“Prioritise us in the budget,” demand coastal communities

“If that embankment collapses, we will drown again. Village after village will be submerged in tidal water again. We have not been able to overcome the impact of Cyclone Amphan even in 6 years. I have not been able to renovate the dilapidated house.” Abul Kalam Azad, 48, said these words while standing on the banks of the Kopotaksh River.

Abul Kalam is a resident of Kurikahunia village in Pratapnagar union of Ashashuni upazila of Satkhira district. His small house is near the embankment on the river bank. He is afraid when the tidal water in the river rises. The monsoon comes to him as a danger. The weak embankment can collapse at any time even during normal tides.

Looking at the weak embankment, Abul Kalam remembered the memories of Cyclone Amphan. That night, he left his house and took shelter in a room at the launch terminal with his family members. Abul Kalam said, “We are always afraid because of weak embankments. We are witnesses to all disasters like Cyclone Amphan, Cyclone Aila, Cyclone Sidr. We always fight to survive.”

Abul Kalam’s wife Sufia Begum, 45, who was also shaken by the memory of Amphan’s terrible night, said, “The story of our misery is endless. Now give us a solution. Show us a way to live safely. Give us priority in the budget. Keep an allocation for our rehabilitation.”

The budget session of the National Parliament is being held on 7 June. The new budget of the newly elected government is coming. The people of the coast are also dreaming. Maybe something new is coming in the new plan; they are waiting with expectations. A budget is a plan to take the entire population of the country forward without discrimination. The coastal population wants to have a place in that budget plan. Even if they do not understand the details of the budget, the endangered people of the coast watch the budget session on television. They want their justice in the budget, allocation to the necessary sectors.

Shelina Parveen of Jiliaghata village in Koyra upazila of Khulna said, “Give me back my job in the area. Since Cyclone Aila, I have been going to the Sundarbans with my husband at the risk of my life.” Masuma Begum of Char Lathimara village in Patharghata upazila of Barguna said, “Give me back my husband. The only earner in the family went fishing during Cyclone Sidr and did not return.” Faruk Hossain Sardar of Pratapnagar said, “Take me back to the area. Provide employment.”

The risk to people in the coast is high due to frequent cyclones, sea level rise, not properly repairing embankments, etc. The damage caused by cyclones is not recovered. The risk is much higher in the southwestern region. Cyclone wounds in various places in Satkhira, Khulna and Bagerhat. The last super cyclone Amphan also hit this area.

Magfur Rahman, 45, a resident of Pratapnagar union, said, “After the cyclone, we only received emergency food aid. But that will not help us to be rehabilitated. Our hard fight will start only after the emergency food aid ends. We have to provide rehabilitation assistance to the affected people.

The area has to be made habitable.” Ismail Hossain Gazi, 52, who was displaced from Pratapnagar after Cyclone Amphan, said, “My business and commerce have all gone to the cyclone. Now I’m a daily wage laborer. I was forced to leave the area due to the crisis. I’m not getting any assistance as I am absent from the area.”

Abu Daud Dhali, Chairman of Pratapnagar union parishad, said, “Support is needed for proper recovery after the cyclone. For this, a special allocation is needed in the budget. Cyclone Amphan has set this union back by at least 100 years. But there is no budget to compensate for the damage.”
Coast must be kept on the agenda

Civil society representatives have demanded special allocation in the budget for coastal people. They want coastal issues to be a priority in this year’s national budget. So that the backward communities of the coast can live comfortably. The concerns of marginalised people should be at the center of planning. The demand for ensuring the rights of coastal people should not be lost amidst big plans. About 50 million people live in 19 coastal districts. However, about 30 million people in 16 districts are at the highest risk.

This coastline has crises and potentials. Natural hazards are closely linked to the lives and livelihoods of the people here. The lives of many coastal people are controlled by the tides. The effects of climate change are now visible on the coast. Special allocations should be made in the budget to save coastal people from disasters.

Nikhil Chandra Bhadra, coordinator of the Sundarbans and Coastal Protection Movement, said, “The risk of disasters on the coast is constantly increasing due to various man-made reasons including climate change. Along with the crisis on the coast, there is also huge potential. It is necessary to identify the crises and opportunities and take appropriate steps. It is necessary to allocate large amounts in important sectors such as building sustainable embankments, ensuring safe drinking water, protecting public health and agriculture from salinity invasion, creating new jobs for displaced and jobless people, and protecting wildlife including the Sundarbans.”

Sohanur Rahman, Executive Coordinator of YouthNet, said, “Addressing the climate crisis requires a deliberate shift towards locally-led adaptation. This will require massive direct investment in vulnerable coastal areas. Protecting the lives and livelihoods of marginalised communities, especially women, youth and workers, who are most vulnerable to climate-induced displacement and rising salinity. To achieve a truly equitable transition, this grassroots safety net must be structurally linked to macroeconomic reforms. This will hopefully begin with the complete removal of all taxes and duties on solar panels and renewable energy sources in the upcoming budget.”

Nature-based solutions are at the forefront of addressing coastal crises and combating climate change. We need to adapt to nature rather than take destructive actions.

M Zakir Hossain Khan, Co-Founder & Managing Director of Change Initiative, said, “The budget should no longer be focused on ‘post-disaster relief’ or ‘concrete dams’. The budget should be based on Total Return on Ecological Investment (TREI)—that is, if you invest 1 taka in nature protection today, it will save the state 100 taka in future by reducing storm damage. The coastal budget should be structured on this principle.”

Taking the topic of nature-based solutions, he said, “A bulk allocation should be made to ‘nature-based solutions’ for restoring coastal mangrove forests including the Sundarbans and building green belts. It is the need of the hour to allocate special ‘blue grants’ to address the increasing salinity of the soil and to address the drinking water crisis of the affected people.

Government funding for any industrial parks or unplanned infrastructure that destroys forests and wetlands in the coastal Ecologically Critical Areas (ECAs) should be stopped immediately. At the same time, it is necessary to completely stop subsidies for fossil fuels and harmful coal-based power projects and shift them to renewable and ''nature smart'' energy sectors. It is impossible to save the coast in the long term if we do not invest in nature protection today.”

Coastal residents have demanded the construction of sustainable embankments to prevent river erosion. Climate change-related crises such as salinity, drought, heat, rising tides, cyclones, etc. are now visible on the coast. There are few initiatives to protect forests or create new forests to prevent disasters. Emphasis should be placed on environmental protection. For this, allocations should be made in the budget. At the same time, initiatives should be taken to develop the potential of the coast. The government can take big plans focusing on the potential; which can create huge employment. This will require a budget.

Mohammad Shahjahan, director of Young Power in Social Action (YPSA), an organisation working on coastal issues, said, “The national budget for fiscal year 2026-27 should focus on three interlinked themes – climate-resilient infrastructure, gender equality and social inclusion – to address the resilience of coastal communities.”

He said, “Women, girls, persons with disabilities and the elderly are the most affected; they are the last to flee, the first to lose their livelihoods and are the most likely to suffer from post-disaster violence, child marriage and malnutrition. Therefore, to properly address coastal vulnerability, this national budget should focus on providing landless and female-headed households with cyclone-resistant houses. These should have high foundations, salinity-resistant materials and cyclone-resistant roofs.”

Natural hazards make life increasingly difficult for Abul Kalam and Sufia Begum. They keep going around in a cycle of crisis. Like them, millions of people on the coast face natural hazards. They need proper planning in the budget. The demand of the people on the coast is echoed in the voices of Abul Kalam and Sufia.

* Rafiqul Islam Montu is an award-winning independent journalist focusing on environmental issues, climate change, and coastal communities.