PM orders survey of “mother trees” within six months

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has directed the authorities to identify and conserve the country’s “mother trees” within six months, as part of wider efforts to protect forests, improve environmental conditions and heighten public awareness.

The directive was issued at a meeting at the Secretariat on Thursday to review the progress of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Deputy Press Secretary Hasan Shiplu said. Mother trees are typically large, mature specimens that sustain surrounding vegetation through underground fungal networks, helping to transfer water and nutrients to younger plants. Furthermore, the prime minister called for regular care of newly planted trees, field inspections to check their survival and measures to expand afforestation in the Chattogram Hill Tracts. He also expressed concern that Dhaka persistently ranks among the world’s most polluted cities, describing the situation as a source of national embarrassment, and urged officials to go beyond their routine duties and shoulder greater responsibility for protecting the environment, warning that degradation would harm future generations.

Moreover, Mr Tarique called for more public spaces where people can connect with nature and encouraged rooftop and school gardening, as well as gardens in other buildings. The government plans to plant 250 million trees over the next five years, the deputy press secretary said, and the prime minister stressed that the initiative would benefit the entire country if implemented effectively. Consequently, the meeting decided that the environment and forest ministry should help make up any shortfall if other ministries fail to meet their planting targets, while ensuring regular maintenance and monitoring of the trees.

Read More: President urges direct incentives to make farming profitable

Environment Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo chaired the meeting, which was attended by State Minister Sheikh Faridul Islam, the prime minister’s special assistant Saimum Parvez, Acting Secretary Fahmida Khanam and senior officials.