Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Saber Hossain Chowdhury, announced the commencement of the 2nd National Forest Inventory (NFI), aimed at developing effective forest management plans and ensuring the sustainable use of Bangladesh's forest resources, reports UNB.

The comprehensive data collected will facilitate tracking changes in forest cover, biodiversity, policy decision-making, international reporting, and national strategy development.

The Environment Minister emphasised the NFI's significance in establishing Bangladesh's National Forest Monitoring System and its role as the primary data source for forest biomass and carbon inventory. Additionally, the NFI will encompass non-timber forest products, soil analysis, and cultural aspects, going beyond wood volume assessment. He said that the database will be an asset to materialise Bangladesh’s target under the SDG goals and international declarations as well as better management of its resources.

Minister Chowdhury highlighted Bangladesh's previous completion of a comprehensive national forest inventory from 2016 to 2019 and underscored the second cycle's objective of analyzing trends and identifying areas requiring interventions.

Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan