The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Dhaka

Speakers at a seminar on Friday called for taking an action plan to save four crore people of the country's coastal region from the adverse impact of climate change.

They underscored the need for incorporating the climate change issue in the curriculum at primary and secondary levels to create awareness of it.

The speakers also urged the least development countries (LDCs) to take a holistic approach to realize compensation from the developed countries, which are mainly responsible for the climate change.

The seminar on 'Climate Change: Adverse Impact on Bangladesh and Our Steps' was held at Parliament Members Club at Sher-e- Bangla Nagar in the city under the initiative of Whip of the Jatiya Sangsad ASM Feroze.

State Minister for Water Resources Mahbubur Rahman Talukdar, lawmakers ABM Ruhul Amin Howlader, Golam Kibria Tipu, Sohrab Ali Sana, Talukdar Mohammad Yunus, Principal Shah Alam, MA Jabbar, Narayan Chandra Chanda, Dr BH Harun and Golam Mawla Roni, Information and Research Secretary of Awami League Advocate Afzal Hossain and Director General of Department of Environment Jafar Ahmed Khan spoke at the seminar chaired by ASM Feroze.

Professor Mizan R. Khan of the Department of Environmental Science and Management of North South University presented the keynote paper on 'Climate Change and Vulnerability of Coastal Bangladesh'.

Mahbubur Rahman said an action plan is very much needed for survival of the four crore people of 19 coastal districts of the country from the adverse impact of climate change.

Terming such a seminar as time-befitting, he called upon all to create awareness of climate change among the people of the coastal region. "There is no alternative to creating awareness of the issue," he said.

Ruhul Amin Howlader urged coastal people to turn the climate change issue into a movement for their survival.

Advocate Afzal Hossain said lawmakers could play an important role in organizing the people and they should come forward to build public opinion on climate change.

ASM Feroze called upon the organizations working with climate change issue to involve public representatives in their activities. "Public representatives should have knowledge of all important matters, otherwise, they will suffer," he opined.

Jafar Ahmed Khan said developed countries, not the LDCs, are responsible for the climate change. So, he said the LDCs will have to take a united effort to realize compensation from the developed countries.

Terming the coastal region as most vulnerable because of development disparity, Prof Mizan R. Khan said drought is anew in the area with the land being mostly single-cropped. Only two percent of cropland is irrigated in the south as against 60 percent in the Barind, he added.