Govt fails to assess forest destruction despite constitutional mandates: Environmental experts

Despite clear constitutional mandates to protect forests and biodiversity, the government has repeatedly failed to properly assess land use and forest destruction during project planning, environmental and legal experts warned at a workshop held today (23 June).

The event, titled "Coastal Forest Management for Ecosystem Restoration and Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) Toolkit," was organised by the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bela) with support from Oxfam Bangladesh, Community Development Centre, and Breaking the Silence (BTS) at Hotel Sonargaon in Dhaka.

Taslima Islam, chief executive of Bela, highlighted the gap between constitutional principles and actual practice, saying, "Although Article 18(A) of the Constitution speaks about protecting forests and biodiversity, the government does not evaluate issues like land use and forest destruction when planning projects." 

She cited the destruction of 7,20,000 trees and 26 hills in Cox's Bazar for railway construction as a stark example.

Taslima also criticised the outdated legal framework. 

"The Forest Act of 1927 does not provide a clear definition of 'forest', nor does it clearly outline the responsibilities of the Forest Ministry. The Social Forestry Rules of 2004 and its 2010 amendment, which support co-management, are not effectively followed in practice," she said.

To tackle these issues, Taslima Islam proposed urgent reforms including harmonising the Forest Act with conflicting laws, amending the Forest Policy of 2014, restructuring forest administration, enforcing strict accountability for deforestation, and formulating a dedicated coastal forest conservation policy.

Bela has reviewed government forest policies and drafted a Policy Brief aiming to reform the legal framework and promote sustainable forest management to restore the country's forest cover.

In his keynote, Mohammad Navid Shafiullah, additional secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, said, "The SDSS tool can bring forest management to a new and more accurate level. However, incorporating legal reforms into this tool is also essential. Existing laws and regulations must be amended to align with technological advancements."

SM Saify Iqbal, climate policy expert at Oxfam Bangladesh, identified human activities—especially uncontrolled tree cutting and shrimp farming—as key drivers of coastal deforestation. He warned of a 1% annual loss rate of mangrove forests and stressed the importance of partnerships and co-management to combat this trend.

Wasiul Islam, professor at Khulna University's Department of Forestry and Food Technology, noted the lack of effective participation from forest-dependent communities in co-management despite long-running projects.

Prof Akhtar Hossain from the University of Chittagong stressed the need to identify and address these systemic gaps.