From slash-and-burn to sustainability : a study from the Chittagong Hill tracts of Bangladesh

Abstract

In Bangladesh many rural hill communities are in trouble because their traditional ‘slash and burn’ agriculture is becoming increasingly unsustainable. Farmers in these communities have to farm more intensively and this is causing a whole host of environmental and social problems. This challenge is not limited to this region, but is being experienced by traditional farmers across the developing world. To help find a solution to this crucial problem, a new SANDEE study looks at the economic and social feasibility of replacing shifting cultivation in the hill district of Khagrachari with settled agriculture and new soil conservation techniques based around orchard growing.