Protecting coastal land essential to safeguard Bangladesh’s coastline: Rizwana

Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan on Saturday stressed that protecting coastal land for afforestation and agriculture is essential to safeguard Bangladesh’s coastline, warning that coastal challenges are becoming increasingly complex and require forward-looking policy decisions.

She made the remarks while speaking as the chief guest at the inauguration of the two-day National Coastal Conference at the Bangladesh Military Museum auditorium in Bijoy Sarani.

The conference brings together policymakers, researchers, civil society representatives, and coastal communities to discuss sustainable coastal management, said a press release.

Syeda Rizwana Hasan, who advises the Ministries of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; Water Resources; and Information and Broadcasting, said emerging disasters, environmental degradation, shrinking agricultural land, food insecurity, water scarcity, and rising poverty are intensifying climate-related crises.

These include climate-induced displacement, microplastic pollution, and reduced carbon sequestration capacity in coastal areas.

She noted that although several harmful development plans in coastal regions have been cancelled in recent years, the damage already caused remains significant.

Referring to the dismantling of shrimp enclosures, she said the process continues to cost hundreds of millions of taka, with the government ultimately bearing the financial burden.

“If affected people are not protected, policy positions lose their meaning,” she said, adding that innocent communities often suffer while issues become unnecessarily politicised.

Highlighting Saint Martin’s Island and other coastal areas, the adviser raised concerns over unregulated tourism infrastructure, restrictions on local vessel movement, and the resulting loss of income for livelihood-dependent communities.

She emphasised the importance of ensuring alternative livelihood opportunities and said initiatives are being pursued through organisations such as COAST and BRAC, with possible support from the Ministry of Agriculture.

Rizwana also pointed out that a large population resides in Bangladesh’s coastal belt, and warned that escalating climate risks may necessitate the establishment of a separate, robust institutional framework for coastal zone management.

She stressed the need for an integrated approach encompassing water resources, river protection, transportation, and agriculture.

The inaugural session was chaired by Gawhar Naeem Wara, convener of the National Coastal Conference, and moderated by Nurul Alam Masud, chief executive of PRAN.

Special guests included Mohammad Emdad Ullah Mian, secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture; Md Enayet Ullah, director general of the Bangladesh Water Development Board; Md Zahidul Kabir, deputy chief conservator of Forests; Dipak Elmer, deputy head of mission at the Swiss Embassy in Dhaka; and Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, executive director of COAST Trust.

The conference has brought together more than 300 participants, including researchers, students, community representatives, and development practitioners working in agriculture, environment, food security, fisheries, informal labour, and disaster management across 19 coastal districts of Bangladesh.