PM to inaugurate environment fair, national tree plantation campaign tomorrow

The Environment Fair and the National Tree Plantation Campaign and Tree Fair will be inaugurated on tomorrow (9 July), with a five-year plan to plant 250 million trees across the country, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo said today ( 8 July).

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has agreed to inaugurate the programmes as the chief guest at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Center, said the minister at a press briefing at the Secretariat.

The theme of this year's National Tree Plantation Campaign and Tree Fair is "Let's decorate the country through tree plantation, Bangladesh first."

Alongside the month-long National Tree Fair and Environment Fair in Dhaka, tree fairs will be arranged for 15 days in all seven divisional headquarters, seven days in 56 district headquarters and three days in 29 upazilas.

The national tree fair in Dhaka will feature 120 stalls.

The minister said the government has adopted a five-year master plan to plant 250 million trees nationwide and ensure their proper maintenance as part of implementing its election manifesto.

A special cell has been formed under the Prime Minister's Office to oversee the programme, he said.

Under the initiative, planted saplings will be monitored digitally through satellite-based Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing technologies, he said.

A central National Tree Database and Tree Monitoring System, supported by a dedicated mobile application, will also be introduced to track the location, survival and growth of planted trees, said the minister.

Besides, the drone technology will be used to monitor afforestation activities in remote char areas, coastal regions and forest zones, he added.

The programme is expected to create around 3,50,000 green jobs over the next five years while helping establish 10,000 new nursery entrepreneurs by engaging rural women and youth in nursery businesses and post-plantation maintenance, said Mintoo.

Regarding this year's plantation programme, he said the Forest Department is planting Tk1.50 crore native saplings in treeless areas, along roads, canals, embankments and coastal regions, while new afforestation is being carried out on 4,800 hectares of recovered forest land.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has already inaugurated the nationwide five-year tree plantation programme at Dulahazara in Cox's Bazar. So far, the Forest Department has planted Tk83.32 lakh  saplings, achieving nearly 17% of this year's target.

Highlighting the government's environmental protection efforts, the minister said enforcement drives were conducted against 1,525 establishments between January and June this year, resulting in fines totaling Tk23.34 crore. Utility connections of 112 illegal factories were also disconnected during the period.

He said the government has prepared a National Air Quality Management Plan to tackle air pollution and is implementing an integrated stakeholder-based project to reduce noise pollution.

On climate action, the minister said the government has adopted a "whole-of-government" approach involving ministries, local government institutions, the private sector, academia, research organisations, civil society and development partners to implement adaptation, mitigation, disaster risk reduction, climate financing, technology transfer and capacity-building programmes.

He also said a draft guideline titled "Extended Producer Responsibility Guidelines for Plastic Waste Management-2026" has been prepared to strengthen plastic waste management and has been sent to the Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division for issuing the necessary statutory regulatory order after legal vetting.

An inter-ministerial meeting has finalised the master plan for conserving the biodiversity of St Martin's Island, and opinions from relevant ministries and agencies are now being incorporated before seeking final government approval.