Urban tree canopy and ecosystem services distribution in city corporations linking environmental legal policy of Bangladesh

Abstract

Environmental degradation and restricted access to ecosystem services from the urban tree canopy are causing for substantial loss of urban green space . The land covers and ecosystem services from urban tree canopy across all city corporations were studied using the i-Tree canopy tool and such studies are limited in Bangladesh. The study reveals significant regional variation in ecosystem service provision. Grass/Herbaceous coverage shows maximum and least greenery in Cumilla (47.08%) and Sylhet (8.31%) respectively, Trees/Shrubs expressed dominant coverage. Barishal, a peripheral city, leads in air pollutant removal (1,026.75 T/mi 2 /yr), carbon sequestration (36.21 kT/mi 2 /yr), and stormwater management. In contrast, capital and bordering cities like Dhaka South, Gazipur and Narayanganj, exhibit significant ecological deficits and the highest levels of spatial inequity. Furthermore, Barishal is in the best position among peripheral city corporations, providing the highest ecosystem services equivalent to $386.60 area/capita monetary value. Ecosystem services generated through i-Tree are model-based estimations instead of direct empirical measurements. The results should be explained comparatively within acknowledged methodology despite some limitations. In Bangladesh, policy frameworks are reviewed and reveal critical implementation gap in government administrative tools that can alleviate inequity and support sustainable development goals. Results from this assessment will assist policymakers to prioritize implementation areas and force to search for innovative, multidisciplinary and technology based policy making to ensure distributive environmental justice.