Additional Context: For more than two decades, USAID supported community co-management of forests and wetlands in Bangladesh while helping develop the country's protected area management framework.

At the time funding was terminated, programs were about to implement mechanisms that would allow communities to receive and manage conservation revenues directly. Community patrols were receiving training to improve safety while monitoring protected areas; women and youth from resource-dependent households were being supported to diversify their livelihoods; and local universities were conducting research to inform conservation planning. Co-management organizations were also being trained to identify local conservation priorities, develop long-term strategies, and prepare funding proposals for the Bangladesh Forest Department. The goal was to transition responsibility for conservation from NGO partners to locally led institutions capable of sustaining the work beyond the life of donor-funded projects. The work spanned the Northeast Protected Forests, three wetlands, and the Sundarbans.

The source has requested to remain anonymous.