Crab farming in saline water instead of paddy

25 December, 2014

Syful Islam (RTNN): Farmers in Khulna and Satkhira districts nowadays produce crab in saline affected lands instead of other crops as those can hardly survive there due to excessive salt in soil.

Seawater frequently enters the lands of these districts because of increased number of flash floods and storm surges. The water remains in the lands for long raising their salt level to so much high that no crops can grow or survive there.

Failing to produce rice or other crops in those lands, years back farmers had started to cultivate shrimp there bringing water from sea. As seawater remained in the lands for several years due to shrimp cultivation, their salinity level now reached further high.

Aziz Tarafder, a crab farmer in Sonachar of Khulna district, said when shrimp is cultivated in one piece of land, salinity spreads to the nearest land and no crops can be produced there next year. So, the farmers find no other options but to cultivate shrimp or crab there.

He said shrimp and crab cultivation in these districts has expanded manifold in this way in the recent years causing a drastic fall in production of rice and other crops.

Mr Tarafder said reducing the salinity level of land to ready them for producing other crops is too much time consuming and very expensive. “So, the lands which come under shrimp cultivation once cannot be freed from producing the same.”

Another farmer, Jamal Uddin, said in the recent past farming crab in those saline affected lands was also found to be profitable. As a result nowadays farmers of these areas have started crab fattening in those lands instead of trying to produce paddy or other crops.

He said coastal farmers collect immature crabs from the nearest river and sea and keep those in the lands full of saline water for weeks. Those are being exported to different countries once they become matured. Both the demands and prices of these matured crabs are much high in those countries.

Mr Uddin said the production cost of crab is much lower than that of shrimp and almost no disease affects it. As a result farmers of the areas nowadays are increasingly growing crab instead of paddy.

“Many of us these days have started crab fattening business since it brings them a good return,” he added.

According to officials of department of fisheries presently, crab is being grown in some 4,000 farms in Khulna district, 350 farms in Satkhira district, and 340 farms in Bagerhat district. The handsome return from crab farming has brought solvency to many farmers in those districts.

They said crab farming is also bringing foreign currencies to the country alongside their local sales. A significant volume of crab, produced here, is being exported every year bringing the growers handsome return.

Agriculture officials said crab growing has brought a good area of lands under farming otherwise those would remain barren because of excessive salinity. Farmers should identify more adaptation measures in the face of growing impacts of climate change which in the coming days will bring more challenges for them, they added.

http://www.english.rtnn.net//newsdetail/detail/1/4/60720#.VJwAEcEA

Hanging, floating gardens help farmers grow vegetables

24 December, 2014

Syful Islam (RTNN) : Farmers in Bangladesh’s coastal districts nowadays grow vegetables in hanging and floating gardens as lands in many areas remain under water for nearly six months a year following sea level rise.

Water of nearest rivers, swell during the summer monsoon, flooding croplands, leaving poor farmers at bay, as they find no work nor can grow crops. During the period many coastal families have to strive to earn livelihood and many pass days without food.

Years back, it was a very common scenario in many coastal areas as the impacts of climate change including flash flood, cyclone, storm surge, water-logging, salinity, and drought had started to hit Bangladesh frequently. The sea level rise, as an impact of global warming, has caused river water to swell easily and drowns coastal areas almost every year.

Bangladesh, situated almost inside the belly of Bay of Bengal, is criss-crossed by more than 230 of the world’s most unstable rivers. Due to low water flow from the upstream and poor dredging, the depth of river beds have become very low, thus in every rainy season water swells up and maroons nearest lands and villages.

However, coastal farmers in the recent years have invented alternative ways to grow vegetables, making hanging and floating gardens, thanks to their endeavour to get adapted to the impacts of climate change.

Hanging garden is an innovative strategy to grow vegetables amid water-logging. And a floating garden is built using aquatic weeds as a base where vegetables can be grown.

The lands in Nazirpur sub-district under Pirojpur district remains under water for a significant period every year where farmers can grow nothing after Boro season. Farmers nowadays produce vegetables in those lands setting up floating gardens.

Abdur Rashid Molla, a farmer of Mugarjhore village under the sub-district, said to earn some money utilizing the water-logged lands, he makes raft from water hyacinth, a common weed, paddy straw, nalkhagra – a freshwater wetland tree, or other organic materials like azola, coconut straw, bamboo, and old rope.

