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POST TIME: 5 June, 2015 00:00 00 AM

Afforestation to combat climate change: Muhith

Special Correspondent

Afforestation to combat climate change: Muhith

The government has declared 34 forests as reserved forests and plans for an extensive afforestation to combat the adverse impact of  the climate change as part of its emphasis on preservation of bio-diversity to create a liveable environment.
This was stated in the Jatiya Sangsad by finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday in his budget speech.  To protect ecological balance, we have taken up plans to carry out extensive afforestation in degraded forests, marginal and private land. Along with this, the concept of social afforestation is being used as a tool to protect biodiversity and reduce poverty, Muhith told the parliament presenting the national budget for 2015-16 fiscal.  ‘We have taken a number of steps to expand eco-tourism industry. We have already opened Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park with international standard facilities in Gazipur and Sheikh Russel Aviary and Eco Park in Chittagong.
A site has been chosen to establish an eco-park in Sylhet which will soon be opened. The Sundarban Tourism Policy has been approved, Muhith added.
To encourage environment friendly activities, the Bangladesh Bank has created a refinancing scheme to finance environment friendly products and sectors like solar energy, biogas plant, effluent treatment
plant, etc.
Initiatives have been taken to shift tanneries located at Hazaribagh in the capital and other places of the country to an environment friendly place in Savar to reduce environmental pollution. This shift will be completed within the next fiscal year, Muhith stated.
In order to reduce health hazards of mother and child and to save energy, around 20 lakh smoke-free improved stoves have been installed in households across the country. There is a plan to install around 3 crore environment friendly stoves by 2030, the finance minister pointed out about the initiatives taken by the government on its climate protection activities.