Bangladesh Institute of Planners and GCA Host Knowledge Exchange on Urban Climate Resilience: Global Experiences and Local Actions in Dhaka
D
haka, Bangladesh, 31 January 2023 – The dual challenges of rising climatic impacts and rapid urbanization in Bangladesh underscore the urgent need for urban areas to adapt to climate change and enhance their climate resilience. The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) in Bangladesh, with support from the United Kingdom and the Government of Bangladesh, is working closely with government and non-government partners to facilitate a comprehensive understanding of climatic risks in urban areas and support a shift in urban planning approaches by increasing the skills of urban practitioners and decision-makers.
On 31 January 2023, GCA and the Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP) jointly organized a knowledge exchange focusing on the opportunities and challenges of building climate-resilient cities in Bangladesh. The event was aimed at raising awareness and sharing knowledge on urban resilience, and brought together over 100 urban practitioners, city-level decision-makers, local implementers and key development partners. More specifically, the event brought out insights and lessons related to:
- the benefits, challenges, and opportunities of building resilience in cities, particularly those in Bangladesh;
- the actions that can be undertaken by cities and national governments to drive local implementation of resilience-building strategies;
- the increased awareness and knowledge among planners and managers of urban planning and design strategies to reduce risks and vulnerabilities and build resilience.
Joep Verhagen, Global Lead, Water & Urban, and Arnoud Molenaar, Affiliated Lead, Urban presented the work of GCA’s Water and Urban Program with case studies from Africa and the City of Rotterdam. This was followed by a high-level panel discussion with partners Gopal Krishna Debnath, Additional Chief Engineer Local Government Engineering Department (LGED); Amit Dutta Roy, Urban Specialist, Asian Development Bank (ADB); Nayoka Martinez Backström, First Secretary, Embassy of Sweden; and Anowarul Haq, Assistant Resident Representative United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The discussion was facilitated by Mehedi Ahsan, GCA’s Country Manager, Bangladesh and BIP General Secretary.
From left to right: Joep Verhagen, Anowarul Haq, Nayoka Martinez Backström, Amit Datta Roy, Gopal Krishna Debnath and Mehedi Ahsan
In their key remarks, special guests Sanjay Kumar Bhowmik, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), and Anna Balance, Climate Change & Environment Advisor, British High Commission, Bangladesh sincerely thanked GCA and stressed the importance of the engagement of local authorities and communities in the resilience building process.
Chief Guest Dr. Farhina Ahmed, Secretary of the MoEFCC indicated that Bangladesh has to “utilize GCA’s support” and acknowledged that “to make a real change, we need long-term plans, systemic approaches, and engage all the professionals we have.”
From left to right: Sanjay Kumar Bhowmik, Anna Balance, Chief Guest Dr. Farhina Ahmed, M. Fazle Reza Sumon and Gopal Krishna Debnath
The discussions during the event led to the following recommendations:
- Relevant authorities within the government and municipalities should create the position for a chief resilience officer;
- Capacity building of local government (city) officials as well as professionals including contractors and consultants is key in adapting to climate change. Further mainstreaming capacity building will support achieving goals set out in the National Adaptation Plan;
- Mainstream climate adaptation into city planning and infrastructure projects, to make these projects resilient and make sure no more land will be lost;
- For GCA to formalize its support in Bangladesh through engagement with national policies and institutions, for example the National Adaptation Plan;
- For GCA to continue to engage with stakeholders.
Within its Bangladesh program, GCA has already started to implement some of these recommendations.
The event concluded with a vote of thanks from M. Fazle Reza Sumon, President of BIP. He emphasized the importance of cooperation between all concerned organizations and stakeholders and congratulated GCA for taking initiative in this regard.
