Compass CHT-FLR Program Strengthening Capacity of VCF Management Committees
Hill forests of Bangladesh over the past decades have dwindled and got degraded under severe human pressure and rapid urbanization, adversely impacting biodiversity and ecosystem services. On the other hand, the conservation and sustainable management of hill forests can be one of the fundamental foundations of sustainable development in Bangladesh. Forests remain the direct and indirect sources of livelihood and food security for hill communities of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), Bangladesh, and forest conservation is a key component of adapting to and mitigating the challenge of climate change.
The Village Common Forests (VCFs) conserved by the local (ethnic) communities of CHT have been playing a vital role in conserving the biodiversity and ecosystem services of the hill forests; while most of the other forest lands in CHT are highly degraded. The VCFs also help sustain and enhance the livelihoods of underprivileged communities. The VCFs are traditionally governed by the mauza headmen or karbaries (village headmen) through customary rules for the benefit of all people of the community, with particular emphasis on their role in sustaining waterflow in the hilly streams.
In the Compass CHT-FLR project started working with four VCFs of Rowangchari in the villages of Tulachari Para, Aungjai Para, and Suknachari Para in Rowangcharai Sadar Union and Bijoy Para of adjacent Alikhong Union in 2021 to initiate the FLR program. These VCFs had some sort of management committees but were predominantly governed by the Karbaries of the respective villages and without regular meetings, work plans, monitoring, and record- keeping practices. The project facilitated the reformation of the management committees of each of those VCFs in a democratic manner and established written by-laws for proper management of the natural resources of the VCFs and the functioning of the management committee in a democratic manner, with equal access and participation of both men and women. Presently 10 out of 28 executive members of the management committees of four VCFs are women. In 2002, all the VCFs had their regular bi-monthly meetings as well as an annual general meeting (AGM) in September. CHT-FLR Project staff trained the executive committee members to conduct meetings, prepare annual work plan and keep meeting minutes, as well as in sustainable natural resource management (NRM) practices during their bi-monthly meetings. They also tried to build capacity of the VCF management committees to mobilize funds for their financial sustainability through coaching during the bi-monthly meetings. In October (16th – 17th) 2022, the project organized a two-day residential training on organizational development and management (ODM) for the executive committee members of the four VCFs at Bandarban in order to further enhance their management capacities.
The VCF management committees played a significant role in the implementation of the forest restoration program of the Compass CHT-FLR project. In 2002 (June-September), they planted 25,093 seedlings in the degraded areas of their VCFs with the help of Project. They also developed a plan for post-planting maintenance (mainly weeding) of the planted seedlings for implementation on their own involving their community members. It indicates their motivation in forest landscape restoration activities.
“We are trying to conserve the VCF for our future generation. VCF is very essential for keeping water flowing in the stream which we need for our survival”, shares Mr. Nirudon, Karbari of Suknachari Para village and Secretary of Suknachari Para VCF Management Committee.
More Our Stories

Compass CHT-FLR Program Strengthening Capacity of VCF Management Committees
Hill forests of Bangladesh over the past decades have dwindled and got degraded under severe human pressure and rapid urbanization, adversely impacting biodiversity and ecosystem services. On the other hand, the conservation and sustainable management of hill forests can be one of the fundamental foundations of sustainable development in Bangladesh. Forests remain the direct and indirect sources of livelihood and food security for hill communities of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), Bangladesh, ...
Read more

Compass CHT-FLR Program Established Local Planting Materials Sources in Remote Hills
The availability of quality planting materials is significantly essential for successful hill forest restoration activities. To produce quality seedlings near the restoration sites, it is essential to engage community people in nursery development. However, there was no nursery in the forest land restoration (FLR) project area. The nearby nurseries were in Bandarban town from where carrying seedlings to the project sites in remote hills was enormously difficult and expensive. Furthermore, see...
Read more
Compass CHT-FLR Program Made a Breakthrough in Forest Landscape Restoration in CHT
The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) have undergone massive deforestation and degradation in recent decades due to overexploitation and the lack of restoration efforts. In this context, the US Forest Service International Programs (USFS-IP) in collaboration with Arannayk Foundation and Tahzingdong has taken a community-based forest landscape restoration (FLR) initiative in Rowangchari Upazila of Bandarban Hill District under its USAID-funded Community Partnership to Strengthen Sustainable Develop...
Read more

Faqrul Islam Chowdhury- translating his learning into practices
Mr. Faqrul Islam Chowdhury, Assistant Professor of the Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences of Chattogram University (IFESCU) was a participant in the Google Earth Engine (GEE) training. USAID’s Community Partnerships to Strengthen Sustainable Development Program (Compass) organized the GEE training for the students, early career forestry graduates, and young forestry faculties and researchers. The ultimate objective of the training was to increase the capability of th...
Read more

Jemina harboring new dreams after YCC training
Jemina Akhter (18) is a Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) graduate from its 1st Cohort. Jemina comes from Cox’s Bazar; she is the second among her parents seven daughters. Her father being the only wage-earner for the family, Jemina had to stop schooling once COVID-19 hit the country and her father’s income plunged to a new low. Dropped out from school, Jemina had no clue on how she could help her family.
Jemina and some other youths of the community were members of a youth ...
Read more

Helal: from a trainee to a trainer
Helal Uddin comes from the Tekpara Village of the Eidgaon Upazila of Cox’s Bazar District in Bangladesh. Helal’s education stopped after Secondary School Certificate (SCC) examination because of his family’s financial hardship. His family’s situation worsened as the COVID-19 pandemic hit lives and livelihood. In July 2021, Helal came to know about the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) of USAID’s Community Partnerships to Strengthen Sustainable Development (Com...
Read more

Nai Yoi Nu Marma’s Story
Once Nai Yoi Nu Marma (19) used to lack so much self-confidence that she could not talk to anyone without feeling hesitant. Because of this, she was unable to even get along with people. Belonging to a family of farmers from a remote village in the Bandarban hill district, she had no future plans and was living in poverty.
In this situation, she got to know about the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) who provide training to underprivileged youths to empower them and prepare them as envi...
Read more

Ki Ki May’s Story
Ki Ki May Marma(21) hails from Tulachori Para, a tiny remote village in Bandarban district. She lost her father at an early age and could not afford to study after her secondary school. To support her farmer mother for running the family, she started working in the Jhum cultivation with her. She was passing her life struggling with the hardships. Everyday at 5 in the morning she had to climb the hills for jhum cultivation. The only rest time for her was in the evening when she would meet an...
Read more

Liton’s Story
Liton Tanchangya (23) lives with his parents and elder brother in a small village named Vijaypara in Rowangchari, Bandarban. Being a polite boy he has always been loved by everyone in his village. However, after passing the 7th standard he could not continue his studies due to the financial hardships of his family. Following the announcement to recruit the first cohort of the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC). The Youth Conservation Corps (YCC), a youth capacity enhancement initiative of USA...
Read more

Sharmin heading towards fulfilling her determination being an entrepreneur
Sharmin Akter (18), one of the women participants of Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) first cohort training was living with her aunt’s family since her parent’s passed away in 2007. Due to poverty, she could not continue her study after class five. Despite her dire situation, she always dreamt to become self-dependent and support her poor uncle and aunt with her earnings.
Through a community level meeting of Compass’s YCC team as a part of starting a long-term residential...
Read more