Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary

Lohagara, Chakoria and Banshkhali, Chittagong.

Declared as a sanctuary in March, 1986, Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary encompasses 7,764 hectares. It is located within Lohagara, Chakoria and Banshkhali Upazillas of Chittagong District. Once this sanctuary held extensive tropical mixed evergreen forest, but most of this has been cleared since the 1980s and now large areas of degraded
sungrass and settlements dominate much of the sanctuary. Restoring a sustainable forest ecosystem to significant areas of denuded hills is vital to enhance the resilience of wildlife and local communities to the threats of degradation and climate change.

Despite largescale degradation, Chunati WS is still home to a small population of endangered Asian Elephants which comes into regular conflict with local people. Jaldi CMC is working with others to change attitudes and conserve elephants in a coordinated way. Chunati is also one of the few forests in Bangladesh where the globally nearthreatened Hog Badger is found, and a number of forest dependent bird species remain present.

Jaldi CMC is active in the Jaldi range of the WS. Here 1,000 families live, most are poor and highly dependent on extracting resources and cultivating land within the WS, and until recently had few alternative livelihood
opportunities.

WHY IS CHUNATI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY IMPORTANT?

Habitat for globally endangered Asian Elephant and globally near-threatened Hog Badger.

Wildlife corridor essential for Bangladesh’s disappearing mega fauna

Restoring forest in Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary offers the scope to double sequestration from 146 tons of CO2 per hectare for climate change mitigation

219 species of birds and 19 species of mammals

Local people are poor and depend on forest resources, threatening the biodiversity and ecology

Photo: Kamrul

CO-MANAGEMENT HELPS PROTECT CRITICAL FOREST HABITATS IMPORTANT FOR A WIDE RANGE OF CREATURES AND PLANTS, INCLUDING GLOBALLY THREATENED SPECIES …

Hog Badger (Arctonyx collaris)

Please support this important work.

This near-threatened species with a distinctive black and white striped head is mainly found in China and Southeast Asia. It keeps to dense undergrowth and is often nocturnal and difficult to see. It forages on the ground using its piglike snout to turn over the soil to find roots, invertebrates and fallen fruits. “Camera traps” have proven that Chunati WS is one of the few places where it lives in Bangladesh.

Please support this important work.

This globally endangered species was once widespread in Bangladesh. It is now restricted to a few Protected Areas in the south-east. A small, but important, population moves within and between sites. Jaldi CMC is working with ten other CMCs and the Forest Department to protect elephants and their habitat, restore connecting corridors used in their migrations, and minimize conflicts with local people.

Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus)

Photo: Kamrul

Sustaining Nature, Biodiversity, and Local Communities

Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary engages local communities with Forest Department to conserve Dudpukuria-Dhopachori Wildlife Sanctuary and its threatened species, including Bangladesh’s last elephants, through climateresilient natural resources management and diversified livelihoods.

Co-Management in Jaldi was established in July 2006 and is recognized through a Ministry of Environment and Forests order published in November 2009. Jaldi CMC formally works with and includes Bangladesh Forest Department as well as all key local stakeholders including local government and of course representatives of the 26 villages in and around this range of the WS, who are organized into a common forum. We protect 4,432 hectares under an overall Sanctuary management plan coordinated with Chunati CMC (the other half of Chunati WS).

JALDI CO-MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE (CMC)

KEY OBJECTIVES:

Ensure long-term conservation of biodiversity
Mobilize local people as environmental stewards and stakeholders
Improve the lives and livelihoods of local people, by diversifying livelihoods, improving skills, and reducing vulnerability to hazards and climate change
Encourage eco-tourism, and provide adequate facilities for visitors
Provide a forum for discussions,consultations, and conflict resolution

Photo: Obaidul Fattah Tanvir

How You Can Help ?

Please support our efforts to strengthen conservation. The work of Jaldi CMC and associated organizations involves local communities working with local government and Bangladesh Forest Department. These activities depend on support from grants and outside resources.

Jaldi CMC can receive grants from domestic sources to its account 1253. Sonali Bank, Jaldi, Banshkhali, Chittagong. For international assistance, funds can be channeled through CODEC – a national NGO which has helped establish the CMC. CODEC is registered with NGO Affairs Bureau, registration no. 263.

Your donations to Jaldi CMC will support:

Improving forest protection, especially those used by threatened species, through community patrols
Reducing conflicts between people and wildlife, especially elephants (e.g., relocating cultivation, restoration of elephant habitats, improving warnings, and a compensation fund)
Promoting sustainable land use practices, planting of biomass crops, and enforcement of zoning
Promoting eco-tourism (e.g. establishing and maintaining visitor facilities and publicizing Chunati)
Increasing community sustainability (e.g. reducing disaster vulnerability and improving services)

Contacts

President
Jaldi CMC, Jaldi Range
Banshkhali,Chittagong
Tel: 01716 145 377

Forest Department
DFO, Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division, Chittagong
Tel: 031-684420
E-mail: deytk@bdonlinectg.com

Member Secretary
Jaldi CMC, Jaldi Range
Banshkhali,Chittagong
Tel: 01711 279 466

CODEC
Khurshid Alam Ph.D
Executive Director, CODEC
CODEC Bhaban; Plot 2, Road 2, Lake Valley R/A, Hazi Zafor Ali Road
(Nuria Madrasha Lane); Foy’s Lake, Khulshi, Chittagong, Bangladesh;
Tel: 031-2566747;
Email: khurshidcodec@gmail.com