Proc. Pakistan Acad. Sci. 46(1):13-22. 2009 Email: sohel_for@yahoo.com imPAct of foRESt AND NoN-foRESt villAgERS oN UkhiA AND iNANi foRESt RANgE UNDER cox’S BAzAR (SoUth) foRESt DiviSioN, BANglADESh Sayma Akhter, Md. Shawkat Islam Sohel, Md. Parvez Rana and Mohammed Alamgir Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet-3114, Bangladesh Received September 2008, accepted February 2009 Abstract: This article compared livelihood dependency of forest and non-forest villagers and their impacts on Ukhia and Inani forest ranges of Cox’s bazar forest division, Bangladesh. Information was collected through household’s interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire during December to June 2008. Total 121 respondents were randomly selected from both forest areas, where 41 respondents were in Inani and 80 were in Ukhia forest. We found diversiied livelihood activities in both forest areas. Agrofarming and fuelwood collection turned out to be consistently major activities of both types of villagers at the two sites. Of the various activities, timber and fuelwood collection appeared to have high negative impact, while others were deemed to have comparatively less impact. The results also indicated that both types of villagers depend on forest resources. The non-forest villagers appeared freer to engage in such income earning activities as business and service besides labor work. Fuelwood and timber collection had high negative impact on forest resources and biodiversity. It is suggested that steps are necessary for alternative income generation activities and/or participatory management approaches for sustainability of the forests and their biodiversity at the two study sites Keywords: Forest resources, resource degradation, resource management and sustainability impact, Bangladesh introduction People in most of the developing world depend on forests for their livelihood [1]. Where people depend most immediately upon local ecosystems for their livelihoods, they also unwittingly become responsible for the degradation of the resources, not realizing the consequences of this dependence [2,3]. If we do not restrict such activities or ind alternative solutions, low-level resource gathering activities can quickly turn into wide-scale and, often, irrevocable forest degradation. Livelihood is a complex concept and it is constantly discussed and reformulated, but the deinition, mostly used by policy makers is “livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets (including both materials and social resources) and activities required for a means of living” [1]. The socio-economic and cultural life of the forest dwellers is closely associated with forest to a great extent [4-5]. Everyday millions of the poor and the forest dwellers are earning their livelihood from the forest [6] and their dependency on forest varies from area to area [7]. The livelihood of millions of people, living in rural areas, depends on accessing forest products and services. They use forests for subsistence, livestock rearing, fuelwood collection and as a source of goods to sell in the market. These actions can have positive or negative impact on forest conservation and the impact consequently varies according to their resource use patterns. Therefore, it is important to understand forest dwellers’ livelihoods, their perceived needs, and their development strategies. We explored various livelihood activities of forest villagers (inhabitants of the study area who are living within the forest area allocated by the Forest Department