Forest land gobbled up by development projects
We are befuddled how the government proposes to increase forest land to 20 percent of the country's total land mass by 2030 when every year various government agencies are taking up forest land for their establishments and development projects. It seems to be a free for all situation where development projects are taking priority over crucial forest conservation. We need these forests to ensure the survival of our wildlife, conserve biodiversity and the environment. We also need them to act as buffers against violent cyclones and flooding that take away lives and leave millions homeless. Thus it is shocking that at a time when we are so aware of the devastating effects of climate change and the need for forestland to mitigate them, these very forests are being denuded to accommodate government development projects.
Official numbers say that Bangladesh has 17.62 percent of its landmass covered by forests although this may be an inflated figure say experts as it includes deforested areas and forest land that have already been given over for development projects or are urbanised land or illegally occupied. Apparently, a piece of land with even two to five trees can be called a "forest", according to the ministry of forests definition. This means the actual area of forestland is even lower than what is officially claimed.
Such obfuscating of the facts is not only ludicrous but dangerous as they hide the true picture—severe depletion of our forests. According to this paper's report, at least 22 government projects are on forest land between Mirsharai of Chattogram and Teknaf of Cox's Bazar. These include a special economic zone, a tunnel, an LNG terminal, a road, a rail-line, a power station and some tourist spots. While there is no doubt that we need such development, it is completely contradictory to have such projects at the cost of forest land that is home to a precious biodiversity of wildlife, flora and fauna and is responsible for maintaining ecological balance that is essential for human life. The government must shift such projects to non-forest land. These forests must be preserved at all costs.
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