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Coastal people seek protection of livelihood and food, water security

BSS, Dhaka
Coastal people in the disaster-prone southern part of the country underscored the need for launching programmes immediately to protect their livelihood, food and water security from adverse impacts of climate change which hit the region frequently.
They said as a consequence of climate change, millionshave lost their homes in the cyclones of Aila, Sidr or Nargis which ripped through coastal Bangladesh, India and Myanmar i n the last three years.
“Thousands died in Bangladesh as the rich [countries) have failed to contain the emissions they think necessary for their growth and luxurious living,” they said.
Some even warned that unplanned' construction of cyclone shelters and embankments would not help people in their struggle against calamities and in protecting their lives and assets. “We had farmlands, ponds and cattle to feed us round-the-year and meet our other needs. But our living is at stake these days as we have become victims of an increasing number of cyclones and tidal surges,” Jharna Rani Das, 48,
told the news agency at Chandipur along the coast in Piroj pu r o n Th ursday.
"Saline waters destroyed our land and entered the water bodies making difficult crop production and collection of drinking water," Jharna, mother of four children, said, standing in front of her house near the Kocha river.
Md Ibrahim, a 65-year-old farmer, said they earlier had faced only one storm in a decade. “But now we need to struggle against several cyclones and tidal surges. It seems that climate pattern is changing," he said.
Jharna and Ibrahim felt the need for sustainable measures to protect their lives and assets. Coastal people in a regional workshop in Pirojpur yesterday also said the government should take sustainable measures to protect their lives and the living from adverse impacts of sea-rise and climate change.
"Unplanned construction of cyclone shelters and weak and low-height embankments can no longer protect us from tidal surges," said Shankarpasha Union Council Chairman Tofazzal Hossain Mallick.
He said cyclone shelters should be set up in areas of
human settlements so that people could take shelter if cyclone hit after the sunset, adding that, "They do not want to go far away, leaving behind their houses and assets even if their life was at stake.”
The environment and forest ministry organised the regional workshop on capacity building for climate change policy and negotiation with the help of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Forum of Environmental Journalists of Bangladesh (FEJB).
Ziaul Ahsan, an official of voluntary organisation Pirojpur Gana Unnayan Samity, said saline water had never entered Nazirpur in the past. “Saline water is destroying the soil and water bodies of the area these days, damaging crops and the livelihood of the people."
Maung Aye Khen, a Rakhaing. said more volunteers should be trained in the coastal areas to help people in their fight against recurrent cyclones and tidal surges.
Environment Secretary Dr Mihir Kanti Majumdar underscored the need for implementation of the revised Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan 2009 and updated National Adaptation Plan of
Action 2009 with the involvement of the coastal people to face the draconian impacts of sea-rise.
“We have to protect Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest to face climate-induced natural calamities like cyclones. We have to raise mangrove forest along the entire coast from Cox's Bazar to Sundarbans,” he said as the chief guest
Deputy Commissioner of Bansal Mashiur Rahman also underlined the need for having a forest cover of one-kilometer width in the entire coastline as the first-order defense-line against storm and tidal surges and cyclones as both intensity and frequency are on the rise endangering the live, livelihood and food and water security of the 21 coastal districts.
Moderating the workshop, FEJB Chairman Quamrul Islam Chowdhury said the country needed to allocate more funds for researches on alternative ways of living and on food and water security for the people.
Deputy Commissioner of Pirojpur M Ruhul Amin presided over the workshop where deputy commissioners of districts in the Bansal division, representatives of local government bodies and women groups joined the discussion.