Environmental organisations have called for the establishment of a separate “Gazipur Forest Division” and placed five demands to protect the district’s forests and environment, prevent encroachment and strengthen control over forest crimes.
The demands were raised at a press conference jointly organised by Gazipur Environment Movement (GAPA) and Public Interest Development Trust (PID Trust) at Shayla Community Centre on Shaheed Niamat Road in Joydebpur on Tuesday.
The organisers said Gazipur is one of the country’s major forest-rich districts, with its forests playing an important role in maintaining ecological balance, biodiversity, climate resilience and public health. However, forestland grabbing, illegal structures, deforestation and various forest crimes are increasingly threatening the district’s forests and environment.
They said laws and policies alone would not be enough to protect forests without an effective administrative structure, regular field-level monitoring, swift enforcement and easy access to services for local people.
At present, the offices of the divisional forest officers of the Dhaka Forest Division and the Dhaka Division of Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation are located in Mohakhali, Dhaka, although their entire jurisdiction covers Gazipur district, the organisers said.
As a result, residents, forest-dependent communities, landowners, institutions and other service seekers in Gazipur often have to travel to Dhaka to access forest-related administrative services, causing unnecessary expenditure of time, money and labour, they said.
The organisers clarified that they were not seeking any specific restructuring of the Dhaka Forest Division. Their main demand was the establishment of a separate Gazipur Forest Division to oversee the district’s forests and forest administration.
They said a separate forest division in Gazipur would enable people to access divisional-level services locally while strengthening forest conservation, prevention and recovery of encroached forestland, control of forest crimes, field-level monitoring and coordination with local communities.
The five demands include speedy implementation of the proposed Gazipur Forest Division and making forest administration centred in Gazipur; granting magisterial powers to forest cadre officials through modern legislation to enable swift action against forest crimes; adopting a zero-tolerance policy against illegal occupation of forestland and taking effective measures to prevent re-encroachment; withdrawing harassment-oriented forest cases following proper investigation and legal procedures; and ensuring legal action against all individuals and organisations involved in forest crimes without considering their identity, influence or status.
The organisers also called for stronger coordination among the Forest Department, district administration, law enforcement agencies, local government bodies, environmental authorities and local communities.
They said protecting forests is not solely the responsibility of the Forest Department but a shared responsibility of the state, administration and people.
“Visible and impartial enforcement of the law against forestland grabbing, illegal structures and forest crimes must be ensured alongside strengthening the administrative capacity of the Forest Department,” they said.
They urged the authorities to implement the demands quickly to protect Gazipur’s forests for future generations and sought cooperation from the media, civil society, local communities and administration.
GAPA General Secretary and PID Trust Managing Trustee Md Mehedi Hasan read out the written statement at the press conference.
Among others, Gazipur Parishad Environment Movement President Md Mosaddekur Rahman, Chief Adviser Frederick Mukul Biswas, Executive Vice-President Enamul Haque, Vice-President Md Ismail Molla and Office Secretary Rafiqul Islam Rubel were present.
