Bangladesh has sought financial and technical assistance from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to establish a blue network in Dhaka city.
This initiative is aimed at restoring the city's rivers, canals, and water bodies, addressing the pressing challenges like pollution and encroachment.
Farhina Ahmed, secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, also stressed the need for a 'comprehensive river health assessment system' to monitor and enhance the ecological condition of rivers across Bangladesh.
Farhina Ahmed made the remarks while addressing a bilateral meeting held on 5 December, with James Dalton, director of IUCN's Global Water Programme, on the sidelines of the UNCCD COP16 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Farhina Ahmed stated that Dhaka's urban water system, once the city's lifeline, is now under severe strain due to pollution, encroachment, and climate change.
Collaborative efforts and global support are essential to restore these waterbodies and incorporate them into sustainable urban planning, she observed.
In response, Dalton of the IUCN invited Bangladesh to join the Freshwater Challenge partnership programme, which involves 47 nations and the European Union.
The programme aims to restore 300,000 km of rivers and 350 million hectares of wetland globally by 2030.
He highlighted that Bangladesh's participation would align with its national freshwater restoration goals and contribute to the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030).
Earlier in the day, Farhina Ahmed addressed a High-Level Interactive Dialogue on Sustainable Agri-Food Systems.
She emphasised the need for a supportive global framework to promote sustainable and inclusive agricultural practices in climate-vulnerable countries like Bangladesh.
Transitioning to agri-food systems that ensure food security while respecting environmental boundaries is critical, she remarked.
Integrating land, water, and biodiversity conservation in agricultural planning is key to achieving this goal.
The Bangladesh delegation included Abdul Hamid, director general of the Department of Environment, among others.
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