The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Dhaka

Adviser for Land, Law and Information Barrister Mainul Hosein yesterday emphasised the need for making proper use of land to meet growing needs of the large population of the country.

He said, proper and planned use of land across the country including the coastal belts is very much essential for the economic development, balancing eco-system and betterment of the lives of the people.

The adviser was speaking as the chief guest while inaugurating a workshop titled "Study of detailed coastal land zoning including two pilot districts of plain land project." Land secretary Md Mosleh Uddin chaired the workshop. Deputy Country Director of UNDP Larry Maramis was the special guest. Project Director Pius Costa and team leader Abdul Halim Mia also spoke.

Highlighting the importance and significance of the workshop the adviser said, the recommendations of the workshop would help ensure proper utilisation of land by classifying lands in the coastal areas through 'land zoning'.

Terming land of the country as the lifeblood of the economic development and country's growth, he said, we cannot misuse land in any way.

"Our experts are working and have already progressed a lot in identifying the problems and remedies for proper use of land of coastal areas in order to save costal belts from hazards," he added.

Most of the development projects of the country is land-based, he said adding that land zoning would help our development partners formulate and implement projects in proper way considering the prospects and problems of different areas.

The adviser said, the entire coastal area including the mangrove Sundarbans is very much important for the uplift of the country and the national life as well. Since the Sundarbans is the world heritage site, there should be assistance available for its development.

Referring to the massive damages in the coastal areas due to recent cyclone Sidr, he said, it could be realised how important the mangrove was for protecting the country from such calamities.

He urged donors to come forward to make the land zoning project successful.

A total of 107 government, non-government and donor agency representatives participated in the day-long workshop.

Team leader Abdul Halim Mia in his paper highlighted that 3200 hectares of land of the country is being reduced every year due to river erosion, while 220 hectares is lost daily due to other uses.

Besides, 10,000 to 12,000 hectares of forest land is degraded every year, 50 percent of coastal land face inundation and 70 percent of land in Barisal and Khulna divisions are affected by salinity.

On the other hand, the country has gained 51,000 of land in coastal belts since 1973 to 2000, an average 1,880 hectares of land every year, which provide new settlement opportunity.

Diverse coastal and marine resources, coastal fisheries, agriculture, shrimp, salt and crabs are also very prominent assets for the country. Besides, on-shore and off-shore oil and gas fields, wind and tidal energy are also much valuable assets of the country, he mentioned.

The key objective of land zoning is to assign land to its best uses for agriculture, forestry, fisheries, tourism, livestock, wetland conservation and industries, he added.

He said, the findings of the study project would help prevent land degradation and restore the degraded lands, save the eco-system with high ecological values, resolve conflicts of interests between land users and line agencies, create awareness among the planners, users and policy makers and develop land zoning database and information system.