WB focuses on local-level knowledge for self-sustained development
Tuesday, 14 April 2009
MOHANGANJ (Netrakona), April 13 (BSS): Water and Sanitation Programme (WSP) of the World Bank (WB) and the government have taken a joint initiative to recognise local-level knowledge and disseminate their 'best practices' across Bangladesh to accelerate self-sustained development.
The coverage of the programme 'Horizontal Learning', initiated in 2007 in 66 union councils of six upazilas, was doubled in last two years with identification of 21 'golden practices' from 112 upazilas during the period, senior water and sanitation expert of WSP Shantanu Lahiri said here Monday.
Lahiri along with a senior government official, a representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and NGO activists are now in Mohanganj 180 km off the capital Dhaka to identify potential good practices and support those accordingly.
"The horizontal learning which we call 'paroshparik shikkhon' in Bangla was originally focussed on water and sanitation, but now it gives importance to innovative practices from local levels," Lahiri said at a workshop at the upazila auditorium, attended by seven Union Parishad chairmen and others, who identified their best initiatives taken so far. Deputy secretary of Fisheries and Livestock Ministry M Shafiqul Islam, Mohanganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer Kazi Abed Hossain, upazila chairmen Shahid Iqbal and Mirza Abdul Gani, Awlad Hossain of WSP and Akramul Haque of Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC), among others, were present.Shafiqul Islam said the government wants to promote the 'bottom-up' approach for development where both demands and solutions should come from the communities, instead of the present practice of imposing everything from the top.
He appreciated the 'horizontal learning', a brainchild of a UP chairman of Tarash Upazila, Sirajganj.
The method, however, identifies only the innovative practices, locally developed, self-financed, transparent and not dependent either on government or donors' financing. Some of the best practices are: UPs have started open budgeting which ensures financial transparency and participatory budget preparation involving communities, screening of all tubewells to identify arsenic by community funding, stopping of open defecation, tree plantation as means to get rid of tax payment and voluntary service for canal re-excavation. Sources said UPs have generated Taka 24.1 million (2.41 crore) from their own sources to implement good practices, while 45 UPs have started open budgeting, 40 have stopped open defecation and 24 UPs have launched programmes to screen all the tubewells to detect arsenic.
The coverage of the programme 'Horizontal Learning', initiated in 2007 in 66 union councils of six upazilas, was doubled in last two years with identification of 21 'golden practices' from 112 upazilas during the period, senior water and sanitation expert of WSP Shantanu Lahiri said here Monday.
Lahiri along with a senior government official, a representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and NGO activists are now in Mohanganj 180 km off the capital Dhaka to identify potential good practices and support those accordingly.
"The horizontal learning which we call 'paroshparik shikkhon' in Bangla was originally focussed on water and sanitation, but now it gives importance to innovative practices from local levels," Lahiri said at a workshop at the upazila auditorium, attended by seven Union Parishad chairmen and others, who identified their best initiatives taken so far. Deputy secretary of Fisheries and Livestock Ministry M Shafiqul Islam, Mohanganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer Kazi Abed Hossain, upazila chairmen Shahid Iqbal and Mirza Abdul Gani, Awlad Hossain of WSP and Akramul Haque of Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC), among others, were present.Shafiqul Islam said the government wants to promote the 'bottom-up' approach for development where both demands and solutions should come from the communities, instead of the present practice of imposing everything from the top.
He appreciated the 'horizontal learning', a brainchild of a UP chairman of Tarash Upazila, Sirajganj.
The method, however, identifies only the innovative practices, locally developed, self-financed, transparent and not dependent either on government or donors' financing. Some of the best practices are: UPs have started open budgeting which ensures financial transparency and participatory budget preparation involving communities, screening of all tubewells to identify arsenic by community funding, stopping of open defecation, tree plantation as means to get rid of tax payment and voluntary service for canal re-excavation. Sources said UPs have generated Taka 24.1 million (2.41 crore) from their own sources to implement good practices, while 45 UPs have started open budgeting, 40 have stopped open defecation and 24 UPs have launched programmes to screen all the tubewells to detect arsenic.