Staff Correspondent, Khulna

Speakers at a children’s climate conference in Khulna highlighted that Bangladesh’s southwest coastal region is among the most climate-vulnerable areas globally.

The region faces frequent cyclones, rising salinity, erratic rainfall patterns, heatwaves, and urban waterlogging, all of which severely degrade socio-economic conditions, reduce livelihood opportunities, increase unemployment, and accelerate coastal-to-urban migration.

They emphasized that the lives of residents and children in urban slums within the coastal belt are particularly severe.

The speakers noted that children make up a significant portion of the country’s population and remain the most vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters. However, they have historically been excluded from disaster risk reduction and climate action planning, discussion, and implementation. Furthermore, economic stress in these vulnerable communities is driving an increase in child marriage, posing long-term risks—especially for adolescent girls.

The two-day event was organized by Jagrata Juba Shangha (JJS), a Khulna-based non-governmental organization, at the CSS Ava Centre in the city on Tuesday. The conference was supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Kindernothilfe (KNH). A large number of coastal adolescents, civil society representatives, academics, NGO delegates, and media personnel attended the event.

Attending as the chief guest, Nazarul Islam Manju, Administrator of Khulna City Corporation (KCC), strongly urged for effective and sustainable measures to protect children affected by natural disasters and climate change in coastal regions.

Special guests included Prof. Dr. Md. Rezaul Karim, Vice-Chancellor of Khulna University; Khandakar Md. Fazlul Haque, Director of the Department of Environment (Khulna); Tariqul Islam, General Secretary of the Khulna Press Club; Md. Kaysar Hossain, Chief of the UNICEF Bangladesh Khulna Field Office; and Gawher Nayeem Wahra, Member Secretary of the Disaster Forum.

During the technical session, Prof. Dr. Abdullah Harun Chowdhury from the Environmental Science Discipline at Khulna University presented technical data and scientific analysis on the safe drinking water crisis and the broader impacts of salinity in coastal areas.