Staff Correspondent:

Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan on Saturday said while innovative climate adaptation efforts are essential, they cannot replace the urgent need for global mitigation.

Drawing from recent experiences in coastal districts like Noakhali and Feni, she highlighted how rising water levels, compounded by complex river systems and tidal effects, are overwhelming local flood infrastructure.

“Adaptation has limits,” she said, “We must ask: how much can we adapt before we collapse?”

The Environment Adviser said this while delivering her keynote address on Saturday at the session titled “Policy Perspective on Climate Adaptation in Agriculture, Food Security, and Livelihoods” at the Frugal Innovation Forum 2025, held at BRAC CDM, Savar.

She questioned the global push for nature-based solutions without sincere commitments to emission reductions.

“Nature-based solutions should be about protecting forests, rivers, and canals-not counting trees to offset carbon while emissions continue unchecked,” the adviser stated.

She criticised the trend of monetising ecosystems without addressing the root cause: fossil fuel dependency.

Touching on agricultural vulnerability, Rizwana stressed the need to rethink crop patterns, discourage harmful practices like expanding tobacco and cassava cultivation, and invest in regenerative, community-informed farming systems.

“Safe food, not just more food, must be our goal,” she said.

The adviser also called for inclusive governance, urging that communities and local government institutions be placed in the “driving seat” of climate action.

“We need two-way communication between policymakers and the grassroots,” she noted.

She emphasised that adaptation funding must reach those working on the ground, including civil society and innovative local initiatives.

Rizwana announced the government efforts to reform the Climate Change Trust Fund and launch new platforms such as BCDP to improve collaboration and fund distribution.

She also shared updates on tree conservation laws, school-based reforestation programmes, and land protection initiatives-stressing the cultural shift needed to restore and respect nature.

Concluding her speech, she warned: “Our development model must evolve. Climate resilience isn’t just about surviving-it’s about rethinking our values.”

Asif Saleh, Executive Director of BRAC; SM Munjurul Hannan, Executive Director, Nature Conservation Management; KAM Morshed, Senior Director, BRAC; and experts from home and abroad were also present in the occasion.

The adviser also took part in a questions answer session and visited the stalls in the exhibition.