Anti-graft group to track Bangladesh climate spending

11 Oct 2011 11:27

By Syful Islam

DHAKA (AlertNet) - Corruption watchdog Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has launched an initiative to track the use of climate change funds in the South Asian nation, following media reports that the government planned to allocate some money to groups that lack the capacity to spend it well.

As an organisation that fights graft, TIB regards monitoring of climate finance expenditure as a key responsibility. “Bangladesh is on the frontline of climate vulnerable nations,” said TIB executive director Iftekhar Zaman. “That’s why it is getting huge funds from developed nations and also spending its own (funds). The money should go into the victims’ hands.”

In recent years, Bangladesh has experienced a growing number of climate-related disasters caused by cyclones, floods, river erosion, droughts and saline intrusion into water supplies and soil. These events – in line with the predicted impacts of climate change – have led to increased poverty and displacement, particularly in coastal areas.

Zaman told AlertNet that TIB - the Bangladesh chapter of Berlin-based Transparency International - is not alleging any irregularities in climate funding at this stage. But it will check out media reports which asserted several months ago that the government had selected incapable and inexperienced NGOs to carry out local projects such as setting up biogas plants and rainwater harvesting.

Traditional research methods will be applied to “follow the money” to ensure it is spent in a transparent and accountable way, Zaman said.

The process will involve all relevant actors, and information will be sought from fund managers. “We will go after (the money), so that any bid to mishandle the funds can be foiled,” he added.

DONORS WARY?

Atiq Rahman, executive director of the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS), concurred with media reports that the initial selection process for NGO projects to receive money from the $300 million Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund (BCCTF) - which is resourced from the national budget - was distorted.

In response to concerns, the government has said it is still reviewing the NGOs and their proposed projects before making a final allocation of funds.

Rahman stressed that Bangladesh must make clear how it plans to spend money for climate change activities, whether from its own budget or donated by developed countries and international institutions.

“Despite the high vulnerability of Bangladesh to climate change impacts, the donors may not release funds unless their proper use is ensured,” the well-known development expert noted.

In June, TIB expressed solidarity with a list of 10 demands from civil society groups to strengthen accountability and transparency in climate finance, with the aim of securing justice for Bangladeshis already affected by climate change.

“Donors' funds have started to pour in. Besides, the government has allocated a huge sum from the national budget for adaptation and mitigation of climate change impacts. But we see no strategies on fund utilisation,” TIB head Zaman told journalists late last month.

TIB will receive 275,000 euros ($374,000) for its monitoring project from the German environment ministry, which is supporting stronger governance of climate finance in developing nations.

NGO PROJECTS ON HOLD

The manager of the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund, Didarul Ahsan, told AlertNet its board of trustees has so far approved 44 government projects and 53 submitted by NGOs at a combined cost of $75 million.

Most of the government projects have now begun, but the NGO programmes are still on hold.

“Since the media has reported mismanagement in NGO project selection, we are again scrutinising those to ensure transparency,” Ahsan said.

Donors have also pledged $125 million to the Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund managed by the World Bank.

So far it has allocated $25m for the construction of cyclone shelters in coastal areas, which is now under way. Two further projects - one to help the agricultural sector adapt to climate shifts and the other in afforestation - are being prepared, according to communications officer Mehrin Ahmed Mahbub.

State minister for environment Hasan Mahmud welcomed TIB’s move to keep track of climate funds. “We are yet to allocate a single penny to NGO projects, which are set to receive between 1 and 2 percent of total BCCTF funds,” he told AlertNet. The negative media allegations are unlikely to be based on accurate investigation, he added.

Mahmud said the national climate trust fund subjects both government and NGO projects to several stages of scrutiny before disbursing any money. “No other funds in Bangladesh follow such procedures,” the minister insisted.

Gareth Price Jones, country director for Oxfam GB, said his organisation also supports the TIB initiative, as it will benefit impoverished communities struggling to cope with climate change.

“Transparency in climate fund management is very much expected from Oxfam,” he said. “It’s Bangladesh’s money. It should be investigated if there is any anomaly. Climate funding is very much essential for Bangladesh.”

Speaking at a recent national consultation on transparency in climate finance governance, Member of Parliament Saber Hosain Chowdhury, chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Committee on Climate Change, stressed the need to use climate funds effectively through a coordinated and collective approach.

“In a resource-constrained country like Bangladesh, which is facing adverse impacts from climate change, maximum utilisation of both domestic and external resources should be ensured for better implementation of climate programmes,” the national news agency quoted him as saying.

When allocating climate money, priority should be given to the southwest and coastal regions, which are most vulnerable to climate change impacts such as rising sea levels and increasingly intense storms, the politician said.

Syful Islam is a journalist with The Financial Express newspaper in Bangladesh. He can be reached at: youths1990@yahoo.com

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