Syeda Rizwana Hasan, adviser to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, has announced that the government will launch a campaign to restore the sal forest in Tangail from March.
Emphasising the importance of restoring lost forests for nature conservation, she said that collective efforts are needed to protect the country's forests and urged local communities to actively participate in the restoration process.
Speaking as the chief guest at a workshop on “Restoration of Madhupur Sal Forest through Co-management” at the Forest Department headquarters in Dhaka on Tuesday , Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan said a plan of action will be developed, taking into account the needs of forest-dependent communities.
“The plan will be updated as necessary, and a gazette-notified committee will be formed by March. A Village Forest Rule will be introduced to define the rights of forest-dependent communities and the responsibilities of the Forest Department,” she said.
The Advisor also stressed the need to resolve harassment-driven forest-related lawsuits quickly and said that the Forest Department should collaborate with experts and forest-dependent communities.
She mentioned that the Forest Department would reforest 150 acres as part of the restoration efforts. Active participation of local communities is essential for the success of this initiative. Their knowledge, experience, and support will be invaluable.
Md Amir Hossain Chowdhury, Chief Conservator of Forests, chaired the workshop, while Prof AZM Manjur Rashid of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Prof Dr Md Khaled Misbahuzzaman of the University of Chittagong, and Prof AK Fazlul Haque of Khulna University presented keynote papers.
Senior officials of the Ministry, environmentalists, researchers, media representatives, and members of local forest-dependent communities participated in the workshop.
bd-pratidin/GR
