Mangrove forests shield against natural disasters

Mangrove forests can reduce the impacts of natural disasters like tsunami by 90 percent, an architecture professor of Buet said yesterday.

Presenting a paper at a daylong international climate conference, Dr Khandaker Shabbir Ahmed also expressed concern at the dwindling green patches of Bangladesh.

Alliance Française de Chittagong organised the "International Conference and Exhibition on Climate Change" in its auditorium, with the support of the Embassy of France and TK Group. The Daily Star was the media partner.

The speakers highlighted the vulnerability of Bangladesh to the impacts of climate change and the need for concrete adaptation measures.

French Ambassador to Bangladesh Sophie Aubert said the conference was hosted to make people aware of the adverse effects of climate change.

The government, private sector, and general people should come forward to fight the challenges, she said.

Dr M Shahadat Hossain, a professor of the Institute of Marine Sciences and Fisheries of Chittagong University, said many areas of Bangladesh including Chittagong were already facing adverse effects of the changing climate.

Yves Marre, a French who created TaraTari Shipyard in Chittagong, presented his book Navigateur Soil Daire, explaining the history and work of the shipyard.

Artistes of Bangladesh Institute of Theatre Arts (BITA) staged a drama on the impact of deforestation while French documentary film "Hurricane: From the Storm of the Chaos" by A Byatt was screened.

Documentaries will also be shown on June 2 and 4.