NEWS

People’s participation in disaster preparedness stressed by ED, CEGIS at seminar
Mr. Giasuddin Ahmed Choudhury, Executive Director of CEGIS recommends strengthening people’s participation in disaster management and upgrading coastal embankments to provide greater security. Speaking recently at a seminar on “Disaster Management in Bangladesh” organized by the Alumni Association of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Mr. Choudhury further recommended a national master plan to check river erosion as it is one of the major causes of poverty. 

For the management of flood defense in Bangladesh, Mr. Choudhury recommended:
· Rationalizing of existing flood defense systems
· Upgrading of coastal embankments to provide greater safety to cyclonic surges and climate change
· Strengthening people’s participation in the O&M of flood defense systems

For erosion management Mr. Choudhury recommended:
· Bank protective measures, although they are expensive and require a long time to implement
· Monitoring of erosion for the entire river systems of Bangladesh
· Use of erosion prediction tools for the optimum use of available funds

The seminar discussed issues such as preparation of Bangladesh for cyclone and flood management, and tackling disasters such as earthquakes and arsenic contamination for which the country needs both financial and technical assistance. The Minister for Food and Disaster Management, Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf was Chief Guest at the seminar
 

New Secretary of MoWR visits CEGIS
Mr. S.M Jahrul Islam visited CEGIS for the first time on 11th August, following his recent posting as the Secretary-in-Charge of the Ministry of Water Resources. The purpose of his visit was to get acquainted with CEGIS, its activities and staff. 
Mr. Giasuddin Ahmed Choudhury, Executive Director, CEGIS gave a presentation on CEGIS’ activities. The Secretary showed keen interest in many of the projects currently undertaken by the organization. When later, he toured the office building he had the opportunity to observe in person the activities of the staff who explained their work to him in detail.
The Secretary was also briefed on the river morphology prediction activities of CEGIS as well as projects like the Integrated Water Resources Management Framework. He saw the landuse maps that CEGIS has developed for the Barind Tract and for the Khulna region under an ADB project. 

The secretary expressed his appreciation of CEGIS’ activities. He said that he saw possibilities for CEGIS and that he would extend his support for the various ventures of the organization.