He said the water hyacinth is placed onto the bamboo layer several times to build up its thickness. Later, soil, compost and cow dung are added to cover the base of the raft to a depth of around 25cm. The compost is made up from azola, a good nitrogen fixing plant, and other readily available organic matters.

Molla also said after that the seeds are sown by making round balls of compost comprising of decomposed water hyacinth and an organic fertilizer known locally as tema. A couple of seeds are planted into each ball and kept in a shaded area while germination takes place. Once the seedlings have begun to grow they can be planted out onto the raft.

He said crops like Kang Kong (leafy vegetables), okra (lady’s finger), gourd, brinjal (aubergine), pumpkin, bean, and onions can be grown in the raft.

Molla also said he earns some Tk 10,000 to Tk 12,000 each season buy growing vegetables in the floating gardens. In Nazirpur now vegetables are being grown in several thousand acres of land in floating gardens which has made many farmers financially solvent.

Many non-profit organizations like Practical Action Bangladesh and Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha are providing training to farmers to grow vegetables in floating and hanging gardens.

Shova Rani Sarker of Manirampur under Jessore district in south-western Bangladesh now produces vegetables in hanging gardens as her lands remain under water due to water-logging.

The water-logging has become a permanent problem after implementation of Khulna-Jessore Drainage Rehabilitation Project, which was later rated as unsuccessful, less effective, inefficient, and unlikely to be sustainable.

Due to the permanent water-logging in lands many families of the areas, like Shova Rani Sarker’s, have become poor failing to grow paddy and other crops there. Many had started fish farming or fishing in the rivers but become unsuccessful to ensure livelihoods.

At one stage Shova Rani, in consultation with other neighbours, had started growing vegetables in ganging gardens. To create a hanging garden farmers of that area collect daily household wastes and keep those in a hole to decompose. After that they mix soil with the decomposed wastes and put those in big pots.

Later, the pots are hanged by building bamboo structures where seeds of vegetables are sown.

Shova Rani said nowadays many farmers in her area grow vegetables in hanging garden system. “I earn a good sum by selling those vegetables in nearby markets alongside meeting the nutritional needs of family members,” she said.

http://www.english.rtnn.net//newsdetail/detail/1/4/60699#.VJwAGcEA

Bangladesh farmers turn back the clock to combat climate stresses

By Syful Islam

Wed Nov 26, 2014 6:34pm IST

DHAKA, Bangladesh (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Indigenous varieties of rice are making a comeback in Bangladesh as farmers abandon high-yielding hybrid rice in favour of more resilient varieties that can cope with more extreme climate conditions, researchers say.

About 20 percent of the rice fields planted in the low-lying South Asian nation now contain indigenous varieties that can stand up to drought, flooding or other stresses, said Jiban Krishna, director general of the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute.

At its peak, high yielding varieties of rice are accounted for 90 percent of total rice grown in Bangladesh.

“In places where newly invented varieties fail to cope with stresses, farmers cultivate local varieties,” Krishna told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an interview.

Bangladesh’s government first introduced high-yielding rice in the 1960s, in an effort to promote food security and meet rising demand, Krishna said. Over time, most farmers adopted the new varieties, which brought in higher incomes.

But in recent years, as climate change has brought more irregular rainfall – including worsening floods and droughts – farmers have had more difficulty producing consistent crops of high-yielding varieties.

That has led to a growing share of farmers returning to more resilient varieties capable of coping with the extreme conditions, or planting both old and new varieties side by side.

The switch back to traditional varieties has happened with the help of non-governmental organisations that have reintroduced the varieties in an effort to protect “heritage” species and help farmers cope with adverse weather conditions , Krishna said.

In C’Nababaganj district, for instance, the Bangladesh Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge has helped farmers return to planting varieties that had almost vanished.

‘Saika’ rice, for instance, ripens in just 60 days – well short of the 90 to 110 days needed by hybrid varieties used in the area – and ‘Sashi Mohon’ needs hugely less water, said Pavel Partha, coordinator of the centre’s food security programme.

CHANGE IN GOVERNMENT POLICY

The government previously never promoted such varieties, considering them too low-yielding, he said. But in the face of growing climate impacts, it is now actively encouraging their cultivation as part of efforts to help farmers adapt to climate change, Partha said.

