Second Chittagong Hill Tracts Rural Development Project (RRP BAN 42248)

Indigenous Peoples Plan

March 2011

BAN: Second Chittagong Hill Tracts Rural

Development Project

Prepared by ANZDEC Ltd for the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs and Asian Development Bank.

http://www.adb.org/Documents/RRPs/?id=42248-01-3

CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (as of 16 March 2011)

Currency unit taka (Tk)

Tk1.00 = $0.0140 $1.00 = Tk71.56

ABBREVIATIONS

ADB Asian Development Bank ADR alternative dispute resolution AP affected person CHT Chittagong Hill Tracts CHTDF Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Facility CHTRC Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council CHTRDP Chittagong Hill Tracts Rural Development Project CI community infrastructure DC deputy commissioner DPMO district project management office GOB Government of Bangladesh GPS global positioning system GRC grievance redress committee HDC hill district council INGO implementing NGO

IP indigenous people IPP indigenous peoples plan LARF land acquisition and resettlement framework LCS labor contracting society LGED Local Government Engineering Department MAD micro agribusiness development MIS management information system MOCHTA Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs

NOTE

(i) In this report, "$" refers to US dollars. This indigenous peoples plan is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB's Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area.

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CONTENTS

Page A. Executive Summary 3 B. Description of the Project 4 C. Social Impact Assessment 5

1. Indigenous Peoples of Bangladesh 5 2. Indigenous People of the Chittagong Hill Tracts 8 3. Social Geography of the CHT: Resettlement, Conflict and the Peace Process10 4. Socio-Economic Survey of the Chittagong Hill Tracts 12 5. Social Impact Assessment 14

D. Information Disclosure, Consultation and Participation 16 E. Beneficial Measures 17

1. Prioritization of Small IP Groups in CHTRDP-II 17 F. Mitigation Measures 28

1. Participatory Village Mapping 28 2. Measures for Compensation for Customary and Tribal Land Guaranteed in the Land Acquisition and Resettlement Plan 31

G. Capacity Building 32 H. Grievance Redress Mechanism 33 I. Monitoring, Reporting and Evaluation 35 J. Institutional Arrangment 36 K. Budget and Financing 42 Appendices A ILO C107 Indigenous and Tribal Populations Convention, 1957 A-1 B IP-Led NGOs for Potential Recruitment A-8 C UNDP (CHTDF) and Updated Matrix For Selection of Prioritized Upazilas A-21 D Text of 1997 Peace Accord A-24 E CHT/IP Sources A-35 F Report of Consultation Two Day Workshops with Stakeholders, Bandarban,

Khagrachari, and Rangamati, November 2-25, 2010 A-39

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List of Tables Table 1: Areas of IP Concentration in Bangladesh ...................................................................... 7 Table 2: IP and Non-IP (NIP) Population in CHT by District, 2001............................................... 9 Table 3: IP and Non-IP (NIP) Populations in CHT, 2001 ............................................................. 9 Table 4: Ethnic Membership of Hill District Councils (HDCs) ..................................................... 11 Table 5: Approximate Population and Percent by Ethnicities in the CHT ................................... 20 Table 6: Initial Indices of IP and Non-IP Vulnerability Ranking .................................................. 20 Table 7: Ranking of Less Developed Upazilas by, CHTDF 2001 Matrix, Updated by Technical

Advisory Consultants (TAC) in 2010 ........................................................................... 23 Table 8: Matrix - Who lives where in CHT, by Upazilas and by Ethnicities ................................ 24 Table 9: Proposed Length of Upazila and Union Roads for the Three CHT Districts, Proposed

by CHTRC and LGED................................................................................................. 26 Table 10: Connectivity within the Three CHT Districts ............................................................... 27 Table 11: Approximate Proportion of CI Component Budget by Subcomponent and District ..... 27 Table 12: Estimated Budget for IPP for CHTRDP-II .................................................................. 42 List of Figures Figure 1: Distribution of IPs in Bangladesh ................................................................................. 7 Figure 2: CHT Population Growth 1860-2010, IPs and NIPs .....................................................10 Figure 3: Chakma, Mong and Bohmong Circles of the CHT ......................................................19 Figure 4: Smaller IP Groups by Prioritized Less Developed Upazilas in CHT, Overall and by District .......................................................................................................................................25 Figure 5: PVM Map Board of Sapchari, Posted at Village Entrance ..........................................31 Figure 6: Grievance Redress Mechanism .................................................................................34 Figure 7: Property Valuation Advisory Team (PVAT) & Procedure of Determining Valuation 37 Figure 8: Resettlement Organization Chart ...............................................................................40 Figure 9: Tentative IPP Plan Implementation Schedule for Project............................................41

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A. Executive Summary 1. The Indigenous Peoples Plan (IPP) outlines the principles and methodology to design and implement the Chittagong Hill Tracts Rural Development Project II (CHTRDP-II) in a way that fosters full respect for Indigenous Peoples (IPs) identity, dignity, human rights, livelihood systems, and cultural uniqueness as defined by the IPs themselves so that they (i) receive culturally appropriate social and economic benefits, (ii) do not suffer adverse impacts as a result of projects, and (iii) can participate actively in projects that affect them. 2. There are four main IP Safeguards components in the CHTRDP-IIs IPP:

(i) Payment for IP Common Lands to usufruct and legal owners of land (through registration with Headmen) taken for the Project, in particular Upazila and Union, as well as Village Access (Category A and B) Roads, although small village infrastructure is also included, wherever land is required.

(ii) Participatory Village Mapping (PVM) to delineate boundaries and major land use

within villages along CHTRDP-II roads, backed up by a proactive Grievance Redress System to counteract land invasion occasioned by new and upgraded Upazila and Union roads. Such mapping will also be used for watershed management and for heightening village awareness of the need to keep village common forests intact.

(iii) Ensuring prioritization of IPs in view of their higher poverty status, and monitoring

the need to provide targeted assistance to the Small IP Groups in the CHT who are by in large more vulnerable than the larger IP groups, in the case of disproportionate benefit capture.

(iv) Raising awareness among Government of Bangladesh (GOB) officials working in

the CHT (and in the central administration in Dhaka) of IP issues, history, and customs.

3. The IPP provides the foundation for four different types of proactive IP actions to be part of the CHTRDP-II implementation.

(i) Land Acquisition and Resettlement Plans (LARPs) prepared during implementation following the social safeguards Land Acquisition and Resettlement Framework (LARF), adopted under the Loan Agreement, will assure compensation for IP Common Lands for CHTRDP-II subprojects, such as Upazila and Union Roads and small village infrastructure. While the LARPs do not fall directly under this IPP, they guarantee achievement of the first IPPs safeguard component and as such substitute for IPPs guaranteeing fair compensation for IP Common Land. MOCHTA, through the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council (CHTRC) and the Hill District Councils (HDCs), has overall coordination, planning, implementation and financing responsibilities for LARPs under the CHTRDP-II. The CHTRC fully recognizes the importance and complexity of the Projects resettlement programs. Therefore, the CHTRC will appoint a Resettlement Specialist (RS) to the Project Implementation Consultants (PIC) and will, after finalization of the design and prior to commencement of work on Right-Of-Way (RoW), hire an experienced

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Implementing NGO (INGO) for LARP implementation, with clearly defined tasks including establishing an income restoration program. A senior HDC Social Scientist at the rank of Executive Engineer (EE) will be appointed as the Chief Resettlement Officer (CRO) to supervise the implementation work, with the help of HDC, IP-Led NGOs supervised by a nationally recognized INGO with extensive resettlement experience.

(ii) Participatory Village Mapping (PVM) will be prepared for villages along Upazila

and Union Roads built under CHTRDP-I as well as for CHTRDP-II and will be carried out prior to construction of new roads and/or of road upgrading under the Project. PVM will be tied to LARP implementation. Implementation of PVM will be tied to that of LARPs, under the same administrative set up, but IP-Led NGOs with PVM experience will be hired to carry out the village-level fieldwork.

(iii) Prioritization of smaller IP groups will be mainstreamed into the Project design for

selection of Upazila and Union Roads and, similarly, selection of Community Infrastructure (CI). To strengthen further this prioritization, the IPP, through the Office of the Project Director (OPD) and the PICs RS, with oversight of the Safeguards and Quality Monitoring Cell (SQMC), will monitor this issue and will recommend to ADB a specific grant for smaller IP groups if by year two, benefits are not flowing sufficiently to the smaller IP groups. Any grant considered at that point will be designed based on lessons learned during the early CHTRDP-II implementation.

(iv) A training program on IPs for GoB officials working in the CHT will be prepared

and implemented, overlapping with the ADBs Regional Capacity Development Technical Assistance (RETA) Targeted Capacity Building for Mainstreaming Indigenous Peoples Concerns in Development and the CHTRDP-IIs institutional strengthening. The training program focuses on government officials in the key institutions (Planning Commission, Special Affairs Division (SAD), MoCHTA, RC, HDCs and CHTDB), and will include: Key government Line Agencies (e.g. LGED); Traditional Institutions; Local NGOs; Parliamentarians (e.g. Standing Committee on MoCHTA). Training modules are expected to be completed under the RETA by Project implementation and MOCHTA will coordinate with the Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre (BPATC) to carry out the training under the auspices of the HDCs throughout the life of the Project.

