Govt to take Tk 300b project to address impacts of climate change
Friday, 14 August 2009
FE Report
State Minister for Land Mostafizur Rahman Wednesday said the government is embarking on a Tk 300 billion mega project to address the impacts of climate change in Bangladesh.
"But we still need assistance from the international community, as Bangladesh, one of the most vulnerable countries to the global phenomenon of climate change, alone cannot solve the problems with its limited resources," he said while speaking at a seminar in the capital.
Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) in collaboration with the UK-based non-government organisation Saferworld organised the seminar titled 'Climate Change and Security in Bangladesh' with its director general Sheikh Md Monirul Islam in the chair.
The state minister said being a low-lying delta with the highest population concentration in the world, Bangladesh is under the greatest threat from the rising sea-level.
"A 1.5-metre rise in sea-level would inundate 16 per cent of land and affect 22.5 million people in the country."
Rahman said changes in precipitation caused by flood and drought would adversely affect our food production through dwindling agricultural yields and reduced aquatic harvests -- a pattern that had been already observed.
"Besides the shifts in the weather pattern, rising sea-level is already inundating our landmass and reducing the amount of arable land," he said.
The minister said climate change had already started making people refugees. "In addition, it would create insecurity by reducing food supply. Its impacts are not only negative in themselves, but have the potentiality of exacerbating tension in political and social fields."
"Finding solutions to the climate change problem is important for the survival of the country."
Rahman said the government had already increased the amount for the National Climate Change Fund to Tk 10.0 billion in its current budget from Tk 3.0 billion allocated earlier, realising the importance of fighting challenges of climate change.
"We are going to take a mega project worth Tk 300 billion to address the impacts of climate change on the country."
But he also sought assistance from the international community, particularly from those developed and industrialised nations, most responsible for creating the far-reaching crisis.
The state minister said over the past 20 years the number of recorded natural disasters had doubled from approximately 200 to over 400 per year. Nine out of 10 among them can be considered climate-related, he said.
"Developing countries like Bangladesh, which has the least contribution in the climate change process with one of the lowest per capita emission rate, would be one of the hardest hit countries due to change of climate."
He urged all not to do anything in an unplanned manner in the name of development that could contribute to climate change.
Meanwhile, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the German development agency, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) recently to support global climate change mitigation and adaptation in Bangladesh.
At the signing ceremony, Peter Palesch, country director of GTZ Bangladesh, and Denise Rollins, mission director of USAID Bangladesh, pledged to work together in the Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS) region, said a press release Wednesday.
State Minister for Land Mostafizur Rahman Wednesday said the government is embarking on a Tk 300 billion mega project to address the impacts of climate change in Bangladesh.
"But we still need assistance from the international community, as Bangladesh, one of the most vulnerable countries to the global phenomenon of climate change, alone cannot solve the problems with its limited resources," he said while speaking at a seminar in the capital.
Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) in collaboration with the UK-based non-government organisation Saferworld organised the seminar titled 'Climate Change and Security in Bangladesh' with its director general Sheikh Md Monirul Islam in the chair.
The state minister said being a low-lying delta with the highest population concentration in the world, Bangladesh is under the greatest threat from the rising sea-level.
"A 1.5-metre rise in sea-level would inundate 16 per cent of land and affect 22.5 million people in the country."
Rahman said changes in precipitation caused by flood and drought would adversely affect our food production through dwindling agricultural yields and reduced aquatic harvests -- a pattern that had been already observed.
"Besides the shifts in the weather pattern, rising sea-level is already inundating our landmass and reducing the amount of arable land," he said.
The minister said climate change had already started making people refugees. "In addition, it would create insecurity by reducing food supply. Its impacts are not only negative in themselves, but have the potentiality of exacerbating tension in political and social fields."
"Finding solutions to the climate change problem is important for the survival of the country."
Rahman said the government had already increased the amount for the National Climate Change Fund to Tk 10.0 billion in its current budget from Tk 3.0 billion allocated earlier, realising the importance of fighting challenges of climate change.
"We are going to take a mega project worth Tk 300 billion to address the impacts of climate change on the country."
But he also sought assistance from the international community, particularly from those developed and industrialised nations, most responsible for creating the far-reaching crisis.
The state minister said over the past 20 years the number of recorded natural disasters had doubled from approximately 200 to over 400 per year. Nine out of 10 among them can be considered climate-related, he said.
"Developing countries like Bangladesh, which has the least contribution in the climate change process with one of the lowest per capita emission rate, would be one of the hardest hit countries due to change of climate."
He urged all not to do anything in an unplanned manner in the name of development that could contribute to climate change.
Meanwhile, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the German development agency, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) recently to support global climate change mitigation and adaptation in Bangladesh.
At the signing ceremony, Peter Palesch, country director of GTZ Bangladesh, and Denise Rollins, mission director of USAID Bangladesh, pledged to work together in the Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS) region, said a press release Wednesday.