A proposed safari park in a subtropical forest in northeastern Bangladesh will be detrimental to native biodiversity
A proposed safari park in a subtropical forest in northeastern Bangladesh
will be detrimental to native biodiversity
Mohammad Ali Reza Khan et al., The Business Standard
May 9, 2022
See link
https://www.tbsnews.net/features/panorama/proposed-safari-park-subtropical-forest-northeastern-bangladesh-will-be
for photos.
Biodiversity in tropical and subtropical forests are at high risk of
decline due to rapid anthropogenic development. Planned activities that
potentially benefit communities near forests are often undertaken at the
expense of forest biodiversity. Recently, the government of Bangladesh
released plans to develop a safari park in Lathitila Forest (LF) in
northeastern Bangladesh. This mixed evergreen, stream-fed, trans-border
forest harbours 26 globally threatened species. The proposed plan aims to
bring several exotic game animals such as the lion (Panthera leo), spotted
hyena (Crocuta crocuta) and cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) to be maintained in
captivity.
Additionally, exotic bird aviaries, gardens, a dolphinarium, a marine
aquarium exhibit and a carp pond have been proposed for construction. Here,
we (i) summarise some of the key attributes of safari parks and the
misconceptions associated with them; (ii) highlight some of the planned
development activities of the proposed safari park; (ii) list the
threatened species found in the area, and (iii) explain why establishing a
park in the area would be detrimental to the region's biodiversity.
We urge the government to abandon the plans to develop a safari park and
suggest that the area be brought under formal protection for the benefit of
biodiversity conservation.
Bangladesh has a population of about 160 million people, with less than 7%
of the land remaining as forest. Recently, the Bangladesh Forest Department
asked a consultancy service to conduct a feasibility study to develop a
safari park in one of the last forested areas in the northeastern region of
the country.
Bangladesh Engineering and Technological Services Ltd (BETS), a consulting
firm, provided a biodiversity assessment report on LF and a detailed plan
of the safari park. Upon publishing the report, a nationwide debate ensued,
with much discussion about the potential detrimental effects on native
biodiversity.
The northeastern forests of Bangladesh are the northernmost fringes of the
anticlinal Baramura-Atharamura-Longtharai-Unakoti Hill ranges of Tripura.
These forests have been protected since the colonial era and belong to the
western tip of the IndoBurma Biodiversity Hotspot. The Patharia Hill
Reserve Forest (PHRF, area 80 km2) is the northernmost patch that holds LF
(22 km2) within its boundaries and consists of traversing streams with old
teak plantations and bamboo-dominated stands.
We urge the government to abandon the plans to develop a safari park and
suggest that the area be brought under formal protection for the benefit of
biodiversity conservation.
What Is a Safari Park?
According to Section 19 of the Bangladesh Wildlife (Conservation and
Security) Act (2012), a safari park is defined as an area where native and
exotic wild animals are protected in an approximation of a natural
environment for breeding and roaming openly. There are two safari parks in
Bangladesh, ie, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park in Cox's Bazar
(BSMSPC, area 9 km2 ) and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park in Gazipur
(BSMSPG, area 15.42 km2). Both of these facilities are built on degraded
dipterocarp dominated forests and are within 50 km of the nearest cities.
Safari parks create a potential risk of disease outbreaks in captive
animals and native wildlife.
Between January and February 2022, BSMSPG experienced an Anthrax outbreak
that killed 11 zebras, one tiger and one lion within two weeks. The risk of
spillover of zoonotic pathogens circulating in captive wildlife to native
wildlife is high, given the layout of safari parks.
The Proposed Park
The proposed safari park plans to transform the entire LF with the planned
construction of major infrastructure, including rest houses, a highway, and
multi-storied residential plots for park management staff. The park area
encompasses a total area of approximately 22 km2. The report proposes the
establishment of a core area (0.84 km2 ), tourism oriented ecovillages
(2.81 km2), an exhibit-themed "safari kingdom" (0.15 km2 ), and a
wilderness park (18 km2). The core area would contain several exotic
species.
