State Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shaikh Faridul Islam. File photo

DHAKA, Aug 12, 2026 (BSS) - State Minister for Environment, Forests and 
Climate Change Shaikh Faridul Islam today stressed the need to assess the 
health impacts of development projects alongside their environmental impacts 
to ensure public health and a safe, habitable Bangladesh.

Speaking as the chief guest at a discussion titled "Waste-Free Bangladesh: 
Our Responsibility", organised by the Forum of Environmental Journalists of 
Bangladesh (FEJB) at the National Press Club, he also called on people to 
participate in environmentally friendly waste management to prevent pollution 
of rivers, soil and air.

Faridul urged journalists to publish more reports on environmental 
conservation and highlight shortcomings in government initiatives, saying the 
media can play an important role in protecting the environment.

He said the government is working to find nature-based and environmentally 
friendly solutions to various problems, including plans to plant 250 million 
trees, dig 20,000 kilometres of canals and introduce electric buses.

The State Minister said no government allocation was used for tree planting 
this year. Instead, the programme was financed through corporate social 
responsibility (CSR) and other district-level funds.

"The government wants to revolutionise the country through the tree-planting 
programme," he said, adding that no exotic trees would be planted under the 
planned 250-million-tree programme.

Faridul also highlighted the need to address industrial waste discharge, 
saying there are 425 points where industrial factories discharge waste into 
five rivers surrounding Dhaka. 

He called for closing these discharge points and urged journalists to raise 
the issue through their reports.

He further said repairing roads within a short period after excavation should 
be made mandatory to help reduce Dhaka's air pollution.

The discussion, chaired by Forum President Mostafa Kamal Majumdar, called for 
making Bangladesh healthy and habitable through proper waste management and 
replenishment of natural resources.

Keynote speaker Zakir Hossain Khan, Managing Director of Change Initiative, 
who joined the meeting online from Malaysia, presented an overview of the 
growing volume of waste in different sectors of the country. 

He outlined ways to achieve zero waste through recycling, recovery and 
regeneration of resources under a circular economy.

Forum General Secretary and National Press Club President Hasan Hafiz, Forum 
Executive Member and National Press Club General Secretary Ayub Bhuiyan, 
Forum Executive Members Bulbul Ahmed, Shamima Chowdhury and Salahuddin Bablu, 
prominent human rights activist Nurul Huda Chowdhury, thinker Shah Abdul 
Hannan and photojournalist Tarif Rahman took part in the discussion.