On Thursday, 16 July 2026, Chief of Army Staff General Waker-Uz-Zaman opened the Bangladesh Army Tree Plantation Campaign-2026 by planting a sapling in the Nirjhor residential area of Dhaka Cantonment. Speaking at the opening, he said 11 lakh 36 thousand trees would be planted in cantonments across the country and in Jolshiri under this year's campaign. The Inter Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR) gave details of the event in a press release.
What the army chief said
The army chief said the army does not only plant trees but also protects and cares for them, and as a result the cantonments stay full of trees. According to the Daily Inqilab, he said the army also takes on the job of raising the saplings into mature trees through regular care and protection, and he noted that the initiative would encourage ordinary people to plant trees.
Citing ISPR, the Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) and The Business Standard reported that he stressed the importance of tree planting for protecting the environment, maintaining ecological balance and building a greener and more sustainable Bangladesh.
Where, which trees and for how long
The campaign's theme was "Brikkhoropone Sajai Desh, Sobar Age Bangladesh" (Let's decorate the country through tree plantation, Bangladesh first). ISPR said saplings of fruit, timber and medicinal species, as well as ornamental plants, would be planted at suitable places in all cantonments, Defence Officers Housing Scheme (DOHS) areas and the Jolshiri housing project. Programmes began at these sites at the same time, and the campaign was set to run until the last week of September 2026.
According to ISPR, the main aim of the programme was to encourage everyone to plant trees of their own accord, in order to increase the country's forest resources and protect its environmental balance. Senior officers from army headquarters and the Dhaka area, along with military and civilian members of various ranks, attended the opening.
What Jolshiri and DOHS are
One of the campaign's larger sites is Jolshiri Abashon, a residential area under construction in Rupganj upazila of Narayanganj district, on the outskirts of Dhaka, being developed as an extension of the city. It is planned for army officers and is developed by the Jolshiri Abashon Corporation, a sister organisation of the Army Officers Housing Scheme. DOHS areas are residential areas built for officers of the defence services.
Same theme as the national campaign
A week before the army's campaign, on 9 July 2026, the Prime Minister opened the National Tree Plantation Campaign and Tree Fair 2026 at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in Dhaka. That event, organised by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, carried the same theme. NTV reported that a master plan to plant 25 crore trees in five years was described at the event.
The army's tree plantation campaign is a yearly programme. According to BSS, in July 2025 the army chief also opened the army's Tree Plantation Campaign-2025 by planting a sapling in the Nirjhor residential area. That year's programme, covering fruit, timber, medicinal and ornamental trees in cantonments, training ranges and housing projects, was announced to run until September.
Photo: Nazmulhuqrussell / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Sources: Jagonews24, Daily Inqilab, Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), The Business Standard, NTV, Wikipedia
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