Dhaka, Bangladesh, 29 October, 2007 (IUCN) –“Our development endeavors are closely linked with climate change and the government has to consider this in all development interventions, including poverty alleviation.” said Dr. C.S. Karim, Honorable Adviser to the Caretaker Government, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Livestock and Environment & Forests, while addressing at the final workshop of National Capacity Self-Assessment (NCSA) project. The day-long final workshop was held at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre, Dhaka on October 28, 2007. The Ministry of Environment and Forests and IUCN Bangladesh Country Office jointly organized this workshop.

In his speech, Dr. Karim mentioned that climate change is a reality now. Bangladesh although not contributing much to the impact of climate change, it can displace a large number of people in the coastal area forcing them to be environmental refugees. He also stressed on other environmental issues like afforestation and management of wastes, and suggested aggressive awareness programme to deal with worsening environmental degradation. On NCSA process, Dr. Karim appreciated the capacity need assessment for Bangladesh and the preparation of a strategy for environmental management. He hoped that an objective-oriented and focused action plan will be finalized at the end of the NCSA project. He urged for holding policy dialogues to identify ways to adopt our plans and programmes and successfully implement them.

“Environmental sustainability cannot be achieved because climate change is hampering biodiversity, ecosystem services and our relationships with nature,” said Mr. Larry Maramis, Acting Country Director of UNDP Bangladesh and Special Guest at the Concluding Session of the workshop. He put emphasize on the need for capacity enhancement across all sectors. He appreciated the efforts made in NCSA exercise to identify and address synergistic issues regarding environmental management. Mr. Maramis mentioned that MDGs targets are negatively influenced by climate change. Women’s empowerment and health risks were intrinsically linked to environmental sustainability, he further added.

Dr. Ainun Nishat, Country Representative of IUCN Bangladesh, highlighted the need of the continuation of ‘institutional memory’ within the government system. “There is a gap of understanding amongst the policy-makers regarding the international environmental agreements,” he mentioned. He also identified capacity constraints and limited financial resources as major setbacks.

Mr. A.H.M. Rezaul Kabir, ndc, Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests graced the occasion as the Chairperson. In his speech, Mr. Kabir stated that in addition to climate change, loss of biodiversity and land degradation are also two very important issues to be considered. By synergizing these three vital environmental issues, NCSA can contribute to national as well as global environmental management, he added. Mr. Kabir thanked the participants for their valuable inputs, and appreciated the continuous support from the UNDP and IUCN to the NCSA process.

Participants of the workshop reviewed the draft NCSA document with special emphasis on prioritizing the capacity development actions. Specific recommendations were made to support the Capacity Development Action Plan (CDAP). The recommendations were presented by the participants in the Concluding Session of the workshop. The participants in the workshop included representatives from the public and private sectors, researchers, NGOs, media members, teachers, development partners and training institutes.

The NCSA project aims to identify the national capacity needs to implement the three Rio Conventions related to biodiversity (CBD), climate change (UNFCCC) and land degradation (UNCCD). Started in 2006, the project carried out expert discussions, obtained public opinion and also facilitated self-assessment by different ministries and line agencies and developed a draft CDAP. The NCSA project is supported by the GEF/UNDP.

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Notes to editors 

For more information or to set up interviews, please contact:

• Mahbubur Rahman Masum , IUCN Bangladesh Comminications Officer, Tel: +880 2 989 0395; Fax: +880 2 989 2854;
  masumiucnbd.org; Web: http://www.iucnbd.org/

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