Staff Reporter :
The destructive form of nature has become a threat to human beings due to deforestation and excessive use of bio-fuels, experts have said at a discussion.
The Community Pacific Initiative Society (CIS) and the Asia Pacific Alliance for Disaster Management (A-PAD) organised the international conference on “Disaster Risk Management (DRM) and Sustainable Development” in the auditorium of Dhaka Community Medical College on Thursday.
Speaking at the inaugural session of the symposium, Prof Mahmudar Rahman, Co-coordinator of the DCH Trust, said that over the past few years, natural disasters around the world increased dramatically. “Forest is our lung. But the destructive form of nature has become a threat to human beings due to deforestation and excessive use of bio-fuels,” he said.
Besides natural disaster management, overall measures have to be taken for the prevention of these disasters, he said.
ITO Naoki, Ambassador of Japan to Bangladesh, who was the chief guest at the event, said that since the birth of Bangladesh, Japan has been cooperating with Bangladesh for development and disaster management. Bangladesh also stood by Japan during the 2011 natural disaster of Japan.
He further said, there are many similarities between Bangladesh and Japan in terms of natural disaster propensity and geographical location.
Appreciating the ongoing activities of CIS, he said that Japan has been providing medical assistance to Rohingya refugees through A-PAD and CIS. This cooperation will continue in the future.
Prof Quazi Quamruzzaman, Chairman of A-PAD and DCH Trust, said that since the beginning of human civilization, people have survived by dealing with various natural disasters.
“Bangladesh is one of the most disaster prone countries in the world. Although people around the world are concerned about climate pollution, they are not taking any effective action. We have to take action on our own to protect nature and deal with disasters,” he said.
Kensuke Onishi, CEO of A-Pad, KM Ali Reza, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Prof Saria Tasmeen, Principal (Acting) of Dhaka Community Medical College and Saidul Islam, Deputy Commissioner of Police, among others, spoke at the symposium.
