (l)  (l)  (kWh)  (t) (for curing
tobacco)
(t)
CHT overall 573,984 70,768 12,209,075 1,722,461 3,440,387 74,454,485 94,260 48,674
Bandarban
Bandarban total 202,198 24,146 2,359,926 178,624 754,752 17,948,547 20,600 35,167
Bandarban sadar 90,231 9,152 1,671,726 109,774 355,200 13,600,000 14,000 11,200
Alikadam 61,650 7,042 412,800 36,000 249,600 3,548,547 3,900 21,376
Ruma 50,317 7,952 275,400 32,850 149,952 800,000 2,700 2,591
Rangamati   
Rangamati total 178,093 20,442 5,057,160 1,242,850 1,815,267 36,902,950 2,500 11,008
Rangamati sadar 117,120 12,210 2,800,000 1,113,250 255,500 30,000,000 2,500 0
Barkal 39,337 4,175 37,160 0 157,212 302,950 0 9,600
Kaptai 21,636 4,057 2,220,000 129,600 1,402,555 6,600,000 0 1,408
Khagrachari
Khagrachari total 193,693 26,180 4,791,989 300,987 870,368 19,602,988 71,160 2,499
Khagrachari sadar 96,773 9,023 1,671,726 109,774 355,200 13,600,000 6,400 1,408
Mahalchari 4,233 8,162 720,000 33,600 132,000 2,523,048 1,400 1,091
Dighinala 92,687 8,995 2,400,263 157,613 383,168 3,479,940 63,360 0
Source: Bala et al. (2010)

SDG 8: Promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive
employment, and decent work for all
SDG 8 aspires to achieve sustained and inclusive economic growth and productive employment for all; a GDP
growth rate of at least 7% per annum is targeted for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). The Bangladesh

11
 Government, aims to achieve a GDP growth rate of 7.4% over the period of the 7th Five-Year Plan, and provisional
assessment indicates that a growth rate of 7.1% will already have been achieved in 2016. While the national GDP
growth rate is satisfactory, the challenge of expediting growth in regions like the CHT remains.

In the past, the CHT region remained outside of mainstream development, initially as a result of British colonial
policy which treated the CHT as an excluded area, and later as a result of the two-decade long insurgency and
persistent low-level conflict. The CHT economy is primarily agricultural, with both jhum cultivation and sedentary
agriculture practised. Jhum cultivation is the traditional practice of the tribal communities for carrying out agriculture
on the steep slopes in the region, which involves clearing and burning surface vegetation, before sowing first year
mixed crops of rice, maize, millet, sesame, vegetables, and cotton, with fewer crops in the second year, followed
by a very long period of forest fallow, when the forest cover regenerates and only tree crops are harvested (Tripura
2013). The traditional cycle was 10–15 years or more with plots allocated for use in rotation, but with pressure
on land this has now been reduced to 2–3 years, which greatly reduces soil fertility and doesn’t allow for forest
regeneration. Jhum cultivation is still practised at a subsistence level in remote areas. The marketable surplus is low,
and sedentary agriculture, particularly with fruit and horticulture and high value niche crops such as cashew nuts
and tobacco are gradually replacing the traditional practice among the tribal communities. The major agricultural
crops are rice, potato, cotton, ginger, garlic, maize, tobacco, jackfruit, lemon, pineapple and nuts. Extraction
of timber and non-timber forest products such as medicinal plants, herbs, bamboo, and rattan also provides
supplementary income.

Low levels of entrepreneurship, and limited private investment in industry, services, and commercial enterprise,
have resulted in limited employment and livelihood opportunities in the non-farming sector in the CHT. The farm
and non-farm sectors are unable to absorb the growing labour force productively and a significant portion of the
youth remained un- or underemployed. Moreover, it is difficult for people from the CHT to take up job opportunities
outside the region because of the generally low level of education, poor vocational skills, inadequate information,
and poor networks. So far, only a few thousand young people have found work in Dhaka and Chittagong in the
garment and other industries. Although a huge number of people from the plains are working abroad and sending
back remittances, very few people from the CHT and almost none from the tribal communities, are able to take
advantage of the international labour market. The challenge is how to prepare the people of the CHT, particularly
the ethnic communities, to seize the opportunities offered by the national and global labour market and business.
Unemployment and economic hardship, along with limited economic opportunities, have triggered social conflicts
and ethnic tensions in the region.

The limited extent of industrialization and urbanization means that other economic opportunities are limited, but
“the trends clearly indicate that, over the next decade or so, and perhaps well beyond that, the economy of the Hill
Tracts will be integrated further into the regional and global market economy. This in turn, is almost certain to lead
to the decreased dependence of indigenous people on land-based activities, including their traditional occupations”
(Roy 2000:109). It is also likely that more of the collectively-managed lands will come under the private ownership
of indigenous people. Although the whole of Bangladesh faces challenges of widespread poverty, the development
challenges faced by the CHT are different to those in other parts of the country because of the special socio-
cultural and geographic situation. The livelihoods of people in the CHT are more susceptible to environmental

12
and economic changes than those in the lowlands. Sustainable development in the CHT is greatly challenged by
the remoteness and poor accessibility, poor infrastructure and social and economic services, rapid socioeconomic
change, and growing stress from climate change with inadequate measures to support adaptation. Although
progress has been made in certain areas, special attention and support will be needed in order to facilitate culturally
inclusive growth in the CHT and achieve the SDGs, and especially to further economic opportunities, create
productive employment, and transfer labour from less productive to more productive sectors and from the farm to
non-farm sectors. This will require a huge investment in education, health, and skills development to develop human
capital and attract further investment in the value addition of primary products produced in the CHT, tourism, and
opportunities in other non-farm sectors, to create decent employment and a thriving local economy.

SDG 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and
foster innovation
Infrastructure is essential to support growth and the development of employment opportunities. SDG 9 focuses
on building resilient infrastructure as a basis for promoting growth through industrialisation and innovation, while
ensuring that the opportunities remain inclusive. Investment is critical to growth and development. Investment
in infrastructure such as transport, irrigation, energy, and information and communication technology will help
achieve sustainable development thereby empowering communities in many countries. The improvement in rural
infrastructure in Bangladesh began in the early 1980s with the initiation of a rural development strategy. Since
then, the government has focused on the development of physical infrastructure, such as roads, markets and
storage facilities, but the country has a large unmet demand for rural infrastructure. While improvements in rural
infrastructure have been accelerating in the plains areas, the CHT remains far behind. Investment is needed in
rural transport as well as supporting infrastructure such as irrigation facilities and water supplies. The region lacks
an adequate road and trail network and improvement is needed to connect the many scattered rural areas with
the growing regional hubs. The poor infrastructure conditions hinder the participation of ethnic minority people
in economic activity. Development of infrastructure and of the institutional capacity needed to support rural
development will help generate employment opportunities and enhance the livelihoods of the rural poor.

The difficult terrain, remoteness, and scattered communities pose a huge challenge to building physical
infrastructure and improving the delivery of basic services. Building infrastructure is both very expensive and
environmentally risky and needs careful and sensitive planning. The development challenges facing the CHT
include lack of funds to develop infrastructure; limited participation of local people in the planning, design, and
implementation of development projects; and the immense task of rural road development in the fragile socio-
political environment of the region.

SDG 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably
manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt
biodiversity loss
Biodiversity plays an important role in sustaining ecosystems, both upstream and downstream. But with the increased
clearing of forests, biodiversity has been threatened, negatively affecting millions of lives and livelihoods. Forests not
only provide food security and shelter, they also play an important role in regulating water and preventing erosion,
combating climate change, conserving biodiversity, and protecting the homes of indigenous people. Deforestation
and desertification are mainly caused by human activity; both pose a serious threat to achieving sustainable
development across the globe. In recent times, the world has lost thirteen million hectares of forest every year due to
environmental degradation.

SDG 15 envisages protecting, restoring, and promoting the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably
managing forests, combating desertification, reversing land degradation, and halting biodiversity loss. This goal is
of particular importance in the context of the CHT as the region is rich in biodiversity and still retains an important
level of forest cover.

Forest coverage overall is very low in Bangladesh, at 11% one of the lowest in the world outside of desert countries
(World Bank 2016) and only 0.022 ha per capita (Chowdhury 2005). The forest area is still declining due to

13
 population pressure and the increased demand for Table 9: Deforestation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts
forest resources. Bangladesh was a long way from 1969–1998
achieving the MDG indicator of increasing forest
cover to 20% of the total land area in 2015. The Year Total forested area (ha)
CHT region has close to 40% of Bangladesh’s forest 1969/70 1,234,413
cover and a great biodiversity, but poor management 1979/80 1,188,259
has led to a marked decline in area over the years 1989/90 833,198
(Table 9) and significant degradation of the forest 1997/98 778,138
resources. Deforestation and forest degradation Source: Adnan and Dastidar (2004: 251)
have affected the lives and livelihoods of the ethnic
population, who depend heavily on forests for sustenance. The forest area has declined while agricultural land has
increased; with forest cleared especially for the cultivation of rubber and tobacco over the last forty years or so.
Forest degradation has been aggravated by the ever-increasing population growth, indiscriminate harvesting, lack
of alternative livelihoods, climate change, and shortening of the jhum fallow period, among others. The government
policy of settling thousands of Bengali people from the plains areas in the CHT has also resulted in loss of forest
area and resources. Deforestation combined with unsustainable agricultural practices, including mono-cropping
of ginger, turmeric, rubber plants, and other crops, has increased runoff soil erosion and loss of nutrients and
biodiversity (Khisa and Mohiuddin 2014).

Changing land use patterns have been cited

Table 10: Land use in the CHT
as one of the main causes of increased forest
degradation in the CHT region. The increased Forest Shifting Horti- Flatland Other
cultivation of various horticultural products has (%) cultivation culture (paddy) (%)
been accompanied by a decline in forest cover. (jhum) (%) (%)
(%)
Table 10 summarizes the existing land use in the
Bandarban 40.4 15.5 27.9 15.5 0.9
CHT. Bandarban has the greatest proportion
of area under forest, Rangamati the greatest Rangamati 35.9 18.0 28.1 4.1 13.9
proportion under shifting cultivation (18%), and Khagrachari 28.9 13.1 26.8 29.8 1.4
Khagrachari the greatest proportion of flatland, CHT overall 35.9 15.5 27.6 16.2 4.8
which is mainly used to grow rice (30%). More
Source: Bala et al. (2010)
than a quarter of land area in all districts is under
horticulture. The overall forest cover is 36%, above
the world average of 30%.

Sustainable management of forests and biodiversity in the CHT remains a challenging task. Once the land
disputes have been settled, awareness generation will be needed among the local people on the detrimental
effects of changing land use patterns and the need to halt forest degradation, conserve biodiversity and other
natural resources, restore lost forest, and regenerate the natural ecosystem. One of the most challenging tasks
will be to develop an appropriate model for sustainable forest management that engages local communities in
the management activities. This will require both considerable investment and institutional innovation. A further
challenge is to make jhum more productive and sustainable, or to transform it to more productive systems.
Replacing tobacco cultivation has also become a serious concern, as it is leading to wide-scale environmental
degradation due to the use of vast numbers of trees to cure the tobacco as well as intensive use of chemicals
in production (Akhter 2014). There is also an urgent need to switch to modern forms of energy and away from
traditional sources such as fuelwood and twigs. Massive efforts will be needed on the part of both the government
and the local people to conserve forests and biodiversity. While infrastructure development, and safe, resilient, and
sustainable human settlements are needed, care must be taken to ensure that fragile ecosystems are not damaged
in the process of their development.

SDG 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide
access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels
SDG 16 calls for promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, providing access to justice
for all, and building effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels. Bangladesh has made strong

14
endeavours to address the concerns and grievances of the ethnic minorities in the CHT and to promote a peaceful
and inclusive society and build effective institutions. The signing of the Peace Accord in 1997 was a historical
milestone towards establishing peace and building inclusive institutions in the CHT. It not only brought an end to two
decades of insurgency, it also ensured a greater degree of decentralization of power to the tribal ethnic minorities
and established an institutional mechanism for representation of the ethnic tribal communities in local, regional, and
national policies related to the CHT. These inclusive institutional arrangements are described in the following. The
functions of the main bodies are summarized in the Annex (Table A2).

