MPs for setting priorities

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Lawmakers of coastal areas of the country Tuesday recommended for setting priorities on three issues including increasing the height of all coastal embankments at least by one metre to address the impacts of climate change, reports BSS. The two other issues, they said, should be massive afforestation across the embankments and construction of sufficient number of cyclone shelter centres in the coastal areas to save people and livestock from onslaught of cyclone and water surge. The lawmakers said this in a consultation workshop on climate change organized by Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) in collaboration with International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for parliament members. Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad Abdul Hamid Advocate attended the workshop as the chief guest while State Minister for MoEF Dr Hasan Mahmud was in the chair. Parliament members Sohrab Ali Sana, Habibunnahar Talukder, Nurul Islam Monju, Talukder Mohammad Yunus and Nilufar Chowdhury Moni, among others, took part in the discussion. Ecosystem and Climate Change Adviser of IUCN, Bangladesh chapter Dr Ansarul Karim presented the keynote paper at the workshop held at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre . Convenor of national negotiation team in the UNFCCC climate talks Dr Qazi Khaliquzzaman Ahmed, IUCN representative in Bangladesh Prof Niaz Ahmed Khan, Country representative of DFID Chris Austain and Joint Secretary of MoEF Aparup Chowdhury also spoke at the inaugural session. Speaker Abdul Hamid said the climate change is already happening and posing new disasters and challenges for the nation despite we have very least contribution to global warming. He said all water bodies including haors and baors of the country in the upper stream are in danger of being inundated permanently along with one-third of the country's coastal areas if the sea level rises by one metre. The Speaker said "Poor countries like Bangladesh are experiencing the impacts of climate change more adversely due to poverty".