B. Description of the Project 4. CHTRDP-II will improve rural livelihoods to reduce poverty and vulnerability amongst the rural population of CHT. More specifically, it will: (i) improve rural infrastructure and sustainable natural resources management and monitoring; (ii) increase rural incomes, including those of remote rural women and disadvantaged groups, through increased economic opportunities and activities; and (iii) support institutional strengthening of MOCHTA, CHTRC and Hill District Councils (HDCs) to plan, implement and monitor sustainable rural development in the three districts of Rangamati, Khagracchari and Banderban. 5. The Projects goal is to reduce incidence of rural poverty in the CHT for which key indicators will be sustained increase in rural incomes and strengthening of CHT specific institutions to undertake their mandated role. The Project impact is increased employment and income generating opportunity for rural communities of the CHT, which will be achieved through

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a range of activities including: (i) improvement of selective rural access (upazila, union and village roads); (ii) small-scale water resources infrastructure (village water supply and irrigation); (iii) watershed management; (iv) market infrastructure; and (v) Micro-Agribusiness Development (MAD). Monitoring indicators for the expected outcomes of the Project will include: (i) measurable increased economic opportunities for rural poor, especially women and vulnerable groups in IP communities; and (ii) improved watershed conditions, especially soil erosion and water conservation that will underpin the investments made in water and land improvement. 6. The Project comprises five components:

(i) Institutional Development and Capacity Building; (ii) Rural Roads and Markets; (iii) Community Infrastructure; (iv) Micro-Agribusiness Development; and (v) Project Management.

7. The beneficial, mitigation and capacity building measures for the implementation of this IPP are mainstreamed within these components and are discussed in more detail in Sections E, F and G of this IPP. C. Social Impact Assessment

1. Indigenous Peoples of Bangladesh 8. Bangladesh is by and large religiously, ethnically and linguistically homogeneous. Its population of nearly 160 million (estimated 20101) it is roughly 85 percent Muslim, others mainly Hindu, Buddhist and Christian. More than 99 percent speak Bengali. The overwhelming numbers of people are ethnic Bengalis although they are a mixed group containing Aryan, Dravidian, Mongoloid and other racial traits. Despite the homogeneity of people as a Bengali nation, the CHT comprising the districts of Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban has a significant number of ethnic minorities (0.45 percent of the total population of Bangladesh) who belong to the mongoloid group and live in a geographically compact area. The CHT is situated in the extreme southeast of Bangladesh, bounded on the north and northeast by the Indian state of Mizoram and Tripura, and on the south and southeast by Myanmar (Burma), and on the east by the district of Chittagong. The area is politically, strategically and economically a vital region, having common borders with both India and Myanmar. 9. The CHT is inhabited by a variety of ethnic groups (the IPs) popularly known in Bangladesh as tribes. Three major tribes are the Chakma, Marma and Tripura. They constitute more than 88 percent of the total number of IPs in the CHT. Other tribes are Tanchangya, Mro, Bawm, Pankhua, Chak, Kheyang, Lushai and Khumi. The Chakmas, including Tanchangyas and Marmas, are Buddhists. The Tripuras are Hindus Hindus, although a substantial number of them have converted into Christianity in the recent decades. Earlier, the Mros were Buddhist and animists, but many now have their own religion. The Bawms, Pankhuas and Lushais are Christians. Overall, the social and political organization, way of life, economy and culture are more closely linked to those of the hill people of Assam and upper Myanmar than to the settled people who occupy the alluvial plains of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta, which makes up the greater part of Bangladesh.

1 The World Fact Book for Bangladesh: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bg.html

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bg.html

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10. The term Indigenous People (IP) encompass a generic concept not easily reflected in a single term. Other terms relating to the concept of indigenous peoples include "cultural minorities," "ethnic minorities," "indigenous cultural communities, "tribals," "scheduled tribes," "natives, and "aboriginals. Accepted or preferred terms and definitions vary country by country, by academic discipline, and even by the usage of groups concerned. In Bangladesh, IPs are often referred to as Adibasi, small ethnic groups, ethnic communities, hill people (paharis) and forest people. Adibasis will be referred to as IPs, in line with ADB terminology, throughout the rest of this document. 11. ADB in its Safeguard Policy Statement (2009) defines IPs as a distinct, vulnerable, social and cultural group possessing the following characteristics in varying degrees:

Self-identification as members of a distinct indigenous cultural group and recognition of this identity by others;

Collective attachment to geographically distinct habitats or ancestral territories in the project area and to the natural resources in these habitats and teritories;

Customary cultural, economic, social, or political institutions that are separate from those of the dominant society and culture; and

A distinct language, often different from the official language o fthe country or region. 12. According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS 2004), minority ethnic groups (meaning IP) in Bangladesh constitute about 1.13% of the total population, which is predominantly made of Bengalis, the nations majority ethnic group. 13. In terms of geographical distribution within Bangladesh, IPs can be grouped into two broad categories (shown in Figure 1):

IPs living within or close to forest areas in the plains and

IPs living in hills, predominantly in the CHT. 14. Plains Area IPs. Within the plains, there is a high concentration of ethnic groups in Naogaon, Dinajpur Rajshahi, Rangpur and Joypurhat Districts of Rajshahi Division in northwest Bangladesh, constituting about 36 percent of the IP population of the country. There are some six IP groups identified in this part of Bangladesh, but more than half of them are Santals. The IP population constitutes less than four percent of the total population of the respective districts. 15. The hillocks of Sylhet Division may also be included in the Plains Area. IPs here are mostly in Maulavibazar and Hobigonj Districts constituting eight percent Bangladeshs IP communities, with Khasia, Manipuri and Tipra communities less than three percent of the district populations. 16. Mymensingh, Netrokona and Tangail region commonly known as the Madhupur area of Dhaka Division contain about seven percent of the nations IP population. The majority of these belong to the Garo/Mandi group, less than two percent of the district populations. In addition, a miniscule presence of tribal groups like Rakahain are found in coastal areas of Patuakhali (Barisal Division) and Cox Bazar (Chittagong Division) districts. Similarly miniscule IPs are found in Khulna Division in the largely uninhabited Sundarbans mangrove forest area. 17. Hill Area IPs. About 41 percent of the total IP population of the country lives in three districts of Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachari of CHT, as shown in

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Table 1. They constitute about half of the total population of each district. Altogether there are 11 ethnic groups who live in these hill districts; but a vast majority of them belong to Chakma, Marma and Tripura groups.

Table 1: Areas of IP Concentration in Bangladesh # Areas of IP Concentration Predominant IPs %

National IPs

% of District

Populations

Plains

1 Rajshahi Division, Naogaon, Dinajpur Rajshahi, Rangpur & Joypurhat Districts

Santal, Munda and Oraon 36 4

2 Sylhet Division, Maulavibazar and Hobigonj Districts

Khasia, Manipuri, Patro, Garo and Tripura

8 3

3 Madhupur Area of Dhaka Division Garo/Mandi 7 2

4 Patuakhali (Barisal Division) and Cox Bazar (Chittagong Division) Districts

Rakahain 6

5 Khulna Division, in Sundarbans Munda 2

Hills

6 Chittagong Hill Tracts Chakma, Marma & Tripura 41 44

Total 100 -- Source: Formulated from Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), 2001.

18. Historically, IP plains communities have remained at a disadvantaged position due to their geographical, social and political positioning and therefore have been economically marginalized, with low access to education or other social services, and denied access to power. The overall IP literacy rate, for instance, is below 20 percent compared to a national rate of 50 percent (BBS 2004). IP traditional subsistence has been reliant on forests and shifting agriculture (Jhum cultivation). The establishment of rubber plantations, national and eco-forest parks, and other development eroding forestlands have impacted the IP communities.

Figure 1: Distribution of IPs in Bangladesh

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19. In recent times, the situation has improved to some extent where constitutional safeguards have been partially provided through either reservations or affirmative action for such groups. Still, their negotiation capacity to benefit equitably from the development activities remains weak compared to the majority Bengalis; and in many parts of the country they are in a continuing struggle for formal recognition their communal and private land ownership as well as their traditional rights to forest resources. Figure 1 provides an overview of IPs of Bangladesh as a whole and of the CHT in particular.

