Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury said that as part of strengthening the tree planting campaign, research activities on conservation and expansion of endangered trees will be strengthened.

The minister said that co-management and collaborative forest management is being done by involving local people, resulting in more sustainable forests and woodlands. Forest cover is being increased by extensive afforestation of existing forests. Encroached forest lands are being identified and afforested to prevent deforestation.

Saber was speaking at the finalisation of the list of awardees in the meeting of the national committee regarding the “Prime Minister's National Award for Plantation-2022 and 2023” award, held at the meeting room of the ministry on Monday.

In the meeting, Saber said patrol activities have been strengthened to protect forests and forest lands. Initiatives have been taken for digital boundary mapping of forest and forest land, as a result of which it will be easy to identify encroachment of forest land. Greening programmes should be strengthened across the country to counter the harmful effects of climate change. Especially in the city, how to plant trees in other places, including the roof of the house, should be taken seriously.

The names of individuals and institutions were finalised for the Prime Minister's National Award in the categories of educational institutions, local government institutions, private level, privately owned nurseries, gardens created by the forest department, creation of rooftop gardens, tree research, conservation, innovation, among others. Before this, the draft list was prepared after scrutiny by the upazila, district and department level committees.

Certificates will be awarded to awardees in each category of the award, which has been in place since 1993. And as the value of the prize, one lakh taka will be given for the first prize, Tk75,000 for the second prize, and Tk50,000 for the third prize.