Protected Areas of Bangladesh: Current Status and efficacy for Biodiversity Conservation

This paper reviews the present status of, challenges to, and prospects for protected areas (PAs) in Bangladesh. The purpose of the study was to provide up-to-date information on country's PAs to various national and international donor and conservation agencies. So far, a total of eighteen PAs have been notified and managed by the country's Forest Department (FD). Although PAs have been established for all of Bangladesh's forest types, in reality these areas are not really protected, mainly due to poor focus on public involvement in PA management process. Furthermore, the distribution, area and number of PAs are not adequate to conserve the rich biological diversity exceptionally possessed by the country. The study concluded that effective co-management, between PA managers and…