Bangladesh Forest Department (BFD) launched the socio-economic survey of the Bangladesh Forest Inventory on 12 December 2017 at Korobi Conference Room, Forest Department, Agargaon, Dhaka with the technical support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and financial support from United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

About 80 delegates from more than ten national institutions participated to the launching ceremony.  The socio-economic survey will evaluate ecosystem services for the forestry sector in Bangladesh.

The socio-economic survey launching programme intended to sensitize national stakeholders about the socio-economic survey of the Bangladesh Forest Inventory. During the programme, field equipment and manuals were handovered to the field teams. Cooperation among all agencies is being sought for the smooth implementation of field activities.  In total, ten quality assurance and quality control members from Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), Forest Department, Dhaka University, Chittagong University, Khulna university and Arannayk Foundation will operate to ensure the robustness of the data collected.

Mr. Aminul Islam, Sociologist, Forest Department has given welcome speech and mentioned that a total 6400 households and 100 community surveys will be conducted through this survey. Mr. Zhaeer Iqbal, National Project Coordinator of Bangladesh Forest Inventory (BFI) mentioned that socioeconomic component is one of the major component of BFI that will assess the interaction between tree and forest and people. As like biophysical survey, socioeconomic survey will be conducted at five zones: Sal, Hill, Coastal, Sundarbans and Villages. Information from the biophysical and socio-economic components of the BFI will be integrated to provide a clear picture of the status of the forestry sectors and uses of forestry products.

During the programme, participants, guests and special guests emphasized that trees and forests play a critical role for the livelihoods of people by providing numerous ecosystem services such as food, timber, energy, fodders, water and recreation. However, the valuation of these services is not properly reflected in the national accounting systems. This survey is an important step towards the valuation of ecosystem services and to provide a robust basis to guide future actions for sustainable forest and natural resources management.