Land Secretary Md. Khalilur Rahman has said that the government is committed to protecting the two-crop land to ensure food security in the country.
Land Secretary Md. Khalilur Rahman said this while addressing a workshop titled 'Climate Change and Climate Change Risks in Bangladesh and Global Perspective' as the chief guest at the conference room of the ministry on Thursday. Officials of the Ministry of Land participated in the workshop.
The land secretary also said that the land ministry is working very seriously on geological changes due to climate change. He said that the land zoning project is working to prepare the Mouza-based digital zoning map of the entire Bangladesh. Besides, the 'Bangladesh Digital Survey' program is working in 6 areas under the EDLMS project with Korean financial and technical support for digital land surveying.
As a result of the implementation of all these works, the Ministry of Land is ensuring modern services in land management on the one hand, as well as helping the government to present accurate information on climate change, the Land Secretary opined. He further said Bangladesh has won the Global Center on Adaptation Award at the ongoing climate change conference (COP28) in Dubai in recognition of the success of the government's work in combating climate change.
It is to be noted that the government has already taken a policy decision not to take any development project on the three-crop land to ensure food security in the country.
Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Land Md. Abbas Uddin and Deputy Secretary A.T.M Azharul Islam were present as speakers at the workshop moderated by Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Land Ishrat Farzana. In the last part of the workshop, the participating officials took part in interaction on climate-related issues. The workshop discussed the causes of climate change, the risks and effects of climate change, the measures to be taken to deal with the risks, and the recommendations of the Ministry of Land to adopt an adaptation action plan.
The Ministry of Land is working on finalizing the draft of the 'Land Ownership and Use Act, 2023' aimed at protecting agricultural land, limiting non-agricultural land, food security, and reducing the harmful effects of climate change. The land minister is one of the ex-officio members of the Delta Council formed under the leadership of the Prime Minister to provide necessary advice and directions for the implementation of 'Bangladesh Delta Plan-2100'. 'Bangladesh Delta Plan-2100' is the long-term national strategy for flood, river erosion, river management, urban and rural water supply, waste management, and flood control and drainage management in the country.
