Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Md Shahab Uddin said that the government has prepared a list of 1000 plants of which 394 are endangered, with the aim of strengthening conservation and management activities of various species of plant in the country.
This red list will play an important role in achieving our Sustainable Development Goals and in formulating national policies for the protection of endangered plant species, he said, adding that it will also help in reporting to Convention on Biological Diversity and CITES.
The environment minister said these while speaking as the chief guest at a workshop titled "Final Dissemination Workshop on National Red List of Plants" organised at the Forest Department on Sunday.
He said according to the results of the Red List Assessment, out of 1,000 plant species, eight are primarily extinct, five are critically endangered, 127 are endangered, 262 are vulnerable, 69 are near threatened, 271 are of least concern and 258 plant species have been identified as data deficient.
The minister directed the officials of the Forest Department to take urgent steps to conserve the critically endangered species of the country - Bashpata, Triaus Orchid, Chalmugra and Bamon Khejur.
Shahab Uddin said in order to preserve the endangered species of plants in this country, the endangered plants found in the results should be included in the afforestation programme.
In order to know the complete information of such species, a Red List assessment of the remaining 3,000 plant species of the country should be completed and the list needs to be updated periodically, he said.
Deputy Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Habibun Nahar, Secretary Farhina Ahmed, Additional Secretary and Director of Bangladesh National Herbarium Sanjay Kumar Bhowmik spoke as special guests at the workshop.
Various government and private university teachers and researchers, various ministries and non-governmental organisation officials, representatives from the World Bank and various development aid agencies spoke.
