1. Introduction
Globally, forcibly displaced population reached remarkably high from
43.3 m in 2009 to 70.8 m in 2018, largely because of persecution,
conflict, violence or human rights violations (UNHCR, 2019). Presence of
displaced people may introduce a range of effects to the host
environment of which deforestation, land degradation and impacts on
water supply and quality are noteworthy (Black, 1994). However, severe
pressure on local environment causes forest cover to deplete
substantially (Hagenlocher et al. 2012; Birendra and Nagata, 2006) due
to enhanced competition for natural resources between displaced
communities and local population (Chambers, 1986). Furthermore, clearing
of forest cover evidently reduces ecosystem functions and services
(Foley et al. 2007). For instance, biomass and carbon stock depletion in
relation to deforestation caused by increased human activities can
accelerate climatic change at regional and local scales (Panja, 2020;
Bonan, 2008; Malhi et al. 2002).
Following severe violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State in 2017, nearly a
million forcibly displaced Rohingya population (a minority ethnic group)
took refuge in Cox’s Bazar– Teknaf peninsula of Bangladesh
(UNHCR, 2017), which is believed to be the largest refugee camp in the
world at present (Kolstad, 2018; IOM, 2017). Although Rohingya issue
dated back in 1942 (Human Rights Watch, 2000), their influx is
multiplied since August 2017 (UNOCHA, 2018). A total of 932,940 Rohingya
are now being hosted in 48 temporary camps which are located either
within the reserve forests or in a close proximity to forested lands
(UNDP Bangladesh and UN WOMEN Bangladesh, 2018). Since Cox’s
Bazar– Teknaf peninsula is an ecologically critical area (ECA)
(DOE, 2015), hosting such a big number of refugee population is not only
a significant threat to the environment (Hassan et al. 2018; Rahman,
2017) but also has implication for local and regional security (Bashar,
2018; Rahman, 2010). Forest clearance for building camps and ensuring
livelihood activities (Lynch, 2002; Rashid et al. 2020), especially
within 15 km of the camps (Sato et al., 2000), are two major issues that
the peninsula is currently facing. Although the Rohingya communities are
supported by different organizations, these supports do not guarantee
cash flow, hence they have no or limited livelihood options (IOM and
FAO, 2017). Therefore, they depend on available forest resources to
maintain their livelihoods (Wilson, 1994; GTZ, 1994), which is posing a
significant threat to forest resources (Ghimere, 1996). Besides, cooking
requires fuelwood (IOM and FAO, 2017) which is being met up through
harvesting from locally available natural and community forests. Since
refugees use natural resources in a more unsustainable way than local
communities (Black and Sessay, 1998), long– term impacts on
natural resources could be irreversible.
Various impacts associated with forced displacement on host environment
are noted in a number of studies (see Hagenlocher et al. 2012; Black,
1994), however the extent of ecosystem degradation depends on factors
like destination country’s capacity (Hugo, 1996), degree of disturbance
to forests (Shukla et al. 2011) and institutional arrangement (Black and
Sessay, 1998). Since Bangladesh is densely populated and have limited
natural resources, particularly forested lands, sheltering nearly one
million Rohingya over the peninsula resulted in a variety of impacts,
including severe depletion of forest covers (Ahmed et al. 2019). As best
management practice requires information about spatiotemporal pattern of
the past, present and future scenarios of a geographic phenomenon (e.g.,
forest ecosystem), monitoring and predicting forest extent in the
peninsula with satellite data could be of great value (Bjorgo, 2000a;
Lodhi et al. 1998). Although geospatial data are valuable source of
information for crisis and disaster management, relatively little is
done in elucidating degradation of natural forest and related ecosystem
function in response to a sudden humanitarian crisis such as Rohingya.
This work aims to fill this void. Despite a couple of works attempted to
estimate forest loss (Ahmed et al. 2019; Hassan et al., 2018), they are
however limited in data and scope. Notably, they are unable to show
factors accountable for forest degradation, prediction of forest
degradation (assuming business– as– usual scenario),
and most importantly, loss of ecosystem function over space and time.
Planning and efficient management of meagre natural resources requires
up– to– date data, therefore, availability of existing
forest resources and potential loss in relation to refugee migration is
expected to provide crucial information to managers and policymakers
(Morales-Hidalgo, 2015; Romijn et al., 2015; Bouchardy, 1995; Bjørgo,
1999). This work, thus, attempts to answer two research questions: (i)
what is the extent of forest degradation in environmentally sensitive
Cox’s Bazar– Teknaf peninsula in response to Rohingya influx;
and (ii) what is (would) be the degree of ecosystem function loss, at
present and in the future, under multiple stressors and stimulus, if
Rohingya issue persists.