Motaher Hossain

The Sahara desert is growing green every day! It will seem that this is not a desert, but a piece of green. Shades of dazzling green fall on the warm brown body of the vast African desert. Although the Sahara desert is the driest region in the world, now the amount of vegetation is increasing in this desert. Some of the scenes captured by NASA's satellite images recently; What scientists were surprised to see.

The artificial satellite has shown the lush greenery of the Sahara desert in front of everyone. Many were shocked to see such a scene in one of the driest and harshest places in the world. However, in most countries of the Middle East, which are almost as dry as similar desert areas, they are importing soil water from foreign countries and turning that soil into a desert area in tree-covered areas by planting trees in the water. And on the contrary, Bangladesh is hilly, forested, even though it is covered with trees, we are destroying trees in the name of development and infrastructure, cutting down the mountains. For this reason, the matter of their multi-faceted efforts to make the Sahara desert or the desert region of the Middle East green and covered with trees and the steps taken by them to make the desert green are relevant in this article. But in our country we are addicted to killing trees and deforestation. For this reason, the greening of the Sahara desert has been mentioned relevantly.

By the way: Sahara is surrounded by a dusty desert. Only sand and sand in that direction. It is difficult to find traces of water in the heart of the desert if you look far and wide. Images captured by NASA's satellite cameras in September showed the almost dry lakes filled with stagnant water in just one month. Sahara lakes are usually dry. Most of the lakes do not even have a trace of water, what is the existence of so much green in the desert of lifeless sand? Need to know the back story. Behind this changing shape of the Sahara is a cyclone.

Because of which the image of a part of the Sahara has changed. According to the data of the American space research agency NASA, due to the extra tropical cyclone, it rained in the northwestern part of the Sahara desert on September 7 and 8. A series of extreme cyclones brought heavy rains to large areas of the Sahara desert in early September. And that's practically the explosion of green. Between July and September each year, rainfall increases north of the equator in Africa under the influence of the monsoon. As the Earth warms, the boundary of the Intertropical Convergence Zone is moving north. Kirsten Haustein, a climate researcher at the University of Leipzig in Germany, said the boundary had moved further north than usual this year. So the Sahara is becoming two to six times wetter than normal.

Rainfall in the Sahara has also increased as the track of monsoonal storms has changed. Researchers say that even occasional floods are occurring. Areas that receive almost no rain, such as Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, are on the verge of being virtually washed away. Especially in those dry places of Morocco and Algeria, as much as it rains in a year, it has happened in two days, according to the sources of the Meteorological Department. Rainfall has increased the most in parts of Chand, Sudan and Eritrea. The northern part of Africa is the most rugged on earth. But this September it has rained five times more than other years.

Flooding has also occurred in some places. Scientists say that due to the use of fossil fuels, global warming is causing environmental changes. The entire world including Sahara is enjoying its fruits. Of course, it has cursed the world's hottest desert. As the world warms, the Sahara will become greener day by day. An article published in Nature in June of this year said that the climate of the Sahara will continue to change drastically in the next few decades. Climate researchers hope that the amount of green in the Sahara will also increase. Peter de Menocal, president of the Woodall Hole Oceanographic Institution, said heavy rains loosened the sand layer and released the soil. On that occasion, getting a favorable environment, green plants grow headlong. From 2500 BC, the monsoon began to move southwards, and the Sahara gradually turned into a desert due to lack of rain. However, farmers in Mali, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and even East Africa have planted hundreds of millions of trees in the last three decades.

On the other hand, Bangladesh needs to have 25 percent of forest land, which is 15.58 percent. It means that we are killing trees instead of planting trees regularly. However, the role of trees, trees and elk is immense in combating the adverse effects of climate change. Only 15.58 percent of the country is supposed to have 25 percent forest land. This information was recently reported in official statistics. According to experts, any country needs 25% forest area to have a healthy, beautiful and livable balanced environment and to combat the adverse effects of climate change. At present, the amount of forest land in Bangladesh is about 23 lakh hectares; Which is 15.58 percent of the size of the country. The amount of land covered by trees in the country is 22.37 percent of the country's area. Although the government has taken various steps to expand the forest area, it is not promising.

