Special programme taken to protect Halda biodiversity

The government has taken a special programme to protect the biodiversity of the Halda River, said Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Md Shahab Uddin on Wednesday.

“An action plan will be prepared to implement this programme and once it is implemented, it can be possible to protect biodiversity of 94-kilometre areas of the river,” he said while talking to reporters after attending the 2nd meeting of National Biodiversity Committee, held at the Secretariat.

Not only of the Halda River, the government is working to protect the biodiversity of all regions of the country, said Shahab. He also stressed the need for cooperation of people from all walks of life to protect biodiversity.

Deputy Minister of the Ministry Begum Habibun Nahar, Secretary Dr Farhina Ahmed, Additional Secretary (Environment) Sanjay Kumar Bhowmik, Director General of Department of Environment Dr Abdul Hamid, Chief Conservator of Forests Department of Forests Md Amir Hossain Chowdhury, and representatives of various ministries, departments and research institutes spoke at the meeting.

After receiving the recommendation by the technical committee of the Ministry of Health, it was decided to send the Vibrio cholerae biological sample responsible for cholera disease to The Wellcome Sanger Institute in Britain as per ICDDRB's request for joint research.

Findings from this research will enable Bangladesh to conduct advanced research on the cholera genome that will help eliminate cholera.