Farmers say returning to the old varieties has been a big help in ensuring they get a harvest each season.

“Cultivation in this area is facing immense trouble due to low and irregular rainfall. Even cultivation of rain-fed Aman (rice) is now totally dependent on irrigation which raises production costs,” said Hasan Ali, a farmer in Barandra village.

“In this situation we have brought in these indigenous aromatic varieties which are tolerant to many stresses," he said.

Another farmer, Anisur Rahman, said cultivation of the old varieties is expanding in part because they need almost no chemical fertiliser or pesticides – which makes them cheaper and easier to grow – and because their yields are good in tough conditions.

Abdus Sattar Hiru, a farmer in Traltalia village in Tangail district agreed that the ‘Afsara’ traditional rice he is now cultivating has brought in consistently good crops.

“The variety (grows over a) short duration and can be cultivated once the rainy season is over and water starts receding. In that period, modern or high yielding varieties can’t be cultivated but this local variety can,” he said.

Returning to ‘Afsara’ rice has also allowed him to bring back into production land previously left barren because high-yielding rice varieties did not grow there, he said.

http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/11/26/bangladesh-rice-idINKCN0JA15O20141126

Bangladesh hopes storm warning system will cut deaths from lightning

Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation - Wed, 16 Jul 2014

Author: Syful Islam

DHAKA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Bangladesh is working on a new scheme that will give early warning of storms and lightning strikes in a bid to combat rising deaths from the hazards.

“We are going to set up 10 thunderstorm observation centres in maritime ports, aiming to provide early warning to avoid deaths from increasingly frequent lightning strikes,” Local Government and Rural Development Minister Syed Ashraful Islam told parliament last month.

The centres will track storms across the whole country but are being built near ports, as coastal and river areas are especially vulnerable to extreme weather, with fishermen often working out on the open water.

The government-funded centres have been built and equipment is now being installed. The project is due to be up and running by next year.

Ashraful Islam said the number of thunderstorms hitting the South Asian tropical region has increased significantly in recent years, which he attributed to global warming. “If we can give early warning through examining the instability of the atmosphere, we may be able to reduce unwanted deaths,” he said.

In recent years, reports of deaths from lightning strikes have become frequent – although comprehensive figures have not been recorded.

For example, on May 30, at least 7 people died and many were injured in lighting strikes across Naogaon district in northern Bangladesh. In 2010, Bangladesh recorded a quarter of annual global deaths due to lightning strikes when some 102 people were killed, according to the New Age newspaper.

Bangladesh currently has no lightning detectors, but that will change under the new system, according to meteorologist Sadekul Alam.

STAY INDOORS

Atiq Rahman, executive director of the Bangladesh Center for Advanced Studies (BCAS), said early warning of lightning strikes through examining cloud movements is possible, and could help avoid some deaths.

Rahman said that, in recent years, winds have become stronger, accompanied by more frequent thunderstorms. Climate change has clear linkages with this rise in extreme weather, he added.

Yet if the new warning system is to help avoid deaths, people must know how to act on alerts, Rahman stressed. Experts recommend staying inside during thunderstorms, and away from windows and doors.

Abul Kalam Mallik of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department in Dhaka said the country’s weather offices advise people about weather conditions as part of their routine work. “If there is anything unusual due to happen, a special bulletin is also broadcast to inform people of possible danger,” he told Thomson Reuters Foundation.

High temperatures and humidity in Bangladesh mean weather conditions can be unstable, resulting in thunderstorms and lightning strikes, he added.

LOCAL-LEVEL WARNINGS

The thunderstorm observation centres will be equipped with modern technology that can provide customised warnings about possible lightning strikes in specific areas, even narrowing the risk down to particular districts. The alerts will be disseminated via radio and television bulletins, as well as by megaphone in some coastal areas.

Shamsul Alam, a climate change expert and member of Bangladesh’s Planning Commission, said many other countries, including the United States and India, are successfully providing warning of storms and lightning strikes.

“Global temperature rise has caused various changes, including an increased number of thunderstorms, cyclones and other natural calamities. As the weather is becoming more extreme due to warmer temperatures, we need more advanced technology to predict weather movements and their impacts,” he said.

