The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has formed a 14-member advisory pool to help implement the "25 crore trees in 5 years" programme. The pool will support the Tree Plantation Cell and its supporting task force with specialised knowledge, experience and advice. The notification was issued on 20 August.

The pool is chaired by Dr Md Saimum Parvez, the Prime Minister's Special Assistant on environment, forest and climate change. Members include National University Vice-Chancellor ASM Amanullah; Golam Iftekhar Mahmud, editor and publisher of Dhaka Stream; Mostofa Kamal Palash, weather and climate researcher at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada; Dr Faisal Kabir Shuvo, researcher and spatial data scientist at Sydney Water, Australia; strategic communications specialist Sadiqur Rahman; sustainable development and climate change technical specialist Mohammad Subail Bin Alam; and Nahid Zaman Soma, assistant director at Bangladesh University of Professionals.

The other members are engineer Salahuddin Ahmed Raihan, chief executive officer of ASM Engineers and Consultants; Md Zahid Hasan Siddiqui, co-founder and chief executive/managing director of Change Initiative; engineer Shah Adnan Mahmud, GIS and remote sensing specialist at IWM; M Zakir Hossain Khan, technical specialist in climate and renewable energy finance; and Md Ali Imam, consultant to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the World Bank. Md Mehedi Hasan Khan, wildlife and biodiversity conservation officer of the Forest Department, is member secretary.

The notification says the pool will provide technical and professional support in phases as the Tree Plantation Cell requires, and will submit reports to the cell through the task force.

Its duties include giving opinions on formulating policies, strategies and guidelines for the programme and recommending amendments, revisions and reforms of the existing policy framework. It will also give technical advice on using modern technology, including GIS, remote sensing and spatial data science, for selecting planting sites, mapping, monitoring progress and data-based decision-making.

The pool will help identify carbon credit and climate finance opportunities linked to the programme, give technical advice in line with international commitments including Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, and help set strategies for raising funds from bilateral and multilateral climate funds and international development partners.

It will also make recommendations through independent monitoring and evaluation of activities, projects and initiatives under the programme and by reviewing progress, and will help build wide public awareness, media publicity and a strategic communications plan.

The pool will meet at least twice a year, though meetings can be called at any time if needed. Members will serve voluntarily and will receive no financial or travel benefits. The Forest Department will provide all secretarial support, and on the pool's advice the Tree Plantation Cell may co-opt new members if needed.

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