BD ready to host Delta Coalition confce in July

 Bangladesh is ready to host the next Delta Coalition conference at ministerial level in July with main focus on water issues.
The Delta Coalition conference, a forum of 12 countries, will be held along with the High Level Panel on Water (HLPW) and the Regional Water Conference (RWC).
This will be the second Delta Coalition conference after the first one held in the Netherlands last year from where the coalition was officially formed.
Officials said, being the chair of the second forum, Bangladesh is likely to focus on vulnerability of the delta countries and creating awareness for tackling issues of water and climate change.
"The Delta Coalition is not a negotiation forum. It is the place where delta member-countries identify respective problems they are facing in terms of earning livelihoods and try to find the best practices of adaptation and mitigation," said an official.
Though the Delta Coalition's focus is mainly on urban areas, Bangladesh is likely to bring rural areas in the next meeting as the delta problems affect both the regions but are of different nature.
According to official website, Dhaka is focusing on action and momentum on water issues with a view to ensuring a resilient future enshrined in Sustainable Development Goal 6.
The meeting will deal with issues to attain the final goal of assuring future generation fullest access to fresh and clean water, it added.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in association with the Prime Minister's Office, will host the event. The High Level Water Panel is being organised by the Water Resources Ministry while the Regional Conference by the Local Government and Rural Development Ministry.
During the first Delta Coalition conference held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands on May 9-10, the Delta Coalition and its operational plan 2016-2017 were officially launched.
The Delta Coalition is the world's first international coalition of governments that have formed a partnership to deal with inclusive sustainable development in urbanising deltas, combining economic development with adaptation and preventive measures reducing climate change risks and strengthening resilience.
Most importantly, it will allow delta countries to join forces to stimulate sharing best practices and innovation, and to increase opportunities for financing in order to facilitate the implementation of projects that will reduce vulnerability to climate change.
Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, France, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Mozambique, Myanmar, the Netherlands, the Philippines and Vietnam have already joined the coalition.
After the coalition was formed, Bangladesh and the Netherlands got a chance to present the Delta Coalition during COP22 in Marrakesh.    smunima@yahoo.com