'Continued investment in coastal resilience critical for sustainable growth in Bangladesh '

Dhaka, Sep 13 (IANS) With increasing climate risks, Bangladesh needs to continue investments to strengthen climate resilience in the coastal zones to protect the development gains, says a new World Bank report launched here.

The report, "Bangladesh: Enhancing Coastal Resilience in a Changing Climate", highlights the country's journey to reducing vulnerability to climate change and recommends further actions toward improving the resilience of its coastal region, reports Xinhua news agency.

It analyzes the drivers of risks, how the government has reduced these risks, and offers a new perspective and innovative solutions.

"Coastal resilience is not a static goal to be met, but rather a continuous process of adapting to changing conditions and finding synergies between development objectives," said Dandan Chen, World Bank acting country director for Bangladesh and Bhutan.

The report finds that further investments in coastal resilience would produce an array of economic, social, and environmental benefits for Bangladesh.

It lays out seven key recommendations to strengthen the resilience of the coastal region, including strengthening the operation and maintenance of infrastructure, recognizing local knowledge, and utilizing state-of-art modelling tools.

"This report provides a first-of-its-kind analysis of all large investment projects since the 1960s," said Swarna Kazi, World Bank senior disaster risk management specialist and co-author of the report.

"A key lesson learned is that there is huge potential in Bangladesh for nature-based solutions or hybrid solutions with a mix of green-grey infrastructure," added Ignacio Urrutia, World Bank senior disaster risk management specialist and co-author of the report.