Deforestation as a site of conflict and differentiation: The case of the Rohingya refugee influx in Teknaf

Abstract

Abstract The migration of refugees and displaced persons has previously been linked to deforestation globally, with reports of clashes over resources and forest rights being associated with it. This paper aims to qualitatively study the aforementioned phenomenon through the case of deforestation associated with the Rohingya refugee influx in Bangladesh, which has resulted in the deforestation of over 8,000 acres of forest land. The deforestation has reportedly led to various livelihood issues for host community members including difficulty in conducting animal husbandry, agroforestry and the ability to forage for food. This paper aims to look into the social aspects of the effects of deforestation on host community Bangladeshis, by studying whether or not its impact has resulted in raising inequalities or vulnerabilities between host community groups based on their ethnicity and/or socio-economic positioning. Additionally, this paper aims to analyse the effects of deforestation on the cohesion between the host community Bangladeshis and Rohingya refugees and relations between different host community groups as well. The data of this study has been gathered through five focus group discussions which incorporated 35 forest-dependent host community members, and six key informant interviews consisting of middle-class development workers, politicians and journalists. This study indicates that the impact of deforestation may have disproportionately affected marginalised groups, especially in terms of agroforestry and animal husbandry. Findings additionally illustrate that the resulting effects of deforestation may have negatively influenced the cohesion between host community members and Rohingya refugees, while contributing to tension between farmers and relatively powerful groups who utilised land shortages after the influx.