Perception Based Assessment of Ecosystem Services of Madhupur Sal Forest in Bangladesh

Madhupur Sal (Shorea robusta) forest, the largest belt of natural Sal forest in Bangladesh, is rich in ecological resources and biodiversity. In recent years, human disturbance leads to biodiversity loss from the forest, and it has a successive effect on the services that the forest provides. Thus, it is crucial to explore the present condition of the forest’s available ecosystem services with local people’s consciousness about the ecosystem. The present study investigated the available ecosystem services of Madhupur Sal forest, respondents’ perception towards those services and the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents that influenced their perception. Data were collected by interviewing 90 respondents with a focus group discussion. Most of the respondents in the study area were ethnic people (Garo). A total of 20 ecosystem services were identified where soil erosion control, mental peace and maintenance of soil fertility were the top-ranked services. About 83% of the respondents had moderately favorable perception towards ecosystem services. The study results showed that the respondents with a higher level of education, higher family annual income, and more training received on agriculture perceived ecosystem services to a greater extent than others. So, improvement of their perception towards ecosystem services can make them aware of forest biodiversity conservation.