National Adaptation Plan to make Bangladesh climate resilient 

The National Adaptation Plan (NAP) will help Bangladesh to reduce its vulnerability to the negative impacts of climate change by having relevant ministries, departments and other stakeholders together for collective and urgent climate action, said speakers in a validation workshop.

The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and CEGIS led consortium jointly organised the workshop on Sunday (18 September), reads a press release.

Concerned ministries validated the National Adaptation Plan today in the workshop after a series of consultation workshops held under the initiatives of the 'Formulation and Advancement of the National Adaptation Plan Process in Bangladesh' project of UNDP and in partnership with the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and Economic Relations Division supported by the Green Climate Fund.

The National Adaptation Plan has been considered among the most valuable Plan for adapting to climate change which helps countries conduct comprehensive medium and long-term climate adaptation planning, depending on adaptation capabilities and activities and integration of climate change in the national decision-making process.

 The main objectives of the National Adaptation Plan are to reduce vulnerability to the impacts of climate change by building adaptive capacity and resilience and adaptation to new and existing policies and programmes, especially development strategies. According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), 129 developing countries have initiated their NAP process, of which Bangladesh is not an exception.

Forest Minister Shahab Uddin said, "The government formulated the National Adaptation Plan to address the risks of climate change based on the views of concerned ministries, departments, and will be implemented with the cooperation of all concerned". 

The ministry will cooperate with all other ministries in this regard, the Minister said.

Habibun Nahar, Deputy Minister, MoEFCC stressed mainstreaming the climate change adaptation; she said, "I believe NAP will integrate adaptation with national planning by prioritizing Climate Change Adaptation through its six goals." She thanked UNDP and the Green Climate Fund for their support in formulating the National Adaptation Plan.

Stefan Liller, Resident Representative of UNDP Bangladesh highlighted the leadership role of Bangladesh in climate adaptation. 

He said, "The finalization of NAP could not be made at a more apt period of time, as we look ahead to COP27 in November, where countries including Bangladesh will gather to discuss progress on the Global Goals on Adaptation strategies to support the most climate vulnerable". He further added "UNDP is committed to continuing supporting the Government of Bangladesh on its journey of advancing and implementing NAP to achieve the agenda 2030 for a climate resilient future"

Among others, Dr. Farhina Ahmed, Secretary, MoEFCC, Kabir Bin Anwar, Senior Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources; Sharifa Khan, Secretary, Economic Relations Division and Dr. Md. Kawser Ahmed, Member (Secretary), General Economics Division, Planning Commission also spoke in the workshop.