DHAKA, Dec 24, 2024 (BSS)- Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan today said that land, forests and wetlands would be included in the new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) of Bangladesh to further strengthen the country’s climate mitigation efforts. 

She said this 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 CIRDAP auditorium here as the chief guest.

Rizwana Hasan highlighted several challenges, such as deforestation and land degradation, in achieving the NDC goals, said a press release here. 

The adviser said the government will continue forest recovery operations despite challenges. In this connection, she added that allocations of 700 acres of forest land to the Public Administration Academy and 20 acres to the Bangladesh Football Federation have already been revoked. 

Besides, process is at the final stage to cancel allocation of a 156-acre forest land to an organization linked to the brother of a former Cabinet Secretary, she added. 

Khushi Kabir, Chairperson of Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD) and Coordinator of Nijera Kori chaired the seminar while Dr. Dwijen Mallick, Fellow at the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies presented the keynote paper on the topic. 

Panelists of the seminar included Dr. Mohammad Moniruzzaman Khan, Associate Professor at the University of Dhaka; Dr. Nazim Uddin, Senior Scientific Officer at the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI); Gazi Mohammad Sohrab Hossain, Researcher at the Centre for Knowledge; A.K.M. Azad Rahman, Coordinator of the UNDP Bangladesh LoGIC Project; and Khandaker Mainuddin, Senior Fellow at BCAS.