The Peace Accord recognized the CHT as a ‘Tribal Populated Region’, and acknowledged the need to protect the
characteristics of the region and give a leading role to the ethnic communities in the CHT administration. The CHT
region was recognized as a unique political and administrative unit and special institutional arrangements were
made that differ significantly from those in the rest of Bangladesh. These arrangements were designed to respond to
the specific needs of the CHT people and to establish responsive and inclusive institutions. A number of institutions
were introduced to resolve grievances, promote culturally inclusive development, and establish lasting peace and
security, including the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council (CHTRC), the Hill District Councils (HDC), the Ministry
of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs (MoCHTA), and a Land Commission. Safeguarding measures have been introduced
to ensure representation and participation of the ethnic communities in decision-making in all affairs related to the
CHT with representation from all eleven tribal ethnic communities as well as from the Bengali community. The heads
of the organizations will be from the tribal ethnic communities as will two-thirds of the members. Along with the
formal democratic institutions, the Peace Accord also recognized the role of traditional institutions: the circle chiefs,
mauza headman, and village karbari (headman). The traditional institutions play an important role in parallel to
the formal institutions in safeguarding the land rights of tribal ethnic communities and in land management and the
administration of justice (Roy 2014).

The CHT Regional Council (CHTRC): The introduction of the CHTRC was a great achievement in the peace
process. The Council is an apex political and administrative body entrusted with specific powers and functions. It
has a mandate to coordinate and supervise all the activities of the three Hill District Councils (HDCs), general civil
administration and law and order, and all other development activities and programmes undertaken by autonomous
bodies and NGOs in the CHT. It also has an advisory role with regard to laws made for the CHT region. It can
provide recommendations to the central government to amend any law or make a new law for the region. The
central government should consult with the CHTRC on making any law concerning the CHT region. The CHTRC has
25 members, 18 – including the chairperson – from ethnic communities, and a minimum of 3 women to represent
women’s issues. As Chakma says: “The formation of the CHTRC as per the 1997 Accord is a straight recognition of
the human rights of the indigenous peoples living in CHT” (Chakma 2014: 131).

The Hill District Councils: Hill District Councils (HDCs) have been established in each of the three districts
– Rangamati, Khagrachari, and Bandarban. The HDCs are responsible for economic, social, and cultural
development, implement government projects, and supervise the work of NGOs. While some remarkable
improvements in terms of easing socio-ethnic tensions have been made, much needs to be done to fully resolve
the issues. For instance, devolution of power to the region is an ongoing process as per the Peace Accord. They
have authority over a number of subjects or departments delegated to them by the central government, such as
health, education, agriculture, culture, land management, commerce, and trade. The HDC are intended to be at
the centre of all development activities in the CHT and activities related to the transferred departments are now
administered through these councils, while all transferred department and departmental heads report to the HDC
chairmen. Under the three HDC Acts of 1989, as amended by the 1997 CHT Peace Accord, a total of 33 subjects
are supposed to be transferred from the Ministries to each of the three HDCs. So far, 30 departments have been
transferred to the Rangamati and Khagrachari HDCs, and 28 to Bandarban HDC (Tripura 2016). Each HDC is
composed of 34 members, with the chair and between 21 and 23 councillors (based on the size of the tribal ethnic
population) from the ethnic communities, and the remaining councillors from the Bengali community. The intention
was for councillors to be directly elected by the local people, but the election process has not yet started and
councillors are still appointed by the government.

The Ministry of CHT Affairs (MoCHTA): The Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs (MoCHTA) is the principal policy
and coordination organization at both national and regional levels. At regional level, the MoCHTA monitors and

15
 coordinates the overall development activities undertaken by the HDCs, the CHTRC, and the district administration
(which is headed by the deputy commissioners, who look after law and order and general district administration),
as well as allocation of the funds for the HDCs and CHTRC. At the national level, MoCHTA acts as a focal point for
the CHT region, coordinates with other line ministries, and provides advisory support to the government with regards
to CHT matters. It also plays a role in the implementation of policies related to the CHT and making policies, rules,
and laws on CHT issues. Under the provisions of the Peace Accord, MoCHTA is led by a minister from the tribal
ethnic communities.

Although significant progress has been made towards building a lasting peace and establishing trust and confidence
since the signing of the Peace Accord in 1997, formidable challenges still remain. Inter-communal violence remains
common (Tripura 2016) and opposition persists among some groups, especially Paharis and Bengalis. Peace and
progress will depend on full implementation of the Peace Accord – in letter and spirit – including making the HDCs
and CHTRC truly representative through direct elections, settlement of land disputes, and strengthening of the
effectiveness of the CHT institutions and their capacity to respond to the needs of the population.

The Government of Bangladesh is strongly committed to taking all measures required to fulfil the remaining
provisions of the Peace Accord within the period of the 7th Five-Year Plan. In a promising step, it has already
amended the CHT Land Commission Act 2001 in order to address the concerns of the tribal ethnic communities
and make the Land Commission functional and effective. It is hoped that this will go a long way to reducing ethnic
tensions in the CHT and also contribute to peace and stability, as land disputes are the root cause of most of the
ethnic tension and conflict. It will be critically important to strengthen the capacity and enhance the capability of
the CHT institutions in planning and successful implementation of development work, taking into account local
conditions and involving local people in order to achieve the SDGs.

16
Achieving the SDGs in the CHT:
Potential, Opportunities and Lessons
Hills and mountains are often regarded as areas with less potential and are less favoured for investment in
economic growth and development, so that the potential that does exist remains underused (Mergos 1994). The
result is that these areas have slower growth, more limited economic opportunities, and worse socioeconomic
conditions than in the adjacent plains areas (Birthal et al. 2006).

In order to accelerate economic growth and achieve the SDGs in the CHT, it is critically important to focus on
optimum and sustainable use of the available natural and human resources and exploiting their possibilities.
Although the CHT faces many development challenges, it has a tremendous potential which can be harnessed
to improve the lives of the local people and the environment. The signing of the Peace Accord and establishment
of a decentralized governance structure and institutions has opened up new windows of opportunity in the CHT
for breaking the poverty cycle and accelerating inclusive growth and the sustainable use of resources. In recent
decades, the framework conditions for rural development have changed significantly due to globalization, increased
connectivity, labour mobility, progress in transportation and communication, and advances in mobile and internet
technologies. Remote villages have now been connected to national, regional, and global markets; cash crops are
replacing subsistence agriculture; and many new opportunities are emerging with the changing contour of the world
economy that can be tapped to boost the economy of the region. There is an increased move towards livelihood
diversification and reduced dependence on agriculture, with value addition and improvement of value chains for
rural products, promotion of agribusiness, and development of the non-farm sector. The potential for development
in both urban and rural areas of the CHT has improved substantially with the introduction of mobile and internet
technologies and the building of new roads.

Livelihood diversification is already underway in the CHT. Jhum is still practised for subsistence in remote areas, but
farmers are also increasingly engaged in off-farm activities such as weaving, wage labour, and selling fuelwood,
while on-farm activities are also increasingly diversified. Table11 shows the range of activities reported by ethnic and
non-ethnic households in a survey by Jamaluddin et al. (2010). More than half of the ethnic respondents practised
fruit gardening and 41% weaving, indicating the increasing range of livelihood opportunities.

This section looks at the untapped potential of the CHT region. It presents good practices drawn from experience in
neighbouring countries that can be replicated in the CHT region, covering such topics as watershed management,
community forestry, apple production, microenterprise development, and community-based tourism.

Intensification and diversification of agriculture to enhance productivity and sustainability

Opportunities for investment in agriculture and food processing
Agriculture is one of the principal sources of livelihoods in the CHT and the majority of the rural population depend
on agriculture for sustenance. Agricultural development is thus critically important for achieving the SDGs on poverty
alleviation (SDG 1), food security (SDG 2), and economic growth (SDG 8), among others. Broadly, two types of
agriculture are practised: jhum farming in remote hill areas and plough agriculture in the plains. Other agricultural
occupations include fishing, herding, dairy farming, and livestock rearing, while tobacco cultivation is increasing in
some parts of the CHT, particularly Bandarban. The main non-cereal crops are vegetables, cotton, sugarcane, and
fruit; while the major cereal crop is rice, either high yielding or local (HYV Aman, followed by HYV Boro, and local
Aus) (FAO 2013; Talukder et al. 2013).

A number of studies have suggested that with appropriate policy and institutional support, there is considerable
potential for increasing both the productivity and sustainability of crop production, horticulture, fisheries, and
livestock, and for transforming jhum into more productive systems (USAID 2015, Talukder et al. 2013; FAO 2013)
This potential remains largely untapped due to poor market access, inadequate access to key production inputs

17
 Table 11: Major livelihood activities of ethnic and non-ethnic households in the CHT

% of respondents of each group

Bandarban Khagrachari Rangamati All
Livelihood activities
Ethnic Non- Ethnic Non- Ethnic Non- Ethnic Non-
ethnic ethnic ethnic ethnic
On-farm activities
Fruit gardening 61.9 16.7 55.7 80.0 59.6 10.0 59.1 35.6
Livestock rearing 55.4 10.0 38.5 46.7 40.2 23.3 44.7 26.7
Poultry rearing 49.2 23.3 29.8 23.3 48.8 46.7 42.6 31.1
Valley farming in plains/ 5.1 16.7 82.2 46.7 44.6 16.7 44.0 26.7
valley/fringe land
Off-farm activities
Weaving 60.2 0.0 15.9 0.0 46.7 43.3 40.9 14.4
Small business 5.0 20.0 13.4 6.7 40.4 43.3 19.6 23.3
Govt. service 1.5 0.0 0.9 3.3 12.2 0.0 4.9 1.1
Private service 5.6 20.0 8.8 0.0 13.1 10.0 9.2 10.0
Wage labour 68.2 60.0 51.4 70.0 47.7 73.3 55.8 67.8
Selling fuelwood 44.7 60.0 28.0 50.0 19.4 0.0 30.7 36.7
Source: Jamaluddin et al. (2010)

such as quality seed and institutional credit, and lack of knowledge about the correct application of fertilizers and
pesticides (Talukder et al. 2013; FAO 2013). Other critical hurdles include the lack of value chain development,
and especially of agro-processing, storage, and transportation facilities, which results in huge post-harvest losses.
While Bangladesh has many large agro-processing companies in many parts of the country, the CHT has virtually
no agro-processing or collection points (FAO 2013). As a result, most agricultural produce is sold as raw material
at a low price.

Agriculture in the CHT is largely rainfed. The monsoon rainfall is very high, around 2210 mm annually, and the
CHT has considerable surface and groundwater resources as a result, which offers considerable potential to expand
irrigation systems and enhance productivity. A recent study by Islam et al. (2016) suggested that given the high
monsoon rainfall, irrigation using rainwater harvested by constructing check dams would be very cost-effective and
can increase cropping intensity and crop productivity considerably.

The CHT region has a congenial agro-climatic environment for growing a number of high-value crops. The area
is suitable for growing fruit such as pineapple, mango, papaya, orange, banana, and jackfruit; a wide range of
vegetables; and spices, herbs, and nuts, including ginger, turmeric, and cashew. There is a rapidly rising demand in
Bangladesh for high-value products, and especially a growing demand for CHT fruits, spices, nuts, and off-season
vegetables. If the supply constraints can be removed and market linkages improved, including agro-processing
and value addition, the CHT can emerge as an important centre of high-value agriculture. Rapid growth in high-
value agriculture will accelerate the overall growth of the agricultural sector and benefit a large number of poor
smallholders, creating additional employment opportunities as well as contributing to achieving food and nutrition
security and reducing poverty. Ravallion and Datt (1996), Thirtle et al. (2002), and Warr (2003) have shown
that in developing countries where a sizeable proportion of the population depends on agriculture, growth in the
agricultural sector has a more favourable effect on poverty reduction than growth in other sectors of the economy.

Box 1 describes how in Vietnam the Ede ethnic group in Vietnam was able to escape poverty through institutional
support for cash crop production. A similar type of institutional support could be given to the ethnic minorities in the
CHT to boost both cereal and non-cereal production, thereby enhancing their livelihoods.

18
Box 1: Escaping poverty with cash crop Box 2: Commodity diversification among the
production: Ede ethnic minority, Buon Dung Hmong ethnic minority in Lao Cai Province,
village, Dak Lak province, Vietnam Vietnam
The Ede are the largest indigenous ethnic minority in Dak The Hmong, an ethnic minority group in Na Loc village in Lao
Lak province of Vietnam, comprising about 20% of the Cai Province of Vietnam, are considered to be among the
population. Agriculture, particularly shifting cultivation, ‘poorest of the poor’. For a while, the farmers in Na Loc
was their primary livelihood with up to 90% of households produced a significant quantity of pineapples which were sold
practising subsistence agriculture, while a quarter of in a nearby Vietnamese market for good returns. But then the
households suffered acute poverty. These ethnic minority market dropped, and as they were relying on a single market,
households shifted from subsistence to various cash crops the farmers did not know what to do for their livelihoods. They
including coffee. The government extension department came up with a range of innovative ideas and diversified from
provided training, the Vietnam Bank of Agriculture provided a single commodity to other cash crops such as a combination
loans, and the Farmer’s Union provided market information of hybrid and traditional seng cu seeds, corn, banana, and
and storage and processing facilities. The cash crops tea. Now they again earn a reasonable income but their
provided a high income, the farmers’ economic condition livelihoods are more resilient.
improved, and families are investing their profits in
purchasing additional land in neighbouring villages as well Source: World Bank (2009)
as constructing improved houses in traditional Ede style.

