DHAKA — In a move to bolster regional cooperation on pressing environmental issues, South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme (SACEP) Director General Norbu Wanchuk paid a courtesy call to Bangladesh’s Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister, Abdul Awal Mintoo, at his secretariat office on April 6.
The high-level meeting centered on building actionable frameworks among member countries to address shared ecological crises. Key discussions focused heavily on air and water pollution control, strategic plastic reduction, effective waste management, biodiversity conservation, and overarching climate change mitigation efforts. Both leaders emphasized the urgent need to further strengthen cooperation among SACEP member states in these critical areas.
Minister Mintoo utilized the meeting to call for enhanced, targeted collaboration with SACEP on various environmental protection issues specific to Bangladesh. He stated that the government has already undertaken multiple robust initiatives to tackle air, water, noise, and marine pollution, alongside its broader challenges with climate change.
Highlighting the government’s proactive environmental agenda, Mintoo informed the Director General of a massive upcoming afforestation drive. In strict alignment with the administration’s electoral manifesto, the government plans to plant 25 crore (250 million) trees over the next five years—translating to a rate of five crore trees per year. He added that the government is working continuously to implement its electoral commitments in this regard.
Echoing the need for unified action, SACEP Director General Wanchuk expressed a strong commitment to working jointly with member countries. He underscored that these collaborative efforts will be carried out in accordance with various international conventions on environmental protection and climate change mitigation.
Senior officials from both the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and SACEP were also present to support the strategic dialogue.
