Restoring Degraded Landscapes through an Integrated Approach Using Geospatial Technologies in the Context of the Humanitarian Crisis in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh
Rashed Jalal,
Rajib Mahamud,
Md. Tanjimul Alam Arif,
Saimunnahar Ritu,
Mondal Falgoonee Kumar,
Bayes Ahmed,
Md. Humayun Kabir,
Mohammad Sohal Rana,
Howlader Nazmul Huda,
Marco DeGaetano,
Peter John Agnew,
Amit Ghosh,
Fatima Mushtaq,
Pablo Martín-Ortega,
Andreas Vollrath,
Yelena Finegold,
Gianluca Franceschini,
Rémi d’Annunzio,
Inge Jonckheere,
Matieu Henry
Affiliations
Rashed Jalal
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 00153 Rome, Italy
Rajib Mahamud
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 00153 Rome, Italy
Md. Tanjimul Alam Arif
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 00153 Rome, Italy
Saimunnahar Ritu
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 00153 Rome, Italy
Mondal Falgoonee Kumar
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 00153 Rome, Italy
Bayes Ahmed
Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction (IRDR), University College London (UCL), Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
Md. Humayun Kabir
Bangladesh Forest Department, Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, Sherebangla Nagar, Agargaon, Dhaka 1207, Bangladesh
Mohammad Sohal Rana
Bangladesh Forest Department, Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, Sherebangla Nagar, Agargaon, Dhaka 1207, Bangladesh
Howlader Nazmul Huda
International Organization for Migration, House 13A, Road 136, Gulshan 1, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Marco DeGaetano
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 00153 Rome, Italy
Peter John Agnew
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 00153 Rome, Italy
Amit Ghosh
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 00153 Rome, Italy
Fatima Mushtaq
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 00153 Rome, Italy
Pablo Martín-Ortega
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 00153 Rome, Italy
Andreas Vollrath
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 00153 Rome, Italy
Yelena Finegold
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 00153 Rome, Italy
Gianluca Franceschini
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 00153 Rome, Italy
Rémi d’Annunzio
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 00153 Rome, Italy
Inge Jonckheere
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 00153 Rome, Italy
Matieu Henry
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 00153 Rome, Italy
The influx of nearly a million refugees from Myanmar’s Rakhine state to Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, in August 2017 put significant pressure on the regional landscape leading to land degradation due to biomass removal to provide shelter and fuel energy and posed critical challenges for both host and displaced population. This article emphasizes geospatial applications at different stages of addressing land degradation in Cox’s Bazar. A wide range of data and methods were used to delineate land tenure, estimate wood fuel demand and supply, assess land degradation, evaluate land restoration suitability, and monitor restoration activities. The quantitative and spatially explicit information from these geospatial assessments integrated with the technical guidelines for sustainable land management and an adaptive management strategy was critical in enabling a collaborative, multi-disciplinary and evidence-based approach to successfully restoring degraded landscapes in a displacement setting.
