The government is developing a “Tree Monitoring App” to ensure accountability and track the survival and growth of saplings planted under its nationwide afforestation initiatives, including “One Child, One Tree” programme.
This initiative, part of National Green Mission, was detailed in National Budget speech for 2026-27 fiscal year and Bangladesh Climate Budget Report 2026-27. The project aims to strengthen environmental conservation and climate resilience through a modern, transparent, and accountable digital supervision system.
According to budget and climate policy documents, the app will address the logistical challenge of monitoring a vast number of trees planted in homesteads and residential areas.
The “One Child, One Tree” programme involves government primary school students planting 10 million (1 crore) trees at their homes to foster environmental responsibility among the new generation.
To ensure precision, the “Tree Monitoring App” will be integrated with Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) data.
This integration will allow Forest Department to maintain a digital database and maps of afforested areas, facilitating supervision in remote rural and urban locations where direct physical monitoring is difficult.
The broader National Green Mission has set an ambitious target to plant 250 million (25 crore) trees over the next five years. This effort is intended to restore degraded forests, maintain ecological balance, and enhance carbon sequestration.
The mission is also expected to have a significant socio-economic impact, with the goal of creating approximately 350,000 (3.5 lakh) green jobs, both directly and indirectly. The government plans to bring 50 per cent of coastal mangrove forests under a carbon trading system to promote conservation and increase revenue.
Afforestation efforts will focus on planting mangrove species in coastal regions, restoring Shal forests in hilly and central areas, and protecting endangered forest species to ensure biodiversity. The plan also includes expanding urban and agroforestry, alongside planting suitable species on fallow land near roads, highways, embankments, and canal banks.
In a related regulatory move, the budget proposes a 15 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) on the import of trees and extracts of fragrant trees.
As a cornerstone of the National Green Mission’s digital infrastructure, the “Tree Monitoring App” is expected to play a critical role in achieving Bangladesh’s long-term goals of building a climate-resilient and ecologically balanced nation.
