In the Media
Bangladesh: Focus on protecting wildlife, not commercial forestry
February 07, 2012
The Daily Star
Instead of protecting wildlife, the proposed wildlife preservation act focuses more on giving more power and dominion to an incompetent forest department widely criticised for its commercial forestry practices, said speakers at a discussion yesterday.
The draft law is worse than the 38-year-old Bangladesh Wildlife Preservation Act, 1974 it is replacing. It needs a comprehensive review with increased focus on preserving biodiversity and rights of local inhabitants, improved monitoring and enforcement policies, they said.
The Daily Star organised the discussion on Wildlife Preservation Act 2010 at The Daily Star Centre in the city. Environmentalists, lawyers, indigenous leaders and wildlife experts took part in the discussion.
If passed, the law will declare much of the protected forests as “buffer zones” where commercial plantations will be in place, said Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bela) Chief Executive Advocate Syeda Rizwana Hasan.
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Keywords: act, Asia, Bangladesh, commercial forestry, Forestry, policy, wildlife, wildlife preservation act