Introduction: trees are a wonderful creation of God. They are our best friend. We cannot think of our existence on earth without the existence of trees. Our beloved poet Tagore claims, ‘back me my forest, take your town.’
The utility of trees: great is the utility of trees in our life and economy. Tress is part and parcel of our life. Tress saves our life by giving us oxygen. They give us fruits, shelter, and timber. Fruits are rich in food value and vitamins. We cannot think of making our homes and residences without trees. A weary traveller often drives away his fatigue sitting under a shady tree. They are also a great source of our income. We can earn a lot of money by selling fruits and trees. Thus they help us come out of the grip of poverty. They are the symbol of beauty and purity. They add much to the beauty of Bangladesh. Trees bear a great impact on the climate. They bring rain-fall and help our agriculture. They save us from flood and prevent soil erosion. They also prevent air pollution and maintain countries ecological balance. Had there no rainfall, our country- a land of plenty a beauty would have turned in to a great dessert. Let me quote the words of John Keats,
“there is a great relationship between man and forests, for beauties, charms and wonders of nature.”
M.K raw lings say,
“I favor forest, for it helps me discover my soul- a very mysterious animation.”
Greenhouse effect: the greenhouse effect or gas in the much talked global problem. It is a great threat to human civilization. Its main cause is that forests and trees are being cut down at random for different purposes. This tendency of deforestation is destroying the ecological balance of nature. The total area of worlds deserts in increasing day by day. Scientists of today have warned that the world people are gradually heading towards a great disaster like the greenhouse effect. This effect may eventually lead to a rise in the sea levels which could flood many areas of the world including the coastal belts of Bangladesh. It is feared that if the world people do not come forward quickly and decisively to protect the environment, the world will soon become unfit for human habitation.
Scope for plantation: Bangladesh is a lower riparian country. We can use upper levels to plant trees. We can plant trees by the sides of roads, ponds, highways, dams, canals, rivers, educational institutions and on low lying unused lands. We know that there a lot of lands in the hilly areas of Chittagong hill tracts and Sylhet which are lying unused years after year. These lands and also be brought under use for planting different kinds of trees. Bangladesh is not rich in its forest wealth. It has not more than 10% of the total land area as forest area whereas there should be at least 25% of the total land area as forest area for a balanced economy. It is no doubt a shaking matter.
Steps for trees plantation: it is a matter of great sorrow that forest and trees are being cut down at random. It is aggravation the situation more and more. This loss of destruction of trees can be made up only by planting more and more trees. June and July are the best time for tree plantation. Our government has giving much importance to tree plantation and launched a massive and ambitious programme for planting more trees. A tree plantation weed is also being observed every year as a demonstration. It is a bounden duty for us all to develop our country in forest resources. It is needless to say that the development in aforestation and tree plantation will go a long way to strengthen the backbone of our national economy.
The way of attaining success: there goes a wise saying, ‘all’s well that ends well,’ mere big talks and lip talks will not serve the purpose of making the tree plantation programme a success. People of all walks of life must come forward of their own accord to do the needful. We should that most of the village people in our country are not aware of the benefits of planting trees. So they should be taught the value and importance of planting would be a success. They should also be taught about the evils of destroying trees indiscriminately. There should be a motto that the cutting of one tree must be at once compensated by planting two. We should all work hand in hand with the government to make the tree plantation camping a great success.
Conclusion: thus we find that the utility of trees in too many to be described in words. Ours is a free and developing country. Gone are those days of the frustration of colonial domination. All of us are greatly concerned with the overall development of our country, So it is high time we planted more trees and made our beloved homeland smile with green and green and evergreen. Let us all raise a slogan,
“Plant more and more trees and save the environment.”
This is the way to build up a happier, healthier and wealthier Bangladesh.