One Man Plants Endangered Tree in All 64 Bangladesh Districts to Save a Species

DHAKA, April 24, 2026 — LivingArcade Newsdesk

When Mahbubul Islam Polash learned that the boilam a towering native tree species once common across Bangladesh’s hill forests was on the verge of extinction, he did not wait for the government to act. He acted himself.

Polash, a 34-year-old from Sirajganj in northern Bangladesh, spent 597 days travelling across the entire country to plant the endangered Anisoptera scaphula, known locally as boilam, in all 64 districts of Bangladesh. He self-financed the entire campaign, spending approximately 246,000 taka around $2,000 from his own pocket.

A Species Worth Saving

The boilam is not just any tree. A large perennial species capable of growing 30 to 45 metres tall, it plays a critical ecological role in Bangladesh’s hill forest ecosystems. Large birds including kites and vultures rely on its towering canopy for nesting. It also hosts diverse orchid species and supports the biodiversity of semi-evergreen and evergreen forests in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

But decades of deforestation, illegal logging, and land degradation have pushed the species to the edge. By the time Polash took notice, it was rarely seen outside a handful of mother trees in the hilly Bandarban and Khagrachhari districts.

The Campaign

Polash began his mission on June 5, 2024 World Environment Day in the northwestern Rajshahi district. He travelled the length and breadth of Bangladesh, germinating 74 seeds from 2,000 collected from those remaining mother trees, nurturing each sapling for a full year at his home until they were strong enough to be transplanted.

On January 23, 2026, he completed the final planting in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar the 64th and last district on his list. His goal was simple but profound: ensure that a species vanishing from Bangladesh’s landscape could take root again in every corner of the country.

Why It Matters

Polash’s story arrives at a moment when Bangladesh’s forests are under severe pressure. The country has lost nearly a quarter of a million hectares of forest cover in two decades. Indigenous ecosystems in the hill districts are fragmenting rapidly. Endangered species are disappearing before formal conservation systems can even document them.

Against that backdrop, one individual’s determination funded entirely from personal savings, powered by conviction has placed an endangered tree species back into 64 districts of a nation that desperately needs more of them.

“Even if it was just one species,” Polash said, “I wanted to spread it countrywide.”

— LivingArcade Newsdesk