It is nothing short of heartening to know that in the past three years the government has successfully restored and afforested close to 25,000 acres of encroached forest land. As a nation that is defined by its lush greenery, the fact that we had steadily been losing our forest lands to encroachers is an incredibly tragic notion.
However, it must be kept in mind that deforestation is a global problem and that the continuous loss of forest land is only going to hinder the global fight against climate change, a fight that Bangladesh is at the forefront of due to our climate vulnerability. Which is why the government’s actions towards reclaiming forest land and afforesting them is so pertinent and worthy of praise.
Bangladesh cannot afford to become a safe haven for practices such as illegal tree felling and deforestation, actions which invariably lead to a loss of balance in the order of nature -- thinning out forests not only impact the lives and livelihoods of all living creatures, but it also gives way to frequent and more intense natural calamities, like flooding and landslides.
Indeed there are ample cases to be made for having more dedicated green spaces in our cities, as trees naturally combat phenomena such as the urban heat island effect and provide shade and shelter for citizens seeking respite from the scorching sun during the summer.
But far from making dedicate spaces for greenery, it appears that bodies such as the DSCC are instead cutting trees down in vain attempts towards “beautification” -- it would behoove the DSCC mayor to know that some of the most attractive cities in the world, such as Amsterdam and Boston, all allow nature to coexist with concrete structures.
The primary colour of the Bangladeshi flag, green, is reflective of its natural beauty -- we cannot afford to forget that.