The British Council at Bangladesh arranged an event of indigenous tree plantation today as a part of their environmental policy of managing the cultural relations work in a sustainable manner as possible across their platform and programs.
Kutubdia, an island of Cox’s Bazar district under Chittagong division, is located in the Bay of Bengal. This island is heavily vulnerable to frequent cyclones and tidal waves and in constant threats of land erosion. In order to protect the natural ecosystem of this island, the British Council has taken a project on ‘Mangrove Forest Rehabilitation’’.
Barbara Wickham, Country Director of British Council in Bangladesh inaugurated the event of the plantation of mangrove trees along with EFT Country Coordinator Tasnuba Sharmin. Among others project consultant Dr. Mohammed Kamal Hossain, project partner Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mr. Sujan Chowdhury, Forest Ranger Officer Asit Kumar Roy along with local community leaders and members were present.
The objective of this project is to plant and take care of 6,000 mangrove saplings on Kutubdia during the year 2017-18. Especially, planting these mangrove saplings will be advantageous for marine environment and ecosystem. Secondly, it will conserve mangrove forests and reduce the land erosion and retain the purity of local environment. Moreover, creating national and international awareness on reducing carbon footprint is another goal. It will be also an effective, long-term relationship among the British Council, local administration, department of forestry and the local community.
Focusing on the need of environmental awareness, Barbara Wickham, Country Director of British Council said, “The magnitude of protection we actually get from these mangrove forests are somewhat ignored which is not an issue to be ignored. We have taken this ‘Mangrove Rehabilitation Project’ as a step to reduce our carbon footprint and becoming carbon neutral. We feel the dire need to sustain this resourceful island as a shield for the entire country and request other organizations to do the same for avoiding catastrophic natural disasters to come”.
Under this initiative, a suitable mangrove plantation site will be identified, where the forest ranger will provide an expert opinion and work plan for the schedule and approach to plant 6,000 mangrove saplings. The Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) will be responsible for overall implementation and management of the whole project.
Also, a specialist appointed by British Council will visit the plantation site twice (after six months and one year of signing this agreement) to monitor the growth of the project and submit a report after each visit.
