The Department of Forest is allegedly giving a company, owned by one of its ex-official, a dispensation to export 12000 pieces of lizard skin, a forest department source claimed.

The company, named Haque

and Brothers, applied to the forest department seeking permission for exporting lizard skins that are collected directly from the wild.

Although there is no census of lizards in Bangladesh, the company cited "the large population of lizard"

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as the rationale behind its move.

The lizard is treated as commercially threatened worldwide. Lizard's position in Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) is on appendix-1, meaning the party country should take strict measures to resist its trade.

Bangladesh, one of the signatories to the CITES, prohibited export of lizard skin since 1973. However periodic dispensations have been granted till 1986.

Wildlife experts think permission for such activities would eventually lead to an overexploitation of nature and pose a big threat to the reptile species. According to the Red Data book of IUCN -- the world union of conservation, yellow lizard and Bengal monitor are endangered and vulnerable and need conservation.

"Well, we do have a good population of lizard. Still the government's permission of exporting those will put the entire lizard population under enormous threat," said Anisuzzaman Khan, a prominent biodiversity expert of the country.

He, however, said companies can export lizard skins, but in that case, they must go for farming, instead of collecting those from the wild.

An official from the forest department on condition of anonymity said the wildlife section of the department called a meeting of Wildlife Advisory Board today, to decide on the issue.