Bangladesh
Md. Shahab Uddin Bangladesh is losing 69,000 hectares of land every year
Own Correspondent, Dhaka, May 12: Bangladesh is losing about 69,000 hectares of land every year, which is an obstacle to ensuring food security for the growing population.
Salinity is increasing in contact with tidal water in one-third of the country's coast. Forced migration of more than one million people from neighboring countries to our country poses a huge threat to land, life, environment, biodiversity, forests and ecosystems. The northwestern part of Bangladesh is under threat of desertification.
Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Md. Shahab Uddin, made the remarks at a UN conference in Abidjan, the commercial capital of Ivory Coast.
He said the government is trying to prevent land erosion and desertification. In addition, the National Environmental Policy has been amended with special emphasis on combating land erosion and desertification.
The minister said these while speaking at a meeting of the 15th United Nations Conference on Desertification, titled "Land Restoration: A Path to Sustainable Post-Pandemic Recovery", in Abidjan, capital of Ivory Coast, on Tuesday night.
He said that Bangladesh National Action Programme 2015-2024 has been formulated for tackling desertification, land degradation and drought.
The Minister said Bangladesh has voluntarily set targets for achieving land degradation neutrality by 2030 as per Sustainable Development Goals 15.3 and COP-13.
The Environment Minister said, "Roadside tree planting, coastal and social forestry are examples of successful land adaptation activities in Bangladesh. We have formulated Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan and Bangladesh Delta Plan-2100 for tackling climate change, preventing desertification and managing water resources."
Shahab Uddin said the northwestern Barind region has been turned into a green zone by introducing sustainable land system.
