They said Bangladesh should form alliance with other Saarc countries and fight jointly for realising compensation for the damages that they are facing due to climate changes.

Bangladesh along with other least developed countries are the main victims of climate change while the developed nations are the main contributors to green house effect, they added.

The discussion was organised by Bangladesh Unnayan Parishad (BUP) in association with INSA (Imagine A New South Asia) at the National Press Club in the city to mark the World Environment Day 2007.

Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, president of Bangladesh Economic Association and a Lead Author of IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Working Group-2, Advocate Sultana Kamal, former adviser to caretaker government, Prof KB Sajjadur Rashed, MH Siddiqui and Brigadier General (retd) Shahedul Anam Khan spoke on the occasion.

In his keynote presentation, Kholiquzzaman said Bangladesh will be the worst victim of climate change and it will face a loss of 30 percent food grain production by the middle of the century.

He said the country will also face a temperature rise of around 2 degree Celsius in the coming decades, and the sea level is likely to rise by around 45 degree centimetre.

As result of these changes, he said a vast coastal areas of the country will face permanent salinity and the inhabitants will lose their residence.

The speakers called for immediate initiative to reduce the impact of climate change.

They also suggested inclusion of the issue in all national-level discussions and set a framework to overcome the disaster.