According to statistics, the country has a total of 1 lakh 93 thousand 453 hectare blocks including mangroves; 28 thousand 518 seedling km of strip gardens and 1086 lakh seedlings distributed and planted. For the conservation of wildlife and biodiversity, the total protected area is increased by declaring forests as protected areas under the Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act, 2012. The work of increasing the amount of tree covered land is going on through social forestry across the country through extensive afforestation on roads, railways, dams and marginal lands.

Cutting of trees from protected and natural forest areas has been stopped till December 31, 2030 in order to protect the biodiversity of the country. But in reality the opposite is happening. Regular tree killing continues by government, private and private individuals. According to the information of various organizations, Bangladesh is at the top of the world in deforestation. Again, forest land is going under illegal occupation. The list of occupiers also includes government institutions. The Ministry of Environment has prepared a list of people and organizations illegally occupying over two and a half lakh acres of forest land. According to the list, Bangladesh has 160 thousand individuals and organizations towards the top of forest land encroachment involved in the encroachment of 2 lakh 57 thousand acres of forest land. But forests play an important role in preventing climate change and soil erosion. Forests are 'carbon sinks', absorbing and sequestering carbon dioxide. Forest trees absorb and redistribute approximately 95 percent of water. Moreover, for a healthy, beautiful and healthy environment, it is essential to have 25 percent forest area of the total land area. At present, it is slightly more than 15 percent. In such a situation, if the rate of deforestation continues, it will decrease by half in the next decade.

Global Forest Watch, a platform managed by the US-based research institute World Resources Institute, said that the area covered by trees has decreased by 53 thousand acres in 2020 despite the corona pandemic in Bangladesh. From 2001 to 2020, the tree covered area in Bangladesh has decreased by about four lakh 94 thousand 211 acres. 73.4 megatons of carbon dioxide emissions could have been prevented if the vegetation of this vast area had not been destroyed. The total land of the forest department in the country is 37 lakh 71 thousand 124 acres. Among them, three hill districts (Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachari) have 17 lakh 16 thousand acres of land.

After independence, almost two-thirds of the country's forests have been destroyed. From industrialists to elected public representatives and local influencers are involved in forest land encroachment. Like the Sundarbans in the southwest coastal region of the country, the world heritage mangroves are a great protection against natural disasters, similarly the Parabons of the tourist city of Cox's Bazar are our protection. Although there were once rows of parabons along the coast of Cox's Bazar, many of them are on the verge of destruction due to the scourge of shrimp farming. In a similar way, the Sundarbans is surrounded by various activities of destruction. Unauthorized felling of trees, shrimp enclosures and construction of numerous industries around are slowly leading to destruction of this forest. As a result of indiscriminate deforestation, the size of the Sundarbans has shrunk from 10,000 square kilometers to 4,000 square kilometers.

Knowing the threat to the environment, one lakh 60 thousand acres of forest land has been handed over to various individuals and public and private institutions. Although there are two safari parks in Gazipur and Cox's Bazar, the interim government led by Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus has decided to cancel the initiative to set up another safari park in Lathila, a protected forest in Juri, Moulvibazar, considering the threat to the environment. This decision is positive. On the other hand, the controversial 'ecotourism project' was started in 2000 in the 3,000-acre 'core area' of Madhupur Shalban in Tangail, a large forest area in the central region of the country surrounded by a 61,000 running feet wall.

Apart from this, 45 thousand acres of forest land in Madhupur and about 12 thousand acres of Bhawal in Gazipur are occupied by various industries and influential people. Sharif Jamil, coordinator of Waterkeepers Bangladesh and member secretary of Amara (Dhara) believes that this situation will put Bangladesh at long-term environmental risk. According to this environmental expert, the country's forests and environment are under threat due to climate change. Therefore, along with the recovery of illegally occupied forest land, new forest land must be created.

Actions are needed not only on conservation, but also on how to increase the forest area. Only 10 percent of the encroached 2.5 lakh acres of forest land has been recovered. The authorities will take initiative to clear the remaining forest land from the control of illegal encroachers. A balance between environment and development is essential. It should be observed that the environment should not be damaged due to development. The expectation is not to kill trees, but to plant trees, maintain, protect and create new forests, increasing the amount of elk covered with trees is the demand of time. If you fail to do these, the risks of climate change, damages, storms, tides, floods, alkalinity, heavy rains, no rains, desertification will not be prevented and there will be no relief from these.

The writer is a, Journalist, General Secretary-Bangladesh Climate Change Journalists Forum.