The area deforested in Brazil's Amazon reached a 15-year high after a 22% jump from the prior year, according to official data published Thursday. The National Institute for Space Research’s Prodes monitoring system showed the Brazilian Amazon lost 13,235 square kilometers of rainforest in the 12-month reference period from Aug. 2020 to July 2021. That's the most since 2006. The 15-year high flies in the face of Bolsonaro government’s recent attempts to shore up its environmental credibility, having made overtures to the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden and moved forward its commitment to end illegal deforestation at the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow this month. The space agency's report, released Thursday, is dated Oct. 27 — before talks in Glasgow began. Also read: At COP26, over 100 countries pledge to end deforestation Before Jair Bolsonaro’s term began in Jan. 2019, the Brazilian Amazon hadn’t recorded a single year with more than 10,000 square kilometers of deforestation in over a decade. Between 2009 and 2018, the average was 6,500 square kilometers. Since then, the annual average leapt to 11,405 square kilometers, and the three-year total is an area bigger than the state of Maryland. “It is a shame. It is a crime,” Márcio Astrini, executive secretary of the Climate Observatory, a network of environmental nonprofit groups, told The Associated Press. "We are seeing the Amazon rainforest being destroyed by a government which made environmental destruction its public policy." Bolsonaro took office with promises to develop the Amazon, and dismissing global outcry about its destruction. His administration has defanged environmental authorities and backed legislative measures to loosen land protections, emboldening land grabbers. This week at a conference in the United Arab Emirates to attract investment, he told the crowd that attacks on Brazil for deforestation are unfair and that most of the Amazon remains pristine. Brazil's environment ministry didn't immediately respond to an AP email requesting comment on the Prodes data showing higher deforestation. Also read: Amazon deforestation accelerates by 34.5 pct by July The state of Para accounted for 40% of deforestation from Aug. 2020 to July 2021, according to the data, the most of any of nine states in the Amazon region. But its year-on-year increase was slight compared to Mato Grosso and Amazonas states, which together accounted for 34% of the the region's destruction. The two states suffered 27% and 55% more deforestation, respectively. And early data for the 2021-2022 reference period signals further deterioration. The space agency’s monthly monitoring system, Deter, detected higher deforestation year-on-year during both September and October. Deter is less reliable than Prodes, but widely seen as a leading indicator. “This is the real Brazil that the Bolsonaro government tries to hide with fantastical speeches and actions of greenwashing abroad,” Mauricio Voivodic, international environmental group WWF's executive director for Brazil, said in a statement after release of the Prodes data. “The reality shows that the Bolsonaro government accelerated the path of Amazon destruction.”

Bangladesh has signed the Glasgow Leaders' Declaration on Forests and Land Use in the COP26, pledging to end and reverse deforestation by 2030. Mostafa Kamal, a member of the Bangladesh delegation and secretary of the ministry of environment, forests and climate change, confirmed this to UNB. Mostafa said that NDC had uploaded a letter of consent from Bangladesh on the website of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) on August 26 stating its commitment to forest protection, afforestation, and forest expansion by 2030. However, as it was not uploaded timely, it was reported that Bangladesh is not with the global initiative of ending deforestation process- which was inaccurate. Also read: COP26: Bangladesh announces 37bn-dollar budget to tackle climate change damages The secretary added that Bangladesh has reached an agreement in this regard. “As other countries have reached a consensus, Bangladesh has also expressed solidarity with this consensus. But because of the system error, the name of Bangladesh was not in the first list on the UNFCC web site. Later on Sunday, the name of Bangladesh was added and published. In this way, the names of more countries can be added and the list can be published in stages, the secretary said. He said that Bangladesh is ahead of many other countries in the world in protecting forest lands. And the consensus target is to protect existing forest lands in their respective countries by 2030 as well as create new forests. He added that not only the protection of natural forests, but also the proposal to increase green coverage in the cities to address the climate change has been proposed at the conference. Another member of Bangladesh delegation Chief Conservator of Forests Md Amir Hossain told UNB that a master plan has been taken to increase forest cover from 16 per