Bangladesh’s climate resilience will be built on the indomitable courage of women, Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan said on Wednesday.
“Though change may not always be in our control, the struggle for survival surely is—and it is the women in our families who inspire that resilience every day,” she said while addressing the Annual Community of Practices (CoP) Network Convention 2025 – EmPower: Women for Climate Resilient Societies (Phase-II) held at Aloki, Dhaka.
The adviser observed that women in Bangladesh are leading the fight for climate resilience—at home, in their communities, and across disaster-prone regions.
Through their unwavering strength and adaptability women have never surrendered to adversity, poverty, or uncertainty.
Empowering women means securing sustainable transformation in our response to climate change, she added.
“We must balance our investment in mega infrastructure projects with increased allocations to protect people living in river erosion and disaster-prone areas,” she added.
Rizwana said true sustainable development can only be achieved when every vulnerable and marginalised person is shielded from the impacts of climate change.
She also emphasised scaling up small, community-based adaptation projects through government and private initiatives, noting that Incorporating local women’s innovative climate adaptation efforts into the national development agenda is the need of the hour.
Nicolas Weeks, Ambassador of Sweden to Bangladesh; Diepak Elmer, Head of Cooperation, Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh; Gitanjali Singh, Representative of UN Women Bangladesh; and Shaheen Anam, Executive Director of Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF), were also present
The adviser later visited various stalls showcasing innovative local adaptation initiatives.