Lathitila forest saved as controversial safari project cancelled
“The Forest Department has been instructed to work on conserving the degraded areas of the forest and its threatened biodiversity,” the ministry said
The Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change today (2 October) asked the Planning Commision to cancel the approval of the safari park project in the reserved forest of Lathitila in Moulvibazar.
The ministry made the recommendation in a letter to the commission today, reads a press statement.
According to the press statement, the "Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park, Moulvibazar (Phase 1)" project was conditionally approved in the ECNEC meeting on 9 November 2023.
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Following the ECNEC meeting's decision, a four-member committee was formed on 21 August 2024 by the ministry to assess the project's impact on biodiversity and provide recommendations.
The committee was chaired by former Chief Conservator of Forests Ishtiaq Uddin Ahmed, with members including Mustafa Firoz, Professor of Zoology at Jahangirnagar University; Farid Uddin Ahmed, former Executive Director of Arannayk Foundation; and Imran Ahmed, Conservator of Forests for Wildlife and Nature Conservation under the Forest Department.
The committee recommended cancelling the project, stating in its report that the Lathitila Forest is part of the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot and serves as an elephant corridor.
"Constructing a safari park in this area would negatively impact the forest ecosystem. After considering the potential effects of the proposed safari park on the forest's biodiversity and giving importance to the opinions of local stakeholders, the committee concluded that a safari park should not be established in this natural forest. Thus, they recommended the project's cancellation," the environment ministry said.
"The Forest Department has been instructed to work on conserving the degraded areas of the forest and its threatened biodiversity," it added.