2. Indigenous People of the Chittagong Hill Tracts 20. The CHT is located at southeastern corner of Bangladesh and bordered by Mizoram State of India and the Arakan of Myanmar in the east, Tripura State of India in the north, Chittagong district in the west, and Coxs Bazar district in the south. The CHT area covers approximately 13.3 thousand km2 of three hill districts (Rangamati about 6.1 thousand km2, Khagrachari about 2.7 thousand km2 and Bandarban about 4.5 thousand km2), which indicates about 10 percent of land area in Bangladesh. There are 25 upazilas and 111 unions in three hill districts. Rangamati district comprises 10 upazilas and 48 unions, Khagrachari district 8 upazilas and 34 unions, and Bandarban 7 upazilas and 29 unions. The population of the CHT in 2004-2005 was estimated at 1.31 million over all and the districts, Rangamati 514,000; Khagrachari 538,000; and Bandarban 258,000. 21. There are twelve ethnicities (11 indigenous and Bengalis) living in the CHT. The eleven ethnic multi-lingual minorities are: Bawm, Chak, Chakma, Khyang, Khumi, Lushai, Marma, Mro, Pankhua, Tangchangya, and Tripura. The largest indigenous groups in the CHT are the Chakma, Marma, Tripura, Mru and Tanchangya, and together they make up about 90 percent of the indigenous population of the region. The other indigenous peoples of the CHT are the Bawm, Chak, Khumi, Khyang, Lushai and Pankhua.2 These smaller groups are, overall, more vulnerable than the large ones. 22. These IP ethnic groups are also crosscut by differences in religious faith and practices. The Buddhists have historically constituted the majority religious group in the CHT, with much smaller numbers of Hindus, Christians, and worshippers of nature. However, none of the Hill peoples are Muslims. 23. The present ethnic and religious composition of the CHT is strikingly different from what it was a century ago. In 1872, the CHT population had been almost entirely Pahari (98%). In comparison, the non-Paharis (mostly Bengali) accounted for a minuscule minority (2%). Even up to 1951-56, the various Pahari groups together accounted for 90 percent of the CHT population, with Bengalis comprising most of the remainder. However, by 1991, the share of all the Hill peoples declined drastically to around half (51.4%) of the CHT population. Correlatively, the share of Bengalis rose dramatically from around 9 percent in 1951-56 to 48.5 percent in

2 Halim, Sadeka; Raja Devasish Roy; Susmita Chakma; and Sudatta Bikash Tanchangya. n.d. Bangladesh: The

Interface of Customary and State Laws in Chittagong Hill Tracts. pp. 47-110. p. 50. The linguistic map of the Chittagon hills is extraordinarily complex. Most languages spoken here belong to the large language family known to linguists as Sino-Tibetan. The classification of languages within this family is contested and many individual languages are still very inadequately (or not at all) described in the scholarly literature. According to one classification,Sino-Tibetan languages in the Chittagong hills belong to the Burmic division (Mru, Khumi, Lushai, Pangkhua, Bawm, Sak, Khyeng, Marma) and the Baric division (Kok-Borok (Tripura, Riang/Brong)). The other major language family the in the Chittagong hills is the Indo-European family, represented by Chakma, Taungchengya and Bengali. Schendel, Willem Van; Wolfgang Mey & Aditya Kumar Dewan. 2001. Chittagong Hill Tracts: Living in a Borderland. Dhaka: University Press Ltd., p. 301.

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1991. It is evident that the ethnic composition of the CHT has been profoundly transformed during the second half of the twentieth century.3 24. By 2001, as shown in Table 2, Khagrachari District had about 40 percent of the CHT population of 1,333,000, followed by Rangamati, 38 percent, and Bandarban, with only 22 percent of CHTs population. Forty three percent of CHT IPs are in Rangamati District, 33 percent in Khagrachari and only 24 percent in Bandarban. Non-IPs (NIPs), however, were mostly found in Khagrachari, 45 percent of CHT NIPs. Khagrachari, with large, fallow valleys, has attracted a large Non-IP (NIP) influx and has been the center of many confrontations between IPs and NIPs over land. The next largest NIP populations are found in Rangamati, 34 percent of CHT NIPs, and Bandarban, 21 percent of the CHT NIP population. Note that Bandarban is not only the remotest district of Bangladesh but also is the least populated.4

Table 2: IP and Non-IP (NIP) Population in CHT by District, 2001

District IP %

NIP %

Total % Total

Khagrachari 192,647 33 333,353 45 526,000 40

Rangamati 257,679 43 251,321 34 509,000 38

Bandarban 142,651 24 155,349 21 298,000 22

Total 592,977 100 740,023 100 1,333,000 100

Source: Formulated from Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), 2001. Note percentages add up top to bottom

25. The IPs as a group (Table 3) were a bare 51 percent of Rangamati Districts population and only 44 percent of the total CHT population. IPs are 48 percent of Bandarban Districts population. IPs are only 36 percent of Khagrachari Districts population.

Table 3: IP and Non-IP (NIP) Populations in CHT, 2001

District IP %

NIP %

Total %

Khagrachari 192,647 36 333,353 64 526,000 100

Rangamati 257,679 51 251,321 49 509,000 100

Bandarban 142,651 48 155,349 52 298,000 100

Total 592,977 44 740,023 56 1,333,000 100

Source: Formulated from Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), 2001. Note percentages add up left to right

26. It is evident that the ethnic composition of the CHT has been profoundly transformed during the second half of the twentieth century.5 Trends of IP and non IP population, as defined by ADB and in UNDP Socioeconomic Survey (SES) of 2007, are shown in Figure 2.

3 Adnan, Shapan. 2004. Paradoxical Aspects of Poverty and Development: The Case of Ethnic Minority Groups in the

Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. Paper presented at Sixth ASEAN Inter-University Seminar on Social Development Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, 14-16 July.

4 The three highest peaks of Bangladesh -- Tahjindong (1,280 meters, also known as Bijoy); Mowdok Mual (1,052 m);

and Keokradong (1,230 m) -- are located in Bandarban District, as well as Raikhiang Lake, the highest lake in Bangladesh. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandarban

5 Adnan, Shapan. 2004. Paradoxical Aspects of Poverty and Development: The Case of Ethnic Minority Groups in the

Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. Paper presented at Sixth ASEAN Inter-University Seminar on Social Development Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, 14-16 July.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandarban

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Figure 2: CHT Population Growth 1860-2010, IPs and NIPs

Source: UNDP DF, UNDP SE 2009, for up to 1991 data points; BBS 2008, for 2001 data points, and extrapolated from UNDP/BBS data using 15 percent increase over previous year for IP and 36 percent increase over previous year for non IP based on previous average growth, for 2010 data point.

3. Social Geography of the CHT: Resettlement, Conflict and the Peace

Process 27. Since the 1950s, a series of shocks has disrupted the social, economic and environmental conditions underpinning the survival of these ethnic minority groups and their distinctive cultures. In particular, the region has witnessed continuing natural migration, massive state-sponsored transmigration of settlers from the plains, as well as counter-insurgency operations and ethnic domination backed by the security forces. It is in this context that certain kinds of development interventions have taken place in the region, impacting upon the state of poverty of the Hill peoples. 28. The 1997 Peace Accord is the principal policy document that set outs the Governments strategy for redressing past social injustices,6 creating productive economic conditions and establishing a tribally responsive administration in the Hill Tracts (see Appendix D for the full text). The main features of the agreement are:

6 Greatest among these is the Kaptai dam flooded an area of 655 square km, inundating 22 000 ha of cultivable land which was 40

percent of all such land in the CHT. The reservoir submerged 18,000 houses and displaced 100,000 indigenous people, 70 percent of which were Chakma. The dam also submerged the Rangamati town and the palace of the Chakma Raja (king). Kibria, Zakir. 2004. The Dam at Kaptaimukh in Bangladesh: Proposed Extension Plan and Issues of (Non-) Compliance. Paper Presented to the Dams and Development Project (DDP) Workshop Addressing Existing Dams,, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Nairobi, Kenya. June 14-16. Another was the state-sponsored transmigration of roughly 400-500,000 settlers from the plains and eviction of hill people during the 1970-80s, and finally to military occupation that took place during the IP insurgency, ending in 1997. Tens of thousands of indigenous peoples were forced to seek shelter in the remoter hill and forest areas, themselves causing pressure on existing inhabitants of those areas and depleting the available resources. The plains land settlers were given between 2.5 acres and 5 acres of land, and support in the forms of rations, which is still being continued today; while the internally displaced are provided with no such assistance. The settlers also gained priority over land with some forest areas in Rangamati being de-reserved for them. Mostly land belonging to indigenous peoples under customary law was taken and given to Bengali settlers. The overall impact of the trans-migration programme upon the ecology and natural resources of the region was hugely destructive, leading to deforestation, over-cultivation, inadequate use of fertilizers, hill-cutting, landslides and soil erosion, and the contamination of rivers, lakes and other aquifers. Halim, Sadeka; Raja Devasish Roy; Susmita Chakma; and Sudatta Bikash Tanchangya. n.d. Bangladesh: The Interface of Customary and State Laws in Chittagong Hill Tracts. pp. 47-110.