Source: World Bank (2009)

Diversification of livelihood options and enhancing resilience

The majority of households in the CHT depend heavily on agriculture or other land-based activities for their
livelihoods and are therefore highly vulnerable to shocks such as crop failure, price fluctuations, and natural
disasters. Such events threaten household income, food and nutrition security, and livelihood security. It is
important to diversify household livelihood options in order to reduce risk and build resilience (Ellis 2000). There
is considerable potential to diversify livelihood options in the CHT in both the farm and non-farm sectors, and thus
create opportunities for additional income and employment, for example by growing medicinal and aromatic plants
or mushrooms and producing handicrafts (Rasul 2015).

Box 2 provides a classic example of how farmers’ livelihoods can suffer greatly due to over reliance on a single
commodity, and can recover through crop diversification. The ethnic communities of the Chittagong Hill Tracts of
Bangladesh can learn from this and focus on diversifying their livelihood options.

Beekeeping is another important livelihood option in the CHT. The indigenous honeybee Apis cerana is common
in all three districts, but most people harvest honey from wild nests and only a few manage this bee in hives, even
though beekeeping with Apis cerana is common in other areas of the Himalayas. The CHT is rich in bee floral
resources, thus there is great potential for promoting beekeeping for income generation.

In the past, ICIMOD has promoted beekeeping in all three districts of the CHT in various projects, especially the
UNDP Livelihoods Project and later the bee project financed by the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC).
The projects focused on building the capacity of partner institutions and potential beekeepers in various aspects
of beekeeping management and honey production. The pilot activities with local communities were a success and
the income of beekeepers at the project sites increased by 25–30%. At present, approximately 5,000 to 7,000
kg of honey is produced in the CHT annually. The honey is favoured in the local markets and sells at almost twice
the price of honey produced in the plains. Recently, the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Affairs has
been promoting beekeeping as an important income generating activity for improving the livelihoods of local
communities.

Beekeeping has another very important advantage. With the decline in naturally occurring pollination, the role
of domesticated bees for pollination has gained prominence in many countries. Box 3 describes the success of
beekeeping for pollination of cash crops, particularly apples, in Himachal Pradesh, India, a practice that has proven

19
Box 3: Using honeybees for apple pollination: beneficial to both farmers and beekeepers. The CHT
A case study in Himachal Pradesh region of Bangladesh is renowned for the cultivation
of horticultural products, and provision of pollination
Honeybees are one of the most efficient providers of the
services via beekeeping could also be initiated in the
pollination services essential for enhancing agricultural
region to increase productivity.
yield and ensuring human food security. They also provide
by-products rich in nutrition and health benefits such as
honey, beeswax, and pollen, which when marketed well Skills enhancement for women
can further increase household income. As the diversity and
abundance of naturally occurring pollinators declines, the Providing vocational training to women is another
role of domesticated bees – one of the greatest providers of promising approach that can be used to enhance
pollination services – is becoming increasingly important. rural livelihoods in poor and remote areas of the
Apple farmers in the small northwest Indian province of CHT region. When women are given access to new
Himachal Pradesh use honeybees, both Apis cerana and Apis skills, they can contribute significantly to household
mellifera, for pollination of apples. The fee for renting bee welfare and reduce rural drudgery. For example, in
colonies is INR 800–900 (USD 13–17) per colony for the Altit, one of the remotest villages in Gilgit-Baltistan,
apple flowering period. A well-organized system has been Pakistan, female poverty was very high as a result
established for hiring and renting honeybee colonies. The
of strict cultural norms that confined women to the
use of beekeeping for pollination of cash crops has proven
performance of household chores. In recent times,
to be of great benefit not only to the farmers but also to the
the young women in the village have been able to
beekeepers. Beekeepers receive money for the pollination
services of their honeybees as well as benefiting from bee overcome these age-old norms and form a group
products such as honey, while farmers’ income is increased that has enabled them to acquire skills and training
through the boosting of crop productivity. and work in areas that were previously closed
to them (Box 4). The initiative has harnessed an
Source: Uma Partap, ICIMOD entrepreneurial culture and helped the women to
enhance their earnings and find ways to alleviate
rural poverty. The women in the CHT could profit
from a similar skills development programme which
could help them channel their creativity and labour
Box 4: Women’s social enterprise: A success into productive work that generates income. Skills
story in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan development will increase confidence and self-
Altit is a beautiful historical village in the Hunza-Nagar district reliance, increase empowerment, and enable women
of Pakistan made up of 722 households and renowned for its to take important decisions related to their households
ancient fort. The locals’ main source of income is agriculture. and communities .
In 2003, a project called Women’s Social Enterprise was
initiated as a pilot activity in order to engage young girls in Protecting agrobiodiversity in farming
the heritage development activities of the Aga Khan Cultural
Service Pakistan (AKCSP). Initially, six boys and six girls were The CHT is a centre of biocultural diversity, with both
trained in plan-table survey, but the boys later withdrew. The rich natural resources and cultural diversity (Halim
technical enterprise continued to train young women from et al. 2007). The region has a large proportion
marginalized families who were then engaged as surveyors of Bangladesh’s natural environment and a wide
and in technical documentation of heritage assets. Their
diversity of animals and plants. Even more important,
success gained attention from various local and international
it is home to a large number of local varieties of
organizations who provided resources to expand the training.
domesticated plant species (landraces) that are
Now renamed CIQAM, this women-led social enterprise has
adapted to the local environmental and climatic
been providing technical education since 2008 to develop
women’s skills in non-traditional areas including masonry and conditions. The agro-ecosystem in the CHT comprises
carpentry, as well as modern computer technology. Group cereals, vegetables, oil plants, spices, condiments,
members have learned to manufacture products like chairs, culinary herbs, and floricultural and medicinal plants.
tables, windows, interiors, and others. The group has installed There is a wide genetic diversity within species (for
a saw mill and seasoning technology and developed a green example, at least 18 varieties/cultivars of rice). In
wood supply chain in other villages. These young women can addition to the agrobiodiversity, farmers use around
now earn their own livelihoods and participate in the local 50 wild plant species as food, which are also linked
economy as a result of their acquisition of non-farming and to food security and nutrition. The diversity of local
non-traditional skills. domesticated plant varieties and the biodiversity in the
Source: CIQAM (2012); AKRSP (2015)

20
jhum forest fallows represents a rich genetic pool of useful plant species. Most of the farmers in the CHT still use no
chemical fertilizers, insecticides, or pesticides, thereby helping to preserve agrobiodiversity and organic production.
This local agrobiodiversity can play an important role in adapting local livelihoods in a sustainable way and offers a
gene pool that could be more widely exploited under access and benefit sharing approaches.

Horticulture and high-value products

Horticulture and high value products can be seen as an opportunity and engine for sustainable development that
has a positive impact on a wide range of indicators (health, wealth, employment, market opportunities, and women
empowerment, among others). At present, most farmers in the CHT region rely on subsistence farming, but there
is tremendous potential for growing high-value products such as fruit and vegetables and medicinal and aromatic
plants, as well as for agroforestry. The hill slopes of the CHT are suitable for growing a number of high value
fruits such as banana, pineapple, papaya, jackfruit, guava, and lemons. Large-scale commercial plantation of
banana, papaya, lemons, and some other fruits is already being practised in the region, but with limited technical
knowledge. Farmers rarely use proper plantation methods or the appropriate application of fertilizers and pesticides.
With proper plantation and integrated pest management techniques, the productivity of high-value fruits could be
greatly enhanced. The majority of farmers grow vegetables for household consumption, but there is an immense
potential for growing high value produce such as off-season vegetables. The fallow upland areas could be used
for cultivation of off season vegetables during the summer months, and this should be highlighted to promote
commercial farming.

A number of factors have limited the ability of farmers to exploit the potential for growing high value products,
especially issues related to access to input and output markets and access to information, credit, and other

21
Box 5: The success of apple production in institutional services. Farmers do not have easy access
Himachal Pradesh, India to quality seed, modern agricultural tools, fertilizers, or
pesticides, which are essential to increase productivity.
In Himachal Pradesh – also called the ‘Fruit State’ or ‘Apple
Furthermore, they are unaware of seed quality and are
State’ of India – 32% (196,000 ha) of arable land is under
potentially exposed to the production of adulterated
horticultural crops and 312,000 tons of fruit are produced
annually. Apples are the main cash crop, accounting for seeds (FAO 2013). Farmers also face problems
42% (78,000 ha) of the total area under fruit cultivation and related to storage, collection mechanisms, grading
about 90% (277,000t) of total fruit production. Today, apple and packaging, and transportation, among others.
growing contributes 60–80% of the total household income Value chain development with better processing
in many villages. There are about 150,000 apple growers in and marketing would help make the most of the
the state. In 2005, apples contributed an estimated USD 1.7 opportunities. Box 5 illustrates the success of apple
billion per year to the state economy, with about USD150–170 farming in Himachal Pradesh, and provides a good
million being contributed directly and the remainder indirectly example of the type of high value products that
through jobs to thousands of people, not only in Himachal but have been gaining in popularity and success. This
also in Asia’s biggest fruit market in Delhi during the six-month
type of success story could well be replicated in the
apple selling season. The sale of apples has brought cash to
Chittagong Hill Tracts, which has similar socio-physical
mountain households, which in turn has raised the standards
characteristics. At the same time, farmers should be
of living of the farmers and hundreds of others that depend on
careful to study some of the challenges, for example
the trade. The apple economy of Himachal Pradesh extends
beyond these mountains into the plains, spilling over even ensuring pollination through planting of pollenizer
into neighbouring countries. The orchards employ tens of trees and maintaining bees.
thousands of labourers and provide business to producers of
packing materials, truck operators, contractors, wholesalers, Forest resources
and retailers. Income from apple growing has seeped into
every strata of society, enough to make the apple growing Forest is one of the most important resources in the
areas of Himachal prosperous. CHT and has contributed to the livelihoods of the
ethnic minorities in the form of food, energy, and
Source: Partap and Ahmad (2005)
timber, among others, as well as providing wider
benefits such as the protection of water resources,
health benefits, and national revenue generation.
Forests contribute a significant portion of the CHT economy (46%) followed by crop/fruit production, and are also
important at national level (Khan et al. 2007). Forests provide important ecosystem services that play a significant
role in economic development, environmental protection, ecological sustainability, and human wellbeing, both
within the CHT and downstream. Around 40% of Bangladesh’s forest area lies in the CHT with 319,614 ha of
reserved forest (RF) – close to a quarter of the CHT land area – and more area in the form of protected forest,
sanctuaries, unclassed state forest (USF), and village common forest (VCF) (Roy 2002; Rasul 2015).

In the CHT, historical forest management systems like the village common forests (VCFs) helped protect local water
bodies near the settlements, among other functions, and forests are still a source of fuelwood, herbs, roots, bamboo
shoots, wild fruit, vines or leaves for cooking, and medicinal plants – all vital to the lives of the ethnic communities (
Halim and Roy 2007). The forests play a vital role both in biodiversity conservation and providing daily necessities.
Over time, however, a considerable part of the forestland in the CHT has become degraded – reduced to grass or
with scattered trees, bamboo, and weeds (Altrell et al. 2007; Hossain 2013).

Forest protection is vital for sustainable development in the CHT. Box 6 describes an example of how community
forestry has helped conserve forests and initiate development activities in many hill districts of Nepal. Given the
similar biophysical and geographical characteristics of the CHT region to the hill areas of Nepal, it seems likely
that a similar model could be successfully adapted to protect and regenerate the forest in the CHT. The community
forest approach has not only helped preserve the forest ecosystem in Nepal, it has also improved the livelihoods of
local people through increased income generation by forest user groups. The income is invested in development
activities and pro-poor programmes that benefit the whole community. There is growing trend towards farm forestry
in the CHT, and considerable opportunity for protection and development of village common forest. Community-led
forest management offers a very promising approach for regenerating forest, conserving biodiversity, conserving
watersheds, and improving the lives and livelihoods of the people of the CHT.

