The GREEN LIFE (Greening Environment through Livelihood Improvement and Forest Enrichment) is a project under USAID’s Local Works Program in Bangladesh. The project aimed at restoration and conservation of the forests and watershed ecosystems with a particular focus on the Sheikh Jamal Inani National Park (SJINP) that has been severely impacted by the 2017 influx of forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals.

GREEN LIFE project is providing technical, logistic and capacity building support to the co-management organizations(CMOs) of the SJINP to strengthen protection and management of the Protected Area (PA) and promoting alternative income generating activities (AIGA) among the forest dependent communities in 44 villages around it through skills training, input support, cash grant for establishment of revolving loan fund (RLF) and development of market linkages and local service providers (LSP). It is also promoting adoption of conservation-friendly alternatives to firewood and energy saving cooking devices and crockeries among the local communities through awareness creation, facilitation of supply chain development and cost support to the poor project participants. More than 10,000 people are being directly benefited from various interventions of the GREEN LIFE Project.

Objectives

The project has four components namely (a) Environmental conservation, (b) Livelihood development, (c) Alternative fuel and (d) Local capacity building to accomplish the following objectives.

• Protection and management of Sheikh Jamal Inani National Park (SJINP)
• Livelihoods improvement of the local communities
• Less damaging fuel alternative adopted by local communities
• Capacity of co-management organizations strengthened

Expected outcome

• To bring 7,085 ha area of the SJINP under an improved management system
• Reforming and strengthening Co-management Organizations (CMOs) by increasing community participation in monitoring and management of the SJINP
• 1,800 beneficiaries will increase their annual income by adopting conservation friendly and gender responsive alternative income generating activities (AIGA) among the forest dependent communities in 44 villages around SJINP.
• 63,500 seedlings will be distributed over 10,000 beneficiaries including school children and different institutions.
• Increasing access of local communities to adopt less damaging fuel alternatives through LPG distribution in households, institution encouraging use of heat retaining stove/crockeries, demonstration of biogas plant and fuel wood tree plantation.
• Raising mass awareness among community people regarding the ecological and economic importance and the need for conservation of the forests and biodiversity conservation.

Aside from the 1,800 direct livelihood beneficiaries of the project, around 10,000 additional households are expected to be benefited from the project.