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The re-establishment in Bangladesh of tribal refugees who had fled to Tripura State in India during the insurgency war, the restructuring of the local government agencies to allow for an equal representation of the indigenous people,

The creation of the CHTRC which includes circle chiefs in its membership, and gives the CHTRC overall responsibility for development in the area,

The revision of the composition of the three HDCs which provide for a stronger representation of tribals and women and extends the authority of District Councils to cover land and land management, local police and tribal law and social justice,

Extension of the revenue base of the HDCs and an increase their development funds

The creation of a Land Commission to resolve the disputed land titles which in part led to the civil unrest; and

The establishment of MOCHTA 29. The Peace Accord was formally signed on December 2, 1997 between the Government and the Parbattya Chattagram Jana Sanghanti Samity (PCJSS), although some actions such as the repatriation of refugees had already begun. The following status of the Peace Accord is based on the CHTRDP-Is Indigenous Peoples Development Plan (IPDP), prepared under the ADBs previous IP Policy. It is telling that the status has not improved over the last decade, from 2000, when the IPDP was drafted, to 2010.7 30. Over a decade on from the Accord signing only a bare start has been made to most of its proscribed actions, and their impact on the lives and livelihoods of the general population has been minimal. Many continue to express frustration that the Peace Accord had not led to an improvement in their prosperity or resolved the outstanding land issues. However, there remains a generally positive attitude that the CHT economic situation would improve if development funds were made available to rebuild the rural infrastructure and provide job opportunities. 31. The CHTRC has been established and its mandate has been legally secured in the Regional Council Act of 1998. Although the tribal and gender representation on the CHTRC is specified in the Peace Accord and its Act, its actual membership is to be elected by the elected members of the HDCs. This has not taken place as HDC elections continues, over a decade later the compilation of a new voters list of land owners, which is being delayed by the large number of outstanding disputed land titles. Membership of both the CHTRC and the three HDCs is presently through Government nomination. There has been an inadequate administrative budget provision for the CHTRC and this has restricted staff recruitment and the CHTRCs ability to carry out its development and supervisory functions. 32. The HDCs were constituted along ethnic lines, as shown in Table 4.

Table 4: Ethnic Membership of Hill District Councils (HDCs) GENERAL

Chairman 1 Tribal

General Councilors 30 (20 Tribal And 10 Non-Tribal)

Reserved Women Councilors 3 (2 Tribal & 1 Non-Tribal)

COMMUNITY WISE CHAIRMAN AND COUNCILORS

Chairman (Tribal) 1

Councilors 33

Tribal Women (Reserved) 2

Non-Tribal Woman (Reserved) 1

7 ADB. 2000. Bangladesh: Chittagong Hill Tracts Rural Development, Indigenous Peoples Development Plan, Supplementary

Appendix E, page 1, Document Stage: Final Project Number: 32467, pp. 4-5.

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Non-Tribal 10

Chakma 10

Marma 4

Tanchangya 2

Tripura 1

Lushai 1

Pankhua 1

Source: Rangamati HDC. 2003. Rangamaati Hill District Council in Brief. Rangamati, p. 10.

33. The general amnesty for former tribal combatants has been apparently been satisfactorily executed although there is a small group of tribals who remain vigorously opposed to the Peace Accord. The proposed reduction in army facilities continues, over a decade later, disputed by the PCJSS. No official figures are available from the army or the Government but the PCJSS report that only about 30 army camps out of the estimate 500 camps have been closed down. There continue to be regular newspaper articles on the harassment of tribals by the army and the PCJSS claim that the army is still protecting and promoting the settlement of Bengalis on tribal land. 34. The repatriation of refugees was started in March 1997 and is now said by the Government to be completed. About 12,000 families were re-established in the Khagrachari District by 2000, with each family receiving about 2 acres of land and Tk. 50,000 in cash. However, the Peace Accord clause providing 2 acres for every landless tribal family has not been fulfilled and there is a large number of internally displaced families (up to 50 percent of the total families in several thanas surveyed under CHTRDP-I) who have remained severely disadvantaged. These families have been either eking out an existence in the remote parts of the Reserved Forests or living with relatives and friends. 35. The Land Commission has been established but is yet to become operational. The reasons for its inaction are unclear although there have been frequent changes in the Judge Chairmanship and the post is presently vacant. It is probable that the task of resolving the estimated 6,000 disputed land titles is professionally unattractive and the Government has had real difficulty in finding a willing Chairman to initiate the disputes process. The Peace Accord proposes a concurrent new land survey of the CHT area and this also has yet to begin. 36. MOCHTA has been established and a tribal Minister has been appointed. MOCHTA is based in Dhaka and has no outreach staff in the CHT area. It also has no database on the CHT or any professional social, economic or technical staff. Its activities appear to be confined to general administrative matters arising from the presence of other ministries in the area.

4. Socio-Economic Survey of the Chittagong Hill Tracts 37. This analysis of the poverty situation and the resultant poverty reduction strategy in the CHT is largely based on a Socio-economic Survey (SES) of 60 villages (undertaking during project preparation during August-September 2010), covering all major ethnic communities and some small ethnic communitie living in all the districts and most upazilas of the CHT. For the SES the method of Focussed Group Discussions (FGDs) was used. The SES was supplemented by a Household Survey (HHS) of 6 villages, which had been chosen for sub-project feasibility analysis. The HHS was based on a household questionnaire administered to a randomly selected sample in the villages. Besides, material was also drawn from the earlier studies done during the ADB Water Resources Study in 2009 and secondary data from studies of the UNDP (2009), WFP (2006) and some individual researchers.

13

38. Poverty Incidence: Poverty in the CHT is higher than in the rest of Bangladesh. But within the CHT there are variations based on ethnicity, location, time taken to travel to market and gender. Indigenous peoples have a higher incidence of poverty than Bengalis in the CHT; while among indigenous peoples, those in the valleys are better-off than those in the hills. Interestingly enough the time taken to travel to market is also a factor in the incidence of poverty villages located further away from the market have a higher incidence of poverty than those that are nearer. Finally, poverty also has a gender dimension in the CHT, with women, both among indigenous peoples and Bengalis, being poorer (with poverty being proxied by calories consumed) than men of their own communities. 39. The differences in housing between locations and ethnic communities are much less than in poverty incidence more than 90%of CHT households have thatched roof houses, There is, however, an ethnic dimension in access to grid electricity, with Bengalis having greater such access than the IPs. This could be due to their generally residing much closer to main roads. As would be expected, access to grid electricity goes down as one moves from valley to hill and as one moves away from the roads and markets. On the other hand, one should note that a fair number (6%) of surveyed households had solar panels. Access to improved drinking water sources is higher in the valleys than in the hills, as is to be expected. The incidence of some kind of latrine is quite high, showing that the habit of using latrines has spread quite far in the CHT. 40. Distribution of assets, again, shows less variation than the incidence of poverty. Notable is the spread of mobile phones across all communities and locations. 41. Some of the characteristics of very poor households were thought by villagers to be: landlessness; head of the household with education less than school; having only jhum land; and living far from the road in descending order of importance in villages. 42. Structure of Livelihoods: Poverty incidence and well-being outcomes are very much related to livelihood structures and their variation across space, community and time. Broadly there are two livelihood structures in the CHT those of hill-dwellers and those of valley-dwellers. 43. The main agriculture of valley-dwellers is plough (wet rice and vegetable) cultivation in valleys, with the recent development of timber and fruit plantations, and jhum as secondary, often in the process of being transformed into plantations. The main agriculture of hill-dwellers is hoe agriculture, or jhum on hill slopes, with the recent development of fruit plantations, timber, and some plough cultivation. There are, of course, processes of learning and transformation. The Tripura, for instance, have taken more to plough cultivation than other upland dwellers; while the Chakma are very much into timber and horticulture plantation on the hills. Along with that, some of the Chakma, displaced originally by the Kaptai Dam, and often, after that, losing low-land to Bengali settlers, have taken to jhum cultivation on slopes. But, overall, there still is a substantial correspondence between types of cultivation and the two groups of indigenous peoples in the CHT. The Bengalis are largely valley-dwellers with a greater proportion of those in trading and various types of employment than the IPs. 44. Given the structure of livelihoods, what has been changing and what are the key forces behind the changes? The major negative change in livelihoods in the valleys was the decline in importance of jhum in both valleys and, surprisingly, in the hills. This may not mean that jhum has diminished in the upland farming system; rather, that it is not a growing part of the upland

14

economy. Observation in different upland villages bears this out jhum is not what is growing. Other parts of the upland farming system are the ones that are growing. 45. The major increases are in plough rice, turmeric, fruits, fishery, and timber. But the biggest change is in the importance of wage labour. This shows the possible rapid growth of landlessness; but it definitely shows that with increasing importance of plough rice and vegetables, there is a creation of a lot of wage employment. 46. As would be expected, livelihoods have changed more in the valleys than in the hills. The difference in the importance of particular livelihoods is particularly marked between villages close to and far from the market. Beyond two hours away from the market, ginger and turmeric, which are not perishable, are the main cash crops. Tobacco, similarly non-perishable compared to, say, fruit is a recent entrant in these areas. 47. A case study of Mongopara village, Bandarban district, a village that is more than five hours walk away from the market, showed that after basic food needs have been met, production for the market is essential to increase income and consumption of goods and services that are not locally produced. Consequently, reducing the time to the market, which essentially means a road network that allows vehicular traffic, is critical to go beyond subsistence production. 48. An improved road network also has the effect of increasing competition among buyers in product markets. Besides roads another factor in building more competitive markets is information. The already noted wide spread of mobile phones in the CHT has substantially reduced the cost of acquiring market information and thus reduced information asymmetry in the market, which is a source of buyers strength in thin markets. And, of course, an improved road network would mean a reduction in transport costs. 49. Contrary to the usual impression, the SES showed that credit, either from NGOs or even from banks, has spread quite widely in the CHT, and among both hill and valley dwellers. Bengalis, on the other hand, have greater access to institutional credit than the other communities. 50. The SES showed a not-usually-noted extent of innovation in CHT farming practices. HYV seeds are widely used not just in wet plough cultivation, but also in jhum. Herbicide too is used quite widely, even in jhum plots, though less than HYV seeds. Weeding is by far the most labour intensive part of jhum cultivation and it is performed by women. There are clear attempts by households to reduce the time women spend in weeding.