cent to 20 per cent and afforestation from 22 per cent to 25 per cent by 2030. At the same time, local people are being worked together to protect the forest and create new forests. "We are constantly protecting the forest," he said. On the contrary, the number of forests in different areas is increasing. Amir said that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG-15) also speak of sustainable management of forests, prevention of deforestation, restoration of forests and conservation of biodiversity. For this, Bangladesh has taken various steps to conserve forests and forest resources. Article 18 (A) of the Constitution of the country states the specific constitutional obligation to provide for the protection and security of the state's environment and natural resources, biodiversity, forests, forests and wildlife. Also read: Leaders vow to protect forests, plug methane leaks at COP26 Moreover, the Social Forestry Rules formulated in 2004 and the latest 'National Forest Policy 2016' emphasize on forest conservation and expansion of forest areas, wildlife management and tackling the effects of climate change on the ecosystem. Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, another Bangladeshi delegate, said that the importance of forest protection has been highlighted in the constitution of the country. In that light, the government has specific policies. To this end, Bangladesh also expressed solidarity with the unity of all in protecting the forest. At the COP26 Conference, 134 countries, including Bangladesh, came together to protect the world's forests and protect the world's forests from adverse effects of climate change.

World leaders promised to protect Earth’s forests, cut methane emissions and help South Africa wean itself off coal at the U.N. climate summit Tuesday — part of a flurry of deals intended to avert catastrophic global warming. Britain hailed the commitment by over 100 countries to end deforestation in the coming decade as the first big achievement of the conference in the Scottish city of Glasgow, known as COP26 — but experts noted such promises have been made and broken before. The U.K. government said it has received pledges from leaders representing more than 85% of the world’s forests to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. Among them are several countries with massive forests, including Brazil, China, Colombia, Congo, Indonesia, Russia and the United States. More than $19 billion in public and private funds have been pledged toward the plan. “With today’s unprecedented pledges, we will have a chance to end humanity’s long history as nature’s conqueror, and instead become its custodian,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. “Let’s end this great chainsaw massacre by making conservation do what we know it can do, and that is deliver long-term sustainable jobs and growth as well.” Read: At COP26, over 100 countries pledge to end deforestation Experts and observers said fulfilling the pledge will be critical to limiting climate change, but many noted that such grand promises have been made in the past — to little effect. “Signing the declaration is the easy part,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said on Twitter. “It is essential that it is implemented now for people and planet.” Alison Hoare, a senior research fellow at political think tank Chatham House, said world leaders promised in 2014 to end deforestation by 2030, “but since then deforestation has accelerated across many countries.” Brian Rohan, head of forests at environmental law charity ClientEarth, said that to succeed, the pledge “needs teeth.” Forests are important ecosystems and provide a critical way of absorbing carbon dioxide — the main greenhouse gas — from the atmosphere. But the value of wood as a commodity and the growing demand for agricultural and pastoral land are leading to widespread and often illegal felling of forests, particularly in developing countries. “We are delighted to see Indigenous Peoples mentioned in the forest deal announced today,” said Joseph Itongwa Mukumo, an Indigenous Walikale and activist from Congo. He called for governments and businesses to recognize the effective role Indigenous communities play in preventing deforestation. “These are billions in investment towards environmental preservation, but it’s very difficult for this money to reach Indigenous communities, reach traditional communities,” said Chief Ninawa, a leader of the Huni Kui people from the Amazon attending the summit. Luciana Tellez Chavez, an environmental researcher at Human Right Watch, said the agreement contains “quite a lot of really positive elements.” The EU, Britain and the U.S. are making progress on restricting imports of goods linked to deforestation and human rights abuses, “and it’s really interesting to see China and Brazil signing up to a statement that suggests that’s a goal,” she said. But she noted that Brazil’s public statements don’t yet line up with its domestic policies and warned that the deal could be used by some countries to “greenwash” their image. The Brazilian government has been eager to project itself as a responsible environmental steward in the wake of surging deforestation and fires in the Amazon rainforest and Pantanal wetlands that sparked global outrage and threats of divestment in recent years. But critics caution that its promises should be viewed with skepticism, and the country’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, is an outspoken proponent of developing the Amazon. Read: COP26 must deliver a better future for everyone

