Government is one of the key actors in shaping policy landscape as well as leading efforts for demonstrating national and global scale decision. Effective formulation and implementation play important roles for creating enabling environment to initiate and confirm actions against climate change.
To ensure a sustainable world against climate change, all countries are working on formulation of policy and implementation. Most of the countries are focusing on adaptation approaches against climate change.
In the line of climate change adaptation, Bangladesh developed the National Adaptation Program of Action (NAPA) in 2009. This document formulated after conducting huge discussion with the professional groups, civil society and others across the country.
NAPA is working through identifying several key adaptation needs, for example, existing knowledge on coping strategies, future coping strategies and mechanisms, list of measures activities etc. To achieve the goal NAPA introduced several country driven aspects through conducting consultation mechanisms for ensuring importance among different adaptation activities with presence of different level stakeholders.
Different ministries and departments identified 38 adaptation measures those have been categorized into eight thematic fields. Those eight field are, research and knowledge management, agriculture, fisheries and livestock, health, building climate resilient infrastructure, disaster management, livelihood, biodiversity, policy and institutional capacity building.
As a consequence of NAPA, the Bangladesh government in 2009 updated and revised the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP) that was prepared and adopted in 2008. This document has been prepared as a living document and is expected to reflect among others the changes in the development priorities of the country.
Government will work to stimulate on each of six pillars such as, food security, comprehensive disaster management, infrastructure development, research and knowledge management, mitigation and low-carbon development, capacity building. For Bangladesh, to achieve the vision of Paris agreement including the sustainable development goals, integration of climate change policy should be confirmed with sustainable development.
In line with the country’s intention to empower and respond to the needs of the often invisible “other half” of the population in the context of climate change, the national Climate Change and Gender Action Plan for Bangladesh was prepared in 2013 with an aim to ensure gender equality into climate change related policies, strategies and interventions. The underlying principle of the ccGAP: Bangladesh is the transformative nature of gender interventions.
Furthermore, ccGAPS also have the potential to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of climate change and socioeconomic development responses. Measures such as the strengthening of river banks, building emergency cyclone shelters were endorsed for reducing the loss of life and livelihoods and property damages caused by extreme weather events. With these measures, development of early warning system will be focused to reduce the damage of property and livelihoods from devastating weather events.
As like as Bangladesh, the government of Sri Lanka signed Paris agreement in September 2016 and established a climate change commission. Planning and monitoring committee has been established including ministers and sub minsters as advisor.
Harshe de Silva, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sri Lanka highlights that, “the government of Sri Lanka is going to develop climate change commission with regulatory and monitoring power.
Application of effective policy needs data and sufficient information. On this line, Harshe also added that “for policy formation need data and to collect data, it is necessary to work together. Broad consultation is necessary with the participation of local people, Non-governmental organization, governmental organization etc.”
A country must confirm develop agenda very much in an integrated way with climate change and development program.
Mark Brown, Finance minister, Cook Islands said that, “we highlight prioritize area and invite stakeholders.”
The effectiveness of policy may face obstacles during putting integration and resilience together. Government can be focused on proper application of sector wise policy to adapt with climate changes.
Writer MD. Arif Chowdhury, Climate Tracker, Asia Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum, 2016.Colombo, Sri Lanka, Contact: +01837304210, email: arifchowdhury065@gmail.com
BDST: 1256 HRS, OCT 19, 2016
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