5. Social Impact Assessment 51. Approach to Poverty Reduction and Rural Development: Before delineating the main project impacts and resulting poverty reduction and social strategy for the CHT, two points are highlighted.. The first is that people in the CHT, including various indigenous communities, have changed aspirations with regard to education, medical services, and the like. These aspirations require higher income and a shift from a basically subsistence economy to one of accumulation. The second point is that the higher income and the shift to accumulation cannot come about through a mere increase in scale of existing activities of households. As it can be expressed, rather than stepping up, or doing more of the same, such as jhum, what is required is stepping out or taking up new livelihood activities, such as high value horticulture, dedicated commercial production of vegetables, and so on.

15

52. Two requirements for rural development, specific to the CHT, are: improved access to markets and security of tenure. Access to markets and the outside world is clearly a major constraint in the development and transformation of production. Those near urban markets have developed market-oriented cultivation of vegetables and fruits; while those just a kilometer away from the main road are unable to use market opportunities to the same extent. This underlines the importance of not just main roads, but also access roads, connecting villages with main roads, to foster development of upland dwellers who are largely jhum cultivators. 53. At the same time, an important constraint in benefiting from improved access is absence of security of land tenure those whose tenure is not under threat have the confidence to undertake medium-term and longer-term investments in, say, horticultural production for the market. The threat may come not only from settlers, who, however, are not very interested in cultivating in uplands, or, even more, from claims that village common forests are unclassed state forests or khas lands. There have been reports of military personnel cutting down saplings and telling upland farmers that they could grow only annual crops and not fruit trees on such lands. Such an annual crop approach only strengthens soil-depleting land uses. Consequently, it is crucial to settle questions of land tenure, including that of village common forests often claimed as government khas lands. The SES was positive in showing that most of the 60 villages surveyed did not consider that there was a serious threat to their tenure. It is important to sustain that confidence, and not allow it to dissipate once roads are built and the value of land increases. 54. As noted earlier, in all indigenous as well as Bengali communities, there are serious issues of gender inequality. These not only affect womens well-being, and therefore by themselves affect the communitys level of development, they also constrain womens agency8 and, in that manner, further constrain every communitys development capabilities. Enhancing womens agency requires concerted action in supporting their economic activities, and promoting their management of community-based activities, such as household water supply systems, which would also reduce the burden of housework and enable women to participate in income-generating activities. 55. In light of the potential social impacts, the following poverty reduction and social strategy has been integrated into the design of CHTRDP-II.

Improve rural access, which can result in: (i) production and marketing of more and higher value crops, livestock and poultry; (ii) reduced transport costs to market; (iii) better prices for produce, with increased competition in the buyers market; and (iv) easier access to markets, health centers, emergency medical care, schools, etc. In valleys, improved access combined with small-scale irrigation will increase cropping intensity, along with increased production of HYV rice and commercial cultivation of vegetables. Improved access and marketing in the hills will enable a transition from subsistence economy with an increase in higher-value horticulture and other commercial cultivation.

Concentrate improved rural access and overall project efforts in the districts and areas that are poorly connected. Along with that, villages around main roads will be connected to main roads, through village access roads and paved paths.

Pay particular attention to promoting development among the more disadvantaged uphill dwelling, swidden cultivators.

Safeguard against likely negative impacts including the risk of losing long-term benefits to communities initially intended to gain from development project interventions. This is

8 Agency in this context means the state of being in action or of exerting power.

16

particularly important in the absence of tenurial security, for both individual and community land, and highlights the need for better safeguarding proposed investments to be made in the area

Enable rural communities to develop potential and skills in rural development and livelihood improvement, through involvement in the planning, development, operation and maintenance activities of subprojects, while paying attention to promoting womens roles in community and household management.

In order to maximize the benefits of improved access, couple these investments with other rural infrastructure, such as irrigation, water supply and market infrastructure or other infrastructure chosen by villages.

Promote security of land tenure, which is a critical requirement for farmers to have the confidence to undertake medium-term and longer-term investments in higher value, horticultural, HYV rice, vegetables or other commercial production, suited to the agro-ecological conditions of the CHT.

56. Poverty reduction will take place through the increase in both net incomes from farmers production and the increased returns from this production, in agricultural employment and the reduction of gender inequalities. D. Information Disclosure, Consultation and Participation 57. Consultation and communication with APs and other stakeholders during the preparation stage of the subprojects will be an integral part of gathering relevant data for impact assessment, and facilities and development of appropriate options for resettlement of APs. The IPP (as well as the LARF) has been disclosed to the affected community in Bangla in Workshops in each of the three CHT Districts to obtain the views of APs and other stakeholders on the compensation and resettlement provisions as per Government laws and ADB guidelines, in Bandarban November 2-3; Khagrachari November 10-11, and Rangamati November 24-25, 2010 (See Appendix F for Workshop summaries and attendance).9 Further, the IPP will be available at HDC offices, and on the Project (English and Bangla) and ADB (in English) websites. As appropriate, the contribution of APs and beneficiary groups will be included in the subproject/district IPPs. 58. Various resettlement committees will be formed and activated during implementation and the monitoring and evaluation of the LARPs, including compensation for IP Common Lands. A Grievance Redress Committee (GRC) will assess compensation and resettlement grievances; and a Resettlement Advisory Committee (RAC) assist in ensuring the smooth LARPs implementation and will include APs and local government representatives, teachers, religious leaders such as imams and priests, knowledgeable persons, womens group representatives, and headmen. The GRC as well as the Joint Verification Team (JVT) and the PVAT will be formed through gazette notification by the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tract Affairs (MOCHTA) and activated during the land acquisition process to allow APs sufficient time to lodge complaints and safeguard their interests. The GRC will become institutionalized to deal with land encroachment issues, with support from the Circle Chiefs and HDCs. . 59. The LARPs, and the IPP will be summarized in a Bangla language information booklet and disclosed to the APs. The LARPs will be disclosed after the Cut-Off Date has been established. In addition, The LARPs will be explained to the APs in group discussions, personal

9 The Workshops presented the draft LARF and also IPP, proposed Institutional Strengthening, and a Project Description of the

CHTRDP-II.

17

contact and community level meetings. The LARPs, as well as the LARF and the IPP will be published on the ADBs website after the ADBs approval. 60. Cooperation from all concerned local institutions and organizations such as NGOs, womens groups and Community Based Organizations (CBOs) will be sought for functioning of the RP and IPP implementation, and experienced NGOs will be hired, as the implementing NGO (INGO) for RP implementation and for PVM and preparation of district IPPs. E. Beneficial Measures

1. Prioritization of Small IP Groups in CHTRDP-II 61. Prioritization of smaller IP groups will be mainstreamed into the Project design for selection of Upazila and Union Roads and, similarly, selection of Community Infrastructure (CI). To strengthen further this prioritization, the IPP will monitor this issue and will consider a specific grant for smaller IP groups if by year two, benefits are not flowing sufficiently to the smaller IP groups. Any grant considered at that point will be designed based on lessons learned during the early CHTRDP-II implementation. 62. In Khagrachari, where there are no small IP groups, but the large IP groups are particularly likely to be impacted due to the large influx of Low Landers attracted by the districts large valleys, other criteria will be developed, inclusive of Khagracharis vulnerable upazilas, to identify the most likely impacted IP communities, including those who have experienced loss of land due to incursions of outsiders, those who have during the post-conflict period returned from India, and those within RFs, who need social infrastructure such as schools.10 63. Distribution of Smaller IP Groups in the CHT: By 2001, Khagrachari District had about 40 percent of the CHT population of 1,333,000, followed by Rangamati, 38 percent, and Bandarban, with only 22 percent of CHTs population. Non-IPs in the CHT was mostly found in Khagrachari, 45 percent of CHT NIPs. Khagrachari, with large, fallow valleys, has attracted a large Non-IP (NIP) influx and has been the center of many confrontations between IPs and NIPs over land. Therefore, while smaller IP groups should be prioritized in Bandarban and Rangmati, where they are found in many if not most of the Upazilas, in Khagrachari it is the larger IP groups, the Chakma, Marma and Tripura, who are likely to be the most vulnerable to NIP encroachment on their IP Common lands. 64. The 2010 PPTA SES, recommended, inter alia, that since tenurial security is critical to maximizing investments and thus returns from infrastructure interventions, subprojects should seek clearance from the HDC of tenurial issues in the area of the subproject before construction is taken up. Another recommendation was that, given that the IPs, on the whole, have a lower per capita income, that the settler Bengali community benefits from its well-established links with political and administrative structures and is given substantial subsidies (free rations) by the government,11 and given that the Peace Accord, specifically notes the need to build ways of developing IPs, subprojects should be largely targeted at benefiting IPs. This particulary applies to the smaller IP groups, which was repeatedly mentioned by stakeholders including, inte alia, both larger and smaller IP groups, Circle Chief representatives and the CHTDF, especially in Bandarban and Rangamati districts, as confirmed in Appendix F: Report of Consultation Two

10

Recent changes in GoB education policy have allowed establishment of community schools within the RFs. 11

The NIP Settlers, reportedly have been given 80 kilos per ration card per month over the last 25 years and therefore have, in effect, surplus funds for other investments beyond basic food.

