MANGROVE FORESTS

closed

The project would continue and expand the Government's ongoing Mangrove Plantation Program in the coastal districts of Chittagong, Noakhali, Patuakhali, and Barisal by financing its total cost over a period of five years. It would cover all capital investments, and provide additional support services. Quantifiable benefits will arise from the production and sale of marketable fuelwood, pulpwood, and saw logs. The main beneficiaries would be landless laborers living near the plantations who will have better employment opportunities and use of nonmarketable fuelwood free of charge. Project risks include possible selection of unsuitable planting sites minimized by FD's long experience in plantation location and establishment; the impact of cyclonic storms minimized by the wide distribution of plantings and poaching which would be controlled by FD's protection program.