Tribune Report
The government has launched a nationwide initiative to significantly reduce plastic waste by overhauling waste management systems in cities, ports, and suburban areas, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said on Thursday.
Speaking at the inauguration of the World Environment Day celebrations, Environment Fair, National Tree Plantation Campaign and Tree Fair-2026 at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in Dhaka, the prime minister said environmental protection requires more than tree plantation.
"It also demands effective waste management, reduced plastic use, recycling, and greater public awareness to build a sustainable environment," he said.
Tarique said the government has undertaken programs to expand organic fertilizer production, produce energy from waste, and implement the national "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" (3R) policy.
He stressed that reforming waste management systems across cities, ports, and suburban areas was essential to tackling environmental degradation, adding that lasting improvements would depend on changing public behavior alongside government initiatives.
Urging people not to litter indiscriminately, the prime minister said environmental organizations, stakeholders, and citizens must work together to ensure the success of the government's waste reduction efforts.
Describing environmental protection and afforestation as pillars of national development, Tarique called on every citizen to make tree plantation and environmental conservation part of daily life.
"We must make tree plantation and environmental conservation part of our daily lives. Only through collective efforts can we build a greener, healthier and safer Bangladesh," he said.
The prime minister said the government views environmental protection as a foundation of national development, citing the growing impacts of cyclones, floods, droughts, heatwaves, river erosion, and salinity on agriculture, public health, the economy, and livelihoods.
As part of its long-term strategy, he said the government aims to plant 250 million trees over the next five years under its election manifesto.
He said the plantation program would prioritize scientific planning based on soil conditions, climate, and ecological suitability while encouraging indigenous medicinal, fruit-bearing, forest, bamboo, commercial, and endangered species instead of environmentally harmful exotic trees.
Tarique also stressed the importance of ensuring planted saplings survive and grow, directing the Forest Department to protect long-standing "mother trees" and maintain a strict stance against deforestation, hill cutting, mangrove destruction, and wildlife poaching.
Highlighting the importance of protecting rivers, he said the government is implementing a program to excavate and re-excavate 20,000km of rivers and canals nationwide to improve irrigation, strengthen climate resilience, and restore natural water bodies.
Calling on citizens to plant at least one tree, the prime minister recalled that Dhaka was much greener during his childhood and suggested that families plant a tree to mark the birth of every child.
He also said the government has introduced a "Green Volunteerism" program in educational institutions, alongside a Climate Youth Fellowship and an Environment Start-up Fund to encourage greater youth participation in environmental protection.
During the program, Tarique presented the National Tree Plantation Award-2025, Wildlife Conservation Award-2026, and National Environment Award-2025, and distributed dividend cheques among forestry stakeholders.
The event was also the first major government program held without photographs of the prime minister on banners, festoons, or the main stage following a recent Cabinet Division directive banning the use of the prime minister's image at government events.
Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo chaired the programme. State Minister Sheikh Faridul Islam, Prime Minister's Special Assistant Saimum Parvez, and Acting Secretary Fahmida Khanam also spoke.
Cabinet members, lawmakers, diplomats, senior officials, environmentalists, researchers, students, and representatives from various sectors attended the event.