22
Box 6: Contribution of community forestry to livelihoods in Nepal
In Nepal, community forestry (CF) has become a well-established management form over the past three decades. CF is a
major government programme in the forestry sector implemented throughout the country. About a quarter of all forest is
managed by community forest user groups (CFUGs), with more than 14,000 CFUGs, involving 1.6 million households,
currently managing more than 1 million hectares of forestland. Income generation is an important activity. The annual income
of the CFUGs is estimated to be more than USD 10 million, with forest products contributing the major share.

A study conducted in three mid-hill districts – Lamjung, Tanahu, and Kaski – showed that most CFUGs generate income from
a variety of sources including the sale of forest products, membership fees, and fines collected from rule violators. The CFUGs
invested more than half of their income in development activities such as school buildings, roads, temples, water reservoirs
and irrigation, offices and community buildings, teachers’ salaries, and electricity/mills; close to a quarter in pro-poor
programs such as loans and self-employment skills-oriented training; 17% in forest development; and 6% in running the CFUG
institution – thus supporting sustainable development and providing a tool for poverty reduction.

Source: Pokharel (2009)

The forests can also be used as a sink for greenhouse

gasses. The forests in the CHT, as elsewhere in
Box 7: Community-based REDD+ approach: a
Bangladesh, can benefit from a greenhouse gas win-win solution
reduction regime under the Kyoto Protocol Clean
Development Mechanism (CDM). The implementation A large proportion of Nepal’s population relies heavily on
of CDM projects can help prevent further degradation forests for its livelihood, putting significant pressure on these
of forests and restore depleted areas through resources. In 2009, ICIMOD initiated a four-year REDD+ pilot
project to test the feasibility of implementing a REDD+ incentive
increased reforestation and afforestation activities.
mechanism. The project provided an economic incentive for
There is considerable potential for Bangladesh to
biomass improvement, helping to reduce carbon emissions,
participate in a carbon trading scheme, thus benefiting
enhance forest growth and promote carbon sequestration,
both economically and environmentally (Shin et al. whilst improving people’s livelihoods.
2006). Box 7 describes a pilot carbon trading scheme
underway in the neighbouring country of Nepal. The Source: Khadka et al. (2014)
scheme has helped to reduce carbon emissions,
enhance forest growth, and promote carbon
sequestration, while improving people’s livelihoods. A similar model could be replicated in the CHT region, where
the forest has degraded rapidly over recent years.

Livestock
The Government of Bangladesh has given top priority to livestock development in recent years to meet the growing
demand for milk, meat, and eggs, and to create employment and generate income for the rural poor. The CHT
has considerable potential for the development of livestock for a number of reasons including availability of land
for grazing and fodder production, natural water resources, hard working population, changing lifestyles of the
hill people, increasing literacy rate, and presence of indigenous breeds of different species of livestock and poultry
suited to the local conditions. The CHT offers an alternative for fodder production in Bangladesh where the plains
are more favourable for crop production, especially rice. The lakes in the CHT can be used for duck farming with
minimum investment, while pork is a favourite food for most of the tribal people and hence pig farming is another
opportunity. The CHT is a suitable area for sustainable poultry farming, especially broilers and layers, for sheep and
goat farming due to the abundant grazing areas, and for dairy farming due to the availability of grazing pasture,
opportunity for fodder production, and low cost of farm labour. Table 12 shows the present livestock and poultry
population in the CHT.

Given the huge potential for livestock development in the CHT, both the public and private sectors should undertake
special initiatives to promote this sector. Livestock can be one of the key livelihood options for disadvantaged
ethnic communities.

23
 Fisheries Table 12: Livestock and poultry population

Aquaculture offers important economic Number

prospects for the CHT through enhanced Rangamati Khagrachari Bandarban CHT total
fish farming and increased fish production in
Cow 184,654 134,814 170,927 490,395
the abundant freshwater creeks and ponds
Goat 142,457 109,211 63,623 315,291
and Kaptai Lake. There are an estimated
Sheep 2,897 3,349 740 6,986
5,573 creeks with a total area of 1,378
ha that could be used for aquaculture with Buffalo 11,470 2,890 1,517 15,877
a slight modification of the natural flow Pig 74,028 37,110 43,195 154,333
using structures like small earthen dams Chicken 483,994 851,344 297,234 1,632,572
(Table 13). Small ponds fed by creeks Duck 112,837 69,843 51,520 234,200
can also be constructed and used to raise Source: DLS (2012)
fish. The Bangladesh Fisheries Research
Institute (BFRI) has introduced pen and Table 13: Creeks in the CHT
cage aquaculture in creeks and lagoons
in and around the Kaptai Lake to support District Number of Creeks Area (ha)
the Bangladesh Fisheries Development Khagrachari 2,660 721
Corporation (BFDC) (FAO 2013). The BFRI Rangamati 1,557 352
looked at various adaptations of the cage Bandarban 1,356 304
culture technique, which showed promising
CHT Total 5,573 1378
results, and found that the spawn could be
Source: CEGIS (2013)
nursed in the creek environment in lean
periods to raise fingerlings for the lake. Increasing creek aquaculture together with cage farming in the lake could
improve productivity and generate income and employment, thus improving rural livelihoods. Production of cages
and pens using local resources could be encouraged to lower the cost.

The average yield from the lake and creeks is shown in Table 14. At present, the annual production of fish from the
lake is only 130 kg/ha, with 110 kg/ha of this from natural catch, which is far below the potential. The yield from
creeks is several times higher than the natural catch from the reservoir. Selected fast growing species with a low-
cost diet could dramatically increase production, and supplemental feed used in cages will indirectly help increase
the fertility of the lake water. Community
participation will be essential for the success Table 14: Fish yield from the Kaptai Lake and creeks
of the stocking program; while involving the
local fishermen in raising stocking materials Kaptai Lake
could help the success of additional stocking Area during monsoon (ha) 68,300
programs. Periodic training for fishermen on Area during dry season (ha) 58,000
the Fish Act and fishing regulations can be Annual production of fish (kg/ha) 130
arranged at times in the cycle when fishing
Average retrieval rate of stocked carp (%) 24
is banned. There are good prospects for
Average yield from natural catch (kg/ha) 110
integrated farming of fish-cum-poultry, fish-
cattle-poultry, and fish-livestock-agriculture Creeks
in the hill districts, which would not only Average yield from creeks (kg/ha) 966
improve the economic conditions of hill Source: GoB and FAO (2013)
residents but also their nutritional status.

Kaptai Lake
Kaptai Lake covers an area of approximately 1,036 km2 and is the largest man-made lake in east Asia. Although
the lake has submerged a vast area of productive agricultural land and displaced a huge population, it has also
created vast resources. Properly harnessed, its full potential in terms of tourism, freshwater fish, and navigation
could transform the economy of the CHT. Integrated management of the lake and its surrounding lands, forests, and
settlements is required to ensure sustainable use, raise environmental awareness, improve the environmental quality
of the lake, and make the most of the opportunities it offers.

24
 Agro-based micro-enterprises Box 8: The success of micro-enterprise
development in Udayapur district, Nepal
The growing trend towards increased production
of fruits and vegetables in the CHT hints at the A study was conducted to analyse the impacts of micro-
huge potential for agri-business and agro-based enterprise in improving the socioeconomic condition of
entrepreneurs in the headquarters town of Gaighat and in
industries. A conducive environment for private
Hadiya village in Udayapur district, Nepal. Credit, training,
investment is crucial and appropriate mechanisms
and marketing support was provided by the Micro Enterprise
for benefit-sharing from genetic resources must also
Development Programme (MEDEP) to facilitate micro-
be developed. Once these are in place, agro-based enterprises focused on high value products such as honey,
microenterprises can be promoted as an alternative cardamom, fruits, herbs, and mushrooms, as well as bamboo
livelihood option in the region. The success of micro- products, metalwork and engineering, and tapari (leaf
enterprise development in improving socioeconomic plates). The number of micro-enterprises increased from 4 to
conditions in hill areas was clearly demonstrated in a 32 in Gaighat and from 9 to 21 in Hadiya between 2004
study in Udayapur, Nepal (Box 8). and 2007, and the average monthly income of entrepreneurs
increased from NPR 4,627 to NPR 7,891 (+70%) in Gaighat,
The CHT has considerable potential for the and from NPR 3,538 to NPR 7,752 (+119%) in Hadiya
development of agri-business which can be supported (NPR 100 = USD 75). The socioeconomic conditions of
via provision of the necessary support services, the entrepreneurs improved considerably, as shown by an
including technology, finance, and marketing (FAO improvement in physical assets, increased enrolment rates at
2013). Farmers produce many types of perishable schools of all levels, and increased expenditure on basic items
fruit, but only a fraction of households are engaged like food, clothes, education, and medicine.
in fruit processing activities such as making achar
Source: Lama (2010)
(pickles) and chutney (sauce). Agro-processing
facilities need to be established to enable farmers to
achieve better prices for their produce. Interested individuals or groups of farmers can be trained in processes such
as improved drying, grinding, and packaging of spices like turmeric, Indian bay leaf, and black pepper, as well as
extraction of oleoresin or making candy, paste, and others. This kind of processing would not only limit post-harvest
losses, but would also help to enhance rural livelihoods. The region has an immense potential for the production of
a number of high-value low volume cash crops such as off-season vegetables, fruits, seeds and others, the kind of
agro-enterprise development model described in Box 7 could be implemented for the promotion of such cash crops
in the region.

There is also a need to link smallholder farmers to markets through value chain development. The success of this
approach was illustrated in a case study into the ginger value chain in Myanmar (Box 9). Ginger is an important
non-cereal crop with considerable potential to increase the income of poor farmers, but this requires better links
to markets and product enhancement. The type of innovative model described in Box 9 could also be replicated in
the CHT.

Box 9: Linking smallholders to markets through value chain development: ginger in Myanmar
Farmers in Myanmar were able to produce ginger, but had to sell locally and received only low returns for their efforts. A ginger
project was introduced which followed a two-pronged strategy. The first consisted of strengthening groups and using a collective
approach to supply ginger in bulk from one place. Six collection points/ginger seed banks were established (one in each village)
on a cost-sharing basis and the capacity of the community groups enhanced. The second part of the strategy consisted of identifying
an anchor company which was interested in receiving a continuous supply of good quality ginger. The project team facilitated a
dialogue between the communities and the regional agent of the company. The agent recognized the business benefits of sourcing
ginger in bulk from one collection point and making a collective deal rather than negotiating with individual suppliers. Farmers
brought ginger to the collection point and sold it collectively. In one year, 149 t of ginger were sold to the company at an average
price of USD 0.28 per kg (MMK 335), bringing in a total revenue of USD 41,353. Farmers were able to sell at a higher price
than in the local market and the weighing scales provided by the project ensured that the payment was based on a standard unit.
Farmers also saved on transportation costs and time. The managing director of the anchor company came to the pilot villages
to hold meetings with the communities, made a commitment to buy ginger (and turmeric) in the coming years, and promised to
provide business-embedded services like the supply of quality seeds and fertilizer to grow turmeric. The company agreed not to
charge interest on any money provided for purchasing seeds and fertilizer, and the communities will pay back the amount at the
time of harvest. It is hoped that the increased market linkages will enhance farmer’s income and wellbeing.

Source: Surendra Raj Joshi, ICIMOD

25
Box 10: Private sector engagement in flower Engaging the private sector in marketing
distribution in Mizoram, India and skills development
The flower producer Zopar Group is playing an important role As a result of the poor marketing facilities in the CHT,
in a public-private partnership initiative (PPP) by providing
farmers receive very low prices for their produce and
storage, distribution, and marketing infrastructure in Mizoram
the potential of the region remains underutilized (Rasul
and Meghalaya in North East India. The group started a
2015). Private sector investment in agribusiness can
turnkey project in 2005 for floricultural and horticultural crops
on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis and has set up poly- help reduce poverty and strengthen food and nutrition
houses covering 30 hectares and facilitated construction of security via pro-poor development (IFAD 2012).
much more through regional state departments. The company Market access for poor rural farmers can be extended
currently provides technical expertise, equipment, and and secured by creating linkages between smallholder
marketing services (buyback method) to about 2,000 farmers farmers and agro-processors or commercial
selected by state horticultural departments; a technical team buyers. Private sector involvement in packaging and
provides on-site training to farmers. As fresh flowers are storage facilities and distribution of produce should
perishable, Zopar has set up 12 cold storage facilities in substantially reduce post-harvest losses and help
North East India, which provide a shelf-life for the flowers of farmers to escape poverty. Private entrepreneurs need
up to seven days. The group originally focused on catering to to be encouraged to set up storage, distribution, and
the domestic market but is now expanding to markets overseas
marketing infrastructure, for example cold storage
by creating a surplus of premium quality flowers. Among
chains, along major highways to bring perishable
others, the group has developed an export-oriented project for
produce rapidly to marketing hubs and support
orchids grown primarily in Mizoram, and now plans a project
to export Dutch roses to markets in Southeast and West Asia, development of the horticultural potential in the
which will be trialled on a two hectare plot in Mizoram. The region. This type of approach has been recommended
activities are also being extended to the production of exotic in North East India, which faces very similar challenges
fruits and vegetables. This public private partnership enables to the CHT (ICC 2013). Public-private partnership
the local hill farmers to benefit directly from the diversification (PPP) or leasing approaches could also be explored
to high value products by assuring a market and providing the for cold chain operations. An initiative of this type has
necessary marketing chain infrastructure. been introduced in Meghalaya and Mizoram in India,
in which flowers are being distributed outside the
Source: Bora (2013); ICC (2013)
region by a private distributor, Zopar, which supplies
seed and cold chain storage facilities to farmers
(Box 10).