If locally tailored warnings can be issued, and people are made aware of the need to follow advice, deaths from lightning strikes may be reduced, he added.

LOSS OF TREE COVER

Ainun Nishat, an eminent environmentalist and vice chancellor of Brac University, said rising temperatures have caused more evaporation and cloud formation in recent years.

At the same time, Bangladesh’s population has grown. “Due to high population density, one lightning strike kills many people,” he said.

“Earlier we saw the tops of many big trees being burned by lighting strikes. But nowadays, due to massive urbanisation and increased use of cultivable lands, large trees are removed. So during thunderstorms, when a farmer or anyone else stays out in an open field, they are being hit by lightning,” Nishat said.

Raising awareness among people - especially those likely to remain outdoors during storms - and providing early warning would certainly help reduce casualties, he added.

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

Bangladesh to slash its own climate adaptation fund

Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation - Wed, 18 Jun 2014 10:30 GMT

Author: Syful Islam

DHAKA, Bangladesh (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Bangladesh plans to cut spending from its own budget on climate change adaptation and rely more in the future on funds from donors, government officials said.

The low-lying South Asian nation, considered one of the countries most at risk from climate impacts such as sea level rise, worsening erosion and erratic rainfall, has been a leader in the developing world in committing its own funds to climate adaptation. Officials allocated $320 million from the country’s budget over five years to a domestic climate adaptation fund, said Finance Minister A.M.A. Muhith in a budget speech to parliament.

But “this allocation will be reduced in the future and instead steps will be taken to increase (funding to) the Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund, established with the assistance of our development partners,” Muhith said in a June 5 speech. That fund has so far received $187 million from international donors, with some of the money going to adaptation projects.

The minister proposed no new funding for the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund (BCCTF), the country’s own adaptation funding initiative, in the next budget.

The change comes as part of an update to the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan of 2009.

MISUSE OF FUNDS

Critics of the decision said the change in strategy comes in part because of questions raised about the alleged misuse of funds from the country’s adaptation trust fund, and the government’s desire to avoid further controversy in the future.

Last October, the Bangladesh chapter of Transparency International said it had found evidence of political influence, nepotism and corruption in the way funds were allocated.

“A significant amount of money had been allocated for the BCCTF in the last five years but the spending was poor. Besides, the way the fund was managed has raised questions for many, which led no fresh allocation in the new budget,” Shamsul Alam, a member of the Bangladesh’s Planning Commission, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation over telephone.

He said one advantage of relying on donor-funded climate adaptation projects it that they help transfer expertise and modern technology on adaptation, something Bangladesh in some cases lacks. “Capacity building of people on the ground is a must to adapt to climate change impacts,” he said.

Asked if donors might feel less willing to channel money to Bangladesh as a result of the government cutback in its own spending, he noted that in the new budget the government has imposed a “green tax” on industries that do not have a waste treatment plant.

That change “proves Bangladesh’s sincerity to climate change adaptation and keeping the environment free of pollution,” he said.

Atiq Rahman, executive director of Bangladesh Center for Advanced Studies (BCAS), told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a telephone interview that Bangladesh still has a lot to do to adapt to climate change, particularly as it is so vulnerable.

He said the southern part of the country is particularly vulnerable, with 20 million people already lacking sufficient food, safe drinking water and sanitation systems. Drought-prone northern districts will also need large-scale climate adaptation programmes, he said.

DISCOURAGING DONORS?

Rahman said he thinks the government’s decision to cut its own spending on climate adaptation is the wrong one.

“The BCCTF should be kept well funded and replenished to encourage donors to pay more in the resilience fund. Unless you pay a portion on your own, why will donors feel interested to pay for your adaptation programmes?” he asked.

But greater transparency needs to be put in place in the spending of climate funds, to ensure the money goes to support people in the most need of help.

Hasan Mahmud, a member of parliament and Bangladesh’s former environment minister said adaptation projects costing less than $25 million will suffer the most if Bangladesh’s adaptation trust fund has no resources.

Donors for the most part only sponsor climate resilience projects larger than $25 million, he said in a telephone interview, but many of the projects Bangladesh needs most cost in the range of $5 million to $10 million.

“Big projects are not needed everywhere,” he said.

