Sal forest to turn into safari park

The government has taken an initiative to make a safari park in the Gazipur Sal forest aiming to save it from encroachment.
Around 4000 acres of land of the forest have been designated for the safari park named after Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, said State Minister for Environment and Forest Hasan Mahmud yesterday at a press conference while announcing the programmes of the World Environment Day on Saturday.
“No encroachment of forestland will take place in Gazipur in the future once the safari park is done,” the minister said in reply to a question.
There was a time when varieties of wild animals like leopard, peacock, deer and different primates graced the Sal forest, but it has been turned into an industrial zone and a place of planted trees over the years.
Citing official sources BSS reports, about 1987 hectors of forestland at Sreepur Range under the forest department will be developed as a wildlife sanctuary for both herbivorous and carnivorous animals.
According to the forest officials, the forest now has a total of 220 plant species including 43 trees, 19 shrubs, 3 palms, 27 grasses, 24 vines and 104 herbs.
The United Nations declared this year a year of bio-diversity. The slogan of the year is Biodiversity is Life! Biodiversity is Our Life.
The safari park project is one of the government’s initiatives for the preservation of forests to protect wildlife as per the international multilateral environment agreements, the environment and forest ministry officials said.
The government will also take measures for conserving rare and endangered wild species by improving bio-diversity of the forest through participation of local people under the three-year project.
The officials claim that Gazipur National Park just 40 kilometres from the capital is now home to 13 species of mammals, 9 reptiles, 5 birds and 5 amphibians.
INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT DAY
Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon this year gets the National Environment Award under environment award and campaign category. Beside, Chittagong City Corporation and Eco-tex Ltd of DOHS get the award under environment conservation category while Humayun Kabir, chief of the Beximco jute division, in research and knowledge management category.
The prime minister is expected to hand over a 18 carat gold medal, Tk 30,000 and a certificate to each of them at the opening session of the World Environment Day at Bangabandhu International Conference center on Saturday.
With a slogan “Many Species, One Planet, One Future” the International Environment Day will be observed this year. The day’s international programme will take place at Kigali in Rwanda, said the state minister for environment at the press conference at the ministry’s auditorium.
Hasan Mahmud also said a pilot project of waste management in Dhaka and Chittagong city will be launched soon under what households of selected areas will be given three different sacks to separate household wastage in three categories– bio-degradable, recyclable and non-recyclable.
The government is also going to introduce vacuum cleaner vehicles in the capital for better waste management, he mentioned.

Courtesy of The Daily Star