Re-greening Bangladesh will require more than token gestures

Two stories coming out on Saturday have left us quite baffled. One is the announcement of the country's first-ever "urban forest" in the Purbachal Residential Area, which in a city that has lost most of its greenery is like a breath of fresh air. The other story is about influential people cutting a hill in Chattogram's Lohagara upazila to build houses – in blatant disregard for environmental regulations. How do you reconcile such totally contrasting cases? The latter example, unfortunately, is the norm, while the former, an exception.

In the case of the razed hill, the Department of Environment (DoE) has confirmed that the individuals responsible did not obtain permission when they started their construction work. It is strange that despite stringent laws prohibiting such acts, they continue to occur on a regular basis. But can the DoE just absolve itself by saying the culprits did not take any permission? How can they get permission for an unlawful activity? That an official has said they would take action if they "find evidence" of hill cutting is befuddling indeed.

Chattogram city has already lost around 120 hills over the past four decades, which has had devastating consequences for both humans and wildlife. It is ironic that Bangladesh is praised internationally for its disaster management plans and for leading negotiations on climate change, but what is it doing on the home front? We have ministries, departments, laws and local administrations – all responsible to protect the environment. Yet, on the ground, it seems the power of influentials override all such responsibilities. The result is that acres and acres of forestland and hills are being destroyed across the country under various pretexts.

We commend the Purbachal project, of course, and appreciate that it will be designated as a "special biodiversity conservation area", giving it additional protection. But our appreciation is dimmed by the knowledge that in Chattogram such commitment to preserving our hills and trees is absent. The government must stop sending such mixed signals, and prevent destructions of our natural resources at any cost.