Environment advsier Syeda Rizwana Hasan on Saturday stressed the need for public awareness for sustainable development saying that citizens must adopt lifestyle changes and reduce overconsumption.
鈥榃e must learn from our past mistakes and chart the course for our future,鈥� she said while addressing the Bangladesh Sustainability Conclave 2025 at the Dhaka North City Corporation auditorium in the capital.
She also emphasised the need for increased investment in food security, safe food, clean air and safe water.
She said that it was urgent to formulate and implement time-befitting policies in these areas.
鈥楤angladesh must transform into a beautiful, fertile, safe, and green country. For that, we must move towards sustainability,鈥� said the adviser.
Highlighting the importance of people鈥檚 voices in environmental protection, the adviser said that the incident of indiscriminate white stone extraction was a clear example of the urgency.
The use of pesticides and chemical fertilisers must be reduced, polythene shopping bags phased out, and reckless use of hills and forests in the name of development stopped.
The adviser also said that proposals for tax incentives would be placed before the government to encourage eco-friendly initiatives. 鈥榃e have many policies but the most important task now is their effective implementation.鈥�
Mohammad Azaz, administrator of Dhaka North City Corporation, presided over the event, according to a press release.
Other speakers included Nayoka Martinez-B盲ckstr枚m, first secretary and deputy head of cooperation at the embassy of Sweden, Dhaka; Farah Kabir, country director, ActionAid Bangladesh; Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director and CEO, Mutual Trust Bank; Selim H Rahman, chairman, HATIL; Md Sariful Islam, head of influencing, communications, advocacy, and media, Oxfam in Bangladesh; and Ahsan Rony, executive director, Mission Green Bangladesh.
