GovTwin / Institution

Sreemangal (Moulvibazar)

Local Gov

Bangladesh's tea capital, a Moulvibazar upazila dominated by colonial-era estates, mixed evergreen forest and a growing eco-tourism economy.

Wealth rank 247/452 (1 = poorest upazila)

Indicators: Meta RWI (HDX); ERA5-Land; MODIS; Sentinel-5P; VIIRS night-lights; GHSL; Hansen v1.11; CHIRPS v2.0. Exposure: GloFAS v2.1, FABDEM, MODIS LST, ACAG PM2.5, WorldPop 2020.

Problems and issues

environment Mixed evergreen and hill forest around the tea belt faces encroachment from estate expansion and tourism-driven development. So what: Forest clearing erodes biodiversity and the watershed underpinning tea and tourism. Source: Bangladesh Forest Department
social The upazila's dense concentration of tea estates holds a large, historically marginalized plantation workforce whose deprivation is masked by a near-median average wealth (RWI -0.061, national rank 247 of 452). So what: Estate workers face acute hardship despite the visible tourist economy. Source: Meta Data for Good Relative Wealth Index (HDX)
climate disaster In a warming, high-rainfall basin, rising heat and rainfall stress the warming-sensitive tea crop that anchors the local economy. So what: Climate stress threatens the single dominant cash crop. Source: Department of Disaster Management

Probable solutions

Protect and restore mixed evergreen forest through co-management and limits on estate and settlement encroachment. Responsible: Bangladesh Forest Department · Bangladesh Forest Department
Support climate-resilient tea varieties, shade management and economic diversification (eco-tourism, agro-processing) to reduce single-crop dependence. Responsible: Bangladesh Tea Board / Department of Agricultural Extension · Bangladesh Tea Board