Proper management of Sal Forest demanded

Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bela) yesterday served legal notices on the authorities, demanding steps to ensure proper management of Sal Forest in Madupur and immediate halt to saline water shrimp farming on agricultural lands in Khulna, Bagerhat and Satkhira districts.

Bela issued a legal notice on the Forest Department with a call to ensure proper management of the natural forest in Madhupur and to recognise the legal and traditional rights of the members of the Garo community living in the forest.

In the notice, Bela said the forest department is implementing social forestry programmes in the Sal Forest without considering the interests of the forest dwellers. Such programmes include cultivation of foreign plants such as eucalyptus, acacia and commercial plantation of banana and pineapple.

The notice also said that a large portion of the forest is being converted into rubber garden, firing range, sawmills and furniture stalls and forest lands are also being used for various other purpose.

Bela demanded immediate halt to commercial cultivation of banana and pineapple and steps to restore the large portion of the natural forest, which was illegally occupied for commercial purposes.

In the other notice, Bela has described the negative impacts of shrimp cultivation on agricultural lands in Khulna, Bagerhat and Satkhira districts.

It has requested the authorities concerned to take appropriate measures to prevent the use of saline water without the clearance from the department of environment and to protect the villagers and their agricultural lands.

The notice said that there has been number of cases of harassment of farmers by local administration with the sole intention to deprive them of their agricultural lands.