Syeda Rizwana Hasan, adviser to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, said that the government is working on an effective early warning system to prevent the loss of lives and livelihoods during natural calamities.
Speaking as the chief guest at a stakeholders' consultation workshop titled "Early Warning for all through Hydrological Status and Outlook System" at a Dhaka hotel on Wednesday, Rizwana Hasan emphasized the importance of a reliable early warning system to enhance community resilience.
She urged all stakeholders to contribute towards developing an efficient hydrological status and outlook system that could predict potential disasters and enable proactive measures to protect people and resources.
She highlighted that vulnerable communities are at constant risk due to climate hazards, underscoring the necessity of real-time information from upper riparian countries to ensure the system’s accuracy.
Collaboration between government agencies, the scientific community, and local stakeholders is crucial to creating an inclusive system that serves everyone, particularly those at the highest risk, she said.
Rizwana Hasan stressed that early warnings are critical for safeguarding lives and property and called for a unified approach to implement an accessible and effective system both locally and nationally.
The workshop was presided over by Md Ashraf Uddin, secretary of the Ministry of Defence, while Kamrul Hasan, secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief; Md Nazmul Ahsan, secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources; and Dr Hwirin Kim, head of the Hydrology and Water Resources Division at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), spoke as special guests.
Senior officials from various ministries, NGOs, and international partners participated in the event, discussing the challenges and opportunities in establishing a robust early warning mechanism for hydrological hazards.
Earlier, Rizwana Hasan inaugurated an online training program on the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Policy on Programming and Operations, held in Gazipur.