In addition, BETS proposed to construct an elephant orphanage, although the
area of this facility was not specified in the report. The wilderness area
was designated for the rest of LF with an emphasis on the conservation of
biodiversity with provisions of trail walks for tourists. Conservation of
nature combined with the delivery of economic benefits to nature-dependent
communities can ensure sustainability. However, there are no "safari parks"
or "safaris" that utilise this conservation model. Many "safari"-based
conservation models usually do not involve importing exotic (or invasive)
wildlife.
The proposed budget to construct the park is about $114 million, which will
be spent in five years. Upon being built, the park plans for 4-6 visiting
hours per day, and expects to earn $1.75 million annually from 1 million
annual visitors with a per-person park entry fee of less than $1. Based on
this estimated income, it would take more than a century to make the park
economically profitable.
BETS designed the safari park based on four safari parks in Southeast Asia
and one zoological garden in India. All the facilities mentioned in their
comparative study (e.g., Hyderabad Zoological Park, Safari World Bangkok,
and Jurong Bird Park) are located within tourist destinations, several
kilometres away from international borders and protected areas. These model
safari parks are, in fact, zoos and theme parks, and earn a yearly revenue
of more than $1 billion per year.
Conservation Significance of LF and Greater PHR
Tiger Survey Landscape: Vagrant tigers periodically enter LF which falls
under the Tiger Survey Priority Landscape, which is an area putatively of
high value for tiger conservation. The LF and PHRF are part of the greater
Manas-Namdapha tiger conservation, restoration, and survey landscape that
extends from Arunachal, India in the north, including Mizoram, India, and
continues south to Chattogram Hill Tracts, merging with the Arakan.
Trans-Boundary Elephant Corridor: The forest is the only remaining active
transboundary corridor of Asian elephants in northeastern Bangladesh and
southern Assam, India. Talukdar et al. assessed that only 6.88% of PHRF was
completely uninhabitable by wildlife, but the rest (including most of LF)
contained a moderate-to-excellent habitat for elephants. Elephants,
although under serious anthropogenic pressure, can act as an umbrella
species of the PHRF wildlife if protected properly.
Human Communities around Lathitila Forest: Establishing a large zoological
park will not only threaten biodiversity but will also displace communities
that live in the area. At least 2,000 people reside within the proposed
park area and would be displaced or otherwise impacted by the construction
activities.
We believe the development of the proposed safari park would be detrimental
to the significant biodiversity that exists in the region if implemented as
planned. This is because of the following observations we noted while
assessing the proposed park: (i) the proposed site, i.e., Lathitila Forest,
is a Tiger Survey Priority Landscape, an active trans-boundary elephant
corridor, and belongs to the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot; (ii) the
concept of the proposed Safari Park is very different from the concept of
the safari, a common practice in the African countries; (iii) the existing
safari parks of Bangladesh are prone to transmissible diseases; (iv) none
of the zoological institutions or safari parks are members of EAZA or WAZA
due to poor facilities, funding, and animal husbandry standards; (v) the
proposed safari park by BETS is an extended concept of a zoo; (vi) the
proposed safari park of BETS plans to bring exotic (with some invasive)
wildlife into an area that consists of remote forest stands with
trans-boundary connectivity; and (vi) the native Conservation 2022, 2 295
and threatened wildlife already residing within the forest could be better
conserved using existing, proven conservation models.
Thus, we strongly urge the government to abandon the idea of developing a
safari park to host semi-captive exotic animals primarily for entertainment
at the expense of the diverse biota that still exists in LF.
Lathitila Forest must be brought under formal protection to safeguard the
remaining biodiversity of the region. Declaring the area, including the
whole Patharia Hill Reserve Forest, as an IUCN-designated Category II or
Category IV protected area will be far more effective, economical, and
sustainable to commence sustainable conservation practice in the region to
ensure both wildlife conservation and the welfare of the forest-dependent
community.