When we become hostile to nature, nature denies us its resources and rather pushes us towards further crisis.

— Sultana Kamal

Rights activists and environmentalists at a public meeting yesterday emphasised the importance of individual initiatives to protect rivers, haors and agricultural lands.

"When we become hostile to nature, nature denies us its resources and rather pushes us towards further crisis," said Sultana Kamal, a former advisor to a caretaker government and member of the DHORA advisory committee.

The event titled "Demanding Protection of Haors, Rivers and Agricultural Lands" was jointly organised by Dhoritri Rokhhay Amra (DHORA) and two local union parishads at Tahirpur upazila in Sunamganj.

DHORA member secretary Sharif Jamil identified unplanned and illegal sand mining as factors exacerbating natural disasters like floods.

He called for urgent national and international action to address the problems facing Tanguar Haor.

Before the speeches, participants visited the flood-prone Tanguar Haor to witness firsthand the threats facing the vital ecosystem.

Prof Nazia Chowdhury of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology also spoke at the event as a special guest.