Residents of Bangladesh's southern coastal districts have been organizing programs for n February 14 to raise awareness about the importance of protecting the Sundarbans.
Locals and environment activists have been demanding that the government officially recognize the day and observe it nationally. But there has been no progress in the last 17 years.
The Sundarbans was declared a reserve forest in 1878. A large part of the world's largest mangrove forest is in Bangladesh. It hosts a wide variety of flora and fauna, including the Royal Bengal Tiger, many species of birds, crocodiles, and dolphins.
Rafiqul Islam Khokon, director of Khulna-based organization Rupantor, said they decided to observe February 14 as Sundarbans Day at the Jatiya Sundarbans Conference in 2001.
Lamenting the government’s lack of initiatives, he said: "If we want to preserve the Sundarbans as part of our heritage, there is no alternative to nationally recognizing the Sundarbans Day.”
But Prof Dr Mahmud Hossain from Khulna University claimed the government was dedicated to protecting the Sundarbans and that it undertook various initiatives to conserve forest resources.
He said: "The importance of Sundarbans will be further increased if the day gets official recognition and observed nationally."
Md Mahmudul Hasan, divisional forest officer of Sundarbans East Zone, said an official recognition would lead to the involvement of more people in preserving the forest.
