Trees are essential for maintaining the natural balance, climate parity, preventing soil erosion, and enriching forest resources. To encourage people across the country to plant trees, a voluntary organization named Mission Green Bangladesh has started a ‘Tree Plantation Festival’. They started this festival from Gazipur on Friday (31 May 2024). They have informed that they will organize such festivals in all 64 districts of the country during the rainy season (June-July months).
It is known that the organization has organized such a festival to raise awareness about tree plantation among the people of the country and to inform them about how to plant and care for trees properly during the rainy season. In the day-long program in Gazipur, they organized tree plantation programs in 5 places in the district, puppet shows to raise awareness about tree plantation, human chains, signature campaigns with tree planting pledges, tree processions and other events. Healthy Living, Asha (Asha-hoffnung für Bangladesh e.V.), Syed Shakil Trust, Help the Future, Kandari, Swapnodana, Travel with Diana, Brand and Visual, Special Response Team-SRT were in cooperation with the event. JCI Dhaka Metro, RDRC were the community partners.
Present at the day-long tree plantation festival were Mission Green Bangladesh Convener Ahsan Rony, Director Agronomist Abdul Bashar Meraz, Healthy Living BD CEO Founder Mousumi Akhtar Bondhon, Special Response Team Founder Fantahial Alim Tamim, Bangladesh Agricultural University Public Relations Department Deputy Director Din Mohammad Dinu and hundreds of teachers, students and volunteers.
Regarding such an event, Mission Green Bangladesh Convener Ahsan Rony said, “We dream of a green Bangladesh. Mission Green Bangladesh’s overall activities and progress are aimed at enabling the youth of the country to work together to make Bangladesh green. We invite the youth of the whole country to join us and make our mission of building a green Bangladesh a success for our own and future Bangladesh.”
Mission Green Bangladesh Director Agronomist Abdul Bashar Meraz said, “Trees are being killed day by day. Not as many trees are being planted as trees are being killed. As a result, the natural balance is being destroyed. As urban life becomes tree-less, human existence is today at risk. To bring back peace and comfort to the country’s economy and people’s lives, each of us needs to plant at least two trees every year.”
Syed Shakil, founder of the collaborating organization Syed Shakil Welfare Trust, said, “We are delighted to be a partner in this great tree plantation initiative. It has been seen that if a tree lives for fifty years, then fifty lakh taka worth of oxygen can be obtained from it. To maintain the balance of the natural environment, at least 25% of the total land area of the country should be forest land. But this is much less in Bangladesh. If we have to increase this, everyone has to come forward.”
Founder of Special Response Team Fantahial Alim Tamim said, “Trees play the most important role in preventing environmental pollution and reducing global warming. However, trees are being killed and forests are being destroyed due to urbanization, unplanned development and fascination with machines and technology. As a result, natural disasters are occurring, warming is increasing and human civilization is under threat. There is no alternative to tree plantation for this reason.”