Prime Minister's Political Adviser Nazrul Islam Khan urges nationwide participation to transform government's tree plantation programme into a social movement. Photo : BSS

DHAKA, July 30, 2026 (BSS)- Prime Minister's Political Adviser and Chairman of the '250 Million Trees in Five Years' Cell Nazrul Islam Khan today said the nationwide tree plantation programme must involve people from all sections of society and be transformed into a social movement.

He was speaking at the fourth meeting of the cell formed to implement the government's election pledge to plant 250 million trees in five years at the conference room of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change at the Secretariat today.

He said women, the younger generation, students and rural communities, along with all other sections of society, must be actively engaged with this programme.

Nazrul also stressed the need for responsible agencies to ensure the plantation of suitable indigenous tree species in appropriate locations, taking into account local soil, climate and biodiversity, while ensuring a high survival rate of the saplings.

Nazrul Islam Khan said a total of 5 crore 14 lakh 88 thousand 930 saplings are planned to be planted in 2026 through different ministries, divisions and agencies.

The target includes saplings produced by the respective institutions as well as those procured through their own funding.

He said nearly 43 percent of the target had already been achieved and instructed ministries and agencies lagging behind to accelerate plantation activities by making full use of the current monsoon season.

Speaking at the meeting, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo said the government's election pledge of planting 250 million trees in five years could only be achieved through not only plantation but also regular post-plantation care, protection and effective monitoring.

He stressed the need to enhance the capacity of both public and private nurseries and to follow the "Right Tree, Right Place" principle by giving priority to indigenous species.

 He also urged efforts to encourage people to plant economically beneficial trees such as coconut, palm, date and areca nut.

State Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shaikh Faridul Islam said two crore (20 million) trees would be planted in coastal areas during December and January, enabling the government to achieve this year's target by next January.

Prime Minister's Special Assistant on Environment, Forest and Climate Change Dr. Md. Saimum Parvez said an effective action plan should be formulated to create more than 350,000 green jobs through tree plantation involving women, youth and rural communities, while promoting new nursery entrepreneurs across the country.

The meeting also reviewed progress on developing a "Tree Monitoring App" to digitally preserve GPS-based location data, species information, plantation dates, geo-tagged photographs and maintenance records of every planted tree.

The proposed app will enable monitoring of tree survival rates, replacement plantation, district- and institution-wise progress, and real-time reporting through a national dashboard. 

Acting Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Dr. Fahmida Khanam, Additional Secretary (Administration) Shamima Begum, Technical Expert of the Tree Plantation Cell Prof. Dr. Md. Nurul Islam attended the meeting.