MODHUPUR NATIONAL PARK

The Madhupur national Park (MNP) is situated in the northern part of Bhawal-Madhupur Shal (Shorea robusta) forest tract, somewhat 50 km south of the Garo Hills of the Meghalaya State of India, and about 151 km north of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Geographically, it lies between 24o 45' N and 90o 5' E. The altitude of the park is about 20 m above the mean sea level. The southeast boundary of the park lies on both sides of the Tangail-Mymensingh Highway. Madhupur Shal forest includes an area of about 24,150 ha, but the Madhupur National Park (wildlife and recreation area) encompasses an area of 8,430 ha distributed partially over Jatiya Uddan and Dokhola Ranges. 

The Madhupur forests, commonly known as ‘Madhupur Garh’, forms a slightly elevated tract of approximately 1-2 m in height over the surrounding plains. There are numerous depressions with gentle slope intercepting the ridges. The forest is partly dense, partly thin and there are scrub jungles also. The park is under high pressure from fuel wood, fallen dry leaves for cooking, grazing, illicit felling and fire hazards. In winter almost all leaves fall down on in one hand and on the other hand some areas of the National Park are cleared up by the cultivators and utilized for growing various crops. Therefore, it is a fragmented and disturbed forest.

A recent estimate reveals that over 70% of the Shal forest area is either degraded or encroached by this time. The total Madhupur area is divided into 5 Ranges and 10 Beats for the management of the forest. The forests are being destroyed at an unprecedented rate to clear land for Pineapple (Ananus comosus), Banana (Musa spp.) and Kachu (Colocasia spp.) cultivations and human habitation. The most important underlying causes of this destruction are high population pressure and weak forest management system.