Experts for long-term strategic plan to face climate change

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Monday, 21 April 2008

Experts and civil society leaders at a consultation meeting Saturday laid emphasised on undertaking a long-term multi-sectoral adaptation programme to face adverse impact of climate change effectively as Bangladesh has become the worst vulnerable country to climate change in the world, reports agency.

They underscored the need for setting up a proficient institutional body creating a block multi-donor climate challenge grant fund to deal with the matter effectively.

The climate change issues should be incorporated in the daily activities of all ministries and departments as well as in all sphere of our national life as the issue has emerged as one of the big challenges for Bangladesh, they said.

The consultation meeting with the civil society to discuss two draft reports titled ‘Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy’ and ‘Financing Mechanism: Climate Change’, was jointly organised by Economic Relations Division (ERD) and Ministry of Environment and Forest at National Economic Council (NEC) conference room at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar here.

Environment secretary AHM Reazul Kabir, ERD additional secretary Mezba Uddin Ahmed, BIDS reseach director D r M Asaduzzaman, country director of IUCN Dr Ainun Nishat, environment ministry joint secretaries Qamar Munir and Rabindranath Roy Chowdhury spoke.

Chief Editor of Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury, Forum of Environmental Journalists of Bangladesh (FEJB) chairman Quamrul Islam Chowdury, former UNESCAP environment division chief Dr Rezaul Karim, BUET professor Rezaur Rahman, CFSD secretary Mahfuz Ullah, academics, professionals, experts and members of civil society members took part in the consultation.

Reazul Kabir gave a rundown of the measures and programmes taken by the government to faces adverse impacts of climate change but given the most vulnerability of the country, she required massive scale of climate proof development programmes to ensure food, water, energy and livelihood securities.

The climate challenge fund, he said, should be grant since Bangladesh is not at all responsible for climate change rather mere victims of the luxurious lifestyles of the greenhouse gas emitter industrialized countries.

Mezba Uddin Ahmed suggested undertaking a 15-year multi billion dollar action plan to face the climate change.

Dr Ainun Nishat said, mainstreaming of climate change such as community-based adaptation, sensitization, disaster preparedness and mitigation needs to be intensified rather than witnessing a tremendous loss of lives and property by climate change.

Our common property resources including wetlands and forests need to be preserved for safeguarding the environment from unfavorable impact of climate change and that is why an efficient institutional body must deal climate change, Dr Nishat said.

Bangladesh is expected to present a background paper at the high level meeting on ‘Climate Change: Bangladesh Facing the Challenge’ in June in London.

Dr Asaduzzaman said, the report which is being prepared to be placed in London has to be formulated in line with the Bali action plan but it should be country-driven and homegrown.
All the participants raised their voice against loans in combating climate change in Bangladesh and suggested all-grant elements in the proposed climate challenge fund.