UNB, Dhaka :
Speakers at a conference in Kathmandu on Tuesday urged leaders of the South Asian countries to reaffirm their
commitments and pledges at the upcoming 18th SAARC summit, for a coordinated regional response to meet the interdependent challenges of climate change, disasters and food insecurity.
They said a coordinated regional response is a must to meet the challenges of climate change, disasters and food insecurity. Any delay in implementing the SAARC agreements would fail millions of South Asians to survive through hazardous impacts of climate change.
They were speaking at the concluding day of a two-day Regional Policy Forum on Disasters, Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security jointly organised by Oxfam and its partners in Kathmandu, according to a message received here.
Parliamentarians, civil society leaders, academia and government officials from four South Asian countries-Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka-attended the Forum.
SAARC has already signed an agreement to establish SAARC Food Bank and Seed Bank in 2004, the Thimpu Statement on Climate Change in 2010, Agreement on Rapid Response to Natural Disasters, and the SAARC Comprehensive
Framework on Disaster Management in 2011. However there is still the need to implement them and making them legally binding.
The speakers shared best practices from respective countries but were of the view that coordination at regional level is somehow weak. Without binding commitments and formal reporting requirements, the implementation record has been poor.
Oxfam Deputy Regional Director Lillian Mercado said there are enough treaties and agreements in place – it is now time to implement them.
Executive Director of Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS) Dr Atiq Rahman referred to climate change as one of the greatest threats to human rights and termed it an issue of “climate justice”.
In the face of growing climate and disaster risk, political buy-in and appropriate budget allocations are essential for effective implementation of policies and legislation, he added.
Chair of the Constituent Assembly of Nepal Subhash Chandra Nembang said: “We need to change our behaviors. Let’s not get to the point of no return”.
Deputy Speaker of the Bangladesh Parliament Advocate Fazle Rabbi Mia also made a commitment to raise awareness amongst fellow parliamentarians and other government officials to prioritise regional cooperation on these issues.
Speakers at a conference in Kathmandu on Tuesday urged leaders of the South Asian countries to reaffirm their
commitments and pledges at the upcoming 18th SAARC summit, for a coordinated regional response to meet the interdependent challenges of climate change, disasters and food insecurity.
They said a coordinated regional response is a must to meet the challenges of climate change, disasters and food insecurity. Any delay in implementing the SAARC agreements would fail millions of South Asians to survive through hazardous impacts of climate change.
They were speaking at the concluding day of a two-day Regional Policy Forum on Disasters, Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security jointly organised by Oxfam and its partners in Kathmandu, according to a message received here.
Parliamentarians, civil society leaders, academia and government officials from four South Asian countries-Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka-attended the Forum.
SAARC has already signed an agreement to establish SAARC Food Bank and Seed Bank in 2004, the Thimpu Statement on Climate Change in 2010, Agreement on Rapid Response to Natural Disasters, and the SAARC Comprehensive
Framework on Disaster Management in 2011. However there is still the need to implement them and making them legally binding.
The speakers shared best practices from respective countries but were of the view that coordination at regional level is somehow weak. Without binding commitments and formal reporting requirements, the implementation record has been poor.
Oxfam Deputy Regional Director Lillian Mercado said there are enough treaties and agreements in place – it is now time to implement them.
Executive Director of Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS) Dr Atiq Rahman referred to climate change as one of the greatest threats to human rights and termed it an issue of “climate justice”.
In the face of growing climate and disaster risk, political buy-in and appropriate budget allocations are essential for effective implementation of policies and legislation, he added.
Chair of the Constituent Assembly of Nepal Subhash Chandra Nembang said: “We need to change our behaviors. Let’s not get to the point of no return”.
Deputy Speaker of the Bangladesh Parliament Advocate Fazle Rabbi Mia also made a commitment to raise awareness amongst fellow parliamentarians and other government officials to prioritise regional cooperation on these issues.
