The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT)-5,093 sq. miles in extent or 10% of Bangladesh-is a unique territory. While most of the country is flat and a few feet above the sea level, the CHT in the southeast is mountainous with scenic landscapes. The 12 different indigenous peoples' groups are also unique with distinct and different cultures.
However, once noted for its 'majestic natural beauty' the region has lost much of its original landscape because of ill-conceived development initiatives and human greed. Most of the hills that were covered with thick forests now lie denuded or negligibly covered with bushes and small trees. To many it is no more than a hill park.
Factors that have contributed to this sorry state of the region include the Kaptai Hydroelectricity Project and its resulting massive lake, reservation of traditional homeland of the indigenous peoples and their subsequent massive displacement, monoculture plantations with exotic species, in-migration of the Bengalis, militarization of the region for about three decades, etc. among others. Immoral human actions have broken the chain of nature and put life at risk. One can still be charmed by the spectacular scenic beauty of the Kaptai Lake and the mountain landscapes but this beauty cannot hide the catastrophe caused to the hill people.
In the book, THE CHITTAGONG HILL TRACTS: LIFE AND NATURE AT RISK, a host of writers present information, analyses, photographs and arguments on how land, life and nature in the Chittagong Hill Tracts are at risk today. It is no wonder the region has also witnessed bloodshed, dislocation, disruption and destruction of life and nature in the name of 'development'. In the nation-state of Pakistan, the hill people were marginalized and remained alienated from the mainstream politics. In Bangladesh their efforts to establish constitutional safeguards-both peacefully and through arms struggle-have also failed. This is a reality full of agony and anger for the hill people. The peace accord signed in 1997 has ended the bush war and brought some relief to the region in the initial stage but the amazing, honest and always smiling hill people are still caught in a tough struggle to establish their legitimate rights.
This book intends to provide basic information on the Chittagong Hill Tracts and stimulate discussion on critical issues. It also enhances understanding about the CHT's unique legal and administrative system that has no parallel in other parts of Bangladesh.
Contributing writers: Raja Devasish Roy (Chakma Chief), Amena Mohsin (professor, Dhaka University), Meghna Guhathakurta (professor, Dhaka University), Prashanta Tripura (assistant professor, Jahangir Nagar University) and Philip Gain (naturalist).
Photography and editing by Philip Gain
Published 2000
121 pages in offset Price: Tk.500 US$20
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