Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that in Bangladesh we have increased the use of renewable energy by reducing the use of fossil fuels. In order to reduce the emission of green house gas. So far, about 60 lakh solar home systems have been installed and more than 45 lakh improved stoves have been distributed in rural areas.
He said these things at the opening ceremony of the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Expo-2024 organized for the first time in Bangladesh at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center today, Monday (April 22).
The Prime Minister also said, ‘We have formulated the Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan (MCPP) in 2023. It aims to move from vulnerability to resilience and from resilience to prosperity by addressing the adverse effects of climate change. Apart from this, MCPP emphasizes on the self-motivated participation of local people in adaptation and mitigation activities, nature-based solutions and the participation of all members of the society.
He also said that the global initiative to combat the adverse effects of climate change was taken in 1992. But the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman took an effective and far-reaching action plan in this regard in 1972. He started coastal afforestation in 1972 to protect against sea tides and natural calamities. In the same year formulated the ‘Cyclone Preparedness Programme’ which was inaugurated in 1973. He built cyclone shelters in coastal areas to protect lives and property. These shelters are known as ‘Mujib Killa’ to the locals.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib raised the issue of natural disasters in international forums. In his address to the United Nations on September 25, 1974, he said, Bangladesh is one of the countries that are repeatedly affected by disasters. Therefore, the special interest of Bangladesh lies in the formation of a regular institutional system suitable for the world community to come forward to deal with the situation arising from natural disasters.
Sheikh Hasina said that she established the National Herbarium on July 1, 1975 for the conservation and research of the country’s plant species. He took many steps to get the country’s forest and environment conservation, disaster management, water resources management and protection of natural resources to cope with the impact of climate change.
He said, following the footsteps of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib, we are implementing various programs with our own resources to combat the adverse effects of climate change. In 2009 we established the ‘Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund’ with our own funding to implement adaptation activities. Under this, 969 projects have been taken up at a cost of about 500 million dollars so far.
The Chief Minister said that about 37 thousand crores of taka are being spent through 25 related ministries in 2023-2024 fiscal year for sea dams, cyclone shelters, coastal forestry etc. In 1970, a catastrophic cyclone and flash flood in Bangladesh killed nearly five lakh people. But in 2023, there was no loss of life in Cyclone Mokha. It is a manifestation of Bangladesh’s capacity in climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.
He said, ‘In the last 15 years, we have created 89 thousand 853 hectares of coastal forests with plantations in an area of about 1 lakh 27 thousand 548 hectares of hill and sal forests. We have framed the Social Forestry Rules 2010 (Amended) with the involvement of the local people. We have constructed the world’s largest ‘Khurushkul Special Shelter Project’ in Cox’s Bazar district for climate refugee families. Under this project, the goal of rehabilitating 4 thousand 409 climate refugee families has been set by constructing 139 multi-storied buildings.
Besides, we have provided houses with land to climate refugees, landless due to natural calamities, homeless, backward communities and provided them with education, health and employment opportunities. So far we have resettled around 42 lakh people’.