Private sector involvement in development of skills and rural enterprises can also play a key role in improving
household productivity, employability, and income-generation opportunities for rural people as well as enhancing
food security and promoting environmentally sustainable rural development and livelihoods (Reddy and Anuradha
2013). Rural enterprise development based on local resources and using a PPP model can generate large-scale
employment opportunities, as shown in the example Box 10. The CHT has considerable potential in terms of natural
resources and human capital, development of rural enterprises and skills in partnership with the private sector is a
promising approach to help address the problem of unemployment and underutilization of resources.

Watershed restoration
Watershed degradation has affected the lives and livelihoods of the people of the CHT and affected food
production, health, and nutrition. There are many wise practices and considerable experience available in restoring
degraded watersheds in different parts of the HKH region that could be applied in the CHT. ICIMOD’s experience
in watershed management over more than 20 years suggests that integrated soil, water, nutrient, and vegetation
management can lead to greater productivity and increase ecosystem resilience. Activities such as mixed cropping,
plantations of nitrogen-fixing trees to improve the regeneration of soil fertility during the fallow period, community-
based biodiversity and forest conservation, contour planting, use of mulch, composting, contour beds, terracing,
vegetative check dams, participatory resource mapping and land use planning can all contribute to watershed
restoration (Sharma et al. 2007 ).

The many water bodies in the CHT offer a potential source of water for livestock development irrigation,
aquaculture, and poultry and duck farming, among others. Water pumped up from the rivers below could also

26
be used to relieve the moisture stress of plants and Box 11: A watershed project in Nepali mid-hill
grasses on hilltops where the soils are sandy and districts works to address problems of water
dry. This would keep grazing land green and usable scarcity
all year round. But to maximize the benefit of water
Mid-hill village life in Nepal, as elsewhere in South Asia, is a
resources, and avoid the negative impacts of over-
daily struggle to cope with the problems posed by steep slopes
exploitation, it is important to use an integrated and a demanding climate. Streams and rivers often lie far
management approach. below hill settlements and cannot provide the water needed
by households due to the high cost of carrying by hand or
Box 11 illustrates how watershed management
pumping uphill. Thus the springs (or ‘mul’) that rise in the hills
practices can help address problems of water scarcity
are critical to survival, supplying water for drinking, irrigation,
in the dry season. Even the CHT region faces water and livestock, and generally sustaining domestic needs and
scarcity at this time, and similar models of sustained the rural economy, especially during the long dry season.
social and community mobilization could be These springs are fed by groundwater which accumulates in
replicated in the three CHT districts to promote water underground aquifers during the monsoon. But many are now
conservation and replenish the drying springs. drying up, threatening a whole way of life.

ICIMOD worked with the residents and local administration in

Tourism Kavre District in Nepal to track local water processes and find
ways to best utilize water and replenish the drying springs.
The CHT holds immense potential for tourism
The project made some critical insights into spring water
development due to its richness in natural vegetation
dynamics and local water management practices. ICIMOD
and ecosystems. The region presents a contrasting combined advanced science with community knowledge and
topography of high hills, vast lakes, and scenic used sustained social and community mobilization to promote
valleys, while rich ethnic and cultural diversity offers water conservation in the watershed and construct recharge
an attractive contrast to the more homogenous plains ponds to replenish the drying springs. As a result, community
areas. With its varied cultures, wide open spaces, and perception on watershed conservation and spring revival
nature-friendly trekking opportunities, the CHT can be has changed. Local government bodies like the municipality
an ideal place for developing tourism as an industry. and village development committees (VDCs) have made
However, although there are some signs of growth rehabilitation of old ponds and spring protection activities a
in tourism, the huge potential has remained largely top priority in their annual development plans. Several projects
unutilized, not least because of the decades long for pond rehabilitation and construction, spring protection,
and water distribution have been proposed for 2017. Efforts
tensions and limitations on visitors, and much needs
are underway to incorporate experience and knowledge from
to be done in terms of infrastructure development,
Kavre district into Nepali government plans and activities
especially connecting the remote and mystic parts of
and out scale throughout the mid-hills of Nepal where water
the region with the main areas of the country. scarcity is problematic.
For example, Bandarban, ‘the roof of Bangladesh’, Source: Shariar Wahid, Coordinator, Koshi Basin Programme,
has been referred to as a hidden paradise by the ICIMOD
National Tourism Organization of Bangladesh. The
Bandarban sub-district of Ruma, in particular, holds
immense potential for tourism with popular natural scenic areas like the Boga lake, Rijuk waterfall, Darjiling para,
Passim para, Double Fall, and Tajing Dong hill, among others. But the basic amenities necessary for tourism are
lacking. The hotels in Ruma bazaar are very small and have limited facilities (personal observation during ICIMOD
field visit, January 2015). The present accommodation facilities are far too limited and do not meet the high
quality standards required for region to be promoted for world class tourism. The CHT currently faces a number
of challenges in service supply, with problems related to the supply of water and electricity, a poor transportation
system, and limited accommodation facilities, among others. If these problems are addressed, then tourism can
flourish, thereby contributing to the local economy of the region.

The ethnic communities in the CHT have unique cultures and traditions, and this together with the immense natural
beauty of the region can be a major source of attraction for tourists. Box 12 describes the success of community-
based tourism in the indigenous mountain and forest area of Luang Namtha province in Laos. Local communities
were engaged in tourism activities as guides, porters, hotel and lodge entrepreneurs, and so forth. The community
involvement helped boost tourism in the area, while benefiting the local population. A similar approach could be
promoted in the CHT region, which has many similarities with Luang Namtha.

27
Box 12: Community-based tourism by ethnic populations in Luang Namtha Province, Laos
To alleviate poverty and promote socioeconomic development, the Ministries of Agriculture and Forestry, and Information and
Culture carried out a community-based tourism project in collaboration with UNESCO in the Luang Namtha Province of Laos.
The project provided training to build skills in different tourism activities such as homestay, running a guest house, tour operations
and transportation, and monitoring tourist safety. The project also designed trekking and cultural programmes, a river tour, and
a jungle safari. These programmes provided opportunities for tourists to experience the area’s most distinctive natural attractions
and visit ethnic minority settlements, where lodging was provided by the local communities. This provided an opportunity for the
local people to participate in tourism planning for their area and to share in the benefits. As a result of these activities, tourist
numbers increased. A survey of international tourists found that the two strongest factors attracting tourists to the area were ethnic
minorities (68% of respondents) and the natural world (66%). Cultural attractions (50%) and the novelty effect of a new destination
(44%) were also strong influences. The increased employment of local people resulted in an improvement in their socioeconomic
conditions and helped them move away from subsistence agriculture. Overall, the community-based tourism generated USD
137,794 in gross revenue between 2001 and 2005, of which USD 9,485 went to village funds for village development.

Source: Suntikul (2007)

Migration
Poor social networks, low human skills, and limited access to finance, have made people from the CHT more
reluctant to migrate to improve their livelihood opportunities than those from other parts of Bangladesh. In recent
years, a small number of people from the CHT have migrated for labour, both within the country and abroad.
Overall, Chittagong state accounted for 10% of the total migration flow from Bangladesh between 2005 and 2014,
but there was barely any migration from the ethnic communities in the CHT districts during this time. The younger
generation is keen to work in the industrial and service sectors, and with proper support there is a huge potential to
increase labour mobility from the CHT. If the youth are provided with the skills needed for foreign employment and
access to finance, then they can acquire better earning opportunities abroad, which will in turn help raise the rural
economy via remittances, as shown in Table 15 for the neighbouring country of Nepal. In Nepal, the percentage of
households receiving remittances increased significantly between 1995/96 and 2010/11, while the average amount
received per household also increased substantially, to around one-third of total household income.

CHT: A gateway to the east

The CHT is located in the southeast of Bangladesh and has borders with India and Myanmar. Bangladesh has been
focusing on increasing economic and trade engagement with countries to the east, particularly Myanmar, Thailand,
and China, as well as developing an economic corridor with Kunming. The CHT is ideally located to provide a
gateway for this. The region can be promoted as a trade transit between Bangladesh and the countries to the east, if
regional cooperation flourishes and a favourable environment is established.

Table 15: Household remittances in Nepal

Description 1995/1996 2003/2004 2010/2011

%
Share of agricultural sector in wage employment 53 37 35
Share of non-agricultural sector in wage employment 47 63 65
Households receiving remittances 23.4 31.9 55.8
Nominal average amount of remittances per recipient 15,160 34,698 80,436
household in NPR (USD) (261) (488) (1,077)
Share of remittances in total household income of recipients 26.6 35.4 30.9
Source: NLSS (2011)

28
Looking Forward: Framework for
Promoting Growth and Achieving
the SDGs
Key insights and messages
The analysis revealed some key insights that can help in designing and implementation of activities towards the
SDGs in the CHT.

ƒƒ The socio-cultural and geographic situation in the CHT leads to both unique problems and unique opportunities.
Although the whole of Bangladesh faces the challenge of widespread poverty, the development challenges
faced by the CHT are different to those in other parts of the country. Especially the ethnic minorities face multiple
challenges and are vulnerable to land being seized by others (land grabbing), which destroys the basis of their
livelihoods and forces them into a cycle of poverty. The unique situation of the CHT calls for CHT specific
strategies, one-size-fits-all approaches and solutions are unlikely to be effective for achieving the SDGs in the
CHT; on the contrary, they are more likely to intensify the existing inequities.
ƒƒ The ethnic communities in the CHT can contribute greatly to achieving the SDGs through strengthened solidarity
and cooperation and using their heritage and environment as assets for local development in an environment of
multi-stakeholder engagement.
ƒƒ Minority and indigenous communities often face greater environmental challenges as their livelihoods depend
heavily on natural resources. Alongside economic development, adequate measures need to be taken to ensure
environmental conservation and rehabilitation. The dependence of ethnic minorities on forests, and their role
as conservators should be recognized and supported in the modern context by linking forest conservation with
benefits for local people.
ƒƒ Peace and socioeconomic development are interlinked and mutually reinforcing. While peace is critical for
socioeconomic development, socioeconomic development is critical for preventing conflicts and establishing
peace. Poverty exacerbates inequality, increases social tensions, and destroys social harmony. Faster and more
inclusive development will be crucial for confidence building and promoting a peaceful situation in the CHT.
Development plans should recognize and address the ongoing ethnic and social tensions, particularly the divide
between the hills and the plains.
ƒƒ The aspirations of the ethnic minority people have changed considerably due to access to formal education,
increased urbanization, and increasing accessibility and affordability of basic services (Roy 2000). Especially the
younger generation are increasingly reluctant to engage in traditional livelihoods such as jhum farming and are
looking for alternative livelihoods in the non-farm sector.
ƒƒ Robust employment generating economic growth will be critical for eradicating poverty in the CHT. At present,
close to three-quarters of the working population is engaged in the farm sector, generally with low productivity.
It will be critical to increase farm productivity, especially through activities related to processing, value addition,
and marketing of produce, as well as to create jobs in the non-farm sector.
ƒƒ The region has many specific advantages. The CHT has good natural resources and considerable potential for
sustainable development. This potential needs to be used appropriately and managed sustainably to improve the
living standards and quality of life of the CHT people, while maintaining their equity, dignity, and cultural identity.
The CHT is strategically located with proximity to both eastern India and Myanmar and could provide an entry
point to the Southeast Asian markets.
ƒƒ Economic growth is important, but economic growth alone will not be enough to eradicate poverty and ensure
food security. Special measures will need to be taken to empower women and focus on social development, with
more equitable distribution of income, reduction in inequality, and increased measures for social protection.

29
 ƒƒ The CHT needs special attention and increased support for achieving the SDGs. The steep and rough terrain,
remoteness of villages, and protracted unrest have seriously impeded socioeconomic development. The region
has remained outside mainstream development for two decades due to conflict and now requires a massive
development thrust to bring it back in line with the rest of the country and put it on a fast track to achieving
the SDGs.

