The present operational area of IDF is the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Chittagong Cox’s Bazar and Rajshai. A brief description of the operational area is presented below.

Chittagong Hill Tracts

The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) is a beautiful and strange piece of land with rocks, hills, lakes and sea. These are very difficult and remote areas, inhabited by about thirteen very poor tribes. The area is wedged between the Bay of Bengal and the hills of Mizoram of India.

The CHT is a 13,295 sq. km. region of hills consisting of Bandarban, Rangamati and Khagrachari districts located in the south-east of Bangladesh. As per the preliminary result of the Population Census 2001, the total population of CHT is 1.325 million; of which 52 percent are tribal people. Thirteen different tribes with different languages and cultures live in CHT. Historically, the Chittagong Hill Tracts enjoyed the status of a self-governing territory and administered by Hill King which continued until the British East India Company annexed Bengal in 1787. The Chakma Raja (King) then signed an agreement after a long armed conflict, under which Chakma territory became a British tributary on the payment of 20 tons of cotton. This was later extended to other parts of CHT. In 1860, the British formally annexed CHT and upgraded its status to a full-fledged district.

The people of Chittagong Hill Tracts are very poor and they live mainly on Jhum cultivation and bamboo and wood cutting, all of which are main causes of deforestation and soil erosion in the area. Most people live in absolute poverty. In spite of all the efforts of the government, the people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts still lack access to various services such as credit, agricultural inputs and extension services, medical facilities and safe drinking water. This is mainly because of i) scattered population, ii) poor communication system, iii) conservativeness of the tribal people and iv) political problem. The language barrier further aggravates the situation.

The sentiment of the people of CHT was hurt when the construction of 666 meters long and 43 meters high hydroelectric dam at Kaptai started in 1957. Its immediate impact was submergence of a vast area of natural forests and 54,000 acres of arable land (40% of total cultivable lands in CHT). It also made about 1,800 families homeless. The displaced people were not properly rehabilitated. As a result, their recourse led to deforestation for their settlement and construction of new houses in the inaccessible regions. This ultimately resulted in rampant deforestation. It is also said that some families crossed the border and migrated.

Adverse economic impacts created by the Kaptai dam on displaced people gradually resulted in armed insurgency in CHT. The counter-insurgency measures by the then Pakistan Government through military action and settlement of Bengali worsened the situation. The increased military presence in CHT and search for insurgents created unsettled situation in CHT; some tribal groups also started collecting tolls (money) from businessmen, contractors and local inhabitants. It was a very tense environment in which IDF started its micro-finance program in CHTs.

Chittagong

Chittagong district is quite different from other districts in its unique natural beauty characterized by hills, rivers, sea, forests, and valleys. The greater Chittagong district was established in 1666 including the present Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar and the three hill districts. The district of Chittagong Hill Tracts was established in 1860 with the hill region of the district. Later, Chittagong district was further divided into Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar districts. The district consists of 1 City Corporation, 7 municipalities, 6 thanas, 20 upazilas, 197 union parishads and 1319 villages.

Cox’s Bazar

The area of Cox’s Bazar district is 2491.86 sq. km. It is bounded by Chittagong district on the north, Bay of Bengal on the south, Bandarban district, Arakan (Myanmar) and the Naf River on the east, and the Bay of Bengal on the west. Cox’s Bazar thana was established in 1854. Cox’s Bazar subdivision was formed comprising of Cox’s Bazar Sadar, Chakoria, Maheshkhali, and Teknaf thanas. Afterwards, three new thanas were created (Ukhia, Kutubdia, and Ramu) under this subdivision. Under the decentralization scheme the thanas were transformed into upazilas and Cox’s Bazar subdivision was elevated to a district in 1984. It consists of 7 upazilas, 2 municipalities, 60 union parishads, 199 mouzas and 966 villages.

Rajshahi

The area of Rajshahi district is 2407 sq. km. It is bounded by Naogaon district on the north; West Bengal of India, Kushtia district and the Ganges on the south; Natore district on the east and the Nawabgonj district on the west. Rajshahi district was established in 1772. It has 1 City Corporation with 4 thanas, 7 municipalities, 93 wards, 297 mahallas, 9 upazilas, 70 union parishads, 1678 mouzas and 1858 villages. Rajshahi town stands on the bank of the river Padma. It is both district and divisional town.

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