Editorial
Saving coastal mangrove forests
Strong action needed
Despite the existence of a government ban on felling of trees until 2015, destruction of forests has been going on unabated. The Char Bestin mangrove forest in Patuakhali district did come under attack in broad daylight on Thursday. Villagers supported by a Non-Government Organisation (NGO) were allegedly involved in cutting down some 5,000 trees from the mangrove forest.
Surprisingly, this has happened despite an instance of stopping a similar attempt at destroying a neighbouring mangrove forest on Char Kukrimukri by a High Court order. It appears, neither the existing government ban, nor the instance of the High Court's recent intervention could strike any fear in the hearts of the greedy loggers of the char in question.
One is surprised by the role of the Patuakhali district administration in this case. Its action to stop the said forest's destruction came rather late. It could also be learnt that the local administration had allocated a large swathe of the mangrove forest to some landless farmers. But were the settler beneficiaries also given the licence to plunder the forest with abandon? And how did the NGO, which has denied the allegation, as reported, got involved in the felling of trees in the first place? Was the entire incident of forest robbery going on without the knowledge of the administration? The administration owes an answer to all these question.
The forest department, too, cannot avoid its responsibilities. Apparently, they remained a passive observer when the country is being stripped off its precious green top cover relentlessly.
We hope the government would mount a prompt investigation into the Char Bestin case and bring the culprits to justice. In the same breath, we would also expect that strong action would follow in the future cases of forest robbery.
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