18

Day Workshops with Stakeholders, Bandarban, Kagraichari, and Rangamati, November 2-25, 2010.

65. Variable Resliency between Larger and Smaller IP Groups in the CHT: In the CHT, there is a wide range of likely unintended exposure to negative impacts of development interventions among the IPs. The dominant Chakma, Marma and Tripura have a long history of established proto-states stretching back to the Moghul period and beyond and still reflected in a traditional tribal political system in the CHT, consisting of a three-tier structure, the circle, mouza and para (village) under three tribal chiefs: 1) Chakma, 2) Mong and 3) Bohmong, roughly indicated in the following CHT Circle map below (Error! Not a valid bookmark self-reference.). Marmas are found in all districts of the CHT, but the majority live in the Mong and Bohmong Circles. The majority of Chakmas live in the Chakma Circle, roughly corresponding to Rangamati District.12 Tripuras have mostly settled in the northern region of the Mong circle (Khagrachhari District) but have scattered settlements in the Chakma and Bohmong Circles.

66. While the Chakma were the most impacted by the building of the Kaptai Dam, they nevertheless remain a dominant force among the CHT hill tribes, and the Marma and Tripura similarly have, relatively speaking, a greater resilience to development interventions and a greater capacity to take advantage of them. As the IPs themselves will be the primary beneficiaries of the project, it is expected that these three groups, who are already in close contact with lowland settlers, may possibly gain the most benefits from the project. Some of the smaller IP groups, particularly those in more remote upland areas and who have long solely relied on jhum cultivation for their subsistence may be inadvertently impacted by development interventions, such as new roads allowing greater access to their localities by lowland settlers looking for new lands.

12

Tanchangya are a subtribe of the Chakma, sometimes listed in census as separate tribe. They are found in Kaptai, Bilaichari and Rajasthali thanas of Rangamati District and a few in Bandarban District, as well as in a few hilltop villages in southern part of Subalong Hills.

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Figure 3: Chakma, Mong and Bohmong Circles of the CHT

Source: From: Barua, B.P. 2007. Ethnicity and National Integration in Bangladesh: A Study of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. New Delhi: Har Anand Publications, July 30. Also informally from the office of the Chakma Circle Chief, Raja Devashish Roy.

67. Although the Chakma suffered the most from physical acts of violence, they were better organized and more highly educated than the other indigenous peoples. However, members of the numerically smaller and largely rural-dwelling indigenous peoples suffered at least equally badly due to the decrease of the available common lands, since their dependence upon swidden agriculture and forest or grazing commons was far higher. As a representative of the numerically small Chak people recently told a meeting of social and cultural leaders of the CHT, We are so small in number that we have no say in electoral politics and little influence at other fora, and therefore our struggle to protect our language and culture is not being able to achieve much. We greatly fear extinction and assimilation.

20

68. In the special administrative system of the CHT (including the karbaris, headmen, chiefs, district and regional councils), indigenous people have a substantive level of participation in resource management in mouza circles or USF areas, but indigenous representation in the aforesaid institutions is not uniform. Many of the smaller ethnic groups have complained of non-representation or inadequate representation in the CHT governance system although their actual and positive role in natural resource management is quite substantive. Given the structure of the CHT institutions, and the structure of the interim district councils (some ethnic groups excluded), such under-representation cannot be denied. 69. Table 5 indicates the size of IP and non-IP groups in the CHT.

Table 5: Approximate Population and Percent by Ethnicities in the CHT Ethnic Groups Population %

Bengali 473,300 48.6

Chakma

239,400 24.6

Marma 142,300 14.6

Tripura 61,100 6.3

Subtotal 442,800 45.5

CHTRDP-II Prioritized Small IP Groups

Mro 22,100 2.3

Tanchangya 19,200 2.0

Bawm 7,000 0.7

Pangkhua 3,200 0.3

Chak 2,000 0.2

Khyang 1,900 0.2

Khumi 1,200 0.1

Lushai 700 0.1

Subtotal 57,300 5.9

Total 973,400 100

Source: Adapted from Human Development Research Centre (HDRC). 2009. Socio-Economic Baseline Survey of Chittagong Hill Tracts, Prepared for Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Facility (CHTDF): A project financed by the European Union. April 08

70. Table 6 below, (derived from Barua 2007) provides some indication of the level of vulnerability of the different CHT IP groups. The table provides a snapshot portrait of the CHT IP and Non-IP groups.13

Table 6: Initial Indices of IP and Non-IP Vulnerability Ranking # IP Groups 1991

Population % Religion Indices for Vulnerability Ranking

Dominant, Larger IP Groups in CHT

1 Chakma 239,417 48.0 Theravada Buddhism

Streamside, or valley tribe engaging in plough culture besides jhum and occasional fruit gardening. Were disproportionately impacted by Kaptai reservoir dislocation in the early 1960s. Chiefs were assimilated into the Mughal administration as jagirdars (feifholders) and also as zamindars (landlords) in the plains. Claim descent from Kshatriya caste of which Gautama the Buddha was born. At top of the hierarchy, a raja (king) was created in the 17

th century, achieving

13

Barua, B.P. 2007. Ethnicity and National Integration in Bangladesh: A Study of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. New Delhi: Har Anand Publications, July 30. Also adapted from Human Development Research Centre (HDRC). 2009. Socio-Economic Baseline Survey of Chittagong Hill Tracts, Prepared for Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Facility (CHTDF): A project financed by the European Union. April 08. Note that figures in Table 8 above differ somewhat, as they derive from different sources.

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# IP Groups 1991 Population

% Religion Indices for Vulnerability Ranking

ascendancy of traditional kinship groups. Chakmas have been influenced by the relatively advanced Bengali society more than any other CHT tribal group. There is an emergent middle class containing different professional groups such as doctors, engineers, teachers and civil servants. The majority live in the Chakma Circle, roughly corresponding to Rangamati District.

2 Tanchangya 19,211 4.0 Theravada Buddhism

A subtribe of the Chakma, sometimes listed in census as separate tribe. Found in Kaptai, Bilaichari and Rajasthali thanas of Rangamati District and a few in Bandarban District. A few hilltop villages in southern part of Subalong Hills.

14

3 Marma 142,334 28.5 Buddhism influenced by animism

Streamside, or valley tribe engaging in plough culture besides jhum and occasional fruit gardening. Are found in all districts of the CHT, but the majority live in the Mong and Bohmong Circles, roughly corresponding to Khagrachhari and Bandarban Districts. There are two major Marma groups, those under the Mong Circle under the Mong raja residing in the northern portion of Khagrachhari District whose residence is in Manikchhari. The southern groups Bohmong chief resides in Bandarban. These rajas were established as tax collectors for the Mughal, East India Company and British administrations. Originating from Myanmar, the Marmas continue to regard Myanmar as the center of their cultural life, with children often learning the Arakanese language. As with the Chakmas, there is an emerging middle class.

4 Tripuras 61,129 12.3 Hindu Christianity

Streamside, or valley tribe engaging in plough culture besides jhum and occasional fruit gardening. Tripuras profess a form of Hinduism and observe many Hindu rites and ceremonies as well as animistic rites. They claim caste Hindu status and have personal names of Bengali Hindu origin. As with the Chakma and Marma, there is an emerging middle class. Three Tripura subtribes are the Murung, Uchai and Riang, who are sometimes classified as separate tribes. Tripuras have mostly settled in the northern region of the Mong circle (Khagrachhari District) but have scattered settlements in the Chakma and Bohmong Circles. Murungs live mainly in the hills along the Sangu and Matamuhuri Valleys in the Bandarban District. Uchais live in Bandarban District and some have converted to Christianity or Buddhism. Rings are found in the Barkal thana of Rangamati District.

Smaller IP Groups in CHT

5 Bawm 6,978 1.5 Christian Ridge top tribe generally reliant on jhum cultivation, though also engaged in gardening and trade. Bawms are thought to be an integration of Mro, Khumi and Marma ethnic groups and are concentrated in Ruma thana of Bandarban District, with a few settlements in Rangamati and Khagrachhari Districts. Compared to all other CHT IPs, the Bawms are considered well-to-do, with 67 percent literacy and a standard of living the highest among CHT IPs. They grow orange, pineapple, banana and jack fruit as cash crops and maintain shops and other enterprises. Most of the luxury goods finding their way into CHT markets are in their hands. They early adopted Christian norms and a rank-stratified society devoted to the accumulation of goods, particularly luxury ones.

