'Boundary with trees looks more beautiful'

Emphasizing on erecting boundaries with plantation of trees and barbed wire fence surrounding the residences or educational institutions, Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud Chowdhury  said such boundary will give more scenic beauty to schools, balancing the environment.

He came up with the observation while addressing a reception accorded to the dignitaries marking the 28-year founding anniversary of Azimpur Ideal High School at Sundarpur Union of Fatikchhari Upazila in the district.

President of the school management council Joynal Abedin Kanchan presided over the function while Khadijatul Anwar Sony, MP, Upazila Chairman Hossain Mohammad Abu Tayab, upazila AL leader ATM Pearul Islam, Upazila Nirbahi Officer Sayedul Arefin, Upazila Vice-Chairman Advocate Salamot Ullah and Jebun Nahar Mukta, Upazila AL General Secretary Nazim Uddin Muhuri,

former president of Chattogram north district unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League Bakhtiar Sayeed Iran, Fatikchhari Pourasabha Mayor Ismail Hossain, Sundarpur Union Parishad Chairman Shahnewaz Chowdhury and wife of information minister Nuran Fatima Hasan spoke it as special guests.

"I am not in favor of erecting boundaries. There is no boundary around my residence. A barbed wire fence with trees is the boundary of my house," Hasan, also Awami League joint general secretary, said.

Urging the local union porishad chairmen for planting trees alongside the roads after renovating rural roads, he said tree plantation brings back beauty of the villages. About the demands of renovating different roads of Fatikchhari Upazila, the minister said local lawmaker Khadijatul Anwar Sony and Upazila Chairman Tayab will look into the matter.

About development of Azimpur Ideal High School, the minister said, "I have already talked to the concerned ministry. You will have good news soon in this regard".

Wood is the main fuel for cooking and other domestic requirements. It is not surprising that population pressure has had an adverse effect on the indigenous forests. By 1980 only about 16 percent of the land was forested, and forests had all but disappeared from the densely populated and intensively cultivated deltaic plain.

 Aid organizations in the mid-1980s began looking into the possibility of stimulating small-scale forestry to restore a resource for which there was no affordable substitute.

The largest areas of forest are in the Chittagong Hills and the Sundarbans. The evergreen and deciduous forests of the Chittagong Hills cover more than 4,600 square kilometres (1,800 sq mi) and are the source of teak for heavy construction and boat building, as well as other forest products. Domesticated elephants are still used to haul logs.

The Sundarbans, a tidal mangrove forest covering nearly 6,000 square kilometres (2,300 sq mi) along the Bay of Bengal, is the source of timber used for a variety of purposes, including pulp for the domestic paper industry, poles for electric power distribution, and leaves for thatching for dwellings.

the total percentage of forests are 10.98% The government is supposed to increase forest land to 20 percent of the country's total landmass by 2030, but the reality is, it is losing land every year to different government agencies who demand land for their establishments and development projects.

Official numbers show that so far Bangladesh has 17.62 percent of its landmass covered by forests and of that the Department of Forest (DoF) has jurisdiction over 10.84 percent.

Sources in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said so far almost 1.6 lakh acres of forest land has been handed over to different government agencies and establishments, or used for development projects.

That is not all; the feasting on forest has not stopped and several government agencies and wings are demanding a huge amount of woodland from the ministry to build their establishments, make recreation centres, cottages, guesthouses, offices, and roads.

Over the years, the DoF has talked about success in creating coastal forests that act as natural barrier to tidal surges, cyclones, and floods.But this very achievement is being undermined as the government has started using forests for development projects.

At least 22 projects taken up by the government and deemed important for the nation are on forest land between Mirsharai of Chattogram and Teknaf of Cox's Bazar, according to documents obtained by this paper.

Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA), Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), Bangladesh Tourism Board, Bangladesh Railway, Power Development Board, Chattogram Development Authority and Water Development Board have projects on a special economic zone, a tunnel, a power station,an LNG terminal, tourist destinations, an economic zone, a road, a rail line to Cox's Bazar and an embankment, according to the data of the DoF.

For instance, the Mirsharai mangrove forest is three kilometres wide and 20km long and is home to about 5,000 chitals, monitor lizards, crabs, birds and aquatic life.The dense mangrove forest was created by the coastal division in 1976 and it asked the ministry to recognise 22,500 acres of the forest as reserved forest.