Govt prepares list of 1,000 endangered plant species

City Desk  :
The government has compiled a red list of 1,000 endangered plant species, Environment Minister Md Shahab Uddin said on Sunday.
The aim of this list is to bolster conservation and management efforts for diverse plant species throughout the nation, reports the media.
Among the 1,000, the government has decided to actively replant 394 endangered plant species, marking a significant stride towards biodiversity conservation in the country, the environment minister stated at the “Final Dissemination Workshop on National Red List of Plants” event, organized by the Forest Department.

The result of this research will play a crucial role in protecting the environment and biodiversity of Bangladesh, said Shahab Uddin.
He underscored that the red list is vital for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and developing national policies for the protection of endangered plant species.

It will also serve as a significant resource for reporting to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and CITES (a multilateral treaty aimed at safeguarding endangered plants and animals from the threats of international trade), he added.

The red list assessment disclosed that out of the 1,000 plant species, eight are essentially extinct, five are critically endangered, 127 are endangered, 262 are vulnerable, 69 are near threatened, 271 are of least concern and 258 have been identified as data deficient.
The minister directed the Forest Department to prioritize the replanting of the critically endangered species.
“To maintain the balance of Bangladesh’s ecosystem and protect the existence of other endangered plants, conservation activities should be undertaken as a priority,” he noted.

Shahab Uddin further suggested that the endangered plants identified in the results be incorporated into the country’s afforestation program.