In 2021, the Bangladesh Woodland Division had planned to construct a safari park on 5,631 acres of land within the lone biodiversity-enriched reserve wooded space in Lathitila, Moulvibazar at an estimated mark of Tk980 crore. The main half of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park challenge used to be licensed by the authorities in 2023.
On the opposite hand, on 21 August this 300 and sixty five days, the Ministry of Atmosphere, Forests and Native weather Commerce formed a committee to evaluate the affect of this challenge on the biodiversity of the wooded space and the committee instructed that the challenge be cancelled.
Of their sage, they said that the Lathitila Woodland is half of the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot and is a corridor for elephant toddle. The style of a safari park there’ll rep a negative affect on the wooded space position.
The ministry has no longer taken any last decision but. On the opposite hand, this just isn’t any longer the most attention-grabbing wooded space that used to be planned to be modified into correct into a safari park or an eco-park.
The aged Awami League authorities distributed 700 acres of the ‘safe wooded space’ land in Cox’s Bazar in 2021 to construct a coaching academy for administration officers, named ‘Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Academy of Public Administration’. That position of Jhelongja wooded space, adjacent to Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf Marine Power, is environmentally indispensable.
The atmosphere ministry has taken steps to kill this challenge as neatly.
On the opposite hand, Altadighi National Park in Naogaon could probably well per chance no longer be saved. Designated as a nationwide park in 2011, it encompasses an position of 264.12 hectares, positioned shut to the Indian border. The park is dwelling to Altadighi, the largest reservoir within the district, spanning 55.46 acres.
Within the name of favor and conservation of the reservoir, the wooded space department reduce down over 1,000 bushes, generating income via a fragile sale of virtually Tk36 lakh.
When requested about this, Dhamirhat Paikbanda Differ Woodland Officer Anisur Rahman told TBS that 1,020 current bushes that are “irascible” for tourists had been reduce all over the Altadighi renovation. There had been no Sal bushes here, he added.
In an earlier interview, we spoke to Dr Mohammad Ali Reza Khan, ornithologist and the major flowers and fauna specialist on the Dubai Safari Parks, Public Parks and Recreation Division, to uncover why it’s no longer a just belief to flip any wooded space into man-made parks within the principal position.
“Initially, our authorities wants to ponder what it wants — will we desire a flowers and fauna sanctuary or a safari park, or a nationwide park, or is it a zoo that can convey in money? On legend of belief me, whatever we’re doing here, doesn’t drop in any of these courses,” he said.
“Safari parks in Bangladesh mark no longer conform to worldwide requirements. They’ve destroyed pure forests and jeopardised the flowers and fauna. The nation additionally doesn’t rep a upright lab to envision illnesses that can probably well affect the flowers and fauna. The Dhaka Zoo lab is of low quality with machines mendacity idle because they had been provided without needing somebody who knows feature them,” he said.
“Any other example is, we shuttle on water vessels within the Sundarbans, which could probably well neatly be extremely irascible to the rivers and the ecosystem of the Sundarbans. Rather then fossil gasoline-trot boats, the Sundarbans position could probably well per chance mute simplest be entered in solar-powered or battery-trot autos, in stutter that the atmosphere is unharmed and the water just isn’t any longer polluted in any recognize,” Dr Khan added.
In Bangladesh, there usually are no upright insurance policies to trot these forests, safari parks or sanctuaries.
Steal the Bangabandhu Safari Park in Gazipur. Why had been zebras and giraffes brought to the nation after they’re Savannah animals? After which, at the same time as you will rep got created an ecosystem the attach aside tiger, monkey and deer coexist, it’s top to defend a 20 feet deep and 25-30 feet wide water body or a moist or dry moat, in stutter that once the tiger attacks, the deer can trot and cowl, while the tiger can not execrable the water body. Did we observe such strategies?
In for sure one of his fresh items Dr Khan discussed the Lathitila wooded space, the attach aside he said that though Lathitila is a denuded wooded space, that methodology fashioned or virgin forests had been replaced with man-chosen or planted species of bushes the attach aside undesirable and queer plant species are flourishing as undergrowth or lower tier of this wooded space, it’s mute a thousand occasions better than the whole Sal forests we have within the nation.
“The motive being that this little patch of virtually isolated blended-evergreen wooded space beneath the Increased Sylhet district is the last refuge for the primates, carnivores, rodents and herbivores that rep to this point been notorious there. Nowhere in Increased Sylhet will we have such an assemblage of mammals,” Dr Khan said.
These encompass six every of nationally recognised Critically Endangered (IUCN Bangladesh) and Endangered species. Internationally there are one Critically Endangered, four Endangered and 5 Prone species on the IUCN RED Checklist (World).
Subsequently, the Lathitila Woodland is nationally and internationally the largest share of biodiversity prosperous, denuded blended-evergreen wooded space that deserves to be preserved in its entirety and on an urgent basis.
So why did the wooded space department are desirous to flip these forests into man-made parks?
“It be no longer the wooded space department, it used to be the political elites and the ministry,” said Dr Sajeda Begum, professor of Zoology Division at Jahangirnagar University.
“Whereas you occur to uncover a pure wooded space position as safe, it’s comely. Nonetheless while chances are high you will almost definitely well per chance probably neatly be approving projects that encompass constructing infrastructure, bringing international queer animals — that methodology chances are high you will almost definitely well per chance probably neatly be destroying a pure wooded space that took a long time to salvage. The native animals will wish to fight with the international ones for survival,” she said.
“When it used to be declared that Lathitila could probably well per chance be developed as a safari park, many environmental experts protested the notion. Nonetheless it’s a need to to hold, there are numerous stakeholders here, who rep their hold interests to fulfill,” Professor Sajeda added.
Consistent along with her, the motive within the encourage of this is an absence of appreciation for nature, to boot to greed.
The wooded space department agreed with this story. After we requested why they licensed such projects to murder pure forests, Md Moyeenuddin Khan, the deputy chief conservator of forests, said, “Please mark no longer lisp that we licensed these projects. If truth be told we have always submitted objections from our department. Nonetheless when the ministry or the authorities makes a call on their hold, we can not lisp something else.