6 Lushai 662 0.1 Christian Ridge top tribe generally reliant on jhum cultivation. The Lushai migrated from the Lushai (now Mizo) Hills in India, where most of them continue to live. The majority live in the Sajek Valley in the northeast of Rangamati District (Chakma Circle). Before the 1892 British conquest of the Lushai Hills, they were known as fierce head-hunters. Compared to other small CHT IP groups, the Lushai are educationally and culturally more advance and have generally adopted Western dress. They rely on jhum cultivation but also grow good quality oranges, mango, banana, jackfruit and sugarcane.

7 Mro 22,041 4.0 Crammadi, Buddhism, Christianity

Ridge top tribe generally reliant on jhum cultivation. Mro are the most ancient and perhaps the aboriginal tribe of the CHT. The majority live on the hill tops and in the jungle valleys to the west of the Sangu River in the Bohmong Circle (Bandarban District). Their social system is distinct from other IPs in the CHT, with a uniform

14

The Doigent are a second subtribe of the Chakma who live in the Akyab District of Arakan area of Myanmar. They speak the Chakma language.

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# IP Groups 1991 Population

% Religion Indices for Vulnerability Ranking

style of house, dress, food, customs and manners unaffected by outside influences. Many maintain a primitive way of life including a joint family residence and a cow stabbing ceremony in December and January reminiscent of similar rituals found in the Vietnamese highlands (among, for instance the Jarai),

15 with very little contact

with outsiders. While many are poor and illiterate, their society is thoroughly egalitarian. Some have lately become Buddhist or Christian and others have adopted a new religion of their own making called Crammadi. Some have recently adopted plough cultivation and are engaged in in selling agricultural products and in the timber business.

8 Pankhua 3,227 0.6 Christian Ridge top tribe generally reliant on jhum cultivation. Pankhua reside in Barkal and Jhurchari thanas of Rangamati District. Other information on their relative status visa vis other IP groups in the CHT will be derived from the 2009 UNDP socioeconomic study during the course of the TA.

9 Chak 2,000 0.4 Buddhist Streamside, or valley tribe engaging in plough culture besides jhum and occasional fruit gardening. The Chak are mainly in Bandarban District. While they practice both jhum and plough cultivation but are poor and have no experience in trade and business. Some have taken up primary school teaching and a few are studying in colleges and universities.

10 Kheyang 1,950 0.4 Buddhist, Christian

Streamside, or valley tribe engaging in plough culture besides jhum and occasional fruit gardening. The Kheyang live in Rajasthali thana and near Chandragona in Kaptai thana of Rangamati District and also on the top of hills in the Chemri mouza between the Sangu and Karnaphuli rivers in Bandarban District. They also live in Myanmar. They have been a nomadic tribe recently living in houses, living mainly on jhum. They are very much backward with respect to education.

11 Khumi 1,241 0.2 Krama, Christian

Ridge top tribe generally reliant on jhum cultivation. The Kumi are mostly in Ruma and Thanchi thanas of the Bohmong Circle (Bandarban District) and owe allegiance to the Bohmong chief. The Khumis are very poor and backward in education. They are nomadic in nature and main practice jhum. Their name is thought to come from an Arakanese word reflecting their dog eating propensities.

500,190 100%

Bengalis

Old Bengalis These Bengalis have resided in the CHT prior to the official GoB transmigration program initiated in the late 1970s. Many have received land through the traditional CTP IP institutions under the 1900 regulations and have been more or less better integrated with the IP communities than the later Bengali settlers.

Settlers Brought to the CHT in the late 1970 through 1980s under a non publicized GoB transmigration program. Settled on IP Common Land and supported to the present with free monthly food rations. After the Peace Accord, land issues between this group and IPs divested of their land during the transmigration program was to be settled through a Land Commission.

71. Distribution of Smaller IP Groups by District and More and Less Developed Upazilas: The Upazilas have been prioritized according to a vulnerability matrix developed by the UNDP/CHTDF, as shown below in Table 7.16

15

This is a personal observation of the TAs IP Specialist based on field work in the Vietnamese Central Highlands. 16

Ranking of upazilas the project utilizes the ranking prepared by UNDP, WFP, UNICEF, and other agencies, which has been used in the ongoing UNDP project. See Appendix D for the original 2001 Less Developed Upazila Matrix and for the updated 2010 Matrix on which the mapping was based.

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Table 7: Ranking of Less Developed Upazilas by, CHTDF 2001 Matrix, Updated by Technical Advisory Consultants (TAC) in 2010

S. No. District Upazila Rank Across Districts

1 Khagrachari Laxmichari 1

3 Dighinala 3

4 Rangamati Baghaichhari 2

5 Belaichari 3

6 Langadu 4

7 Barkal 4

Jurachari 4

8 Bandarban Thanchi 1

9 Rowangchari 2

10 Ruma 2

11 Naikhyangchari 3

72. The following table for the CHT (Table 8) and maps of CHT and of its three districts, Khagrachari, Rangamati, and Bandarban indicate the presence of the small IP groups according to Upazila. The Bengali and the three larger IP groups, the Chakma, Marma, and Tripura, are found in all Upazilas within the CHT, with the exception of Naikhongchhari and Langadu Upazilas for the Tripura. 73. Note that the smaller IP groups are primarily in Bandarban and to a lesser extent in Rangamati Upazilas. Katrachari has no smaller IP groups, although it does have less developed upazilas. Rangamati, while it has smaller IP groups, but has lower ranked less developed upazilas than Khagrachari and Bandarban. Clearly, from the standpoint of smaller IP groups and also for more less developed Upazilas, Bandarban District has the highest priority, followed by Rangamati District. Figure 4 below, maps of Smaller IP Group distribution in the CHT as a whole and by district and upazila clearly illustrates that these smaller IP groups are in Bandarban District, and in the sourthern part of Rangamati District.

24

Table 8: Matrix - Who lives where in CHT, by Upazilas and by Ethnicities

#

UPAZILA

Be

ng

ali

IP

GR

OU

PS

Cha

kam

as

Ma

rma

s

Trip

ura

s

SM

AL

LE

R

IP

GR

OU

PS

Mro

Ta

nch

an

gya

Ba

wm

Pa

ng

kh

ua

Cha

k

Kh

ya

ng

Kh

um

i

Lu

sha

i

1 KHAGRACHHARI 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

1.1 Dighinala - - - - - - - -

1.2 Khagrachhari Sadar - - - - - - - -

1.3 Lakshmichhari - - - - - - - -

1.4 Mahalchhari - - - - - - - -

1.5 Manikchhari - - - - - - - -

1.6 Matiranga - - - - - - - -

1.7 Panchhari - - - - - - - -

1.8 Ramgarh - - - - - - - -

2 RANGAMATI 12 3 7 11 8 10 1 9 2 4 5 6

2.1 Baghaichhari - - - - - -

2.2 Barkal - - - - - - -

2.3 Belaichhari - - - -

2.4 Juraichhari - - - - -

2.5 Kaptai - - - - -

2.6 Kawakhali - - - - - - -

2.7 Langadu - - - - - - - -

2.8 Naniarchar - - - - - - - -

2.9 Rajasthali - - - - -

2.10 Rangamati Sadar - - -

3 BANDARBAN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

3.1 Alikadam - - - - - -

3.2 Bandarban Sadar - -

3.3 Lama - - - - -

3.4 Naikhongchhari - - - - - -

3.5 Rowangchhari - - -

3.6 Ruma -

3.7 Thanchi - - - -

Source: Adapted from HDRC. 2009. Socio-Economic Baseline Survey of Chittagong Hill Tracts. Dhaka: CHTDF.

25

Figure 4: Smaller IP Groups by Prioritized Less Developed Upazilas in CHT, Overall and by District

Note: Legend numbers refer to vulnerability rankings given in Table 7.

26

26

74. In Khagrachari, while there are no small IP groups, the large IP groups are particularly vulnerable due to the large influx of Low Landers attracted by the districts large valleys, other criteria will be developed during the Project implementation, inclusive of Khagracharis less developed upazilas, to identify the most vulnerable IP communities, including those who have experienced loss of land due to incursions of outsiders, those who have during the post-conflict period returned from India, and those within RFs, who need social infrastructure such as schools.17 75. Prioritizing Selection of Upazila and Union Roads in the Three CHT Districts: LGED prepared a list of roads based on requests made by various elected officials, e.g. MP, Chairmen Upazila Parishads and Union Parishads, and members of these Parishads. This is LGEDs usual process in other parts of Bangladesh, involving consultations with elected and non-elected officials. During discussions with LGED, which included a TAC representative, the Chairman of the CHTRC made the following main points for selection criteria:

Bandarban, which is the least-connected District, should get the most road length

Rangamati, which has large areas around the Kaptai Reservoir connected by waterway, need not be given additional road connectivity by Upazila or Union roads.

