Compulsory Efficient Use of Land (CEUL) for Land Zoning can contrive the rapid change of land use pattern: A Case Study of Charchartala Union, Ashuganj, Brahmanbaria

Abstract

Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated country in the world. With the growing population, and their rising needs in diverse sectors, land use patterns are undergoing a quantitative and qualitative change in which the areas under the net cultivable land, water bodies and forest land is gradually shrinking. Besides, unplanned infrastructure development is devouring productive land. In Bangladesh, about 1% of agricultural land in each year is transferred to another use (SFYP, 2011). If this process continues, all of our agricultural land would diminish within 100 years (Tariquzzaman, 2009). This terrible situation is very crucial for an agro-based economy. The Ministry of Land formulated a National Land Use Policy in 2001 to ensure best possible use of land resources for sustainable development. The policy highlighted the need for carrying out a National Land Zoning Program for integrated planning and management of the country’s land resources. Planned use of land according to Land Zoning Maps prepared on the basis of present and potential land uses will be ensured through enforcement of the provisions of relevant laws. The current research is an attempt to study the pattern of land use change and agricultural land transformation at Charchartala union in Asuganj Upazila, Brahmanbaria. The research also analyzed the land zoning process and established a logical approach for saving cultivable land, planned land use and systematic development. Compulsory Efficient Use of Land (CEUL) is the most accountable and feasible systematic approach for favorable land use and planned land zone in Bangladesh. CUEL is related to various quantitative and qualitative aspects of land resource. Holding different cartographic information, CUEL facilitates capturing, retrieval, and querying of information and provides tools to perform different analyses. Based on the primary and secondary data, this research is aimed at studying the synchronization and diachronization of land use pattern, and recommending feasible interventions and strategy of CUEL for creating an efficient and planned land use policy for Bangladesh.