[🇧🇩] Save the Rivers/Forests/Hills-----Save the Environment

[Saif]

People do not understand how much efforts it take to grow one tree. It is very easy to cut but very difficult to grow.

You are right in your observation, my friend.

 

[Saif]

Don’t invest in polluting industries

Syeda Rizwana Hasan, adviser to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, has urged banks in Bangladesh not to invest in heavy polluting industries as a part of their responsibility to protect the environment.

www.thedailystar.net

Don’t invest in polluting industries
Rizwana asks banks

Syeda Rizwana Hasan, adviser to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, has urged banks in Bangladesh not to invest in heavy polluting industries as a part of their responsibility to protect the environment.

She made this plea while addressing an event organised by BRAC Bank at the InterContinental Dhaka in the capital yesterday.

At the event, BRAC Bank launched its Sustainability Report 2023, titled "Bloom into the Future".

Rizwana, who was present as chief guest of the programme, said all banks in the country need to invest in sustainable businesses and renewable energy.

Highlighting the importance for environment-friendly investment, Rizwana said she is scared to know that some banks are investing in shipbreaking.

She also praised BRAC Bank for its efforts in disclosing its sustainability agenda.

"I envision a future where sustainability is integrated into every aspect of life, from urban planning to agriculture, which means embracing innovative solutions such as green finance, circular economy practices, and sustainable technologies," Rizwana said.

BRAC Bank has taken steps in this direction, and its initiatives in green finance can serve as a model for others looking to scale their impact and contribute to a greener, more resilient economy, she added.

Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor Nurun Nahar emphasised the central bank's dedication to promoting a culture of sustainability disclosures among banks.

She said sustainability ratings do not simply measure performance, they also demonstrate a bank's dedication to long-term growth that considers economic advancement, environmental protection and social responsibility.

"At Bangladesh Bank, we believe incorporating sustainability into banking practices is crucial for constructing a robust and inclusive future," Nahar added.

BRAC Bank Chairman Meheriar M Hasan said sustainability is no longer a choice, but a responsibility in the modern banking industry.

"BRAC Bank has been a proud advocate of sustainable banking practices, both in Bangladesh and on the international stage," he added. "We believe finance must serve a higher purpose -- one that supports people, the planet and long-term prosperity. The report encapsulates the bank's purpose and actions in sustainability frontiers."

BRAC Bank Managing Director Selim RF Hussain said the report is a tangible manifestation of their commitment to values-based, responsible, and sustainable banking practices that promote economic growth while considering social and environmental factors.

"The theme 'Bloom into the Future' reflects our vision of a flourishing and inclusive future, where sustainability and financial prosperity coexist," he added. "We are not just growing as a bank; we are reshaping the future of banking to serve a higher purpose."

The report underscores the bank's dedication to a sustainable future and follows the Global Reporting Initiative framework. It also provides a comprehensive look at the bank's sustainability strategy, focusing on its impact on the environment, society and governance.

By publishing this report, BRAC Bank has reinforced its position as a leader in meeting environmental responsibilities within Bangladesh's financial sector.

The bank's commitment to responsible financing, good governance and combating climate change is evident through its transparency and sustainability practices.​

 

[Saif]

Little efforts to reclaim grabbed forest land in Bangladesh

A vast area of forestland remained grabbed by different quarters for decades but the authorities took no effective measures to reclaim the land even after the change in government...

www.newagebd.net

Little efforts to reclaim grabbed forest land in Bangladesh
Rashad Ahamad 19 October, 2024, 00:23

File photo

A vast area of forestland remained grabbed by different quarters for decades but the authorities took no effective measures to reclaim the land even after the change in government in early August.

The interim government, formed on August 8 after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime amid a student-led mass uprising on August 5, has failed to evict grabbers despite repeated calls from different quarters.

The chief conservator of forest Amin Hossain, however, claimed that they were now reclaiming grabbed forestland faster than they did earlier.

He said that, in the cases of grabbing involving political persons, the forest department could not play an appropriate role in the past, but now they were conducting drives to reclaim such grabbed land.

The forest department owns a total of 46,00,000 acres of land. The lands are either marked as ‘reserved forests’ or ‘protected forests’.

According to the latest and the lone countrywide survey by the forest department in 2021, at least 1,60,000 grabbers illegally occupied at least 2,56,000 acres of forestland since the country’s independence.

The forest department, between 2021 and June this year, reclaimed 31,000 acres of land from illegal grabbers mostly in Hill Tracts, Sylhet, Gazipur, Mymensingh and Tangail.

After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime, the department reclaimed nearly 500 acres grabbed by the Awami League leaders.

Besides ruling party men during different governments, locally influential people and industrialists grabbed the forestland over the years which took a new dimension after 2010 when AL was in power.

Chittagong University’s forestry and environmental sciences professor Mohammed Al-Amin said that forestland was an unlocked land. ‘In a land-hungry country like Bangladesh, the forestland is more vulnerable. Forest coverage has been declining gradually.’

‘Political power is very much integrated with this grabbing process. Sal forest is more vulnerable than other forests in the country,’ he said.

He blamed the lack of political will and the crisis of manpower and logistics for the inaction of the forest department.

‘Certainly, some forest department officials are involved in the unholy nexus with grabbers,’ he said.

Industries, resorts and farms are significant establishments on the grabbed forest land. Government institutes and places of worship were also constructed by grabbing forest land.

Amin Hossain said that they logged several thousand cases and sent eviction requests to the respective deputy commissioners’ offices but the DC offices took little measures.

He estimated that eviction requests to the DCs were sent to reclaim at least 250,000 acres of land.

After the fall of the AL government, the forest department reclaimed 200 acres of land grabbed by former environment minister Hasan Mahmud’s brother at Rangunia in Chattogram and 15 acres of land grabbed by former agriculture minister Mohammed Abdus Shahid in Moulvibazar.

On Wednesday, the forest department reclaimed 155.09 acres of land in Cox’s Bazar and Chattogram. The lands were grabbed by the Bangladesh Forest Industries Development Corporation.

The land was reclaimed after special directives from the environment, forest and climate change advisor Syeda Rizwana Hasan, officials said.

Forest officials said that 11,000 acres of forest land under Gazipur Circle were recorded as private property over the years.

The forest department also filed cases for the correction of the records.

Officials said that they could not conduct drives against the influential grabbers in the past one and a half decades due to political influence.

The forest department asked officials concerned to make a fresh list of grabbers as soon as possible to conduct fresh drives.

Owing to factors such as grabbing, over-exploitation, conversion of forest land into agricultural land, forest resources in Bangladesh have been continuously depleting in terms of both area and quality.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, between 1990 and 2015, Bangladesh annually lost 2,600 hectares of primary forest. Primary forest land gradually decreased from 1.494 million hectares in 1990 to 1.429 million hectares in 2015.

Society for Environment and Human Development executive director Philip Gain said that the forest department’s list of grabbers was not flawless.

He said that the names of many national minority people living traditionally in the forests were included in the grabbers’ list.

Urging the government to evict grabbers and reclaim grabbed forest land, he said that sal forest land was grabbed by industries while coastal forest land was grabbed by people for making shrimp enclosures due to the government’s wrong decision.​

 

[Krishna with Flute]

High Density Plantation in one area.

 

[Krishna with Flute]

In blind pursuance of materiality, people have forgot the basics. The basics are preserving soil quality i.e make it more fertile by organic material addition, water quality, water conservation, tree plantation and forestation etc. We keep cutting forests and build concrete jungles.