Bangladesh’s future depends not just on roads, bridges and buildings. It needs trees to be planted and nurtured to maturity to ensure the country’s resilience.

Some of my happiest childhood memories are not of classrooms or playgrounds but of walking beside my father through the muddy fields of our village in Naogaon during the monsoon. When the rains softened the earth, he would take me with him to plant mango trees and jackfruit trees, my favourite. He never spoke about climate change or carbon emissions. He simply believed that every generation had a duty to leave the land better than it found it.

Looking back, I realise my father was planting much more than trees. He was planting patience, responsibility and hope.

As a teenager, I also remember watching late President Ziaur Rahman travel through rural Bangladesh encouraging canal digging and tree planting. Later, former President Hussain Muhammad Ershad continued promoting rural greening across the country. Whatever our political views today, both leaders understood an enduring truth: a nation’s prosperity depends not only on roads, bridges and industries but also on healthy rivers, fertile land and thriving trees.

Nearly 50 years later, Bangladesh has become one of Asia’s fastest growing economies. Millions have escaped poverty, and infrastructure has improved dramatically. Yet climate change now poses one of the greatest challenges to its future.

Floods, cyclones, river........

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