Competing policies to protect mangrove forest: A case from Bangladesh Asif Ishtiaque a,n , Netra Chhetri b a School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, Arizona State University, COOR Hall 5643-D, 975 S Myrtle Ave., Tempe, AZ 85287, USA b School for the Future of Innovation in Society, Arizona State University, Interdisciplinary B 366,1120 S. Cady Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA article info Article history: Received 4 February 2016 Received in revised form 15 June 2016 Accepted 15 June 2016 Keywords: Forest Policy Forest Act Shrimp Policy Sundarban Chakaria Bangladesh abstract Commercial shrimp aquaculture began in coastal Bangladesh in the late 1970s and now represents the second-largest export sector after garments in the nation. Hailed as har- binger of a blue revolution that could lift the people out of poverty and food insecurity, shrimp aquaculture has exploded across the Sundarban of southwest Bangladesh. This rapid expansion threatens the natural mangrove ecosystem, particularly across the vul- nerable coastal region. To ensure protection of the Sundarban, the government of Ban- gladesh devised two landmark policies: the Forest Act (1927) and the Forest Policy (1994). Envisioning shrimp as an important foundation of the country's economic growth, the government of Bangladesh also formulated the National Shrimp Policy in 2014. While, in the strictest sense, these policy instruments are designed to protect the Sundarban, multiple loopholes and sweeping approaches make it virtually impossible to attain the intended outcomes. This is further compounded by the country's focus on commercial shrimp farming. Our paper reveals the disconnect between the Forest Policy and Forest Act by showcasing the Chakaria case, where thousands of hectares of mangrove forests have been destroyed due to commercial shrimp farming despite the policy tools in place. We further discuss the existing sweeping approaches and loopholes in the Forest Policy (1994) and Shrimp Policy (2014). & 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Mangrove forests represent one of the most diverse and dynamic ecosystems of the world (Hogarth 2007). Approxi- mately 15.2 million hectares mangrove forest, found in the tropics and subtropics (FAO 2007), provide important ecosystem services including the protection of coastal land from tidal waves, coastal erosion, and storms. Unfortunately mangrove forests around the world are under severe stress - at least 23% of mangrove forests were lost in the past two decades (Giri et al., 2011). The remaining forests are under constant threat from various human activities at or near the forest, such as agriculture, aquaculture, and logging (Mayaux et al., 2005, Blasco et al., 2001). The world's largest contiguous mangrove forest, the Sundarban, is no exception. The Sundarban forest - in the delta of the rivers Ganga, Brahmaputra, and Meghna - is shared between Bangladesh (  60%) and India (  40%) (Iftekhar and Islam, 2004)(Fig. 1). This tidal forest plays an exceptional role in the economy and Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/envdev Environmental Development http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2016.06.006 2211-4645/& 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. n Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: Asif.Ishtiaque@asu.edu (A. Ishtiaque), Netra.Chhetri@asu.edu (N. Chhetri). Environmental Development 19 (2016) 75–83