Status of biodiversity in Bangladesh

      Bangladesh, located in the humid tropical region is rich in species diversity and is unique in the diversity of genetic resources compared to its land area. It has about 5700 species of angiosperms and four species of gymnosperms (Khan, 1977; Troup, 1975) of which some 2260 species are reported from the Chittagong region (Anon, 1992). Khan (1996) reported that there are about 86 timber species, 130 species yielding fibre and 29 medicinal plant species available in the country. The Bangladesh National Herbarium (BNH) prepared a list of 500 medicinal plants. Bamboo resources of 18 taxa, both wild and planted are available in the country (Alam, 1982). There are at least nine species of rattans (Alam and Basu, 1988), along with 12 other palm species (Khan, 1996). However, it must be noted that comprehensive information on forest genetic resources (FGR) is not available in the country. Information on species diversity in terms of (i) chromosome numbers, (ii) morphological variation, (iii) flowering and seed production habits, (iv) flowering time and nature and (v) seed morphology and viability, etc. are available only for a few agricultural species. Forest species are neglected in this respect (Hassan, 1995). The natural hill forest of Bangladesh is characterized by a large diversity of species. An estimated 5000 species of angiosperms alone are available in the forest of Bangladesh including 68 woody legumes, 130 fiber yielding plants, 500 medicinal plants, 29 orchids of which some 2260 species are reported from Chittagong region (ADB, 1992). However there is no systematic study on the biodiversity of these forest areas. Sporadic information available on the species diversity of these hill forests. Khan and Afza (1968) gave the preliminary floristic report on Teknaf forest. Hossain et at. (1996) reported 85 tree species (having dbh of 10cm and above) in Bamu reserve forests of Cox’s Bazar Forest Division. Nath et al. (1998) recorded another 85 tree species (having dbh of 10cm and above) from a sampled area of 2 ha in Sitapahar forest reserve of Chittagong Hill Tracts (South) Forest Division. Thus it is apparent that several hundred species of taxonomic importance are found in the hill forests. The species and genetic variation within them represent an enormous potential for new and improved varieties of crops and medicines. The forest dwellers and the forest dependent peoples of this area are at present the greatest users and stewards of this plant diversity (Hossain, 1998).