In the last 17 years, around 66 square kilometres of tropical rainforest, roughly the size of Narayanganj city, was destroyed in Bangladesh. Around four square kilometres of tropical rainforest has been degraded each year during this period. Human settlement, agricultural expansion, and the use of wood for various purposes are the main reasons for the degradation of tropical rainforests. The government has taken several afforestation projects across the country, but protecting of the existing natural forests from the grabbers is important for biodiversity and environmental balance.
Rainforest Foundation Norway (RFN) brought out the report that shows the total area of tropical rainforest in Bangladesh was reduced to 900 square km in 2019 from 966 square km in 2001. It also mentions that roughly 64 percent of the world’s tropical rainforest has been destroyed or degraded since pre-industrial times. Between 2002 and 2019, areas of rainforest the size of France have been destroyed. Experts have warned that the degraded areas are expanding day by day though afforestation is also going on. The RFN report says 3,024 square km of tropical forests were degraded in India, 99 square km in Sri Lanka, 67 square km in Bhutan and 36 square km in Nepal between 2002 and 2019. According to the report, just 36% of global rainforest-from the Amazon to Sumatra to the Congo Basin-remains fully intact.
The main danger of rainforest degradation is that it puts wildlife in peril. Loss of habitats hampers the breeding of wild animals. Rainforests provide food, water and medicine, regulate the climate, act as a carbon sink and buffer communities from flooding and extreme storms. In this age of climate change and species loss, protecting rainforests is more than a matter of preserving beautiful landscapes. People’s massive participation is needed to keep the forests intact. To absorb climate change effects and undo the same, we need to conserve rainforests and protect biodiversity.
