Reflection of the 5th CBA Workshop

I, on behalf of Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and Development (LI-BIRD), Pokhara, Nepal attended the fifth International Conference on Community Based Adaptation to Climate Change in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The conference was held for a week from 24-31 March 2011, which was attended by more than 300 scientists, experts and practitioners working on climate change and adaptation from 60 countries of the globe.

The conference included 3 days field visit to different climate change vulnerable sites of Bangladesh and 4 day close session with 21 parallel and plenary sessions of various frontiers of climate change adaptation. The conference was a special one ever I heard and attended on adaptation to climate change because of the three reasons I felt. The first, it was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina. The second, it was closed by Chairperson of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Dr. Rajendra Pachhauri. The third but most important, it was the only conference targeted to have brought a large mass of climate scientists and practitioners to share their experiences on scaling up of community based adaptation initiatives to climate change.

The three days long field trip gave an insight on how climate change and climate variability is affecting farming communities and how communities are coping adapting to the climate change and climate variability. The fourth day long parallel and plenary sessions were useful for learning how different organizations in the world are exploring an array of adaptation technologies, options, and mechanisms to upscale these at national and international level. The sharing was fruitful for understanding the challenges for scientific community in adaptation and scaling at various scales.

Last but not least, a global networking with the climate scientists and practitioners and applying the following learning to strengthen the focus of my organization on climate change were special to me.

Key Learning for LI-BIRD
1. Opportunity of developing mechanisms, innovations, and interventions that harness the community knowledge and scientific inputs for adaptation to climate change
2. Dissemination of local level adaptation strategies promoted by LI-BIRD to the national and global level
3. Need of horizontal and vertical flow of adaptation information for scaling up at national and international level
4. Capacity building of local and national stakeholder on adaptation to climate change
5. Integration of mechanisms, innovations, and actions on climate change adaptation in local and national planning
6. Explore or innovate mechanism that brings synergies among adaptation, mitigation, disaster risk reduction, and development

Let us hope the sixth International Conference on Community Based Adaptation to Climate Change to be held in Vietnam will bring out an in-depth issues and lessons on scaling up of adaptation on climate change with vertical and horizontal flow of information.

Keshab Thapa

Learning from the Government of the Most Vulnerable Country

Not only the initiatives, approaches, and mechanisms of civil society organizations were useful for me to upscale community based adaptation to climate change in the fifth International conference on Community Based Adaptation to Climate Change in Dhaka, Bangladesh. But also the initiatives taken by the Government of Bangladesh to respond to climate change were noteworthy to me.

I, from the citizen of the country, where change in government and its higher officials are a common phenomenon to slow down the movement of government at national and international level on climate change issue, learn the importance of governmental response for reaching up and drawing down the information and resources in climate change issues.

Though there may be some issues that the Government of Bangladesh has also missed its connection for right judgment and consultation (for example the case of Piloting Program on Climate Resilience “PPCR”), there are some key initiatives that the developing and least developed nations must learn in climate change from Bangladesh. Especially, the voice of Bangladeshi Government in the international negotiation is commendable. I salute to the minister and representative of the respective focal ministry on climate change, Ministry of Environment and Forest, for their initiatives and progress despite the less attention of Developed Nations to implement their financial commitments.

The Bangladeshi Government prepared its National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) in November 2005 through a consultative process and identified 15 priority projects among the list of 60 identified projects in six thematic sectors. Later in 2009, NAPA has been updated with 45 adaptation priorities with the Community Based Coastal Afforestation Project being the first project implemented under NAPA.

Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP) prepared in 2009, with 6 thematic areas and 4 programme areas, is the basis for climate change work in the country, which has calculated the total 5 billion USD to implement the strategy and action plan. In order to prioritize climate change and implement urgent and immediate priorities, there are Climate Change Cells in different ministries that are coordinated by National Steering Committee, chaired by Minister of Environment and Forest, which report to National Environment Committee, chaired by Prime Minister of the Government of Bangladesh.

As we know the cost of adaptation and mitigation is huge. Like other developing countries, Bangladeshi Government has also realized inadequate financial flow from developed nations to the developing nations. Contrary to other nations, it has established a self sustaining and self responding mechanisms for climate change adaptation.

In order to respond this crisis, it has established Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund (BCCTF) in 2009/2010 with a initial fund of 100 million USD. The government has allocated 100 million USD to the BCCTF for the year 2010/11. Under this trust fund, 45 projects (6 billion Taka, local currency) through government and 53 projects (230 million Taka) through NGOs have been implemented on the ground. In addition to the government’s fund, other development partners have also supported Bangladesh through Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund (BCCRF) with the money amounting to 113 million USD. The funds under these mechanisms are administered under the guidelines of Climate Change Trust Act 2010.

With such innovations, the government is looking forward for fast tract finance and is optimistic with the progress made in Cancun, the Conference of Parties 16th meeting. Especially, the Cancun Adaptation Framework and The Green Climate Fund are hopes for the Government of Bangladesh and so is for the least developed nations also!

Let us hope there will be fast start finance in climate change adaptation under UNFCCC mechanism soon in the future!!!!