How Long Can Bangladesh’s Indigenous Khasis Sustain Their Forest-Based Way of Life?
In the rolling hills of northeastern Bangladesh, an indigenous community has been quietly tending the forest for generations. The Khasis, one of the country’s most distinct ethnic groups, have built their lives around a unique agroforestry system that blends cultural tradition with ecological stewardship. Their practice, centered on cultivating betel leaves in forest groves, has long sustained both people and biodiversity. But as climate patterns shift and institutional support remains absent, the question arises: how much longer can this delicate balance endure?
A Tradition Rooted in the Forest
For the Khasi community, the forest is not simply a backdrop to daily life—it is the foundation of their culture, livelihood, and identity. Their principal source of income is betel leaf cultivation, locally known as “Bri.” This method involves allowing betel vines to climb up tall support trees in a carefully maintained forest canopy. Rather than clearing land through slash-and-burn, the Khasis prune foliage, manage undergrowth, and space trees strategically, ensuring that the betel vines thrive without destroying the ecosystem.
This form of forest farming is remarkable for its biodiversity. A study conducted in 2013 found that Khasi betel groves supported at least 86 species of trees, each serving as potential supports for vines. Unlike monoculture plantations, Bri systems maintain habitats for wildlife, sustain water cycles, and preserve soil fertility. To the Khasis, this is not just agriculture—it is a cultural compact with the forest itself.
The Emerging Crisis: Climate Change in the Hills
In recent years, this centuries-old practice has come under threat from a force beyond the Khasis’ control: climate change. Once-predictable monsoons have become erratic, arriving earlier or later than expected. Rainfall patterns have shifted, with long dry spells followed by sudden, destructive downpours. Where farmers once harvested betel leaves three times within a season, they now struggle to achieve even a single harvest.
The losses are tangible. Saplings wither under drought-like conditions, yields drop dramatically, and incomes fall. For a community that depends almost entirely on betel cultivation, the consequences are severe. With fewer harvests, families have less to sell at market, putting food security and education for their children at risk.
Experiments in Adaptation
Faced with declining productivity, Khasi farmers have begun experimenting with ways to adapt. Some have introduced fruit trees—lemons, bananas, and papayas—into their groves, hoping to diversify both their diets and incomes. Others are testing shade-grown coffee as an intercrop in degraded areas, inspired by similar practices in neighboring India’s Khasi Hills.
These initiatives hold promise, but they also raise concerns. Coffee, if expanded as a monoculture, could replicate the ecological problems that betel-based agroforestry managed to avoid. And without proper technical guidance or financial support, the risks of crop failure remain high.
The Missing Support: Policy and Finance
One of the biggest obstacles for the Khasi community is the lack of institutional recognition and backing. Their forest-based lifestyle provides vital ecological services—carbon sequestration, biodiversity preservation, soil and water protection—that benefit the entire country. Yet, these contributions are neither documented nor rewarded.
Global mechanisms such as REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) could, in theory, provide carbon finance to communities like the Khasis, compensating them for protecting forests. But Bangladesh has yet to fully qualify for such programs. Key requirements—safeguards, reference levels, and transparent monitoring systems—are still incomplete. Even forest department officials admit they have little reliable data on how much land Khasi communities actually conserve.
Without this institutional bridge, the Khasis remain marginalized, carrying the burden of conservation without receiving the benefits.
The Risk of Abandonment
The most pressing danger is that if Khasi livelihoods collapse, so too will their role as forest guardians. Economic desperation may drive younger generations to abandon the Bri system entirely, migrating to towns or turning to less sustainable practices such as logging or land clearing. If that happens, Bangladesh risks losing not only a unique culture but also an invaluable ecological system.
This scenario is not hypothetical. Across the world, indigenous forest communities face similar pressures: climate change, poverty, and lack of recognition. Where traditional systems fail, forests quickly give way to monoculture plantations, mining, or urban sprawl. Once gone, the ecological richness of Khasi forests would be nearly impossible to restore.
A Path Forward: What Needs to Be Done
Ensuring the survival of Khasi forest-based livelihoods will require a combination of local initiative and national policy reform. Some key steps include:
- Securing Land Rights – Recognition of Khasi communities’ customary rights to their forests is essential to empower them as long-term stewards.
- Access to Climate Finance – Bangladesh must accelerate efforts to qualify for REDD+ and similar mechanisms, ensuring that communities protecting forests are fairly compensated.
- Technical and Agricultural Support – Introducing drought-resistant crops, improving water management, and providing training on sustainable intercropping could help the Khasis adapt.
- Monitoring and Data Collection – Documenting the ecological services provided by Khasi agroforestry is crucial for both policy advocacy and international partnerships.
- Cross-Border Learning – Khasi communities in Bangladesh could benefit from exchanges with their counterparts in India’s Meghalaya, where community-managed REDD+ projects have shown positive results.
More Than a Community Struggle
The Khasi story is not just about one indigenous group in Bangladesh—it reflects a global challenge. As climate change accelerates, many of the world’s most sustainable land-use systems are under threat. Indigenous peoples, who contribute the least to global emissions, are often the first to feel the impacts. Yet they also hold some of the most effective solutions.
For the Khasis, the forest is home, livelihood, and heritage. Preserving their way of life is not merely about protecting one community—it is about safeguarding a model of coexistence between people and nature. The future of Bangladesh’s forests, and perhaps more, may depend on whether the Khasis can continue to thrive in their ancestral groves.
✅ The Khasi agroforestry system is a rare success story of sustainable living, but it now hangs in the balance. Without urgent adaptation and institutional support, this centuries-old tradition may fade within a generation—taking the forest with it.
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