Ahammad Parvej Khan
The Bangladesh government has placed special emphasis on maintaining ecological balance through environmental conservation and afforestation in the national budget for FY 2026–27
One of the key objectives of the Government is to address the challenges of climate change and to build a green and sustainable Bangladesh for future generations.
Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury has proposed an allocation of Taka 2,240 crore in proposed 2026-27 budget for the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
He proposed the allocation while delivering his budget speech in the parliament on Thursday.
The Government will implement a nationwide programme to plant 25 crore trees over the next five years. Afforestation activities will be strengthened across marginal lands, including roads, highways, embankments, riverbanks and canal banks.
Government forest areas will be restored and mangrove afforestation will be undertaken in coastal char areas.
In addition, afforestation in institutions and homesteads, agroforestry and urban forestry programmes will be further intensified. Degraded Sal forests in the hilly regions (Chattogram, the Chittagong Hill Tracts and Sylhet) as well as in the central region will be restored.
To encourage public participation, tree fairs will continue to be organised at national, divisional, district and upazila levels, alongside the continuation of National Tree Plantation Awards. Dividends will also be distributed among the best beneficiaries of social forestry programmes.
Through these initiatives, approximately 3,50,000 green jobs will be created, both directly and indirectly. Under the ‘One Child, One Tree Programme’, the Government has finalised an action plan to facilitate the planting of 1 crore trees at the homes and homesteads of students enrolled in government primary schools.
In his speech, the finance minister said one of the key objectives of the Government is to address the challenges of climate change and to build a green and sustainable Bangladesh for future generations.
Special emphasis has been placed in the budget for FY 2026-27 on maintaining ecological balance through environmental conservation and afforestation, he said.
He said government forest areas will be restored and mangrove afforestation will be undertaken in coastal char areas.
In addition, the finance minister said, afforestation in institutions and homesteads, agroforestry and urban forestry programmes will be further intensified.
Degraded sal forests in the hilly regions (Chattogram, the Chittagong Hill Tracts and Sylhet) as well as in the central region will be restored, he said.
To encourage public participation, Khasru said, tree fairs will continue to be organised at national, divisional, district and upazila levels, alongside the continuation of National Tree Plantation Awards.
He said dividends will also be distributed among the best beneficiaries of social forestry programmes.
Through these initiatives, approximately 3,50,000 green jobs will be created, both directly and indirectly, he said.
Under the 'One Child, One Tree Programme', the Government has finalized an action plan to facilitate the planting of one crore trees at the homes and homesteads of students enrolled in government primary schools, he added. The government has proposed an allocation of Taka 100 crore in proposed budget for fiscal 2026-27 under the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund (BCCTF).
"Considering the depth and extent of the impacts of climate change, I propose an allocation of Taka 100 crore for the fiscal year 2026-27 under the Climate Change Trust Fund to implement necessary activities," said Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury while delivering his budget speech in parliament.
Amir Khosru said in implementing the government's nationwide tree plantation programme, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, alongside other ministries, will play a pivotal role.
In addition, the finance minister said, the expansion of 300 hectares of protected areas and the restoration of 4,500 hectares of encroached forest land have been accorded priority in order to strengthen biodiversity conservation.
