At a Gazipur programme, Zahir Uddin Swapan linked afforestation, family participation and agricultural leadership to Bangladesh’s five-year plan to plant 250 million trees.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s political adviser, Zahir Uddin Swapan, called for an expansion of Bangladesh’s ongoing tree-planting and greening campaign, saying greater forest cover was essential to address environmental risks from climate change and keep the country habitable for future generations.
Swapan made the call while addressing a discussion at a tree-planting programme organised by the Krishibid Association at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute auditorium in Gazipur on August 23.
It was his first formal meeting after taking charge as the prime minister’s political adviser.
“Taking care of the environment and ecosystem is our moral responsibility. We depend on the ecological balance of Earth, the only place in the universe capable of sustaining life. So, rather than limiting ourselves to mechanical development, we must exercise our intellect and conscience and work to ensure a habitable Earth for future generations,” Swapan said.
Referring to the global climate crisis, he said carbon emissions caused by excessive use of fossil fuels were increasing temperatures and putting low-lying coastal areas at risk of inundation.
“There is no alternative to greening and afforestation to overcome this global crisis,” he said.
Swapan recalled that Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman had taken forward-looking steps to protect the environment and launched a tree-planting movement alongside efforts to ensure the country’s food security.
Continuing that approach, he said, the current government under Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s leadership had adopted a mega plan to plant 250 million trees over the next five years. He said this year’s target had already been successfully achieved.
Swapan stressed the need to expand greening across the country through participation by every family, educational institution and social organisation under the idea of “one child, one tree”.
He also called on the agricultural community to play a leading role in making the social movement successful.
The event was chaired by agriculturist Dr Kamruzzaman Kaiser.
Nurul Islam Nayan MP, Shahidul Islam Babul MP, Agriculture Ministry Secretary Selim Khan and other leaders of the association also spoke at the programme.
