Syeda Rizwana Hasan, adviser to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, said: "The government has prepared a red list of 1,000 plant species for the conservation and proper management of plant species in Bangladesh. By preparing this list we have been able to properly assess threatened plant species."

She said the list classes 271 species as least concern, 256 as data deficient and 395 as threatened, of which 5 are critically endangered, 127 endangered and 263 vulnerable. A further 70 species have been identified as near threatened and 7 as regionally extinct.

The adviser spoke on Monday, 11 November, at the launch of the book "Red List of Plants of Bangladesh" in the conference room of the ministry.

Rizwana Hasan said the initiative would help prioritise plant conservation and support the government's biodiversity conservation goals. According to "The Encyclopedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh", 3,813 plant species have been included that urgently need to be assessed in future. The list will be a valuable resource for policymakers and researchers, she said, and will contribute to environmental stability and to protecting biodiversity at national and international level. The plant red list will be an essential database for conservationists, ensuring conservation efforts and the effective allocation of resources.

The adviser said: "To reduce the impact of invasive plant species, we have developed special management strategies for five selected protected forests." Research has identified 17 invasive plant species in Bangladesh, such as water hyacinth and Assam lata, which are causing environmental damage and have made preventive measures necessary. The strategies will include import bans on invasive species, preventing their commercialisation and applying effective management methods. The initiatives are expected to make an important contribution to Bangladesh's conservation of forests and forest resources at national and international standards.

Additional secretaries ASM Humayun Kabir, Fahmida Khanam and Tapan Kumar Biswas, Chief Conservator of Forests Md Amir Hosain Chowdhury, World Bank senior environmental specialist Ishtiaque Sobhan and IUCN representative Sarwar Alam, among others, were present.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.