| Overview : More than two decades of protracted conflict in the Chittagong Hill Tracts have left the majority of its inhabitants in conditions of extreme poverty, and tensions over land tenure, resource access, and ethno-demographics remain challenges to sustainable development. More than 50% population live below the national poverty line; 50% of primary-enrolled children drop out in their first few years; and it is estimated that 40% of the CHTs’ workforce is either unemployed or underemployed. In partnership with the Government, CHT communities and NGOs, UNDP supports the Promotion of Development and Confidence Building in the Chittagong Hill Tracts through the Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Facility (CHTDF). The CHTDF plays a very important role ensuring a successful peace consolidation process and improving the development conditions of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) people. Chittagong Hill Tracts Watershed Co-Management Activity (CHTWCA), funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is one of the projects managed by the CHTDF to improve climate resiliency and biodiversity conservation in the CHT. It is designed to promote forest conservation in CHT, accounting for 43% of forest coverage in Bangladesh - through building the capacity of communities and CHT institutions on participatory forest management and diversifying sustainable livelihoods of the targeted communities. The CHTWCA works closely with CHT institutions such as Regional Council, Hill District Councils (HDCs), Circles, and other government offices including the Forest Department, and Upazilas and Unions in the CHT. The CHTWCA-project’s expected results are as follows: Result 1: Improved governance of community managed forests, more commonly known as Village Common Forests (VCFs) or Mouza forests, small streams and associated watersheds; Result 2: Improved reserve forest management in place; and Result 3: Improved livelihoods that are environmentally sustainable and resilient to climate change. The project is organizing a series of consultations at various levels to support national and local actors to arrive at a set of recommended actions to address the limitations of existing policies and laws on forest governance in the CHT. A review of existing national legal, institutional and policy frameworks of forest governance in the CHT is being undertaken to identify gaps and contradictions between the legal status of the forests and tenure traditionally practiced over years. | 
