State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock Sultan Salahuddin Tuku said nature-based solutions are among the most effective and sustainable ways to protect coastal livelihoods, ensure food security and increase climate resilience.
He spoke as chief guest on Monday at a national technical workshop titled 'Prioritizing Nature-Based Interventions for Resilient Coastal Bangladesh' held at Hotel Westin in Dhaka.
The workshop was jointly organized by the organization Friendship and Conservation International.
Tuku said forests, wetlands, coastal vegetation belts and integrated agroforestry systems not only conserve the environment but also improve fodder availability for livestock, animal health and the integrated human-animal-environmental 'One Health' concept.
He said that although Bangladesh has gained global recognition for confronting climate change, its coastal areas remain among the world's most vulnerable, facing cyclones, storm surges, sea-level rise, salinity expansion and coastal erosion.
The minister described fisheries and livestock as major contributors to the national economy and the main livelihood base for millions of rural people, with hundreds of thousands of coastal households depending on cattle, buffalo, goats, sheep and poultry.
He said livestock provide regular income, nutrition, employment and financial security for these families and often become their most important economic asset during natural disasters.
Tuku said the government is committed to strengthening climate resilience through sustainable natural resource management, ecosystem restoration and evidence-based planning, including a national initiative to plant 250 million trees over the next five years.