Land, forests, wetlands to be included in new NDC to address climate mitigation: Rizwana

The new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) will include land, forests, and wetlands to strengthen climate mitigation efforts, Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan announced today (24 December).

She, however, said there are several complex challenges, such as deforestation and land degradation, in achieving the NDC goals.

She made the remarks while addressing a seminar titled "Challenges in Planning and Implementing Carbon Emission Reductions from Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use under Bangladesh's NDC" at the CIRDAP Auditorium in Dhaka, reads a ministry press statement.

The adviser emphasised the need to adopt environmentally sustainable and inclusive practices to overcome these hurdles.

She also stated that forest recovery operations will continue despite resistance.

Allocations of 700 acres of forest land to the Public Administration Academy and 20 acres to the Bangladesh Football Federation have already been revoked.

Additionally, the cancellation of a 156-acre forest land allocation to an organisation linked to the brother of a former Cabinet Secretary is in its final stages.

She urged individuals to adopt energy-efficient practices to combat climate change.

The seminar was chaired by Khushi Kabir, chairperson of ALRD and Coordinator of Nijera Kori and Bangladesh lead for the Stand for Her Land Campaign.

The keynote was presented by Dwijen Mallick, a fellow at the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies. Panellists included Mohammad Moniruzzaman Khan, associate professor at the University of Dhaka; Nazim Uddin, senior scientific Officer at the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute; Gazi Mohammad Sohrab Hossain, researcher at the Centre for Knowledge; AKM Azad Rahman, coordinator of the UNDP Bangladesh LoGIC Project; and Khandaker Mainuddin, senior fellow at BCAS.