They said the government should concentrate on preserving native species rather than planting foreign trees.

The workshop on 'Forest of Bangladesh: Issues and Challenges' was organised by Society for Environment and Human Development (SHED) in the city.

While giving an overview of the country's forest, SHED General Secretary Philip Gain said the actual forest area of the country is much lower than what the government statistics shows.

" The country's forest is on the decline as some officials of the forest department are felling trees in connivance with local influential people," he said.

" We should not plant foreign plants indiscriminately as they are likely create negative impact on indigenous species," he added.

Philip Gain alleged that plantation is being carried out nowadays through eliminating local natural forests.

Forest Conservator Monoj Kanti Roy said social forestry has greatly benefited local people in some areas of the country.

He said nursery-based employment generation across the country is a success of the forest department.