Sand mining in protected forest areas should be banned strictly to protect the environment.

The Standing Committee of Bangladesh National Parliament on the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC), Bangladesh, recommended this in its 40th meeting of the 11th Parliament held at Parliament House on October 01, 2023.

Saber Hossain Chowdhury, President of the Committee, presided over the meeting. Shahab Uddin MP, the Minister of MOEFCC Habibun Nahar MP, the Deputy Minister of MOEFCC, Tanveer Shakeel Joy MP, Md Rezaul Karim Bablu MP and Khodeja Nasreen Akhter Hossain MP, also the committee member, attended the meeting.

The meeting discussed the report on the biodiversity loss of Sundarbans and Haor ecosystem, air pollution, illegal sand mining, illegal constructions in St. Martin, and participation and involvement of indigenous people in lawmaking.

Emphasis is placed on the implementation of researcher Sirajul Hossain’s report on biodiversity loss in the Sundarbans and the Haor ecosystem.

The Ministry is recommended to consider the role of tribals in conserving forests and biodiversity and addressing climate change, involving them through appropriate application of experience.

Apart from this, the organizations polluting the environment through various types of hotels, motels, resorts, etc., built outside of the rules, have been instructed to take necessary precautions.

The secretary of the Ministry of MOEFCC, the heads of various departments and organizations, and the relevant officials of the Ministry and National Parliament Secretariat were present at the meeting.