The strategy to push Bengali-speaking people from plain lands to the hilly areas was a 'wrong' and destabilised the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), H T Imam, adviser to the prime minister, said yesterday.
Changing the ratio of population in the hills created tension and conflict in the region which contributed to environmental damage and also restricted development in the area, he said.
Imam was speaking at the opening session of 'Sustainable Development in Chittagong Hill Tracts: A way forward'; a day-long seminar jointly arranged by the Ministry of CHT Affairs and International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).
The 1997 CHT Peace Treaty however opened the door for development in the region, said HT Imam who served as deputy commissioner of the region in the late 70s.
Dr Mashiur Rahman, adviser to the Prime Minister, pointed out that the environmental condition of the CHT remains very fragile.
'Any development activities implemented in the region should emphasize on environmental care as per the present government's policy,” he said.
Andre Bogui, country director of the ILO, Bangladesh, Stefan Priesner, country director, UNDP, Bangladesh, Dr. David Molden, director general of ICIMOD, Jantindra Lal Tripura, chairman Taskforce for the Returnee Refugee also spoke as special guests at the session chaired by State Minister for CHT Affairs Dipankar Talukder.
Talukder said the CHT region faces many environmental and social problems and the government is doing its best to solve those.
“The 1997 peace treaty opened opportunities for development in the region. However, no issue can be resolved overnight,” he said.
Naba Bikram Kishore Tripura, secretary to the ministry, also spoke at the session.
Other speakers said CHT area is under pressure for food, water, timber, fuel-wood and non-timber forest products to meet the demands of its growing population.
They said various sustainable development initiatives are taking place in the region now due to different programmes taken up by the government and development partners.
Following the inaugural session, technical sessions were held on livelihood improvement, sustainable management of natural resources and sustainable development in the CHT region.