News Desk :
The Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Md Shahab Uddin has pointed out that climate change is one of the biggest challenges to Bangladesh becoming the 25th largest economically prosperous country in the world by 2050 at the knowledge sharing workshop of the ICBAAR project at a hotel in Dhaka on Sunday.
“Therefore, in the National Adaptation Action Plan (NAPA) and the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCAP), participation of local communities in climate change mitigation has been considered paramount.”
“The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has taken initiatives for a green budget for all the ministries in Bangladesh,” he added.
UNDP initiated Integrating community-based Adaptation into Afforestation and Reforestation Program (ICBAAR) in 2017 along with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and implemented through the Bangladesh Forest Department in collaboration with seven ministries and departments of government, with the financial support from Global Environment Facility (GEF) to increase species diversity in the coastal forest, which resulted in enhanced socio-economic benefits to local communities from the forests, according to a statement by UNDP.
For the last four years, the project has been providing climate-resilient, innovative and ecosystem-based diversified livelihood support to 8,600 coastal, poor and forest-dependent households to adapt to climate change. “ICBAAR activities have piqued the interest of the coastal communities, and many are adapting to innovative livelihood options introduced by the project. I hope these activities are rolled out to other coastal areas of Bangladesh for overall strengthening of the vulnerable population,” the minister said.
“Adopting a green, clean production agenda will be imperative if Bangladesh wants to meet export-led growth ambition in the post-LDC graduation period,” said UNDP Resident Representative Sudipto Mukerjee.
The workshop was chaired by the Secretary of the ministry, Ziaul Hasan, the Chief Conservator of Forest Amir Hossain Chowdhury was the special guest. UNDP’s Program Specialist Arif M Faisal and ICBAAR Project Manager Dr Muhammed Muzammel Hoque gave keynote presentations.
