About 0.14 million hectares of land will be afforested in Bangladesh: Environment Minister
Md. Shahab Uddin, Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Bangladesh, said, “By 2025, about 52,000 hectares of mangrove forest will establish, and 0.14 million hectares of hilly and shale forests will reforest.”
He spoke as the chief guest at the parallel session-II of the Second National Conference on Review of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Implementation Progress in the last six years organized by the General Economics Department of the Planning Commission and the Governance Innovation Unit of the Prime Minister’s Office in the Bangabandhu International Conference Center.
The Environment Minister said, “From 2016 to 2020, about 31,000 hectares of block plantations and about 24,000 hectares of mangrove plantations have done.
Activities like afforestation, reforestation, restoration, and biodiversity conservation are underway to ensure 16 percent forest cover by 2030. Forest management authorities also involve the poor and forest-dependent people in all these activities.
In the recent COP26, like 141 other countries, Bangladesh signed the Glasgow Declaration to stop deforestation and increase afforestation.”
“In the recent past, the MoEFCC, Bangladesh, has actively implemented various activities and policy issues to address the global environmental pressures related to ecology, biodiversity, climate change, and land degradation. Recent developments in the Ministry’s legal system will help achieve SDG targets 11, 13, 14, and 15.
We have developed a national action plan to reduce pollution. In addition, 4.2 million improved cooking stoves have been installed in 64 districts to reduce indoor air pollution. We have issued a gazette notification to ensure the use of block bricks in all government constructions by 2025.
To curb industrial water pollution, we have ensured the establishment of waste treatment plants in every industry. Currently, industrial waste treatment plant coverage is 82.09 percent of waste before discharge into the water bodies.
We have taken vital initiatives to remove hazardous chemicals from our soil. DDT reserves will phase out by the end of 2022. In addition, polychlorinated biphenyls from older transformers will phase out by December 2022,” the Environment Minister continued.
“To achieve the SDGs targets, three dolphin sanctuaries and one wildlife sanctuary has declared in 2020, and one national park and one marine reserve in 2021.
To conserve important land, we have undertaken extensive development activities, including eco-restoration in the northern part of Bangladesh.
And sustainable development through social forestry is the more significant in the Rangpur district and restoration of ecosystems in drought-prone Barind Tract’s lands and Haor’s wetlands,” the Environment Minister informed.
