Syeda Rizwana Hasan, adviser to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Ministry of Water Resources, has said botanical gardens are not just places of recreation but important centres of nature conservation. The government is working sincerely to develop these gardens as nature conservation sites, and any effective proposal on this will be considered seriously, she said.

The environment adviser made the remarks as chief guest, joining virtually from Dhaka, at the opening session of the Annual Botanical Conference 2024 at Jahangirnagar University on Friday 7 February.

She said the government is working to protect endangered forests, including the country's hill and coastal forests. Efforts to regulate tourism to conserve forests are running into various obstacles. The adviser said illegally occupied land must be recovered and reforested, and if forest is cleared for any development project, replanting must be ensured immediately as an alternative.

Rizwana Hasan said a master plan has been taken up to restore sal forests. Planting native trees alone is not enough; arrangements to keep them alive are also essential. Natural forests cannot be fully restored through social forestry, so natural forests must not be destroyed for any afforestation project, she said.

On urbanisation, the environment adviser said planned initiatives are urgently needed to expand greening and urban forestry in Dhaka and other urban areas. The constitution commits to conserving biodiversity, and effective steps must be taken to implement that commitment.

Praising the environment of Jahangirnagar University, she said one of the reasons for the rise of environmentalists at this university is its nature-friendly environment. Such natural environments need to be developed at other universities too.

The conference was chaired by Prof Dr M Azizur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Botanical Society. Special guests included Jahangirnagar University vice-chancellor Prof Dr Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan, pro-vice-chancellor (academic) Prof Dr M Mahfuzur Rahman, pro-vice-chancellor (administration) Prof Dr Sohel Ahmed, treasurer Prof Dr M Abdur Rob, and distinguished professors of the Faculty of Science.

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