Locally-led approach needed for building climate-resilient townships

A consultation meeting in Dhaka has reiterated the need for a locally-led approach and the importance of a community decision-making process in building climate-resilient and migrant friendly urban centres and townships.

It's all the more critical for coastal townships such as Mongla, where the thriving port-centred economy and climate-induced vulnerabilities are causing migration, said the meeting.

The national consultation meeting titled "Building climate resilient and migrant friendly towns through locally led adaptation" was held on Monday at BRAC Centre in Dhaka.

BRAC, the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) hosted the event.

The event was a part of the project "Climate-resilient migrant-friendly towns through a locally led adaptation in Bangladesh", a pilot initiative being implemented in Mongla Port municipality.

Habibun Nahar, deputy minister environment forest and climate change, was present as the chief guest, while Farhina Ahmed, secretary, MoEFCC, was the special guest.

Md Liakath Ali, director, Urban Development, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management Programme, BRAC, chaired the event.

Saleemul Huq, director, International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCD), moderated the panel discussion and the open discussion.

Abu Sadat Moniruzzaman Khan, programme head, BRAC Climate Change Programme, gave the welcome speech. Imamul Azam Shahi, programme head, BRAC Urban Development Programme, shared insights into the project approach, learnings and way forward.

Anju Sharma, global lead, Locally Led Adaptation, GCA, reinforced the crucial aspect of devolving decision-making power to the communities at the frontline of the climate crisis.

Deputy minister Habibun Nahar, underlying the challenges faced by Mongla, said, “Planning is an important aspect; however, implementation is also necessary and should be prioritised.”

She applauded the project's transformative interventions and said, “The ministry will closely support and monitor this initiative for successful implementation of all the activities across cities in Bangladesh.”

MoEFCC secretary Farhina Ahmed highlighted the government's ownership of the project through collaboration with GCA.

"This is not an NGO project. It is a government project facilitated by GCA where FCDO is the donor, and organisations like BRAC, ICCCAD and SPARC are partners to grow it as a platform. Thus, the ministry will ensure there is no maladaptation in the final planning. Experience of Local Government Division (LGD) and other ministries, along with literature reviews, will shape the project’s implementation model."

Liakath Ali, explained why the project had chosen Mongla for piloting.

“Mongla have undergone major economic transformation attracting more and more migrants. From this project, we want to make secondary cities like Mongla to be able to be climate resilient and migrant friendly cities and release the stress of migration for the cities like Dhaka.”

Bangladesh is good at planning but implementing is slowed due to funding. We would like to call for collaboration from donors. Our vision with this project is enormous, and we envision success through collaboration, he added.

Saleemul Huq in his closing remarks said bureaucrats, elected representatives, banks, NGOs and, the private sector and donors have to work together against the climate crisis.

He expressed the desire to see this collaboration reflected in the Mujib Prosperity Plan, envisioning a step-by-step approach with learning from each phase to ensure success.

A panel discussion was also held at the event. Panellists at the discussion were Sanjay Kumar Bhowmik, additional secretary, MoEFCC; Md Mokhlesur Rahman, project director, Coastal Towns Climate Resilience Project (CTCRP),  Local Government Engineering Department (LGED); SA Abdullah Al Mamun, urban specialist, Asian Development Bank; Md Sarwar Bari, director general, monitoring, inspection and evaluation wing, LGD; and Anna Balance, senior climate and environment advisor at the British High Commission, Dhaka; Mohiuddin Ahmed, mayor, Patuakhali municipality; and Md Anwar Hossain Howladar, mayor, Kuakata Municipality.

The discussion underscored the importance of integrating local knowledge for climate-resilient planning.

Sanjay Kumar Bhowmik in his remarks emphasized that people’s knowledge is the key to making people’s climate-resilient plans. Mayors from two municipalities also suggested plans to have long-term solutions, with sustainable targets. Representatives from the private sector also showed their keen interest to work jointly with such kinds of initiatives as long as they aim to achieve the strategic goal of the National Adaptation Plan.

This National Consultation signifies a noteworthy step towards a more climate-resilient and migrant-friendly future for Bangladesh, with empowered communities at the heart of locally-led adaptation efforts.