GovTwin / Institution
Habiganj District
Local Gov
Habiganj blends haor lowlands in the north with tea estates and forested hills toward the south, and hosts gas fields and an industrial park belt along the Dhaka-Sylhet corridor. It ranks among the poorest dozen districts yet carries the second-highest forest loss of the four, reflecting pressure on its hill forests despite an overall greening trend.
Wealth rank 11/64
(1 = poorest district)
Warming +0.88°C
(1980s–2020s)
Air NO₂ #47/64
(1 = most polluted)
Night-lights +72%
(2014–23 activity)
Built-up 38 km²
Forest loss 3,560 ha
(2001–23)
Rainfall 2,652 mm/yr
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
- poverty Habiganj has a mean Relative Wealth Index of about -0.201, ranking 11th-poorest of 64 districts, marking persistent deprivation across its haor and tea-estate populations. So what: Deep poverty alongside gas wealth and tea exports signals that local resource and plantation rents are not reaching ordinary households. Source: Meta Data for Good Relative Wealth Index (HDX), ~2.4 km grid
- environment Forest loss of about 3,560 ha over 2001-2023 is the second-highest of the four districts, concentrated in the southern hill and reserve forests, even as district-wide NDVI rose about 0.075. So what: Losing intact hill forest while greenness rises elsewhere points to degradation of biodiverse natural forest masked by plantations and crop greening. Source: Hansen Global Forest Change v1.11 (UMD) via Google Earth Engine
- climate disaster Rainfall of about 2,652 mm feeds the northern haors, where pre-monsoon flash floods threaten the single boro crop, while surface heat has held flat (trend about -0.01 C) at a recent daytime high near 27.2 C. So what: Haor farmers face the same one-crop flash-flood risk as neighbouring districts, with little margin for a failed harvest. Source: CHIRPS v2.0 precipitation (UCSB Climate Hazards Group) via Google Earth Engine
- water Mapped permanent surface water is only about 2 sq km, the lowest of the four districts, so outside the monsoon flood pulse there is very little reliable year-round surface water for irrigation and supply. So what: Scarce dry-season surface water pushes reliance onto groundwater and constrains dry-season cropping across the district. Source: JRC Global Surface Water (permanent water) via Google Earth Engine
- economy Nightlight radiance grew about 72%, ranking 50th of 64 districts despite gas fields and corridor industrial estates, indicating that energy and industrial activity has not translated into broad-based local economic brightening. So what: Enclave gas-and-industry growth that bypasses surrounding communities leaves the poverty problem entrenched. Source: VIIRS nighttime lights (annual radiance) via Google Earth Engine
Probable solutions
- Halt encroachment on reserve and hill forests through participatory forest co-management and restoration of degraded blocks, with native-species replanting rather than monoculture. Responsible: Bangladesh Forest Department · Bangladesh Forest Department
- Tie gas-field and industrial-park revenue to local benefit-sharing and skills programs so corridor industry hires and trains nearby haor and tea-estate residents. Responsible: Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority / Petrobangla · policy proposal
- Build and maintain submersible embankments and flash-flood early warning for the northern haors on a strict pre-monsoon schedule. Responsible: Bangladesh Water Development Board · Bangladesh Water Development Board
- Develop dry-season surface-water harvesting and re-excavate silted khals and beels to restore retention for irrigation and supply. Responsible: Local Government Engineering Department / Bangladesh Water Development Board · Local Government Engineering Department