Task Force Target Set at 250 Million
Call to Turn Tree Plantation into Social Movement
- Minister calls for coordinated action to achieve five-year plantation goal.
- Target set to plant over fifty-one million saplings during current year.
- Coastal mangrove plantation scheduled for December completion to meet targets.
State Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Sheikh Faridul Islam urged all stakeholders to work in a coordinated manner to turn tree plantation into a sustainable social movement. He made the remarks on Monday (September 07) while presiding over the third meeting of the auxiliary task force of the National Tree Plantation Cell at the ministry's conference room in the Bangladesh Secretariat.
State Minister Sheikh Faridul Islam stated that tree plantation must become a sustainable social movement to combat the adverse impacts of climate change, protect biodiversity, and maintain ecological balance. He emphasized that all ministries, departments, agencies, and public-private institutions must work together to succeed in the government's program to plant 250 million trees over five years. He noted that ensuring the care, maintenance, and survival rate of each sapling is as critical as increasing the number of plantings.
The State Minister stressed giving priority to indigenous fruit, forest, and medicinal trees suited to local climate and soil conditions. He called for planned tree plantation along rivers, canals, embankments, roads, and railways, as well as prompt replacement of damaged saplings. He also asked ministries and agencies to prepare four-year post-plantation maintenance plans.
The meeting was informed that a plan has been adopted to plant 51,488,930 saplings in 2026. This includes approximately 38.2 million saplings produced internally and nearly 13.3 million collected through internal funds. According to the NGO Affairs Bureau, various NGOs have planted 2.5 million saplings. The annual target is expected to be met following the coastal mangrove plantation drive in December.
Additional Secretary (Admin) of the Ministry Shamima Begum attended the meeting alongside representatives from Local Government, Agriculture, Secondary and Higher Education, Disaster Management, Housing and Public Works, Home Affairs, Defense, Water Resources, Railways, and the Forest Department. Experts Professor Dr. Md. Nurul Islam, Technical Expert Md. Jamail Bashir JB, and Engineer Shah Adnan Mahmud also participated.
//DBTech/THEM/SME/MIS//
