Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan said the government is working to develop an understandable early warning system to avoid loss of lives and livelihood of people in natural calamities.

She urged all stakeholders to actively contribute towards developing an effective hydrological status and outlook system.

Rizwana Hasan said this while speaking as the chief guest at a stakeholders’ consultation workshop titled "Early Warning for All through Hydrological Status and Outlook System" held at a city hotel on Wednesday.

She said early warnings are a vital part of building resilience. A robust hydrological system, she noted, would allow for better forecasting of potential disasters, enabling proactive measures to protect lives, property, and natural resources.

Rizwana Hasan also said real-time information on upper riparian countries is highly required in this regard.

She highlighted the need for collaboration between government agencies, scientific communities, and local stakeholders to develop an inclusive system that serves all, particularly the most vulnerable.

The adviser called for a unified approach to implementing an early warning system that is both accessible and effective at local and national levels.

Defense Secretary Md Ashraf Uddin presided over the workshop.

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, WMO also spoke as special guests.

Senior officials from the ministry, representatives from government agencies, NGOs, and international partners participated in the event.

Earlier, Syeda Rizwana Hasan virtually inaugurated a training programme on the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Policy on Programming and Operations held at Gazipur.

bd-pratidin/GR