Photo: PID

DHAKA, Aus 25, 2026 (BSS) - State Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shaikh Faridul Islam today said regional cooperation needs to be strengthened to address common climate risks in South Asia.

He made the comments at the South Asia Regional Climate Cooperation (SARCC) meeting held at the CIRDAP auditorium in Dhaka.

The state minister said under the leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, the government is working on many programmes to address the adverse impacts of climate change. 

In addition to planting 25 crore trees, he said, various initiatives are also being taken to check pollution. 

Faridul said a master plan has been taken to make the rivers surrounding capital Dhaka pollution-free. 

Various initiatives are being taken to stop the pollution entering the rivers to make the Buriganga, Shitalakshya, Turag, and Balu rivers pollution-free, be added.

Speaking as a special guest at the meeting, Dr. Md. Saimum Parvez, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Environment, Forests, and Climate Change, said SAARC and BIMSTEC must be made operational to address climate risks.

“The risk of climate change is no longer a single local problem. Political will is the most important thing in addressing international problems,” he said.

He called upon all to come forward to building a beautiful and risk-free world for future generations.

Dr. AKM Saiful Islam, Professor of the Institute of Water and Flood Management at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), presented a keynote paper at the meeting. 

He said climate change is no longer a future threat but it is the current development reality of South Asia.

The effects of heat waves, floods, cyclones, droughts, erratic rainfall, changes in glaciers, and rising sea levels are crossing national boundaries, he said.

Prof Saiful said integrated, regional, and future-oriented initiatives are essential to address these risks.

Special guests included Jamail Bashir JB, member and technical expert of the National Tree Plantation Cell of the Prime Minister's Office; Sharif Jamil, member secretary of Dhoritri Rokhhay Amra (DHORA); Ziaul Haque, coordinator of the Least Developed Countries Negotiating Group, and M Hafizul Islam Khan, climate negotiator.

Senior journalist Habib Rahman spoke at the beginning of the meeting.

Advocate MA Mukit, chairman of the Human Safety Foundation, and Mir Mohammad Ali, assistant professor of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, also participated in the thematic discussion.

CCDB's climate change programme coordinator Md. Ashrafuzzaman Khan, IUCN Bangladesh Programme Manager Sarowar Alam Dipu and Chairman of the Center for Atmospheric Pollution Studies Professor Dr. Kamruzzaman Majumder also spoke at the meeting, among others.