Abstract
Studies on the impacts on local livelihoods and inter-community conflict of deforestation associated with refugee movements often treat host community groups as monolithic, with no analysis of its disproportionate effects on more vulnerable members resulting from competition over dwindling forest resources. We use the sustainable livelihoods framework and environmental-conflict theories is to illustrate the interconnection of migration, deforestation, and livelihoods through the lens of the Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh with a focus on ethnic and economic marginalisation and intra-community social cohesion. The deforestation of over 3,000 hectares associated with the Rohingya refugee influx has resulted in the loss of various forest-dependent livelihoods such as fuelwood collection, livestock rearing, and agroforestry. We analysed data collected from focus group discussions with forest dependent host community members and key informant interviews with journalists, local politicians, and NGO workers that show the effects of deforestation on the host community have disproportionately impacted ethnically and economically marginalised members, especially in terms of livestock rearing, agroforestry, and food insecurity. Our findings also show that conditions that promote heightened group identity and relative deprivation among host community groups, having long-term influence on intra-community cohesion, are also a result of deforestation.
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Notes
A translator was present in all the FGDs, as many of our respondents preferred to speak in either Chittagon dialect or in Chakma.
Unlike the other communities, the Mochoni group had not taken part in any prior research.
The focus groups in the Putibuniya and Lombaguna were all women due to their relatively higher participation agroforestry practices as men in these Chakma communities contributed to household income through day labour rather than agroforestry and consequently were not included in the FGDs. The Amtali FGD consisted of male Chakma farmers actively involved in subsistence activities, including agroforestry. Both the Teknaf Sadar and Mochoni FGD consisted of Bengali Muslim male farmers as women were not actively involved in forest-based activities. The focus groups were heterogeneous in terms of wealth/landholding with respondents ranging from landless farmers to medium-scale landholders (2.0 ha).
The Arkan Rohingya Salvation Army. An Islamist group claiming to defend the rights of the Rohingya. However, ARSA members have been arrested for murder, acts of arson, and cattle and goat theft from other Rohingya, particularly community leaders, among refugees in Bangladesh.
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Acknowledgements
This work would not have been possible without the active participation and warmth of all our respondents We would also like to thank our ex-sociology professor, Professor Shahidur Rahman, for encouraging us to embark on this independent research and helping us navigate obstacles along the way. This is dedicated to the late Tarique Ahmed.
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While Tasfia Ahmed prepared the analytical framework for this study, all other aspects of the research including literature review, field work and primary data collection, transcription,analysis and preparation of the manuscript were shared between the two authors.
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Ahmed, T., Sabastini, P. Deforestation as a Site of Conflict and Differentiation: The Case of the Rohingya Refugee Influx in the Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary. Hum Ecol 52, 115–127 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-024-00480-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-024-00480-x