Halda river to be declared 'Bangabandhu biodiversity rich heritage Halda'

It has been decided to declare the country's largest river for the breeding of Carp fish Halda as 'Bangabandhu Biodiversity-rich heritage Halda'. The decision was taken at the first meeting of the National Committee on Biodiversity held in the conference room of the ministry under the chairmanship of Md. Shahab Uddin the Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change on Thursday (March 18).

At the meeting, the environment minister said the National Biodiversity Committee constituted under the Bangladesh Biodiversity Act 2017 will provide advice for identifying and declaring important areas of biodiversity and give regular instructions on the management of the declared areas.  The Minister said that as a result of today's decision, necessary steps will be taken to facilitate the reproduction of carp fish in the Halda River, dolphin Conservation, pollution reduction and overall biodiversity and environmental conservation.

The Environment Minister said the government is responsible for the conservation and development of biodiversity as per Article 18A of the Constitution of Bangladesh.  In addition, as a party to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, the Government of Bangladesh is working internationally committed to the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable use of its components, the fair and equitable distribution of benefits derived from the use of biodiversity and related knowledge.

At the first meeting of the National Biodiversity Committee, Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change Ziaul Hasan NDC, Additional Secretary (Environmental Pollution Control) Md. Moniruzzaman, Director General of the Department of Environment Dr. AKM Rafique Ahammed, Chief Conservator of Forests Md. Amir Hossain Chowdhury & Representatives of various departments/agencies including the Ministry of  Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock, Commerce and Science and Technology were present.