Fashiakhali Wildlife Sanctuary

Chakaria, Cox’s Bazar.

Fashiakhali Wildlife Sanctuary protects a wide range of wildlife dependent on mixed evergreen forest, including a herd of Asian Elephants. Fashiakhali WS covers 1,302 hectares in Chakaria Upazilla, to the north of Cox’s Bazar town. It was declared as a Wildlife Sanctuary on 2 June 2007 by a gazette notification of Ministry of Environment and Forest.

The Wildlife Sanctuary has a diversity of vegetation including mixed forest, dense undergrowth, bamboo and tall grasses, along with marshy lands and streams. The grasses are favored by a herd of about 28 endangered Asian Elephant Elephas maximus that live inside the sanctuary. The elephant herd used to roam in neighboring Reserved Forests in the past. However, refugees have settled in Fasiakhali and Yeancha severely degrading forest there, so the elephants are now restricted largely to the WS. Other notable species present include Northern Pig-tailed Macaque, Slow Loris, Jungle Cat, Fishing Cat and White-crested Laughing Thrush.

FWS is bordered by 30 villages whose inhabitants have in the past degraded ecosystems and increased their vulnerability to climate change. Illicit logging was a major reason for ecosystem degradation and many of the larger most valuable trees have been felled with a long term impact on habitats and forest regeneration.

Home to globally endangered Asian Elephant and vulnerable Pigtailed Macaque

Patches of critically endangered Garjan Dipterocarpus turbinatus trees.

High species diversity: 15 amphibian species, 35 reptile species, 25 mammal species, and 162 bird species.

Restoring forest here offers the scope to sequester 403 tons of CO2 per hectare for climate change mitigation

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

Natural beauty and wildlife offer eco-tourism potential

How You Can Help ?

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

Fashiakhali CMC has a bank account (Fashiakhali Boinnaprani Avoyarnna Sahobabostapona Committee, NCC Bank Ltd., Chakaria, Cox’s Bazar-4700) and can receive grants from domestic sources. For international assistance, funds can be channeled through Nature Conservation Management (NACOM) a national NGO which has helped establish the CMC. NACOM is registered with Bangladesh NGO Affairs Bureau, no. 481. NACOM focuses on environment, climate change issues, development of grassroots people and nature protection.

Your donations to Fashiakhali CMC will support:

• Improving protection of forest, and their threatened species, through community patrols
• Creating awareness among the local people and increasing alternative income source.
• Promoting eco-tourism (e.g. establishing and maintaining visitor facilities and publicizing Fashiakhali)
• Increasing community sustainability (e.g. reducing disaster vulnerability and improving services)
• Sustainability of co-management movement.