GovTwin / Institution
Sherpur District
Local Gov
A small northern border district at the foot of the Garo Hills, mixing plain agriculture with forest-edge tracts along the Indian frontier. It carries by far the heaviest forest loss in the cluster and combines rural poverty with the slowest economic-activity growth.
Wealth rank 22/64
(1 = poorest district)
Warming +0.64°C
(1980s–2020s)
Air NO₂ #35/64
(1 = most polluted)
Night-lights +82%
(2014–23 activity)
Built-up 19 km²
Forest loss 2,802 ha
(2001–23)
Rainfall 2,305 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
- environment Forest loss of 2802 ha over 2001-2023, by far the highest in this cluster and concentrated in the Garo Hills forest belt So what: Deforestation along the border degrades the watershed and habitat and sharpens human-elephant conflict at the forest edge. Source: Hansen Global Forest Change v1.11 (UMD) via Google Earth Engine
- poverty Below-average household wealth (mean Relative Wealth Index -0.113), ranking 22nd-poorest of 64 districts So what: A remote border location with weak market access keeps incomes low, including for forest-edge and indigenous Garo communities. Source: Meta Data for Good Relative Wealth Index (HDX), ~2.4 km grid
- economy Night-light growth of just 82% ranks 39th of 64 districts, the slowest economic-activity growth in this cluster So what: Lagging economic dynamism signals limited investment and jobs, reinforcing out-migration from a small border district. Source: VIIRS nighttime lights (annual radiance) via Google Earth Engine
- climate disaster High annual rainfall of 2305 mm on hill-fed rivers descending from the Garo Hills causes flash flooding in the plains below So what: Sudden hill runoff floods downstream farmland with little warning, damaging crops in an already poor district. Source: CHIRPS v2.0 precipitation (UCSB Climate Hazards Group) via Google Earth Engine
- water No permanent surface water (0.0 km2), leaving dry-season cultivation reliant on groundwater and hill streams So what: Seasonal water scarcity constrains a second crop and raises irrigation costs for marginal farmers. Source: JRC Global Surface Water (permanent water) via Google Earth Engine
Probable solutions
- Restore degraded Garo Hills forest through social and participatory afforestation and curb illegal logging at the border Responsible: Bangladesh Forest Department · policy proposal
- Mitigate human-elephant conflict with managed corridors, early-warning and victim compensation at the forest edge Responsible: Bangladesh Forest Department · policy proposal
- Improve border-area roads and market linkages and support indigenous Garo livelihoods and agro-processing Responsible: Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) · policy proposal
- Build small-scale water retention and flood-buffering structures on hill-fed rivers for dry-season irrigation Responsible: Bangladesh Water Development Board · policy proposal