The individual SDGs are not standalone or mutually exclusive. Achievement or underachievement of any one
goal will have implications for the achievement of other goals. For example, ending poverty (SDG 1) depends on
achieving economic growth (SDG 8), food security (SDG 2), industrialization (SDG 9), good health (SDG 3), good
governance (SDG 16), and a healthy environment (SDG 15). Similarly, achieving food security (SDG 2) is critically
dependent on ensuring water availability (SDG 6), energy (SDG 7), a healthy environment (SDG 15) for food
production, economic growth (SDG 8), reducing inequality (SDG 10), and achieving gender equality (SDG 5).

The traditional livelihoods of the ethnic communities in the CHT are complex and precarious and farmers
must engage in multiple tasks to survive. They practice jhum, grow paddy in valley bottoms, raise livestock,
grow horticultural plants, practise agroforestry, collect timber, gather non-timber forest products including
medicinal plants, catch fish, hunt wild animals, and gather food. They also work as a wage labourers. Both the
interconnectedness of the SDGs, and the complex nature of livelihoods in the CHT, mean that an integrated
approach is essential for developing strategies to promote faster and inclusive development, conserve the
environment, and achieve the SDGs. The CHT requires differentiated measures, approaches, and delivery
mechanisms that are appropriate to the local cultural and social context and meet the specific needs, requirements,
and capabilities of the CHT people.

An integrated strategy
Figure 3 shows a multi-pronged integrated strategy with six interdependent components which can be used as a
framework for working towards realization of the SDGs. The key elements of the framework are

ƒƒ Ensuring peace, stability, and governance, putting in place appropriate policies, strengthening institutions,
and making the financial and technical resources available to provide the overall framework conditions for
implementing the SDGs;
ƒƒ Focussing on infrastructure, environment, health, and human resources as key drivers for economic growth and
development;
ƒƒ Focussing on land (food), water, and energy as fundamental requirements for existence and prosperity;
ƒƒ Developing the farm sector – agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and livestock – as the key to reducing poverty and
achieving food and nutrition security; and
ƒƒ Developing the non-farm sector as the key to creating decent work opportunities, accelerating economic growth,
and reducing poverty and vulnerability.

Key policy priorities

There are a number of key priorities for policy to underpin the specific activities.

ƒƒ Ensuring peace, stability, and good governance is a precondition for growth and development. The first priority
for this in the CHT is to implement the outstanding elements of the Peace Accord. Land disputes lie at the root
of the social tensions, particularly disputes between Paharis and Bengalis. Resolving these disputes will involve
recognizing the customary land rights of tribal ethnic people and restitution of occupied lands. Immediate
efforts should be made to stop any further seizing of ethnic minorities’ land by any of the various vested interest
groups. Leasing of common property land to outsiders for orchards or rubber plantations has created tension
and affected the livelihoods of local people. Such leases should be cancelled as soon as possible and the land
given back to local people to establish orchards, horticulture, forestry, and others. This alone will go a long
way to reducing social tensions and promoting social coherence, while helping local people to improve their
livelihoods.
ƒƒ The capacity of the CHT institutions needs to be strengthened to ensure that they are in a position to provide the
strong leadership and support needed for achieving the SDGs. The Peace Accord has led to a considerable level

30
 Figure 3: Enabling framework for achieving the SDGs in the CHT

Peace, stability and

good governance

Health (nutrition,
Environment sanitation) Infrastructure
(climate change Human resources (transportation,
adaptation, DRR) (education, skills, communication, ICT)
capacity, network)

Non-farm sector development

Farm sector development
• Tourism and cultural services
• Agriculture, horticulture
• Forestry, agro-forestry, Achieving • Trade and service
• Labour mobility, migration,
• Fisheries
• Livestock
SDGs in CHT remittance
• Micro-enterprises

Water
Land, food (access to safe Energy
(availability, access, drinking water, (access, affordability,
entitlement) watershed reliability)
management)

Policy and institutions

31
 of decentralization and devolution in the CHT; three important institutions have been established, which are now
responsible for matters relating to the planning, implementation, coordination and supervision of development
activities. However, their potential has not yet been fully utilized and their capacity to provide a long-term
development vision and prepare, implement, and monitor the development program in the CHT has yet to be
fully developed (Chakma 2014). It is critically important to further strengthen the decentralization process in
the spirit of the Peace Accord and strengthen the capacity of these CHT institutions to take forward the SDGs to
enable socioeconomic development and establish peace and harmony.
ƒƒ The coordination of development activities also needs to be strengthened. The SDGs are integrative and
cross-sectoral and successful implementation will require intensive cross-sectoral coordination. The Ministry of
Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs (MOCHTA) is responsible for coordination of development activities in the CHT.
But the sectoral efforts of line ministries and the fragmented work of different NGOs often overlap and fail to
produce the desired development outcomes. To ensure that development activities can be made more effective
and sustainable, and to avoid duplication, MOCHTA’s capacity for planning and coordination should be
strengthened and it should be entrusted with the full responsibility for coordinating development work in the CHT.
ƒƒ Eradicating poverty is the central aim of the SDGs. In the CHT it is of critical importance and the most critical
aspect of development. Poverty is the root cause of the social tensions in the region and the single most
important factor in the ongoing destruction of the environment. A large proportion of ethnic minority people
are living in conditions of extreme poverty. All activities should focus on poverty alleviation as the underlying
aim, which means focusing on inclusive growth, ensuring equitable distribution of any benefits that accrue,
ensuring equitable access to resources and facilities, and involving local people at every stage of planning and
implementation of activities to ensure that they address local needs, are appropriate for local conditions, and
benefit local people.
ƒƒ Achieving gender equality and empowering women is critical for achieving many of the SDGs, including ending
poverty and hunger, improving nutrition, ensuring healthy lives, improving quality education, accelerating
economic growth and reducing inequality, and is thus one of the top priorities in the CHT. A multipronged
approach will be required. Priority should be given to the economic empowerment of women by creating
more economic opportunities and eliminating economic, social, and cultural barriers to women’s participation
in economic activities. Efforts should be made to strengthen existing and build new skills and nurture
entrepreneurship in women through appropriate training, advice, and financial and technical support. Efforts
should also be made to eliminate discrimination against women in terms of inheritance of property, access to
land and other property, access to formal and informal jobs, and access to credit, extension, marketing and
financial services. Special attention should be given to building women’s leadership and increasing women’s
representation in local government institutions and the traditional systems so that they can play a more active
role in social, economic, and cultural arenas and decision making. Urgent action needs to be taken to address
and prevent violence against women. While legal measures are necessary, efforts should also be made to
generate mass awareness and social mobilization against women’s discrimination at different levels involving
community organizations, NGOs, civil society, and the media. Legal support to affected girls and women should
be provided by the government.

Strategic actions
The enabling framework indicates a range of different areas for strategic action that together will contribute to
achieving the SDGs.

Achieving food security

Given the poor food security scenario in CHT, strategic actions are needed to enhance food security of the CHT
people. While the CHT cannot be food self-sufficient given its undulating hilly terrains, limited land for intensive
agriculture for the cultivation of a number of major cereal crops, specific plans and policies are therefore needed
to meet the required food deficiency of the CHT. Especially the major cereal crops like rice and wheat that the CHT
lack can be imported to address the growing food insecurity in the region. For strengthening food security in the
CHT, there is a need to promote horticulture, agro-forestry and other high-value low-volume cash crops such as off-
season vegetables in the region. Such agro-products have growing markets and demands. Due to remoteness and

32
scattered villages in the CHT, the food distribution system has not been effective in the region. So for achieving food
distribution efficiency, rural road infrastructure needs to be upgraded in the region. The other important aspect for
achieving greater food security in the CHT is via enhancing income generation opportunities for ethnic communities
in the region. With greater income generation, the issue of food accessibility will be resolved. So there is a need to
generate off-farm employment opportunities in areas like community based ecotourism, agro-processing industries,
livestock enterprises and such others. More importantly, there is a need to adopt changing production and
consumption patterns, and farmers in the CHT should be trained on value chain development of agro-products.

Education and skills development

Achieving the SDGs in the CHT will depend heavily on quality education and human resource development to build
the human capital that will be needed. While formal education is spreading in the CHT, considerable differences
remain among the ethnic communities and the school dropout rate is still high at both primary and secondary
level. Language difficulties, high poverty, financial constraints, and high unemployment among the educated all
lead to frustration and fuel the dropout rate. Ethnic communities in the CHT face particular difficulty in school as
they speak their mother tongue at home but have to study in Bangla. To achieve the goal of ensuring inclusive and
quality education at primary level, additional support should be given to ethnic community students to increase their
skills in Bangla and English to enable them to excel in school while maintaining their mother tongue. To overcome
cultural barriers, more ethnic minority teachers should be recruited and training provided to more ethnic minority
teachers; incentives in the form of fringe benefits should be given for teaching in remote areas. Alongside the formal
education system, increased emphasis should be placed on skills development through technical and vocational
education in order to create productive capacity and enhance employability. Skills-oriented education needs to be
expanded in the CHT targeting ethnic minorities, girls, and women.

Ensuring healthy lives

Ensuring healthy lives in the CHT will require provision of improved health services, as well as achieving food
security, improving nutrition, and ensuring access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Much of the CHT area
is hard to reach due to the hilly terrain and poor accessibility. Concerted efforts will be needed with special
programmes that take into account tribal socio-cultural aspects and geographic factors in order to take health
services to these remote areas and reach poor ethnic communities. A hill and mountain specific health system
should be developed that is friendly to tribal cultural, caters to the special needs of the CHT population, and
suits the hilly terrain where people live in scattered remote areas. The emphasis should be on an area-based
comprehensive health service delivery system developed through effective cooperation among the existing health
facilities. Reproductive and maternal health needs to be improved in order to reduce the maternal mortality rate.
The deployment of government-trained community skilled birth attendants (CSBAs) and trained midwives needs to
be strengthened to ensure that skilled attendants are present at home births and in birthing facilities. Local women
and men should be recruited for the whole range of posts in health centres to provide tribal/ethnic friendly services.
Educational and training facilities should be established where tribal/ethnic people can acquire the skills required
to serve in facilities run by the government. Measures should be taken to improve knowledge and awareness about
health and sanitation, including knowledge about the importance of antenatal and postnatal care (ANC and PNC),
and to facilitate access to information on health issues. Special efforts need to be taken to control malaria, one of
the more deadly diseases in the CHT, and measures need to be taken to improve water and sanitation services in
remote tribal areas. Improved cook stoves (ICS) should be promoted in the CHT to improve the health of women
and children and reduce drudgery and free up time for productive employment.

Improving rural connectivity

Investment is needed in rural transport as well as supporting infrastructure such as irrigation facilities and water
supplies. The region lacks an adequate road and trail network and improvement is needed to connect the many
scattered rural areas with the growing regional hubs. The poor infrastructure conditions hinder the participation of
ethnic minority people in economic activity. Development of infrastructure and of the institutional capacity needed to
support rural development will help generate employment opportunities and enhance livelihoods of the rural poor.

33
 It is essential to increase connectivity in the CHT and connect the many scattered rural areas so that the scattered
rural population can gain better access to markets, education and health facilities, and increased employment
opportunities. It is a huge task that will require considerable investment. At the same time, it is important to pay
close attention to environmental considerations to ensure that road construction does not precipitate an increase
in landslides and other hazards. The areas which have already experienced a marked loss of ecosystem services
should be identified and avoided for further expansion of roads and trails. Greater local participation is needed
in the construction of roads to ensure that a) construction improves rural market access; b) rural infrastructure
development creates opportunities for the poor, particularly women, including access to core economic and local
governance infrastructure; and c) the built infrastructure is not only sustainable but also effectively utilized. Road
construction is expensive and environmentally sensitive and an effort should be made to develop water transport in
the CHT through the Kaptai lake and Sangu and Matamuhuri rivers.

Chittagong hill tracts of Bangladesh is on the frontline of climate change impacts. With increased forest degradation
over the years, the frequency of natural disasters such as landslides and floods in the region has intensified. In this
context, disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategy is crucial as it helps identify, assess and reduce the risks of disaster. The
DRR strategy should be made an integral part of the organizations given the necessity to combat disaster in every
sector of development and humanitarian work. The DRR strategy is crucial not just to minimize vulnerabilities and
disaster risks throughout a society but also to prevent and mitigate the adverse impacts of hazards for creating an
enabling environment towards sustainable development.

