The government is planning to form a Bangladesh Climate Change Directorate (BCCD), replacing the existing Bangladesh Climate Change Trust (BCCT), to further strengthen activities for protecting the country from climate change. The authorities are examining the matter of forming a directorate on climate change by holding consultations with experts, sources in the environment ministry said. Bangladesh is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change.
At present, the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust is conducting its activities across the country. It has allocated Tk. 3,052 crore to implement a total of 202 projects, including 19 projects under 12 ministries, to address the problems of climate change. The government of Bangladesh has allocated this money from its own funds.
Environment minister Dr Hasan Mahmud told The Independent that they are planning to form a directorate of climate change as the projects set up to offset the impact of climate change in the country have expanded. “We are trying to minimise the impact of climate change by implementing a number of projects,” he said.
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) pro-vice chancellor Prof. Dr Habibur Rahman told The Independent that the government should form a directorate of climate change to expand the activities of the BCCT.
“If the government forms a directorate in this connection, it can function independently,” he said, adding, “The proposed directorate can assess the impact of climate change and also conduct research to recommend measures to address environmental hazards.”
“The government should grow a professional group in this connection by forming the proposed directorate,” said Dr Rahman, who is also a member of the Climate Change Trustee Board.
BCCT managing director Md Didarul Ahsan told this correspondent that the authorities will decide on forming a climate change directorate on the lines of the directorates in different countries in Europe.
“We will be able to take decisions independently on time if the government forms a directorate in this regard, like the directorate of environment,” he said.
The BCCT managing director said it has become necessary to form a directorate to carry out research and surveys on the matter for combating climate change in the country.
For the first time in South Asia, the Bangladesh government is implementing 139 projects under 12 ministries across the country to address the impact of climate change, a high-ranking official of the environment ministry said.
At the same time, 63 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are also implementing 63 more projects on climate change. Of these projects, 19 have already been completed. But a vested quarter is trying to hinder the functioning of the BCCT by creating bureaucratic hurdles, the official added.
The BCCT sources explained that of the 139 projects, 59 projects were being implemented under the supervision of the water resources ministry, 28 projects under the local government and rural development (LGRD) ministry, 24 projects under the environment ministry, eight projects under the agriculture ministry, five projects under the relief and disaster management ministry, three projects each by the ministries of shipping, defence and energy, two projects by the education ministry and one each by the ministries of science and technology, women affairs and health.
BCCT deputy managing director Md Mukhlesar Rahman Sarker said they are implementing most of the projects at the country’s coastal and Aila-affected areas to construct dams and cross dams to save local people from tidal surges. “We are also implementing projects to protect biodiversity, reduce carbon emissions and promote afforestation on the coast,” he said.
BCCT secretary Md Rashedul Islam said their project, ‘Revegetation of Madhupur forest through rehabilitation of forest dependent local and ethnic communities,’ has been awarded the Daily Star climate champion award and the Prime Minister’s award.
“We have introduced fellowships for the M.Phil and Ph.D courses on climate change,” he added.
The government has formed the BCCT under the Climate Change Trust Fund Act, 2010, to bring the entire process — from generation of funds to approval of projects and use of the funds through a trustee board — under a strong legal coverage.
According to the Act, 66 per cent of the funds would be spent on six designated areas marked under the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan 2009, while 34 per cent would be kept in banks for dealing with crisis situations.
-With The Independent input
