RANGAMATI, Mar 22 (IPS) – Just some years in the past, Sudarshana Chakma (35), a resident of the distant Digholchari Debarmatha village beneath Bilaichari upazila within the Rangamati Hill District, needed to traverse a protracted hilly path to fetch water for her family as a result of there have been no native water sources.
“Unchecked deforestation and degradation of village frequent forests (VCFs) led to the drying up of all-natural water sources in our village. We struggled to gather consuming and family water,” Chakma defined to IPS.
Ethnic communities within the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) rely considerably on forests for his or her lives and livelihoods. They collect water from pure sources like streams and apply jhum (shifting cultivation) in close by forests. Nevertheless, indiscriminate deforestation of the pure sources had dried up springs and streams, inflicting water shortage in lots of areas.
The tide turned when the USAID-funded Chittagong Hill Tracts Watershed Co-Administration Exercise (CHTWCA) engaged surrounding communities, together with these dwelling in Digholchari Debarmatha village, as conservation volunteers to guard Village Widespread Forests (VCFs) in 2020. This initiative efficiently revived springs, guaranteeing a year-round water provide.
The Strengthening Inclusive Growth in Chittagong Hill Tracts Mission, which the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs carried out, has reworked many lives, together with Chakmas’.
“Now we will simply fetch water from close by springs, bringing peace to our lives. Because of the arduous journey ethnic ladies needed to make to fetch water, quarrels over who was going to fetch the water had been frequent within the village and amongst households. Now, we reside in concord,” stated Sudarshana, a mom of 4.
Silica Chakma of Digholchari Hajachara village echoed her sentiments, highlighting the voluntary conservation efforts by ethnic communities to make sure an ample water provide through the dry season.
“Earlier than the restoration of our forests, we confronted water shortage. Now, we now have no water disaster, as we acquire water 4 to 5 instances a day from the springs revived within the forests,” she stated.
Silica emphasised that village frequent forests are conserved voluntarily, with strict rules in opposition to harvesting forest sources with out the approval of VCF administration committees.
Barun Chakma, President of the Digholchari Debarmatha VCF Administration Committee, emphasised the shift in mindset, stating that locals now defend the forests voluntarily, contrasting with previous practices the place timber had been felled indiscriminately.
Enhancing Small Agriculture Sustainability
The CHT faces aggravated water crises through the dry season, impacting agriculture and homesteads.
To handle this, native ethnic farmers in Digholchari Debarmatha have constructed bamboo-made dams on streams, creating water reservoirs fed by springs from the village frequent forest.
Pujikka Chakma, a 45-year-old feminine farmer, is grateful for the progress.
“After conserving the native forests, farmers don’t face water shortage for his or her agriculture and homesteads. We retailer spring water within the reservoir to irrigate cropland through the dry season.”
Thirty-seven-year-old Lika Chakma additionally acknowledged the advantages of the expanded use of spring water in agriculture, together with cultivating numerous crops and guaranteeing meals safety for the group.
Conserving Medicinal Crops
Along with addressing water safety, ethnic communities within the Rangamati Hill District have been actively conserving medicinal crops for healthcare and coverings.
Lika Chakma defined, “We preserve medicinal crops in our native forests to be used once we fall sick.”
Poitharam Chakma emphasised the significance of those efforts, given restricted entry to healthcare services in distant hilly areas. “As soon as our forests had been degraded, we confronted issues accumulating medicinal crops. Now, we’re conserving these in our forests.”
Barun Chakma supplied particulars of the planting, a couple of years in the past, of assorted medicinal crops, together with Haritaki (myrobalan), Bohera (Terminalia bellirica), and Amloki (Indian gooseberry), within the Digholchari Debarmatha VCF. Whereas acknowledging that it’s going to take time for these crops to yield natural medicines, he expressed confidence in the neighborhood’s capacity to assist well being therapies sooner or later.
The conservation initiatives run by ethnic communities in Bangladesh deal with points with water safety, assist agricultural sustainability, and defend priceless medicinal crops.
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