The local communities in the CHT should be made aware regarding the natural disasters, their frequencies and
their likely impacts on human lives. Their capacities to deal and cope with disasters need to be enhanced. This can
be achieved via trainings to ethnic communities on how best to rescue trapped victims during landslides, floods
and other disasters. They can be trained on providing basic health services to light injured victims during natural
disasters. The ambulance service should be extended in many remote areas of the CHT for efficient rescue and
management of victims affected by natural disasters. Hence, besides focusing on community based disaster risk
management, an equal emphasis is needed towards accelerating basic services such as road connectivity, health
centers and ambulance for effective disaster risk management. The local communities and the local government
should work collectively in the planning and implementation of disaster risk reduction strategy.

Land resources
The farmers in the CHT, especially in the ethnic communities continue to be disaffected as a result of the increasing
pressure on the limited land resources resulting from competition with communities from elsewhere. Appropriate
policies to address land rights that promote access to land for local CHT farmers will be fundamental for achieving
inclusive sustainable development in the CHT.

Water and sanitation

Considerable investment and effort will be required, both short and long-term, to address the drinking water
and sanitation challenges in the CHT through water conservation, efficient management of water resources, and
installation of water distribution systems. Efforts should be made to revive the traditional water sources, springs, and
ponds and protect village common forests. Small water reservoirs should be developed at appropriate locations
to capture and store spring and rainwater for distribution to downhill communities through a small flexible pipe
network. Where feasible, springs, ponds, protected dug wells, and tubewells should be developed as community
water points. Cultural and geological aspects and indigenous knowledge and local skills need to be taken into
account when designing and developing water schemes in the CHT to create ownership and make schemes
sustainable. Serious efforts need to be made to stop open defecation and promote individual and/ or community
eco-toilet facilities. It is also important to change the behaviour and hygiene practices through education and
motivational campaigns to ensure safe drinking water and sanitation. Efforts need to be made to harvest rainwater
by building check dams, and to use other indigenous technologies that make better use of rainwater for productive
purposes in irrigation, livestock, and other economic activities.

34
Forest, environment and biodiversity
Forest plays an integral role in the livelihoods of the ethnic communities in the CHT. The ethnic communities depend
on forest for fuelwood, food, medicines, and house-building materials, and collect non-timber forest products
such as bamboo, rattan, and medicinal plants for cash income. Forest also plays an important environmental role
by maintaining the water supply, preventing erosion, supporting biodiversity, and moderating the climate, among
others. Effective measures need to be taken to halt the ongoing forest degradation and regenerate degraded forest
in the CHT. Given the heavy dependence of ethnic communities on forest resources, it is critically important to
involve these communities in forest management. Community-led forest management has emerged as a successful
intervention for protecting forest resources and biodiversity, and the importance of community involvement for
successful forest management has gained widespread acceptance globally. It is critically important in the CHT
to manage forests successfully and provide livelihoods to the local ethnic communities. Community-led forest
management can be ensured by setting up joint management groups comprised of community leaders and
representatives from the Forest Department. This will empower the traditional institutions and help build modern
management capacity within them, providing forest departments with partners to craft new management systems.
This type of forest management will allow communities to develop their own resource management plans to address
conservation and livelihood issues. It will help foster the practice of agroforestry with a mix of commercial products,
including timber, fibre, spices, and medicinal plants to generate income, and take the pressure off steeper slopes
and help reduce the jhum farming system.

The maintenance of forests as carbon sinks is also receiving increasing attention through the expansion of carbon
trading opportunities. The forests of the CHT could provide an income stream to the local people through carbon
trading while conserving the forest and biodiversity.

Addressing energy needs

It is critically important to address the energy needs of the people in the CHT, not only to overcome poverty, improve
wellbeing, and accelerate economic growth, but also to protect the environment. A huge amount of biomass is
used in the CHT for cooking and curing tobacco. Although providing a grid connection to remote rural areas is
difficult and costly, the CHT has considerable potential for addressing energy needs in a sustainable manner. A
range of renewable energy sources – solar, biomass, biogas, hydropower, and wind – can be harnessed to provide
an environmentally sustainable energy security as well as an affordable power supply to the off-grid rural areas of
the CHT. The hilly terrain, steep gorges, high rainfall, and presence of many canals and tributaries of the Karnafuli,
Shangu, and Matamuhuri rivers, offer opportunities for many different types of hydropower schemes. The lessons
from the Karnafuli hydropower project indicate that the focus should be on small, micro, and pico hydro projects,
rather than large schemes. If proper care is taken to avoid negative social and environmental impacts, these
hydropower schemes can go a long way to addressing the energy needs of the CHT (Akanda et al. 2015).

Developing the farm sector

Development of the farm-sector is very important in the CHT, notwithstanding the move to off-farm employment.
The vast majority of people still rely on agriculture for their livelihoods, and it is important that they are not forced
to move to urban areas simply because they cannot support themselves. Integrated management of land, water,
forest, and ecosystems is needed to enable increased productivity of land, forest, livestock, and fisheries in a
sustainable fashion, while ensuring the maintenance of ecosystem services. Development of the farm sector, while
taking care not to degrade the environment, can contribute to economic growth and food and nutritional security
and reduce inequalities. The demand for CHT products, particularly fruit, nuts, fish and other organic products, is
increasing. Efforts should be made to enhance the productivity of both jhum and valley agriculture by proving quality
seeds and seedlings, improved extension services, better market linkages, and credit facilities. Where appropriate,
transformation of jhum to agroforestry, horticulture, or other more productive systems can be facilitated. Where
suitable, freshwater sources such as charra (streams) and creeks could be exploited to expand irrigation using check
dams and rainwater harvesting, while conserving the watersheds.

35
 More importantly, the farmers in the region suffer from volatile prices and post-harvest preservation challenge,
which forces them to sell their produce immediately at low prices, and generally as raw material. Marketing facilities
needed to be strengthened through provision of market information and farmers linked with regional markets
through improved roads. Policy reforms are needed to facilitate establishment of farmers’ groups and cooperatives,
especially in ethnic villages, to reduce transaction costs and enhance bargaining power. Branding of CHT products
is also important.

Access to market information should be strengthened across the CHT region. Farmers need to be made aware and
provided with access to full and regular provision of information about market prices through various channels
such as agricultural promotion staff, the mass media, and service centres. They should also be provided with
information related to key planting decisions (e.g. weather conditions, predictions of glut, market changes) early in
the agricultural cycle to maximize crop yields.

Women play an important role in farming in the CHT, but extension services barely reach them (Rasul 2006).
Extension services need to be made more effective and extension messages improved, so they cover remote hill
areas and reach out particularly to women farmers. More ethnic minority people should be recruited in the extension
services, and training provided to educated youth to engage them in the development of high-value agriculture.

In the CHT, scattered production units and low volume of production make it difficult for farmers to reap the benefits
of increased productivity. Often, even the small amount that is produced fails to reach the market due to lack of
post-harvest facilities. Post-harvest management, value chain development, processing, packaging, and market
access all need to be strengthened. Income generation for small-scale farmers should be fostered by expanding
financial and technical assistance and improving the infrastructure and institutional setting for processing and
marketing of agricultural produce and value added products. It is essential to promote commodity-specific value
chains with an emphasis on processing, packaging, branding, and certification. There is a need to establish clear
market linkages with collection centres at accessible locations by engaging the private sector and other market
players. Proper storage facilities are needed to minimize post-harvest losses. In order to strengthen post-harvest
management, farmers need to be trained in improved harvesting techniques. Agro-processing centres should also
be established at strategic locations, especially for the perishable horticultural products that are commonly grown in
the CHT.

One of the biggest challenges to promoting the farm sector in the CHT is the lack of access to credit and to market
information. As a result of the remoteness and high risk potential of the area, farmers are often at the mercy of
a small number of local moneylenders and middlemen and can become trapped in a cycle of debt, which limits
overall economic growth. Hence, rural credit schemes and formation of community-based savings and credit
organizations should be promoted. Poor marginal farmers should be empowered so that they can avoid the
problems of middlemen taking advantage of their lack of knowledge. Financial and banking institutions should
increase average loan sizes for ethnic minorities, particularly in areas where cash-crop agriculture entails high
investment costs. Financial schemes should also be targeted to ethnic minorities to enable them to engage in
income generating activities.

Developing the non-farm sector

Extreme poverty in the CHT leads to fierce competition over land between Paharis and Bengalis, not least because
of the lack of alternative sources of livelihood. Over the past two decades, the government has focused its efforts
more on land-based activities. Now it is becoming increasingly important to develop non-farm based alternative
sources of livelihood and build human capital and business and entrepreneurship skills to increase employability
and enhance and diversify livelihood opportunities. Experience from other countries suggests that people in hill and
mountain areas are increasingly engaging in the non-farm sector

Tourism has an immense potential for development in the CHT given the region’s rich biodiversity and scenic
beauty, but promotion of tourism needs to be properly planned and coordinated in order to reap the benefits
and avoid negative impacts. A comprehensive tourism master plan should be prepared including development of
new destinations and trails, as well as improved tourism products, service delivery, and hospitality. Forward and
backward linkages to development should be emphasised so that local people, especially ethnic communities,

36
receive adequate benefits from the tourism industry. Women should be engaged where possible. Easily identifiable
and attractive circuits should be developed around the key themes of nature, wildlife, adventure, and culture.
Linkages should be strengthened between the CHT and Cox’s Bazar, the key tourism hub in Bangladesh, in order
to attract foreign tourists to the CHT. Community-based ecotourism should be promoted by engaging local people
in planning and development of the tourist trade and encouraging local investment, in order to create ownership
and ensure that the benefits of tourism are accrued locally. The government should ensure further development of
tourism infrastructure, including hospitality, and provide sufficient budget for investment in infrastructure such as
roads, trails, and bridges. Providing security and facilitating tourist movement should be a top priority.

Labour mobility and labour migration can both contribute to reducing the pressure on limited farmland resources.
In the rural context, facilitating labour movement from the farm to the non-farm sector, and from the rural sector to
urban services, transport, and production (manufacturing) is likely to be more rewarding than migration. However,
migration for labour is also common across the Himalayan region, a large part of income in rural mountain areas
in Nepal, western India, and Pakistan comes from remittances, with more than half of all households in Nepal,
and close to a quarter in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in India, benefiting. Labour migration may also offer
a useful non-farm option in parts of the CHT and should be supported in various ways, including providing the
necessary skills to prospective migrants to enable them to gain better employment opportunities abroad. Specific
policies need to be formulated to reduce the cost of migration and provide financial credit at a subsidized rate to
facilitate their aspirations. Help desks can be set up to provide free education and information on migration so that
prospective migrants have information related to job opportunities and the specific skills needed.

Especially the ethnic minorities in the region need to be encouraged and supported in entrepreneurial activities and
developing trading and business relationships. Local community groups and co-operatives can develop non-farm
enterprises focussed on processing, packaging, and branding of farm-based produce; production of handicrafts
from local resources; or service delivery, for example in tourism and energy and water. Communities can change
their approach to trading, for example, by establishing community-oriented shops where trading is done for the
benefit of the community. All of this requires support to facilitate access to information, resources, and investment.
As in the farming sector, special credit facilities need to be made available to ethnic minorities, and training
programmes introduced that focus on building the capacity of women and marginalized groups to participate in the
non-farm sector.

37
 Conclusion
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a visionary plan of action that charters a path to promote
inclusive growth, secure peace and prosperity, and strengthen cooperation and partnership to achieve sustainable
development while respecting and safeguarding Mother Earth. The Agenda’s goals – the SDGs – will help
developing countries to transform their economies and societies with the aim of eliminating poverty by 2030. The
agenda is not simply about protection from vulnerability or destitution; it is about broader economic, social, and
political transformation.

The SDGs offer both an immense opportunity and a major challenge for the CHT. Given the present low level of
socioeconomic development, timely achievement of the SDGs will require a high level of understanding of the
region and an ambitious and visionary approach, but the clearly defined goals offer a framework for planning and
implementation that can be used to identify the most appropriate pathways to engage the local population and lay
the basis for success. The SDGs envisage reducing poverty in all its forms and achieving food and nutrition security
by promoting sustainable agriculture. Empowerment of women, inclusive and equitable quality education, health,
provision of basic services, and conservation and restoration of the environment underpin the approach and are
crucial to lasting success.

The unique situation in the CHT offers opportunities as well as challenges. There is already a large degree of
decentralization and devolution and this institutional innovation can support creative and cooperative development,
with local institutions and people empowered to work effectively towards delivering the SDGs. The region is
undergoing economic and social transformation. Formal education, construction of new roads, mobile connectivity,
and the internet are changing the aspirations of the rural population, and broadening the opportunities (Roy 2000).
Increasing the economic benefits in the region can help lessen the remaining ethnic tensions, while local businesses
can become powerful advocates for peace and help bring stability to the troubled region through economic
development.

