Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries.
Bangladesh plans to plant 250 million trees over the next five years to expand green cover, restore damaged ecosystems, and support its climate and biodiversity commitments, reports Mongabay’s Abu Siddique. The government expects ministries, the army, local authorities, schools, and development groups to carry out much of the work through their existing budgets.
The largest allocation, 100 million saplings, is intended for 17 coastal districts. Officials say they hope new mangrove cover will reduce erosion and provide greater protection from cyclones and tidal surges. Another 50 million trees are planned for degraded forests in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Sylhet, and the central sal belt. Urban areas are due to receive 12.5 million trees, with the rest divided among riverbanks, wetlands, roadsides, public offices, and educational institutions.
Officials say the tree species to be planted will be selected according to local conditions. Keora (Sonneratia apetala) is proposed for coastal areas, while garjan (Dipterocarpus turbinatus) and other locally adapted species would be used in hill forests. Fruit trees may be planted where communities need a faster financial return. Bangladesh banned new planting of eucalyptus and acacia — nonnative species — in 2025 because of concerns about invasiveness and water use.
Supplying enough healthy saplings will be difficult. Government nurseries produce about 7.5 million a year, well below the program’s average annual requirement of 50 million. Private nurseries will therefore provide much of the stock, and forestry specialists have warned that quality varies. Expanding production too quickly could result in weak saplings or species being planted in unsuitable locations.
The trees will also need watering, protection, monitoring, and replacement during their early years. The government is developing a public dashboard to record the species, location, condition, and agency responsible for each part of the program. Officials have yet to set out a detailed system for maintaining the plantings over time.
Baseline studies could help match species with ecological zones and community needs. Advance contracts with nurseries could also improve the supply and quality of saplings. Measuring survival and ecosystem recovery, alongside the number planted, would provide a clearer indication of whether the program is helping Bangladesh meet its pledge to restore 15% of degraded ecosystems by 2030, Siddique writes.
Banner image: A local community takes part in a tree plantation project in 2018. Image by UNDP Bangladesh via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0).
