The second National Forest Inventory (NFI) has been launched to develop effective forest management plans and ensure the sustainable use of the country's forest resources, said Environment Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury.
The environment minister made this announcement while serving as the chief guest at the inauguration ceremony of the Second National Forest Inventory (NFI) of Bangladesh on Sunday (February 25) at Hotel Intercontinental in Dhaka, reads a press release.
“The comprehensive data collected will facilitate tracking changes in forest cover, biodiversity, policy decision-making, international reporting, and national strategy development,” said the minister.
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, “This database will be an asset to materialise our target under the SDG goals and international declarations as well as better management of our resources.”
Saber 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.
Special guests at the event included Dr. Farhina Ahmed, Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change; Iqbal Abdullah Harun, Additional Secretary (Admin) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change; and Jiaoqun Shi, FAO Representative in Bangladesh.
The function was presided over by Md. Amir Hosain Chowdhury, Chief Conservator of Forests, with Gobinda Roy, Project Director of the SUFAL Project, delivering the welcome speech.
Additionally, Zaheer Iqbal, Deputy Conservator of Forests; Dr. Dicky Simorangkir, Team Lead for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change at FAO Bangladesh; and Dr. Nikhil Chakma, National Socioeconomic Consultant at FAO Bangladesh, presented three keynote papers.