Environment, Climate & Clean Energy
Climate change and environmental degradation hit the poor hardest – yet they contribute to it the least. Since 1987, VOSD has been working at the frontlines of environmental restoration in Bangladesh: planting trees, restoring forests, promoting clean energy, and building climate-resilient livelihoods for the families who need them most.
Environment Development & Social Forestation
Greening Bangladesh, one tree at a time
Environmental pollution has changed the climate of our world, triggering more frequent and severe disasters that devastate human lives, livestock, fisheries, and the natural resources that the rural poor depend on. VOSD has therefore made environment development a central pillar of our work since our earliest days.
Our social forestation program operates across all our working areas and encompasses a comprehensive range of activities – from large-scale tree plantation to promoting regenerative agriculture and reducing plastic use. We work closely with communities to change practices at the household and village level, ensuring environmental benefits that last for generations.
So far, VOSD has planted an extraordinary 2,550,000 (2.55 million) saplings and developed 3,350 nurseries across our operational areas. These trees are already providing nutritious food, fuel wood, fodder, and income to thousands of families – while also protecting against erosion, absorbing carbon, and enriching the soil.
Tropical Rainforest Program
Protecting Bangladesh’s coastal communities from climate disasters
Our coastal chars and waterlogged areas are on the frontlines of climate change. These regions face relentless threats from cyclones, tornados, excessive rainfall, storms, droughts, high-speed winds, tidal bores, surges, and over-flooding – all of which destroy natural resources, human lives, livestock, fisheries, and cultivable land. Families lose everything with alarming frequency.
Since 1990, VOSD has been implementing the Tropical Rainforest Program to create a natural shield against these disasters. We plant hardy, resilient tree species – including rain trees, fruit trees, endangered species, and spice plants – along embankments, riverbanks, seashores, WAPDA dams, roadsides, and open khas lands. These trees absorb the first impact of cyclones and tidal bores, protecting the lives and property of the most vulnerable coastal communities.
Our program is supported by a distinguished roster of partners including Swiss Development Corporation (SDC), Government Forestry Departments, DAE/World Bank, KATALYST/SIDA, CIDA/DAE, CDMP/UNDP/DFID, FAO/EU, FAO/Govt, AH-Germany, APHD-Thailand, and CARE-Bangladesh.
So far, we have planted approximately 2,500,000 (2.5 million) trees, developed 367 nurseries, 600 horticulture gardens, 14,530 nutrition gardens, and 57 small forests. The coastal and char communities are now getting nutritious food, fuel wood, fuel leaves, and fruits from these trees – and many families are earning income by selling furniture wood, fruit, planks, and fuel wood. Every year, around 1,500,000 new plants are grown in our nurseries and distributed to families, adding to this ever-growing natural shield.
Sustainable Forest & Livelihoods (SUFAL) Project
Community-managed forests, sustainable futures
The SUFAL Project is a partnership between VOSD, the Bangladesh Forest Department (BFD), and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). This program focuses on sustainable forest management that supports both ecological protection and economic development for forest-dependent communities.
Tropical forests are vital for our planet. They absorb carbon dioxide and reduce global warming. They regulate local water cycles and climate. Without them, temperatures rise rapidly, sea levels increase, and coastal flooding worsens. Forests also prevent soil erosion, reduce the risk of flooding and drought, and sustain the biodiversity that all life depends on.
Under this project, VOSD collaborates on Forest Management Group formation, data entry, and training for beneficiaries. We work directly with communities living near forests, helping them become stewards of these vital ecosystems while also building sustainable livelihoods that depend on healthy forests. Beneficiaries learn forest conservation techniques, sustainable harvesting practices, and alternative income generation – creating a model where people and forests thrive together.
Improved Cooking Stove Installation Program
Cleaner, healthier kitchens for rural families
Traditional cooking stoves used in rural Bangladesh are highly inefficient, requiring large quantities of fuel wood and producing thick smoke that damages the health of women and children. These stoves are also a significant source of black carbon emissions, contributing directly to climate change.
VOSD has been producing and installing Improved Cooking Stoves (ICS) since 2006. Our program began in Barisal district, covering Uzirpur, Barisal Sadar, and Mehendigonj Upazillas with the support of GTZ-Germany, where we installed more than 4,200 improved fire stoves. We later expanded this work with the support of IDCOL-Bangladesh, adding another 3,170 ICS installations – bringing the total to over 7,370 stoves across our working areas.
Each ICS requires 30–40% less fuel wood, produces less smoke, and cooks faster than a traditional chulha. This means families save money on fuel, women and children suffer fewer respiratory illnesses, and the environment benefits from reduced carbon emissions. The program has been so well received that demand continues to grow, and VOSD is expanding installations to new Upazillas every year.
Carbon Reduction Support Program
Rewarding families for protecting the climate
The Carbon Reduction Support Program is a creative incentive initiative implemented by VOSD with the support of GTZ-Germany and its sister NGO. The concept is simple but powerful: families who use Improved Cooking Stoves reduce carbon emissions – so why not reward them for the environmental service they are providing to the world?
Under this program, families using ICS receive cash support as recognition of their contribution to reducing carbon in the atmosphere. This not only encourages widespread adoption of cleaner cooking technology but also gives poor households an additional source of income – creating a virtuous cycle where environmental action directly improves livelihoods.
The program demonstrates how climate action and poverty reduction can work hand-in-hand. Families save money on fuel, receive cash for their environmental contribution, experience better health outcomes, and contribute meaningfully to Bangladesh’s climate commitments – all at the same time.
Solar Home System (SHS) Installation Program
Bringing clean, reliable electricity to off-grid homes
Millions of rural Bangladeshi households still live without access to grid electricity. For these families, life after sunset means kerosene lamps – expensive, unhealthy, and dim. Children cannot study properly, women cannot work in the evening, and the reliance on kerosene brings both financial burden and health hazards.
Since 2014, VOSD has been implementing the Solar Home System (SHS) Installation Program with the support of IDCOL-Bangladesh (Infrastructure Development Company Limited). We install solar home systems in off-grid homes across Barisal and Jhalakathi districts, covering Uzirpur, Barisal Sadar, Mehendigonj, Jhalakathi Sadar, Nalchity, and Kathalia Upazillas.
So far, we have installed more than 2,280 SHS units, providing clean, reliable electricity to thousands of families. Each system includes a solar panel, battery, and inverter – enough to power lights, fans, mobile phone charging, and small appliances. The benefits are immediate and transformative: children study in the evening, families save on kerosene, and households contribute to reducing carbon emissions and pressure on the national grid.
Protecting Today, Preserving Tomorrow
From planting millions of trees along vulnerable coastlines to installing solar panels in remote villages, VOSD is building a cleaner, greener, and more climate-resilient Bangladesh. Join us in this critical mission.