WORLD NEWS

The government has taken a move to amend the Forest Act, 1927, aiming to protect the country's forests, said Environment and Forests Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud on Sunday, reports UNB.
"The Forest Act, 1927 is going to be amended…the draft bill has been sent to the parliamentary standing committee for scrutiny. It'll be passed soon," he told a seminar at the Institute of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) in the city.
Climate Change Migration and Adaptation Network (C-MAN) and MICAH Network Bangladesh jointly organised the seminar, marking the World Environment Day.
Speaking as the chief guest, Hasan Mahmud said the dinosaur disappeared from the planet due to the loss of its habitants caused by environmental destruction and changing climate. "Once it used to be thought the natural resources are unlimited. Now it's proved the perception is wrong," he said.
Referring to the recent natural calamities, including the onslaught of Mohasen, the minister said the nature has started behaving adversely due to the climate change and the imbalance in the environment.
Claiming that the government is handling the adverse environment efficiently, he said the country has achieved a marked success in food grain production.
"Now, we (Bangladesh) are self-sufficient in food. We can export some 5-7 lakh tonnes of rice a year. But we don't go for export as we keep food grains in stock to face any possible natural calamity."
Hasan Mahmud said the Department of Environment, in the last four years, penalised a huge number of firms, factories, industries and individuals Tk 110 crore for polluting the environment, and realised Tk 80 crore from them.
C-MAN chairman Boniface Gomez and MICAH Network chairman Pitter Haldar, among others, spoke at the seminar.
Earlier, around 230 volunteers of 32 national and international development organisations brought out a colorful procession in the capital on the occasion of the World Environment Day.