MD ABBAS

At a time when heatwaves and rise in temperatures have become a headache for the country, different government agencies felled over seven lakh trees across the country last year in the name of development work, according to a new study.

The study, titled “Logging off Plants in Bangladesh,” presented statistics on tree felling from March 2023 to March 2024, conducted by the River and Delta Research Centre (RDRC), a research organisation.

The study report, unveiled yesterday, said a total of 7,46,465 trees were chopped down during this period.

In the report, the Forest Department was identified as the government agency that was behind the felling of most trees.

Additionally, 24 other government organisations were also named in the report for felling trees.

Apart from that, private organisations and influential people have also cut trees during this period.

According to the study report, the Chattogram district experienced the highest tree cutting, with 506,222 trees being felled, while the Rangpur district saw the least amount of tree felling.

A total of 1,081 trees were logged last year in Dhaka, meaning 83 trees per month and about 3 trees per day, said the report.

On average, approximately 88,190 trees were logged per month, amounting to around 2,902 trees per day over the last year, it added.

Meanwhile, the felling of 400,152 more trees is ongoing under different projects. The Teesta Irrigation Project in Nilphamari alone is the single largest contributor to tree felling, with 400,000 trees being cut down for its implementation, the report also said.

RDRC Chairman Mohammad Azaz, who led the research, said, “Though some projects are ongoing, this report took into account the newly reported tree-cutting figures.”

However, experts said the actual number of felled trees would be three times the reported figures.

They added that there is no estimation of how many shrubs, small trees, and biodiversity have been lost with these trees.

Syeda Rizwana Hasan, executive director of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bela), said these figures show the government’s insensitivity towards protecting the environment and its slogan-based, so-called environmental protection initiatives.

“The government has purposefully prioritised development over the environment, which is completely unacceptable. The government does not make laws to prevent the felling of trees because many government projects involve extensive cutting down of trees,” she said.

The government does not have the licence to cut trees in the name of development, she added.

“We must carry out development work while preserving trees and planting more to combat the effects of climate change,” she said, advocating for strong laws to prevent the felling of trees.

She opined that it should be made compulsory to save trees while implementing development projects.

Amir Hosain Chowdhury, chief conservator of forests at Forest Department, said the department has marked 116,000 trees for cutting so far and has felled 86,000 trees under the social forest scheme.

“If we cut any trees, we plant more trees in their place. We have already signed a MoU with the Water Development Board to plant 71,000 trees once they allocate the land,” he added.