Madhupur: Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan today announced significant government initiatives aimed at restoring the degraded Sal forests of Madhupur.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Rizwana revealed plans to plant Sal trees on 750 acres this year and expand the effort to 6,610 acres over the next three years. She emphasized the active involvement of local communities in planting companion trees alongside Sal.
The announcement was made during a discussion at Dokhla in Madhupur National Park, Tangail, in observance of the International Day for Biological Diversity. Rizwana highlighted ongoing efforts to demarcate the forest boundaries, with boundary pillars already installed in the Rajabari area. She made it clear that only Sal trees and companion species would be planted, maintaining a ratio of 70% Sal to 30% companion species, excluding any foreign species.
Rizwana also addressed legal matters concerning the forest, announcing the withdrawal of 129 cases, except those related to forestland encroachment or assault on forest officials. She assured that local communities would not face harassment and stressed that this directive was a declaration, not merely a promise. Forest-friendly programs are being developed to curb deforestation while safeguarding the rights of forest-dwelling communities.
Speaking directly to the Garo community, Rizwana urged them to cease cultivating crops like pineapple and banana using harmful chemicals that damage the forest. She clarified that no individual, regardless of wealth, would be granted forest land plots, and that landless or river erosion-affected people would be rehabilitated on khas land, not in forest areas.
Before the discussion, Rizwana launched the Sal forest restoration program by planting 1,000 Sal saplings with local students. She also inaugurated the ‘Restoration of Madhupur Sal Forest through Community Participation’ project in the Rajabari area, releasing peafowl and Koi fish into the forest and nearby ponds.
Earlier, she inaugurated the Land Fair and a campaign to plant 500,000 trees by releasing balloons at the Tangail Deputy Commissioner’s office. The event was chaired by Chief Conservator of Forests Md. Amir Hosain Chowdhury and featured renowned wildlife expert Professor Dr. Mohammad Ali Reza Khan as the keynote speaker. Other notable attendees included Md. Navid Shafiullah, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; Professor Dr. Firoz Zaman from the University of Dhaka; and leaders of the Joyenshahi Adivasi Parishad of Madhupur.