Take measures to stop the rampage of forest destroyers

In his poem "Vrikshabandana" (Praise of Trees), Rabindranath Tagore wrote, "From the dark depths of the earth, you heard the appeal of the sun / In the first awakening of life, you, tree, primordial life." However, a study conducted using satellite images of 28 out of the country's 53 protected forests, including wildlife sanctuaries, has shown that the number of trees in each forest has decreased over the past two decades. Despite various initiatives to protect the forests, tree cutting has not ceased. This indiscriminate destruction of forests is damaging the environment and driving many forest animals towards extinction, which is very concerning.

The study revealed that various images taken by Google over time were used to observe the condition of three types of protected forests: shal, pahari, and mangrove. These images were sourced from the Landsat satellite. The Continuous Change Detection and Classification (CCDC) method was used to observe changes in the forests. All the forests included in the study experienced a decrease in tree cover. Additionally, 14,767 hectares of land in the 28 forests have been deforested.

In the country's hilly regions, there are mainly four types of forests: reserved, protected, privately-owned, and unclassified. Among these, the majority of the reserved and unclassified forests are being indiscriminately cleared. Even with special monitoring by the Forest Department, the rampage of forest destroyers is not stopping. In some places, hills are being cut down and destroyed. According to data from Global Forest Watch and the World Resources Institute, Bangladesh has lost 332,000 acres of forest land over the past seven years. The Chittagong region leads in terms of deforestation.

Generally, trees are cut from the hills for various uses, including brick kilns, tobacco curing, and sawmills. Although government approval is required to cut trees in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, due to a lack of monitoring and supervision, forest destroyers are illegally cutting down trees without any permission.

Recently, although the Forest Department has increased special monitoring of reserved forests, unclassified forest areas remain completely unprotected. No surveys have been conducted on these forest areas yet. The naturally occurring forests that develop on the khas land of these hills fall under the category of unclassified forests.

Additionally, more than two hundred sawmills have sprung up throughout the district, with half of them lacking permits from the Forest Department and the Department of Environment. The owners of these illegal sawmills are influential leaders from local political and regional parties. Despite forest and environmental laws prohibiting the establishment of sawmills within 10 kilometers of reserved forests, these regulations are blatantly ignored by the forest destroyers. They have illegally set up sawmills around the reserved forests, where they cut down protected trees continuously.

According to information from the Forest Department, the total area of mountains in the country is approximately 13 lakh 77 thousand hectares, accounting for 9.33% of the country's total area. Of this, the Forest Department controls about 670,000 hectares of mountain forests. However, due to ruthless deforestation and tree cutting, it is not known how much area of mountains remains. There is no data available to any government or non-governmental organization regarding the current extent of mountains due to deforestation and tree cutting.

It has been discovered that local authorities and businessmen are deforesting mountains and forests in the area year after year, colluding with a corrupt circle within the administration. When such issues are highlighted in the media, some initiatives and actions are seen from the relevant authorities. However, the same cycle repeats itself afterward. Therefore, there is no alternative to enforcing strict measures against those involved in such activities according to existing laws to prevent the cutting of trees and mountains in the hill regions.

We are indebted to trees. We repay that debt like uncivilized barbarians. We have education, culture, knowledge, and plenty to be proud of. We understand our actions and their consequences. It's only due to personal or narrow interests of some individuals that we bring upon ourselves the dire consequences of cutting down trees. Such reckless desires should not be anyone's aspiration.

So, we want to say that no more trees should be cut down in the forest. Instead, more trees than those already cut should be planted by the authorities. Therefore, the government must take immediate and effective steps to protect and conserve the forest and nature.