Khagrachari is clearly better-connected than the other two districts, in terms of both distance from and time taken to travel to market. Besides a better road network, Khagrachari has the geographic advantage of being relatively flat, with broad valleys allowing for the use of cycles and cycle-rickshaws and vans. In the other two districts, other than walking, only motorized transport can be used. Therefore, Khagrachari, which is a well-connected district, should get the least road length in the CHTRDP-II

76. Based on the above connectivity issues, the proposed Upazila and Union Road selection for the three CHT districts is the following:18

Table 9: Proposed Length of Upazila and Union Roads for the Three CHT Districts, Proposed by CHTRC and LGED

District Km Percentage

Bandarban 111 43

Rangamati 83 32

Khagrachari 66 25

Total 260 Km 100%

77. Table 1019 confirms the selection process from the standpoint of connectivity.

17

Recent changes in GoB education policy have allowed establishment of community schools within the RFs. 18

An Upazila road had been initially proposed for Thanchi Upazila in Bandarban District, but this was later dropped as the CHT Development Board (CHTDB) is taking up that road. In Rangamati District, Jurachari Upazila is connected to Rangamti District Headquarters by water over the Kaptai Reservoir and an access road is proposed to link to the major upazila landing site, or ghat on the Kaptai Reservoir. In Khagrachari Sadr, which already has substantial road length, proposed roads were mainly to complete partially-completed roads, especially from CHTRDP-I.

19 HDRC. 2009. Socio-Economic Baseline Survey of Chittagong Hill Tracts. Dhaka: CHTDF, Tables 3.2 and 3.3, pp. 29-30.

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Table 10: Connectivity within the Three CHT Districts Connectivity Criteria Bandarban Rangamati Khagrachari

Time taken to Market 2.2 hr 1.6 hr 1 hr

Distance to Market 6.4 km 10 km 4.4 km

Time taken to Metallic Road 1.1 1.3 0.6

Distance to Metallic Road 4.5 6.9 2.4

78. Although the distance to market is greater in Rangamati, the time to market is more in Bandarban. This would point to better transport in Rangamati, especially as Bandarban District is more rugged than Rangamati. Clearly, Khagrachari District has the best connectivity, on all criteria, among the three districts of the CHT. As above, besides a better road network, Khagrachari has the geographic advantage of being relatively flat, with broad valleys allowing for the use of cycles and cycle-rickshaws and vans. In the other two districts, other than walking, only motorized transport can be used. Therefore, Khagrachari, which is a well-connected district, should get the least road length in the CHTRDP-II. 79. While IP considerations were not mentioned as specific criteria for the Upazila and Union Roads, one way or another, as Bandarban District has the larger proportion of Smaller IP Groups, and Khagrachari District has no Smaller IP Groups, the selection process followed by CHTRC and LGED has defacto mainstreamed the IPP goal of prioritizing Smaller IP Groups for CHTRDP-II development interventions, which are primarily the Upazila and Union Roads. 80. Prioritizing Selection of the Three CHT Districts for Community Infrastructure (CI), Participatory Village Development: The Community Infrastructure (CI) Component will be divided into three sub-components. In the CHTRDP-II, these budgets will be divided, at least for Access Roads and CI, among the DPMUs in roughly the same proportion as the proposed Upazila and Union Roads: Bandarban (43%); Rangamati (32%); and Khagrachari (25%), as shown in Table 11.

Table 11: Approximate Proportion of CI Component Budget by Subcomponent and District

# Subcomponent Feature Bandarban 43%

Rangamati 32%

Khagrachari 25%

US$ Million

1 Access Roads Connecting the Villages to the main Upazila or Union Roads

0.65 0.48 0.38 1.50

2 Community Infrastructure

To be Decided by the Para (Village) Development Committees (PDCs)

3.65 2.72 2.12 8.50

3 Watershed Management

Two Watersheds per District

0.50 0.50 0.50 1.50

Total 4.80 3.70 3.00 11.50

81. As with the Upazila and Union Road selection process, IP considerations were not mentioned as specific criteria. However, one way or another, as Bandarban District has the larger proportion of Smaller IP Groups, and Khagrachari District has no Smaller IP Groups, the selection process for the CI Component will defacto mainstream the IPP goal of prioritizing Smaller IP Groups for the CHTRDP-II CI Component benefits. 82. The reason for separating the budgets for village access and watershed management is that they typically involve more than one village. Decisions on these two subcomponents will be taken by the district project management office (DPMO). Planning and implementation,

28

28

however, will be done by the Para Development Committee (PDC) or PDCs where more than one village is involved. Technical support will be provided by the engineering and watershed management staff at DPMO. NGOs will facilitate the process. 83. All subcomponents of the CI will be implemented in villages along the Upazila and Union roads already constructed in CHTRDP-I as well as along those that will be constructed in CHTRDP-II. The road in Thanchi Upzila of Bandarban District, which has been taken up by the CHTDB will also be included in this process, along with the Thanchi Road built in CHTRDP-I, the Ruma-Bandarbam R&H Ruma Battali Pantala Gelenga UP Union Road (5.65 km). 84. Villages will be included up to a distance of five km. There need not be any selection criteria for these villages around roads built in CHTRDP-I or to be built in CHTRDP-II. If there is any money leftover then villages would be around markets constructed by the project for the MAD component, with a preference for upland areas. On a similar basis villages in a 5 km radius around the market would be taken up. 85. Access Roads would be provided in all villages around the main Upazila and Unioin roads. Access Roads are necessary to enable villages that are off the main roads to benefit from the road construction construction. But villages that (1) have had irrigation projects from CHTRDP-I; and (2) receive free rations from the Government20 will be excluded from the other CI subcomponents. Non-excluded villages will be allotted a sum of Tk.1,000,00021 (One million, or Ten Lakh, Taka each). This will enable the Project to work in about 600 villages, i.e., about 120 villages a year, excluding year 1 and year 7. 86. The village PDC, in consultation with the general residents of the village, including both women and men, can decide on the specific subprojects they would like to undertake. One million Taka is being allotted to each PDC, this amount can make a significant contribution to the villages economic condition. 87. Proposal for ADB Small IP Group Grant: Fortunately for the IPP goal of prioritizing CHTRDP-II benefits to the Small IP Groups in the CHT, the Upazila and Union Road and CI selection process accomplishes this objective. However, for sustaining Small IP Group cultural heritage and socioeconomic security, a more targeted approach may be required that identifies these groups more specifically according to their villages and their felt-needs, which may also include non-physical measures such as more capacity building for small IP-led NGOs and for the PDCs in these villages. Therefore, the IPP proposes, in line with many stakeholder requests, the ADB consider a small grant of about US$3 million, focused on the specific needs of CHT Small IP Groups. These specific needs, which will be further defined, will focus exclusively on these more vulnerable Small IP Groups, in Bandarban District and in the southern part of Rangamati District. F. Mitigation Measures

1. Participatory Village Mapping 88. As noted above in Section C-5, away from roads, IPs felt there was a low rating of lack of tenure or loss of land as a constraint to development. This underlined that the bulk of land loss to settlers in the last 60 years has been in villages located on or near roads. IPs away from

20

The NIP Settlers, reportedly have been given 80 kilos per ration card per month over the last 25 years and therefore have, in effect, surplus funds for other investments beyond basic food.

21 Roughly US$14,300.

29

roads are now confident of their tenurial security. If this were to continue, by enabling a manner of Participatory Village Mapping, or PVM, as proposed below as one IPP component, the benefits of improved connectivity can be substantial private investment by farmer households in project villages. It is important that construction of roads not disturb the tenurial security now expressed by residents. Tenurial security is critical to maximizing investments and thus returns from infrastructure interventions, therefore subprojects should seek clearance from the HDC on tenurial issues in the area of the subproject before [road or other village infrastructure] construction is taken up. 89. PVM will delineate boundaries and major land use within villages along CHTRDP-II roads, backed up by a proactive Grievance Redress Mechanism (see Section H) to counteract land invasion occasioned by new and upgraded Upazila and Union roads. Such mapping will also be used for watershed management and for heightening village awareness of the need to keep village common forests intact. 90. The PVM measures taken, primarily mapping village boundaries and land use, with village input, and posting of village boundaries along the roads built under CHTRDP-II, as a condition of their being constructed, prepared through a PVM Process. This will be followed up by a robust Grievance Redress Mechanism, using the customary CHT administrative institutions (Circle Chief, Headmen, Karbaris), as well as the HDCs. The PVM maps will also be part of the CHTRDP-IIs watershed management component and to heighten village awareness of the need to keep village common forests intact. 91. CHT villages do not have written records of village boundaries, though they do have relatively clear notions of what constitutes village land, including village common forests and fallow lands. Preparing PVM village maps will be a good way to both make people aware of their village areas and enable them to press their claims to these lands. 92. Each village within 0.5 km on either side of a road will be notified that a road, with the given alignment, is due to be built or upgraded. The villages, with project technical support from an experienced NGO, will carry out a PVM exercise, marking, in particular, village boundaries, locating the houses, temples, school, roads, streams, springs, horticultural orchards, jhum, and bridges, and determining the longitude and latitude of the village with the help of Global Positioning System (GPS) data and Google Earth. Private lands, homestead areas, village common forests and other fallow lands will also be included within the claimed village boundaries. Representatives of affected villages within a mouza will sit with the headman to sort out differences, if any, be