UNB, Dhaka :
Once a home to lush greeneries, Dhaka City has gradually lost much of that wholesome natural setting due to its
unplanned expansion, population boom and lack of plantation, said experts.
They said, when the greeneries are disappearing gradually from Dhaka South City Corporation, the old and main city, the situation in the extended areas of the North City Corporation, including Mirpur and Uttara, is simply alarming.
Talking to UNB ahead of the World Environment Day, divisional forest officer of Department of Forest (DoF) Hossain Mohammad Nishat claimed that the capital city has less than 10 percent greeneries as per their assessment from satellite images. However, the two city corporations and environmental organisations like Bapa and Poba have no exact data on how much greeneries the fast growing mega city Dhaka now has.
Dr Mohhamad Shafiul Alam, a teacher of
Chittagong University’s Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences said, Dhaka city, as per their assessment, has barely more than five percent greeneries, while the entire country has below 10 percent. “A healthy and liveable city should have 25 percent greeneries of its total area, but capital Dhaka has it nearly five percent for lack of regular plantation, maintenance of the existing ones and rapid urbanisation,” he said.
Divisional forest officer Nishat acknowledged that many old trees have been chopped down in the city’s different areas for development activities, while urban afforestation and social afforestation programmes have remained stopped here since 2000. He also said, there was a 67-year-old government nursery in Bailey Road area of the city, which had the capacity to distribute lakhs of saplings a year, was shut down in June 2015 as its land was given to the CHT Affairs Ministry for construction of a building.
Eminent botanist and writer Prof Dwijen Sharma said though there is no statistics in his hands about the Dhaka’s greeneries, it is his assumption that it has been diminishing since long as tress have not been planted the way the city has been expanded. “We used to see many areas of the city, including Siddheswari, were covered with many trees 2-3 decades back, but gradually those are disappearing. So, without statistics any one can say Dhaka is gradually losing its greeneries, he said.”
The noted environmentalist also said not only Dhaka, but also all the cities are witnessing the disappearance of vegetation coverage due to unplanned urbanisation, and economic expansion and population boom.
IUCN Country Representative and ex-Chief Conservator of Forests Ishtiaq Uddin Ahmad said Dhaka city witnessed a fall of greeneries over a few decades.
He, however, said there is a good scope for increasing it by planting trees on the many fellow lands in the city.
Ishtiaq said, housing companies are now mushrooming in Dhaka and other cities who built new buildings cutting down trees without keeping necessary spaces for planting trees, causing the depletion of greeneries.
He also voiced concern that many tress on footpaths of the city are also dying for unplanned pavement of the walkways. Another green activist, Mokarram Hossain, said there is no effective step in sight for a long time to increase the greeneries of the capital city keeping with the pace of its expansion.
He said, the condition of the extended and new areas of the capital is very shocking as those have very negligible number of trees. “The old city areas have still some greenery, but most areas in new city like Mirpur and Uttara are barren. It’s necessary to plant huge tress in the areas for ecological balance.” Mokaram said the condition of Ramna Park remained unchanged while Suhrawardy Udyan is degrading gradually for lack of proper care and maintenance.
“There’s no new plantation in the two green areas.” The environmentalist bemoaned that the National Baldha Garden, which has the collection of thousands of rare trees, is now under threat, for the construction of high rise buildings blocking the sunlight essential for the survival of its trees.
“Baldha Garden is one of the many examples how Dhaka is losing its greeneries due to utter negligence and lack of planning of the authorities concerned.” He said, the Botanical Garden, a home to over 50,000 species of trees, herbs and shrubs and huge aquatic plants, needs better care and management for protecting it and its trees.
Mokarram also said Farmgate Park in the capital almost become a landfill one threatening its existence due to utter negligence of the authorities concerned.
Once a home to lush greeneries, Dhaka City has gradually lost much of that wholesome natural setting due to its
unplanned expansion, population boom and lack of plantation, said experts.
They said, when the greeneries are disappearing gradually from Dhaka South City Corporation, the old and main city, the situation in the extended areas of the North City Corporation, including Mirpur and Uttara, is simply alarming.
Talking to UNB ahead of the World Environment Day, divisional forest officer of Department of Forest (DoF) Hossain Mohammad Nishat claimed that the capital city has less than 10 percent greeneries as per their assessment from satellite images. However, the two city corporations and environmental organisations like Bapa and Poba have no exact data on how much greeneries the fast growing mega city Dhaka now has.
Dr Mohhamad Shafiul Alam, a teacher of
Chittagong University’s Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences said, Dhaka city, as per their assessment, has barely more than five percent greeneries, while the entire country has below 10 percent. “A healthy and liveable city should have 25 percent greeneries of its total area, but capital Dhaka has it nearly five percent for lack of regular plantation, maintenance of the existing ones and rapid urbanisation,” he said.
Divisional forest officer Nishat acknowledged that many old trees have been chopped down in the city’s different areas for development activities, while urban afforestation and social afforestation programmes have remained stopped here since 2000. He also said, there was a 67-year-old government nursery in Bailey Road area of the city, which had the capacity to distribute lakhs of saplings a year, was shut down in June 2015 as its land was given to the CHT Affairs Ministry for construction of a building.
Eminent botanist and writer Prof Dwijen Sharma said though there is no statistics in his hands about the Dhaka’s greeneries, it is his assumption that it has been diminishing since long as tress have not been planted the way the city has been expanded. “We used to see many areas of the city, including Siddheswari, were covered with many trees 2-3 decades back, but gradually those are disappearing. So, without statistics any one can say Dhaka is gradually losing its greeneries, he said.”
The noted environmentalist also said not only Dhaka, but also all the cities are witnessing the disappearance of vegetation coverage due to unplanned urbanisation, and economic expansion and population boom.
IUCN Country Representative and ex-Chief Conservator of Forests Ishtiaq Uddin Ahmad said Dhaka city witnessed a fall of greeneries over a few decades.
He, however, said there is a good scope for increasing it by planting trees on the many fellow lands in the city.
Ishtiaq said, housing companies are now mushrooming in Dhaka and other cities who built new buildings cutting down trees without keeping necessary spaces for planting trees, causing the depletion of greeneries.
He also voiced concern that many tress on footpaths of the city are also dying for unplanned pavement of the walkways. Another green activist, Mokarram Hossain, said there is no effective step in sight for a long time to increase the greeneries of the capital city keeping with the pace of its expansion.
He said, the condition of the extended and new areas of the capital is very shocking as those have very negligible number of trees. “The old city areas have still some greenery, but most areas in new city like Mirpur and Uttara are barren. It’s necessary to plant huge tress in the areas for ecological balance.” Mokaram said the condition of Ramna Park remained unchanged while Suhrawardy Udyan is degrading gradually for lack of proper care and maintenance.
“There’s no new plantation in the two green areas.” The environmentalist bemoaned that the National Baldha Garden, which has the collection of thousands of rare trees, is now under threat, for the construction of high rise buildings blocking the sunlight essential for the survival of its trees.
“Baldha Garden is one of the many examples how Dhaka is losing its greeneries due to utter negligence and lack of planning of the authorities concerned.” He said, the Botanical Garden, a home to over 50,000 species of trees, herbs and shrubs and huge aquatic plants, needs better care and management for protecting it and its trees.
Mokarram also said Farmgate Park in the capital almost become a landfill one threatening its existence due to utter negligence of the authorities concerned.
