It is a piece of great news that the government has taken initiatives for development of the haor (wetland) areas of the country to make them suitable for cultivation of crops with a view to ensuring food security. Amid the gradual decline in the arable land, this initiative is no doubt a pragmatic one so far as country’s food security is concerned. It will also improve eco-system of the country by protecting the haors.
A news item headlined “Haor development underway to ensure food security” was published in Tuesday’s issue of the Bangladesh Post, dispelling our fear to some extent that the country is going to face food crisis due to gradual loss of agricultural land.
Adviser to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Ministry of Water Resources Syeda Rizwana Hasan disclosed the government’s initiative for haor development while speaking at a programme titled “UK–Bangladesh Collaboration on Ecology-Based Adaptation and Hydro-Met Services.” More than 150 representatives from the government, development partners, academia and civil society attended the event.
“Protecting the haors means protecting the country’s overall environment,” the adviser said adding that the National Haor Master Plan has already been finalised. The government has prepared a draft of the Haor and Wetland Ordinance, while a protection order has been formulated under the Water Act covering Hakaluki and Tanguar Haors. Once gazetted, these areas will be managed as climate and agriculture-friendly ecosystems, she mentioned.
People living in haor areas still lack access to healthcare. The government is considering a boat hospital model that can operate both during floods and in the dry season. The initiative could be implemented under the Climate Change Trust Fund in coordination with the Ministry of Health.
Under the EnRICH Project, flood forecasting and early warning systems in Sylhet, Sunamganj, Cumilla and Feni will be strengthened between September 2025 and March 2026. The project is a joint initiative of the UK Met Office, RIMES, the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) and the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD).
The event also highlighted the success of the ‘Nobopallob’ project, funded by the UK government, in the Sundarbans Ecologically Critical Area, and announced the launch of a new programme in Hakaluki Haor as part of its expansion.
Representatives from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), CNRS, RSF, and the Forest Department stressed the need for integrating nature-based solutions and locally led adaptation into Bangladesh’s national climate policies.
We hope, the government will do everything necessary in a coordinated way to properly implement its national master plan for the development of the country’s haor areas to ensure food security and improve eco-system. It brooks no delay.
