Trust fund on climate change to be launched early next fiscal

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FHM Humayan Kabir
The proposed "multi-donor trust fund" is likely to be launched early next fiscal year aiming to help Bangladesh weather the impact of climate change, officials said Thursday.
"We hope the fund will start operating from the middle of next year," a senior Economic Relations Division (ERD) official told the FE.
He said the World Bank (WB) has been assigned as the administrator for managing the fund.
"We are now preparing procedures and modalities for managing the fund. We'll sit with all stakeholders, including the government, to finalise it in a few months time," a WB official told the FE.
A mission from WB headquarters also visited Dhaka last month for working out the management system and other modalities of the trust fund, the WB official added.
Bangladesh has been one of the worst victims of changes in global climate, with floods and cyclones becoming a regular feature, putting at risk the livelihoods of millions of its poor people.
The country faced two successive disasters - flood and cyclone-- during August-November period of 2008, which claimed more than 5000 lives and damaged properties worth US$2.8 billion.
The government had sought US$4.0 billion funds from the donors for a long-term disaster management programme following the calamities.
Responding to the appeal, the donor community, especially the global lender WB, suggested formation of the "multi-donor trust fund" in a bid to help Bangladesh to fight against catastrophes.
The government in September this year also held an international conference on climate change in London to draw the attention of the international community about the impact of the global warming.
The British donor agency-Department for International Development (DFID)- has already made commitment of 60 million pound sterling for the proposed trust fund.
DFID and the World Bank are working together with the government to formulate the procedures and modalities for the proposed multi-donor trust fund.
"There will be a three-tier management in the trust fund. A Policy Council and a Management Committee, headed by the government, will be formed, and a Secretariat will be set up," a DFID official told the FE.
The trust fund Secretariat could be established in the World Bank Dhaka premises for an interim period.
The DFID official said: "The administrator (WB) will sign deal with the donors, which will make commitment to the trust-fund."
"The management committee will decide on disbursement of fund against any development programme related to climate change to both private and public sectors," he said.
Both the non-governmental organisation (NGOs) and the government will be entitled to utilise the fund from the long-term "multi-donor trust fund".