More than 100 countries were set to pledge Tuesday to end deforestation, which scientists say is a major driver of climate change. Britain hailed the commitment as the first big achievement of the U.N. climate conference in Glasgow. But campaigners say they need to see the detail — such promises have been made, and broken, before. The U.K. government said it has received commitments from leaders representing more than 85% of the world’s forests to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. Read: Hasina at COP26, gets warm welcome from Guterres, Boris More than $19 billion in public and private funds have been pledged toward the plan, which is backed by countries including Brazil, China, Colombia, Congo, Indonesia, Russia and the United States. Forests are considered important ecosystems and an important way of absorbing carbon dioxide — the main greenhouse gas — from the atmosphere. But the value of wood as a commodity and the growing demand for agricultural and pastoral land are leading to widespread and often illegal felling of forests, particularly in developing countries. Campaign group Human Right Watch cautioned that similar agreements in the past have failed to be effective. Luciana Tellez Chavez, an environmental researcher at the group, said strengthening Indigenous people’s rights would help prevent deforestation and should be part of the agreement. Alison Hoare, a senior research fellow at political think tank Chatham House, said world leaders promised in 2014 to end deforestation by 2030, “but since then deforestation has accelerated across many countries.” “This new pledge recognizes the range of actions needed to protect our forests, including finance, support for rural livelihoods, and strong trade policies,” she said. “For it to succeed, inclusive processes and equitable legal frameworks will be needed, and governments must work with civil society, businesses and indigenous peoples to agree, monitor and implement them.” About 130 world leaders are in Glasgow for the COP26 summit, which host Britain says is the last realistic chance to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels — the goal the world set in Paris six years ago. Read: COP26 begins with a mission to unite world On Monday, the leaders heard stark warnings from officials and activists alike. Prime Minister Boris Johnson described global warming as “a doomsday device” strapped to humanity. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres told his colleagues that humans are “digging our own graves.” And Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, speaking for vulnerable island nations, added moral thunder, warning leaders not to “allow the path of greed and selfishness to sow the seeds of our common destruction.” Climate activist Greta Thunberg told a rally outside the high-security climate venue that the talk inside was just “ blah blah blah" and would achieve little. “Change is not going to come from inside there,” she told some of the thousands of protesters who have come to Glasgow to make their voices heard. "That is not leadership, this is leadership. This is what leadership looks like.”

Suhrawardy Udyan is often described as Dhaka's oxygen bank due to a lush canopy of trees. But the historic park seems to be under threat, having already lost a major portion of its green cover to an ongoing redevelopment project. While authorities claim the project was undertaken to beautify Suhrawardy Udyan, citizens and green activists say trees are being chopped to make way for concrete structures on the pretext of beautification of the park. The Ministry of Liberation War Affairs and the Ministry of Housing and Public Works are jointly implementing the development project worth Tk 265.44 crore. The project kicked off on 1 January 2018, with June 2022 being the completion deadline. Read Trees become victims of ‘personal feud’ in Magura Under the project, the government will construct a 6.5km walkway and seven food courts on the premises of the park. National Development Engineers Ltd has won the contract to execute the project. However, different environmental organisations and regular visitors to the park, including students of Dhaka University, have of late intensified their protest against what they claim is the destruction of the park that is home to a variety of birds and animals.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said more than 1 million of the planet’s estimated 8 million plants and animal species are at risk of extinction today.