Staff Reporter:
President Mohammed Shahabuddin and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday called for planting more trees in the country aiming to ensure a better and safe future.
The President and the Prime Minister made the call in separate messages they issued marking the ‘Na-tional Tree Plantation Campaign’ and ‘Tree Fair 2024’.
On the eve of the day, in his message, President Mohammed Shahabuddin said: “I call upon the coun-trymen to create a healthy and serene environment for future generations by planting more trees.”
To fulfill Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s dream, the government is work-ing tirelessly to develop the country’s forest resources, preserve forests and increase green coverage, the head of the state added.
Side by side protecting the existing forests, the government has taken proper initiatives to expand and develop forests and re-establish extinct forests, he said.
He said that social forestry in government forests and marginal lands, cooperative forest management in government forests and co-management in protected areas are being implemented involving local people.
Besides, training at all levels and various services have been digitized to achieve technical development in forest management, he added.
He called upon all concerned to continue these activities for conservation of forest land and environment protection as well as to prevent illegal felling of trees and to create public awareness in this regard.
The President greeted those who got ‘Bangabandhu Award for Wildlife Conservation 2023 and 2024’ and ‘Prime Minister’s National Award for Tree Plantation 2022 and 2023’.
He hoped their achievements will encourage others to come forward in forestation and plantation.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in her message, said: “Let each of us plant at least one fruit-bearing and medicinal tree and then take care of it so that a clean, healthy, beautiful and safe habitat for the future generations can be created.”
She also congratulated those who got ‘Bangabandhu Award for Wildlife Conservation 2023 and 2024’ and Prime Minister’s National Award for Tree Plantation 2022 and 2023.
When Awami League (AL) formed the government, it has prioritized tree plantation to protect the envi-ronment and combat the adverse effects of climate, the premier said.
The greatest Bengali of all time, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman prioritized plantation and forestry, she said.
Bangabandhu introduced a garden by planting coconut saplings at the Ramna Racecourse Maidan which he named Suhrawardy Uddyan, Sheikh Hasina added.
Bangabandhu started coastal afforestation in 1972 to protect against sea tides and natural calamities, she said, adding that he established the National Herbarium on July 1, 1975 for the conservation and re-search of plant species of the country.
During the 2001-2006 tenure of the BNP-Jamaat alliance and the subsequent caretaker government, the issue of forest expansion and conservation was neglected, she said.
Before the formation of the Awami League government in 2009, the amount of green coverage in the country was only 21.7 percent, she added.
Following the footsteps of the Father of the Nation, the AL-led government started social forestry in marginal lands including government forests and newly emerged coastal char-areas to increase tree cov-erage, she said.
Between 2009-10 and 2021-22, about two lakh hectares of afforestation blocks including mangrove for-ests and 28.458 kilometers (km) of plantations were created, she asaid.
Both the president and the premier wished ‘National Tree Plantation Campaign’, ‘Tree Fair 2024’ a suc-cess.
The ‘National Tree Plantation Campaign and Tree Fair-2024’ and ‘Environment Fair’ will begin in the capital today.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the ‘National Tree Plantation Campaign and Tree Fair’ and the ‘Environment Fair’ at a function at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) here at about 10 am today.