We live in an era of ever greater connectedness and economic integration. With better connectivity, the CHT can
gain access to knowledge about effective livelihood practices from other hill and mountain regions, and can
implement them where appropriate. Integrating the CHT economically with the rest of the country and the wider
world can provide a pathway for transforming poverty into prosperity and achieving the SDGs. But these efforts can
only be successful if the people of the CHT are involved from the beginning, and play an integral part from planning
through to implementation and monitoring. Mutual respect, and trust and confidence, will provide the basis for
facilitating transformation of the CHT from a conflict to a cooperation zone and moving from an unsustainable to a
sustainable path of development.

To achieve transformative change, careful attention must be given to understanding the hill and mountain context
of the CHT, the spatial disadvantages and advantages, the ethnic and cultural diversity, and constraints and
opportunities. The SDGs need to be tailored to the CHT context so that they provide the scope for creating a
long-term vision and planning appropriate action, while successful implementation will necessitate fostering multi-
stakeholder engagement among government, local communities, development agencies, the private sector, NGOs,
academia, and research organizations.

38
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 Annex 1: The Bangladesh-ICIMOD Partnership: A Reflection
Naba Bikram Kishore Tripura and Golam Rasul

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is a regional intergovernmental
organization established in 1983 by the eight countries of the Hindu Kush Himalaya – Afghanistan, Bangladesh,
Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. Its dual mandate is to improve the hill, mountain and river
basin environments of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) while also enhancing the lives of its resident populations.
With its headquarters in Kathmandu, Nepal, ICIMOD serves the region by generating mountain specific knowledge,
sharing information, and fostering regional cooperation to find innovative solutions to the region’s problems.

Bangladesh is a founding member of ICIMOD and has supported ICIMOD activities since its inception. The
partnership between Bangladesh and ICIMOD has grown over the years, particularly since the establishment of the
Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs (MOCHTA) in 1998, which is the focal Ministry for ICIMOD in Bangladesh.
MOCHTA represents the Government of Bangladesh on ICIMOD’s Board of Governors, the Centre’s highest policy-
making body.

The Bangladesh-ICIMOD collaboration covers a broad range of activities from knowledge sharing and income
generation to livelihood improvement, climate change adaptation, watershed management, and disaster risk
reduction. ICIMOD’s engagement in Bangladesh is both strategic and programmatic.

At the strategic level, ICIMOD engages with key organizations on strategic issues of importance to Bangladesh.
At the programmatic level, we bring regional knowledge and expertise to bear on hill and mountain issues in
Bangladesh to find solutions to problems in collaboration with national partners.

To strengthen ICIMOD’s engagement in Bangladesh, MOCHTA and ICIMOD jointly organized the Bangladesh-
ICIMOD Partnership Day in Dhaka on 24 January 2016. This event was attended by ICIMOD’s key partners and
stakeholders in Bangladesh including the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs and other government agencies,
research organizations, academics, NGOs, and private sector representatives.

One of ICIMOD’s successful strategic engagements with MOCHTA has been the recent development of ‘A Strategic
Framework for Sustainable Development in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh’. This framework recognizes the
geographic, cultural, and social specificities of the Chittagong Hill Tracts and outlines its unique potential. It also
identifies the actions and mechanisms needed to develop the Chittagong Hill Tracts in an inclusive manner. As part
of these efforts, ICIMOD worked with the Bangladesh Planning Commission to incorporate a hill perspective in the
nation’s 7th Five Year Plan.

Another area of strategic engagement is ICIMOD’s support of the Government of Bangladesh to improve its flood
and water management. Most of Bangladesh is located within the floodplains of three great rivers: the Ganges,
Brahmaputra, and Meghna. As a lower riparian country, Bangladesh is prone to floods and other water-related
disasters. Hence, real time data and information from upstream countries are critical for Bangladesh to develop
flood forecasting and early warning systems, and for water resource management, in general. ICIMOD and its
partners in Bangladesh are working to establish a regional flood information system to facilitate the timely exchange
of flood data and information to strengthen regional cooperation in the management of floods and other natural
disasters. ICIMOD is also looking for opportunities to facilitate transboundary cooperation between Bangladesh and
India and Bangladesh and Myanmar using the landscape approach to ecosystem management.

At the programmatic level, ICIMOD collaborates with a number agencies to promote improved livelihoods and
sustainable development in a variety of ways. ICIMOD’s initial focus in Bangladesh centered around watershed
management and conservation of water and soil. However, as the majority of people in the Chittagong Hill Tracts
are subsistence farmers with little cash income, ICIMOD has broadened its scope over the years to promote
alternative livelihood options through value chain development, increased market access, and tourism development.
Mushrooms, high-value medicinal plants, and beekeeping are just a few of the value chains that ICIMOD has
promoted.

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Tourism in the Chittagong Hill Tracts presents another opportunity for Bangladesh, and in that mode, ICIMOD
recently partnered with the Bandarban Hill District Council to initiate the Rural Livelihoods and Climate Change
Adaptation (Himalica) initiative, which focuses on inclusive growth by involving local communities in tourism
development.

The Bangladesh-ICIMOD Partnership Day on 24 January 2017 will be another step forward in our strategic
partnership. On this day we will reflect on the key aspects of the Bangladesh-ICIMOD partnership, and explore
emerging opportunities for future collaboration on new issues such as the Sustainable Development Goals and
adaptation strategies consonant with the recent Paris Agreement. Building on our past success and looking toward
the future, ICIMOD is eager to build its relationship with Bangladesh in 2017 and beyond.

Authors:
Naba Bikram Kishore Tripura, ndc, is Secretary, Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs and Chair of the ICIMOD
Board of Governors.

Golam Rasul is a Senior Economist and Theme Leader for Livelihoods at ICIMOD and the ICIMOD focal point for
Bangladesh.

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 Annex 2:

Table A1: Progress towards achievement of the MDG targets in Bangladesh and
the CHT districts – selected indicators

Indicator Measure Bandarban Khagrachari Rangamati Bangladesh

Extreme poverty Population below national upper 41.1 50.5 33.2 31.5
and hunger poverty line, % 2010
Prevalence of underweight in children 41.0 45.0 39.7 45.0
under 5, % 2009
Universal primary Net enrolment in primary education, 68.4 79.0 77.3 77.0
education; % 2011
child mortality
Under 5 mortality rate per 1,000 live 85 63 45 53
births, 2009
Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live 63 49 36 43
births, 2009
% of 1 year old children immunized 89.0 95.7 90.0 87.5
against measles, 2009
Maternal health Maternal mortality rate, 2013 85 96 65 NA
Births attended by skilled health 7.6 9.1 11.5 28.8
personnel, % 2009
Antenatal care coverage, % 2009 31.4 14.0 43.0 54.6
Environmental % of population using improved 46.3 56.0 45.0 97.9
sustainability drinking water sources, 2013
% of population using improved 32.7 56 85.0 55.9
sanitary facilities, 2013
Source: Planning Commission 2014; Mujeri and Basher 2015,

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Table A2: Power and functions of key organizations in the CHT

CHT Organizations Key Functions

Post Peace Accord
The Ministry of ƒƒ Administrative work of the Ministry of the Chittagong Hill Tracts
Chittagong Hill Tracts ƒƒ Advisory support to the Chittagong Hill Tracts local governments in selected issues
Affairs (MoCHTA) ƒƒ Coordination among the concerned ministries and departments
ƒƒ Secretarial support for all council committees, special committees, and working committees
related to the Chittagong Hill Tracts
ƒƒ Advisory support to the government, monitoring and implementation for the government and
different committees
ƒƒ Preparation of planning and development activities for the government and Chittagong Hill
Tracts
ƒƒ Implementation of work for the development of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council
and District Councils.
ƒƒ Implementation of works in accordance with the traditional laws of the Chittagong Hill
Tracts, by upazila councils, municipalities, union councils, village councils, and other local
government bodies
ƒƒ Coordination among all concerned government agencies to protect the environment and
geological aspects of the Chittagong Hill Tracts
ƒƒ Development work for the betterment of the economic, educational, cultural, social, language,
and indigenous religious activities of the tribal and non-tribal people of the Chittagong Hill
Tracts
ƒƒ Running and coordination of relief and rehabilitation work during disaster periods in the
Chittagong Hill Tracts
ƒƒ Monitoring of NGO activities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts
ƒƒ Monitoring and coordination of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council and all local
government councils’ development work, and coordination of all inter ministries/ departments
development work
ƒƒ Administration of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board
ƒƒ Chittagong Hill Tracts related issues of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain
Development (ICIMOD)
ƒƒ Issues of the civil affairs office, Chittagong
ƒƒ Liaison among the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts and other concerned international
organizations and on other international issues
ƒƒ Preparation of laws related to the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Inquiry and statistical
issues of the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts
Chittagong Hill Tracts A. Functions
Regional Council
(CHTRC) ƒƒ Overall supervision and coordination of all development activities under the Hill District
Councils and all other matters entrusted to them
ƒƒ Supervision and coordination of the local councils including municipalities
ƒƒ Overall supervision and coordination of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board set up
under the Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board Ordinance, 1976 (LXXVII of 1976).
ƒƒ Supervision and coordination of the general administration of the hill districts, law and order,
and development
ƒƒ Supervision and coordination of tribal traditions, practices, and so on, and social justice.
ƒƒ Issuing licenses for setting up heavy industries in hill districts in keeping with the National
Industrial Policy.
ƒƒ Conducting of disaster management and relief work and coordinating of NGO activities

B. Consultation with regards to legislation (Article 53)

ƒƒ Before making any law concerning the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the Government shall consult the
Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council (CHTRC)
ƒƒ The Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council (CHTRC) may apply or submit recommendations
to the Government to amend a law, if any, which might adversely affect development of the
CHT and well-being of indigenous peoples. It may also recommend to the Government to
make new laws, if necessary.

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 Hill District Councils A. Functions
(HDC)
ƒƒ Supervision, maintenance and improvement of law and order in the district
ƒƒ Coordination of the development activities of local authorities in the district; monitoring the
implementation of development projects and audit thereof; rendering assistance, cooperation
and encouragement
ƒƒ Education (mainly primary and adult education)
ƒƒ Health
ƒƒ Agriculture and forestry
ƒƒ Animal husbandry
ƒƒ Fisheries
ƒƒ Cooperatives
ƒƒ Commerce and Industries
ƒƒ Social welfare
ƒƒ Culture
ƒƒ Construction, maintenance and development of highways, culverts, and bridges not reserved
by the government or any local authority
ƒƒ Management and control of such ferries which are not maintained by the Government or any
local authority
ƒƒ Provision of public parks, sports grounds, and open spaces and maintenance thereof
ƒƒ Establishment and maintenance of inns, inspection bungalows, and rest houses
ƒƒ Implementation of development plans entrusted to the Council by the Government
ƒƒ Development of the communication system
ƒƒ Provision of drainage and water supply systems, metalling of roads, and other essential public
welfare activities
ƒƒ Preparation of plans for local development
ƒƒ Taking measures for religious, moral, and economic upliftment of the locality and its
inhabitants
ƒƒ Police (local)
ƒƒ Tribal customs, traditions, and social justice system
ƒƒ Land and land management.
ƒƒ Proper utilization and irrigation of the water resources of rivulets, canals, and streams other
than the Kaptai lake
ƒƒ Conservation and development of ecology
ƒƒ Youth welfare
ƒƒ Local tourism
ƒƒ Improvement of trust in local government organizations (apart from municipalities and union
councils)
ƒƒ Issuing licenses for local industries and businesses
ƒƒ Preservation of statistics on births, deaths, and others
ƒƒ Money lending business
ƒƒ Jhum (shifting) cultivation

B. Restriction on land transfer (Article 64)

ƒƒ No land including khasland suitable for settlement within the three Hill Districts (Rangmati,
Khagrachari, and Bandarban) shall be leased out, settled with, purchased, sold out, or
otherwise transferred without the prior approval of the concerned Hill District Council.
However, reserved forests (RFs) and protected forests (PFs) and several other public land areas
are outside of HDC jurisdiction.
ƒƒ HDCs to supervise and control the functions of headmen, chainmen, amins, surveyors,
kanungos and assistant commissioners (land)
ƒƒ Settlement of fringe land in Kaptai lake with the original owners on a priority basis.

C. Development plans (Article 42)

ƒƒ Preparation and implementation of development plans on any matter within its jurisdiction
consistent with its resources
ƒƒ HDC may formulate and implement development plans on the subjects and departments
transferred to it with its own funds or funds received from the Government.

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 © ICIMOD 2016
International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development
GPO Box 3226, Kathmandu, Nepal
Tel +977 1 5003222 Fax +977 1 5003299
Email [email protected] Web www.icimod.org

ISBN 978 92 9115 431 9

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