Rescue evicted forestlands and stopping illegal brickfields – Bangladesh Forest and Environment Minister instructed the Deputy Commissioners

 Md Shahab Uddin, the Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Bangladesh, has instructed to rescue the evicted forestlands and stop illegal brickfields from protecting the country’s environment.

He stated, “We have given necessary instructions to the Deputy Commissioners 

 to rescue the protected forest land and stop illegal brickfields. Meanwhile, we have written a letter from the ministry stating the amount of evicted forest land and illegal brickfields for each district.”

The environment minister spoke these at a press briefing after the first session of the second day of the Deputy Commissioners’ Conference, 2022, at Osmani Auditorium in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.

“To prevent illegal occupying the forest lands and protect the environment, we have given clear instruction to stop cutting and trimming trees and hills.

We have also emphasized protecting wildlife and biodiversity. We need co-operation from the entire district’s Deputy Commissioners. At present, the forest cover in the country is 14.1 percent.

SDG implementation aims to cover 16% of the total land area by 2030. However, in the case of social forestry, we are above 22 percent,” the environment minister continued.

Talking about the use of 100% block bricks by 2025, the environment minister said, “We are talking about using block bricks instead of ordinary bricks. In the meantime, a notification has been issued to use 100% block bricks in the government’s establishments by 2025.

If 100% block bricks can be used, the pollution of the environment will stop because of brickfields. Illegal logging in protected forests will also reduce.”