Social afforestation

At the present time of rapid climate change, afforestation is one strategy that can prevent Bangladesh from many known and unknown dangers, and participatory afforestaion is not only able to make Bangladesh greener, it will also help poor and marginal people economically. According to a report of this newspaper yesterday, this kind of afforestation programme has benefitted around 47,000 marginalised farmers in the vast Barind region of Rajshai.

These farmers received their legitimate shares of looking after the planted trees from the sale of trees after 10 years. The participatory afforestation policy has been taken up to encourage the rural people in planting saplings and nursing of the transplanted trees in all 31 upazilas of Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Natore and Naogaon districts. Though trees are cut off after 10 years, if this afforestation continually goes on, it will have positive impact on our environment, besides creating opportunities of income for the poor people.

While this social afforestation programme should be expanded beyond the Barind region, for creating needed environmental balance, it is necessary to protect the country’s existing forest areas. According to statistics, for the last three decades denuding of forest covers is going on at 2.1 per cent annually. But, for maintaining environmental balance, we need 20 per cent of forest cover of the total land. But in reality it is now only 11 per cent. It is really an irony that when the scenario is so bleak, felling of trees is going on unabated in the reserved forests of the country.

But any afforestation programme will not be able to bring the desired result if illegal logging, slash-and-burn agriculture, conversion of forest lands into non-forests settlements, farming, recreation and industrial purposes continue without check. Theft of roadside trees is also rampant in many places. These felled trees mostly go to the brick-kilns of the country where use of woods for burning bricks has already been banned. So, it is important to keep vigilant against felling of forest trees and force the brick kilns owners follow the rule for burning bricks.

The Amazon rainforest in Brazil is burning. This is a great environmental tragedy, not just for Brazil, but to great extent for earth also. In Bangladesh, we do not have forest fire incidents, but denuding of the forest here is so rampant, this menace has to be stopped forthwith.  

 

 

Social afforestation

At the present time of rapid climate change, afforestation is one strategy that can prevent Bangladesh from many known and unknown dangers, and participatory afforestaion is not only able to make Bangladesh greener, it will also help poor and marginal people economically. According to a report of this newspaper yesterday, this kind of afforestation programme has benefitted around 47,000 marginalised farmers in the vast Barind region of Rajshai. These farmers received their legitimate shares of looking after the planted trees from the sale of trees after 10 years. The participatory afforestation policy has been taken up to encourage the rural people in planting saplings and nursing of the transplanted trees in all 31 upazilas of Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Natore and Naogaon districts. Though trees are cut off after 10 years, if this afforestation continually goes on, it will have positive impact on our environment, besides creating opportunities of income for the poor people. While this social afforestation programme should be expanded beyond the Barind region, for creating needed environmental balance, it is necessary to protect the countrys existing forest areas. According to statistics, for the last three decades denuding of forest covers is going on at 2.1 per cent annually. But, for maintaining environmental balance, we need 20 per cent of forest cover of the total land. But in reality it is now only 11 per cent. It is really an irony that when the scenario is so bleak, felling of trees is going on unabated in the reserved forests of the country. But any afforestation programme will not be able to bring the desired result if illegal logging, slash-and-burn agriculture, conversion of forest lands into non-forests settlements, farming, recreation and industrial purposes continue without check. Theft of roadside trees is also rampant in many places. These felled trees mostly go to the brick-kilns of the country where use of woods for burning bricks has already been banned. So, it is important to keep vigilant against felling of forest trees and force the brick kilns owners follow the rule for burning bricks. The Amazon rainforest in Brazil is burning. This is a great environmental tragedy, not just for Brazil, but to great extent for earth also. In Bangladesh, we do not have forest fire incidents, but denuding of the forest here is so rampant, this menace has to be stopped forthwith.