On his first day in office, Bangladesh’s Environment Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo highlights climate change risks to agriculture, stressing forest protection and expanding cultivation on saline-affected coastal lands.
Bangladesh’s newly appointed Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo has identified climate change as a major challenge for the country’s agriculture and forest management. On his first day at the Secretariat on Wednesday, he stressed the need to maintain crop productivity and expand cultivation on saline-affected lands amid shifting weather patterns.
“Climate change is a global challenge. As weather patterns shift, we must protect our forests and ensure agricultural production does not decline. Expanding farming on saline soils is also critical,” Minister Mintoo said.
He added that addressing these challenges will take time and will rely on the collective experience of the cabinet to meet citizens’ expectations. Saline soils, common in coastal Bangladesh, make farming difficult and pose a threat to food security if not managed effectively.
Bangladesh’s new government, led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, secured a two-thirds parliamentary majority in the February 17 election. With what he described as a skilled cabinet under the Prime Minister’s leadership, Minister Mintoo said the country is committed to tackling climate and agricultural challenges while ensuring food production keeps pace with growing needs.
