The environment, forest and climate change minister, Md Shahab Uddin, at a discussion on Wednesday asked the department of forest to stop fishing using poison by unscrupulous fishermen in Sundarbans. The department of forest organised the event marking World Wildlife Day at its auditorium where he, as chief guest, also asked the department to save wild elephants as its population continued to decline every year. Deputy minister of the ministry Habibun Nahar said that fishing using poison continued in Sundarbans over the years which endangered wild animals specially aquatic animals in the world’s largest mangrove forest. As special guest, she said that poisonous fishing continued not by the fishermen but a vested group of people in the area.
She observed that the forest department was not much aware of protecting forests as much as it interested to conserve wildlife. ‘Without forest we cannot protect wild animals. Forests are decreasing gradually for necessary and unnecessary activities,’ she said. Secretary of the ministry Ziaul Hasan said that forest resources were trafficked unabatedly from all the forest. ‘Without foresters-traffickers nexus forest wealth cannot be looted,’ he disclosed. Chief conservator of forests Md Amir Hosain Chowdhury said that the number of tiger population in the Sundarbans increased to 114 in 2019 from 106 in 2016. He said that common people’s participation in the protection of forests and wildlife was essential. Prokriti O Jibon Foundation chairman Muqeed Majumder Babu said that different types of virus spread in the society as human grabbed the animal lands in the forest.
Conservator of forests Mihir Kumar Doe said that Bangladesh is a hotspot for wildlife for its geological and environmental position, but 31 species of wild animals were missing in last 100 years here. He blamed pollution, killing, habitat destruction and trafficking for the decrease of animals and species. Jahangirnagar University zoology department professor Monirul H Khan said that large wild animals could not live in small forest and many of them disappeared from the country. He said that even the reserved forests of the country were misused for the lack of implementation of laws. Sheikh Kamal Wildlife Centre director Md Jahidul Kabir said that at least 11 wild elephants were killed in 2019 and 21 were killed in 2020. ‘If the trend continues wild elephant from Bangladesh will disappear within 16 years,’ he said.
International Union of Conservation in Nature representative in Bangladesh Raquibul Amin said that 25 per cent species of the country are under threat. He demanded nature-based solution and restoration of forest landscape for the protection of animals. He said that 268 elephants were detected in Bangladesh forests. Additional secretary of the ministry Mahmud Hasan also spoke, among others.
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