**2.1 Study area**

Geographically, Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh (Fig. 1) lie between 90°54´ and 92°50´ East longitude and 21°25´ and 23°45´ North latitude (Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Facility [CHTDF], 2009). It is bordered with Indian States of Tripura on the North, Mizoram on the East, Myanmar on the South and East, and Chittagong district of Bangladesh on its West. The CHTs include three hill districts namely, Bandarban, Rangamati, and Khagrachari (Fig.1); covering an area of 13,295 km2 (10 % of the country's total landmass (BBS, 2001; CHTDF, 2009) and the CHTs represent nearly 50 % of the total national forest area in Bangladesh (Forestry Master Plan [FMP], 1992).
