Forest Act, Policy and Rules

	National Forestry Policy, 1994
		Social Forestry Rules, 2004 (Modified upto May, 2011)" [Click Here to Download]
		The Forest Act 1927 [Click to Download]
		Bangladesh Wildlife (Preservation) Order, 1973 (as amended upto 1974)
		Bangladesh Spotted Deer Rearing Policy-2009 [Click to Download]
		Compesation Policy for Casualities Caused by Wildlife [Click to Download]
		Brick Burning (Control) (Amendment) Act, 2013[Click to Download]
		Prime Minister's National Award on Tree Plantation[Click to Download]
		Transit Rule for Bangladesh_2011 [Click to Download]
		Saw-mill (License) Rules, 2012 [Click to Download]
		Wildlife (Preservation & Security) Acts, 2012 [Click to Download]

National Forestry Policy 1994

Statements of the National Forestry Policy Attempts will be made to bring about 20% of the country's land under the afforestation programs of the government and private sector by year 2015 by accelerating the pace of the program through the coordinated efforts of the government and NGOs and active participation of the people in order to achieve self reliance in forest products and maintenance of ecological balance. . Because of limited amount of forestland, effective measures will be taken for afforestation in rural areas, in the newly accreted char in the coastal areas and in the denuded Unclassed State Forest areas of Chittagong Hill Tract and northern zone of the country including the Barind tract. . Private initiatives will be encouraged to implement programs of tree plantation and afforestation on fallow and hinterland, the bank of the pond and homestead land, which are under private ownership. Technical and other support services will be extended for introducing agroforestry on privately owned fallow and hinter land to keep intact the production of grass and herb which is grown on government and privately owned forests and fallow lands. . Tree plantation on the courtyards of rural organization such as Union Parishad, school, eidgah, mosque-moktob, temple, club, orphanage home, madrassa etc. and other fallow lands around can be initiated. The government will encourage this type of initiative and extend technical and other supports. . Massive afforestation on either side of land surrounding road, rail, dam and khas tank through the partnership of the local people and the NGOs will be commenced. Side by side, rubber plantation will be encouraged in all suitable areas of the country including Chittagong Hill Tract, Sylhet and Modhupur. . Special afforestation programs will be taken in every city of the country under the auspices of the government in order to prevent pollution of environment in the densely populated area. Municipal, town and other relevant authorities will take concerted efforts in implementing this program. Attempts will also be taken to ensure tree plantation / afforestation while plans are made in respect of residential areas. . Massive afforestation programs in the denuded hilly areas of Unclassed State Forests areas of Rangamati, Khagrachari and Bandarban will be taken under the auspices of the government and private initiatives. The participation and rehabilitation of the local Jhum cultivators will be ensured while implementing this program. This will be done under the auspices of the Ministry of Land in cooperation with the local government by keeping the land ownership rights intact. . The priority protection areas are the habitats, which encompass representative samples of flora and fauna in the core area of National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries and Game Reserves. Attempts will be made to increase the amount of this protected area by 10% of the reserved forest land by the year 2015. . Multiple use of forest, water and fish of Sundarbans through sustained management will be ensured keeping the bio-environment of the area intact. . All state owned forests of natural origin and the plantations of the Hill and Sal forest will be used for producing forest resources keeping aside the areas earmarked for conserving soil and water resources, and maintaining the bio-diversity. Keeping in view the ecology, the management of forest lands will be brought under profit-oriented business. . Inaccssible areas such as slopes of the hills, fragile watershed, swamp etc. will be identified and kept as protected forests. . The areas under the reserved forest, which have been denuded or encroached, will be identified. Afforestation in these lands will be done through people's participation. In this regard, the use of agro-forestry will be encouraged. NGOs will have opportunities to participate in this program. Side by side, the lands in Chittagong and Sylhet, which were allocated to different persons and institutions for developing the tea gardens still remain unutilized and uncultivated will be identified and used for tree plantation and afforestation. . Initiatives will be taken to reduce wastage by using modern and appropriate technology at all stages of extraction and processing forest products. . Emphasis will be imparted on modernization of forest-based industries to ensure effective utilization of the forest raw materials.. . Steps will be taken to bring state owned forest-based industries to competitive and profit oriented management system under the free market economy. . Forest resource based labor intensive small scale and cottage industries will be encouraged in the rural areas. . Rules and procedures regarding transportation of forest produces in the country will be simplified and made up-to-date. . Export of logs will remain banned given the scarcity of wood in the country. But processed forest products can be exported. Import policy on wood and wood-based products will be liberalized, but import tariffs, for the wood products, which are abundant in the country, will be levied appropriately. . Because of the scarcity of forest land, state-owned reserved forest cannot be used for non-forestry purposes without the permission of the Head of the Government. . A large number of tribal people lived around a few forest zones. Since the ownership of land under their disposal is not determined, they grab the forest land at will. They will be imparted ownership of certain amount of land through the forest settlement process. The rest of the forest land will be brought under permanent protection. . Funds from different donors including International Aid Organizations will be used to promote private forestry Organizations and tree farming, and for such programs like training, technical and financial supports will be imparted at an increasing rate. . Women will be encouraged to participate in homestead and farm forestry, and participatory afforestation programs. . Ecotourism, related to forest and wildlife, is recognized as forestry related activity, which will be promoted taking into consideration the carrying capacity of nature. . There will be massive campaign through the government and non-government medias for raising consciousness among the people regarding afforestation and conservation, and use of forest resources. . Encouragement will be extended to grow fruit trees for producing more fruits along with the production of timber, fuelwood and non-wood forest products under the afforestation program. . Initiatives will be taken to reduce wastage by increasing efficiency and modernizing the technology for extracting forest resources. . Forest Department will be strengthened in order to achieve the goal and objectives of National Forestry Policy. A new department called "Department of Social Forestry" will be established. . The implementation of National Forestry Policy will be supported by strengthening educational, training and research organizations. This will contribute to forestry sector development. . Laws, rules and regulations relating to the forestry sector will be amended and if necessary, new laws and rules will be promulgated in consonance with goals and objectives of National Forestry Policy.  The Forest Department’s code of practice for law enforcement If the offence is relatively minor, then the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) may accept the offer of the offender a compromise. Under this provision the offender has to pay the Forest Charges for contravention of the provision of the law, plus an amount of compensation equivalent to the damage done to the forests plus the value of the forest produce, when the offender is allowed to keep the forest produce. To discourage the forest offenders, at present there is a Government Order that prohibits the offender to keep the forest produce. This is recorded as a Compounding Offence Report (COR). . When the offence involves a larger quantity of forest then the offender is arrested, the produce and equipment seized then the case is referred for trial at the Magistrate’s Court. In most cases the offender is bailed but the seized equipment is kept until the trial is over. If the case is proven then the offender is fined or imprisoned or both and the forest produce is confiscated. Confiscated produce is customarily sold at open auction. These cases are recorded as a Prosecuting Offence Report (POR). . On occasions when the Forest Department finds produce that has been obtained without permit and the ‘owners’ has absconded then the produce is seized, sold at auction, which is recorded as Undetected Offence Reports (UDOR).

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