Project Name: “Sustainable Forest and Livelihoods (SUFAL)’’ Project.
Project Introduction:
Bangladesh Forest Department (BFD) is implementing 5-years long “Sustainable Forest and Livelihoods (SUFAL’’ project from July 2028 with the support of World Bank and GOB contribution. The overall object of the project is to improve collaborative forest management and increase access to alternative income generating activities for forest dependent communities in the project areas of 28 district of Bangladesh. It will cover hill forest, plain land forest and coastal forest. By these activities, forest dependency of large numbers of community members who are involved in forest destructive activities and their dependence on the forest resource for their livelihood will be decreased by this project support.

Project Agreement Number: SD-56A

Overall Objective:
The project has been designed to strengthen collaborative forests and protected areas management for enhancing forest restoration, wildlife protection, and biodiversity conservation. The provision has been made for providing ecosystem services through increase access to alternative income generating activities (AIGAs) including forest extension service & planting trees in Trees Outside Forests (ToF) areas to reduce forest exploitation and improving environment.

Specific Objectives: The specific objectives of the project are:

• Improve public sector management of forest resources;
• Increasing participation of communities in forest conservation and restoration;
• Reducing direct dependence and exploitation of forest resources by offering alternative livelihood sources to dependent communities;
• Improving the enabling environment for trees outside forests.

Outputs: Expected outputs of this project are given bellow:

• Strengthened institutional and technical capacity of 64 beat offices and 128 forest conservative villages/ Village conservation Forum and recognizing the benefits of collaboration with local communities in their management;
• Improving economic, social, and cultural development of 8,530 HH and managing negative impacts of disaster & Climate change through forest conservation and restoration activities;
• Reducing forest dependency of the community and making provision of alternative livelihoods and food security ;
• Enhancing ecosystems services for Sustainable Economic Growth and safeguarding environment in protected forest areas.

Project Components:
There are four major components in SUFAL project.

• Institutional strengthening of Forest Department, information management and training.
• Support for cooperative forest and protected area management.
• Increase participation of forest dependent communities in alternative income generating activities, forest extension and tree plantation.
• Project management, monitoring and gaining experience.

Major Activities:

• Community Identification of Poor (CIP) team formation and Provide orientation for CIP team.
• Beneficiary selection, and baseline survey
• Different committee formation (CFMC/VCF-EC, FPCC, FAC, VCSC, PC, SAC)
• Provide capacity building training to different committee member.
• Beneficiary training needs assessment.
• Tread wise AIGA and committee member’s capacity building training module preparation.
• Provide AIGA training for tread wise selected beneficiary.
• Community mobilization through training, monthly meeting, group savings, engages different AIGA.
• Increase collaborative forest management through jointly forest patrolling by beneficiary & forest department.
• Assist Livelihoods development fund distribution and recovery management.
• Assist to Community development fund implementation.

Project Participants (Direct):

Project Duration: 29 June 2021 to 30 September 2024.

Financial partner (Donor): World Bank and GOB

Implementing partner (if any): Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM)

Project Location/s and number of Field offices: Chattogram north, south forest division and Chattogram Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Forest Division

Project Budget: BDT 69969390.00 (Six core ninety nine lac sixty nine thousand three hundred ninety taka only)

Number of project staffs and volunteers :

Contact Person:
Name & Designation:  Uzzal Kumar Kundu, Field coordinator
Email: uzzalkundu@yahoo.com, Cell: 01710231672