Ramsar East Asia Centre director Seung-oh Suh said conservation of wetlands and their resources were essential for human beings and maintaining ecosystems.
Drying up of wetland usually affects the livelihood of thousands of people adversely, said Suh while addressing a four-day 'wetland management workshop' at the Korean EPZ Centre in Chittagong recently.
Ramsar Convention, named after the city in Iran where it was signed in 1971, is the international body responsible for maintaining the wetlands across the globe. Bangladesh ratified this convention in 1992.
About 42 representatives from different organisations, including the Department of Environment and IUCN-Bangladesh, attended the workshop, held from April 21 to April 24, was organised by non-governmental organisation Bangladesh Paush with support from Korean company Youngone, said a release.
Former secretary Jafar Ahmed Chowdhury, Centre for Sustainable Development secretary general and IUCN regional councillor Mahfuz Ullah, NACOM chairman Abdur Rob Mollah, former ambassador Jahangir Saadat, KEPZ president Sung-hoon Woo and Paush executive director Sanowar Hossain, among others, addressed the workshop.
The speakers observed that the wetlands of Bangladesh were not properly protected despite government intervention.
They urged all concerned to mobilise public opinion and programmes in the interest of protecting the wetlands, which cover a huge area of Bangladesh.
Source: New Age
