Environmental activists and civil society leaders on Friday  called for a special allocation in the national budget to protect Bangladesh’s disaster-prone coastal regions . They said that coastal areas were facing severe impacts from climate change and human-induced environmental degradation. The increasing frequency and intensity of cyclones, storm surges, floods, river erosion and land loss were adversely affecting the environment, agriculture, biodiversity and livelihoods of coastal communities. They stressed the need for a specific action plan and dedicated budgetary support to ensure the protection and sustainable development of coastal areas.

The demand was raised at a human chain and rally held in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka, organised by research organisation Dream Research and Development Foundation (DRDF) and citizens’ platform, Sundarbans and Coastal Protection Movement. The programme was presided over by the movement’s coordinator, Nikhil Chandra Bhadra. A keynote paper was presented by Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University teacher and researcher Mir Mohammad Ali.

Among others, former general secretary of the Communist Party of Bangladesh Ruhin Hossain Prince, teachers’ leader principal Akmal Hossain, former president of the Dhaka Reporters Unity Rafiqul Islam Azad, Udichi Shilpigoshthi general secretary Amit Ranjan Dey and Sachetan organisation general secretary Shakila Parvin addressed the gathering.

The speakers placed a 21-point demand, which includes declaring the country’s coastal belt a climate and disaster-vulnerable zone, establishing environmentally friendly economic zones, constructing sustainable embankments and repairing vulnerable ones, ensuring access to safe drinking water in remote coastal areas, and upgrading cyclone shelters to make them more friendly for women, children, persons with disabilities and the elderly.

In his speech, Mir Mohammad Ali said that the coastal crisis was no longer merely a disaster management issue but also a matter of fishermen’s livelihoods, agriculture, fisheries resources, food security and the national economy. He said that ensuring the safety of fishermen at sea required boat registration, digital tracking systems, weather warning services, rescue mechanisms and adequate support during fishing ban periods. He emphasised that a coordinated action plan, along with a special allocation in the national budget, was now essential to protect coastal livelihoods, conserve marine fisheries resources and strengthen climate resilience in coastal regions.