Once a forest, now salt fields
Thirty-five hectares of mangrove forest in Eastern Char Dhurung village under Cox's Bazar's Kutubdia upazila have been turned into salt fields. Thousands of trees were felled in the process, at a cost of the area's biodiversity and environmental balance.
According to forest officials, the mangrove forest, which contained at least 70,000 saplings, was established in 2019-20 as part of a forest department project on Khas land under the jurisdiction of the deputy commissioner.
Shamim Reza, ranger of the Kutubdia coastal forest office, admitted that encroachers have destroyed the forest to make salt fields. "We reported the matter in writing to our higher authorities."
"We could not take legal action against the encroachers as the land is under the DC," he added.
During a recent visit, this correspondent found that most of the trees in the forest have been cut down by the encroachers. Labourers were seen working in the salt fields that were created by massive deforestation.
Mohammed Malek, a worker, told The Daily Star that they have been working there for the last 6 months on daily wages.
"I'm working here according to the instructions of the owner," he added.
Due to the destruction of the forest, the ecological balance of the area will be disturbed and the wild animals who were living in the area will lose their habitat and become displaced.
Local and forest officials said Mohammed Sujan and Abdul Mazeed, two locals, have taken over most of the forest and turned it into salt fields.
However, Mohammed Sujan claimed that the forest department planted trees in the lands after it emerged as a Char.
"But these lands were our ancestral property, which we lost to river erosion. Now we are producing salt in the land," he said.
When asked about the tree felling, he said they were just "clearing" the land for salt production.
According to data from the Chattogram coastal forest division, the Kutubdia range has 867 hectares of land. However, there is forestry in it only on 200 hectares of land.
Abdur Rahman, divisional forest officer (DFO) of the Chattogram coastal forest division, claimed that they did not take any legal action against anyone as the 35 hectares of mangrove forest were destroyed due to natural causes.
"We have already sent a detailed report about the matter to the higher authorities of the forest department," he added.
Contacted, Cox's Bazar DC Mohammad Shahin Imran said, "As per law, any land that re-emerges as a Char after being eroded is government property. I will look into the issue of encroachment and take action accordingly."
However, Kutubdia UNO Dipankar Tanchangya told The Daily Star that the forest department should have informed them about the encroachment but did not.
"We will promptly investigate the encroachment of government land and uprooting of trees and take legal action against those involved," he added.
Experts said the mangrove forest protected the area from the most dangerous gusts. The complicated branches and leaves of mangrove trees serve as a natural barrier, lowering the height of storm surges.
Mohammad Kamal Hossain, former professor of Institute of Forestry and Environmental Science at Chittagong University, said mangrove forests not only maintain the balance of the environment but also provide effective soil protection against erosion.
"Due to the destruction of the forest, the ecological balance of the area will be disturbed and the wild animals who were living in the area will lose their habitat and become displaced," he added.