Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced today that Bangladesh stands as a global leader in coastal afforestation. Speaking at an event in the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) to commemorate World Environment Day 2024, she highlighted the country’s significant achievements in this area.
“In the world, Bangladesh is one of the pioneers in coastal afforestation. As of now, we have established afforestation on approximately 261,570 hectares in the coastal regions. Since 2009, we’ve also created a green belt spanning 89,853 hectares,” the Prime Minister stated.
The event also marked the inauguration of the Environment Fair-2024, the National Campaign for Tree Plantation, and the Tree Fair-2024. This year’s World Environment Day is themed around “land restoration, stopping desertification and building drought resilience,” celebrated globally under the slogan “Our land. Our future. We are #GenerationRestoration.”
Prime Minister Hasina encouraged everyone to plant trees in all available spaces and engage in rooftop gardening. She emphasized the multiple benefits, including financial gains and temperature relief, alongside environmental protection.
“I would like to request everyone to plant trees wherever you can. If you all plant trees in offices, courts, mosques, and Madrasahs, you will gain relief from the heat. Also, consider rooftop gardening,” she urged.
She further suggested that people should plant a variety of trees, including fruit-bearing, wood, and herbal trees.
“If you plant fruit-bearing trees, you can enjoy the fruits. Planting wood trees can yield significant financial returns from the sale of wood,” she added.
The Prime Minister inaugurated the Tree Plantation Campaign by planting two saplings – Palash and Bel (wood apple) trees, under the theme “Decorate the country with trees, enrich Bangladesh” (Brikkha Diye Sajai Desh, Samriddhi Kori Bangladesh).
