Coastal Greenbelt a measure to prevent coastal erosion and reduce other natural hazards by planting trees and creating forests along the coasts. The south and eastern coasts of Bangladesh face tidal surges and erosion every year. It has been determined that the main protection against tidal surges will not come from the so-called strip planting but from largescale non-raised foreshore and charland mangrove planting. Planting along roads and embankments contributes to the establishment of a greenbelt and plays a role in coastal protection, but a greenbelt has other positive effects too.

A greenbelt has two main functions: to protect the embankment from tidal surges through plantings on its outer slope, and to protect life and property in the region by embankment plantings as well as planting in the agricultural hinterland. It also enhances environmental quality. Moreover, it restores and protects the important mangrove forest. It also increases the country's forest resources through perennial vegetation on sea or river embankments.

cyclones and tidal surges cause major destruction of human life almost every year. In April 1991, although a cyclone caused about 150,000 deaths and severe damage to livestock, crop infrastructure, and other properties, its impact on vegetation covered areas was noticeably less severe. After the cyclone, the government of Bangladesh took up an afforestation project to establish a greenbelt in the coastal regions of the country.

A coastal greenbelt area is defined as the inner boundary of the high risk and risk areas where the depth of the 1991 cyclone surge was one metre, although the definition has been slightly modified to include the whole of Bhola. A total of ten forest divisions have been included in this project. These are: Patuakhali forest division (comprising Barguna and Patuakhali districts), Chittagong forest division (comprising Chittagong and Cox's Bazar districts); Bhola forest division; Lakshmipur forest division; Noakhali forest division; Feni forest division; Pirojpur forest division; Bagerhat forest division; Barisal forest division; and Jhalokati forest division. In the process, around 3 million ha of land, constituting about 16-17% of the country's total land area, have been covered.

Table Coastal Greenbelt Project (to June 2000)

The Forest Department is acting as the implementing agency of the project. The implementing agency and landowners or their agencies sign agreements for using the land. The benefit of the project is to be shared between the parties. Maintenance of the plantations and the roads or embankments is the joint responsibility of the participants and the concerned departments. Certainly, the coastal greenbelt programme has increased vegetation areas in the coastal zones of Bangladesh. It may also help to reduce natural hazard casualties.

[Masud Hasan Chowdhury and Md Tuhin Molla]

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