ASSESSMENT AND MONITORING OF VILLAGE FOREST RESOURCES

Abstract

The area of village forest (0.27 million hectare) is very limited in comparison with government forest land (2.14 million hectare). But the village woodlot area contributes 85% of the total consumption and the remaining 15% is contributed by government forest land. Need for correct assessment and monitoring is discussed. The main objective of this paper is to recommend appropriate sampling design for correct assessment of village forest resources. A case study was undertaken in the district of Chittagong located at the south-east corner of Bangladesh. A study population of 900 households was formed consisting of 14 rural thanas in the district. The seven parameters defined under five variables were calculated for complete enumeration. The parameters were estimated through Cluster Sampling, Two Stage Sampling and Stratified Two Stage Sampling (Self-Weight) taking 250 sample households in each method. The estimates were compared with the enumerated values on the basis of percentage standard error, percentage accuracy, percentage bias and 95% confidence interval. Stratified Two Stage Sampling (Self-Weighted) provided the best estimates for true total homestead area (78.4 ha for 97 ha), for true total compact tree garden area (49.6 ha for 49 ha), for true total volume of trees (9432.2 m3 for 9490 m3 ), for true total number of bamboos (53546 for 53229), for volume of compact trees per hectare (164.9m3 for 172 m3) and true number of households with bamboo plantation (413 for 407). Stratified Two Stage Sampling (Self-Weighted) was found to be a suitable technique and was recommended to apply as field sampling design for correct assessment of village forest resources. A continuous monitoring system was also suggested.