OP-ED: Our first line of defense

The Sundarbans protects us from all kind of disasters. But for how long?
The aftermaths of cyclones Sidr, Aila, Amphan, and many other extreme events, storm surges, riverbank and coastal erosions reminded us that the existence of coastal communities are under vulnerable conditions without a protective greenbelt of mangroves. Fortunately, we have the world’s largest natural mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, safeguarding our climate-vulnerable coastal communities in southwestern coastlines. We also have the world’s largest man-made mangrove forest, the coastal greenbelt, protecting our central and eastern coastlines