The government’s decision to create its own adaptation trust fund was highly praised by donor agencies and countries and a major encouragement for them to channel money to Bangladesh, he said.

“Donors felt (the depth of) Bangladesh’s seriousness about adaptation, despite not being responsible for climate change, following formation of the fund. Now the donors may get a wrong message and raise questions about whether we need any more adaptation funds since we have stopped spending from our own,” Mahmud warned.

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

http://www.trust.org/item/20140618092711-072sy/?source=hpeditorial&siteVersion=mobile#

Bangladesh seeks export privileges to US on climate vulnerability grounds

Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation - Tue, 20 May 2014 06:45 AM

By Syful Islam

DHAKA, Bangladesh (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Citing its increasing vulnerability to the impacts of climate change, Bangladesh has sought exemption from quotas and duty for all its exports to the United States.

US trade representatives have said they will consider the call for “duty free, quota free” privileges, according to Bangladesh’s commerce secretary, Mahbub Ahmed.

Such a rule change, if adopted, would make Bangladesh one of the first countries to receive duty reductions for “economic vulnerability” because of climate change.

Increased emissions of greenhouse gases are blamed for a rise in global temperatures which is causing climate change, sea-level rise and an increase in extreme weather events. Those are having increasingly serious effects on the economies of many low-lying countries, including Bangladesh, widely judged one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change.

Bangladesh’s planning minister, Mustafa Kamal, claimed recently that the country loses $2.2 billion a year due to the impacts of climate change.

“We have sought duty- and quota-free market access of our apparel products to the U.S., taking into consideration Bangladesh’s vulnerability to climate change,” commerce secretary Ahmed told a press briefing after the first meeting of the Trade and Investment Cooperation Framework Agreement, a new bilateral forum, in Dhaka at the end of April.

Apparel accounts for nearly 78 percent of Bangladesh’s worldwide export earnings. The industry, worth $21 billion a year, employs around 3.6 million people directly, 80 percent of them women.

According to Ahmed, Michael Delaney, the assistant United States Trade Representative for South Asia, said that his country would take the issue under consideration in the future.

The United States is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and Bangladesh is the second largest exporter of ready-made garments to the United States, after China.

Currently, Bangladesh is required to pay a 15.62 percent duty on these apparel products, a tariff which last year totalled $828 million.

By contrast, China pays just 3 percent duty, while other Asian competitors pay rates ranging from 2.29 percent for India to 8.38 percent for Vietnam.

Many Bangladeshi products, apart from garments, had duty-free access to the U.S. market until last June, when that status was suspended citing poor working conditions and lack of labour rights in Bangladeshi factories following the Rana Plaza disaster.

NEW ECONOMIC VULNERABILITY

Ahmed said that when Bangladesh mentioned the duty-free, quota-free access for apparel products enjoyed by sub-Saharan African and Caribbean countries since 2000, the US trade team responded that the economic vulnerability of those countries was a consideration in these cases.

“(So) we raised the issue of Bangladesh’s vulnerability to climate change as a counter logic to strengthen our demand,” he said.

In a phone interview, Ahmed said that developed countries have a non-binding commitment under World Trade Organisation provisions to offer duty-free access to all products from low-income countries.

The United States says it will wait until the conclusion of the Doha round of negotiations before taking a decision about duty-free, quota-free access to its markets for Bangladesh. Those negotiations have been largely stalled since 2008 over an impasse on agricultural imports.

Bangladesh, a low-lying country, has suffered in recent years from poor rainfall, droughts, and riverbank erosion made worse by rising sea levels, as well as an increasing number of natural disasters including cyclones, tornadoes and flash floods.

Communities in coastal areas are especially vulnerable to storms, and the frequent losses inflicted by them make it impossible for many to escape poverty.

“The intensity and frequency of disastrous events will increase day-by-day due to the impacts of climate change,” said Ainun Nishat, an environmentalist and vice-chancellor of Brac University in Dhaka.

“Poor people – especially women and children in (the) coastal belt – are major victims of the impacts which are increasing their suffering,” he added.

Nishat said that if the Bangladeshi government cites climate change vulnerability in order to get duty-free, quota-free access for its products in the United States or other developed nations, it must ensure that a portion of the saved money goes to the victims of climate change.

“As you are seeking the privilege citing the vulnerability to the climate change, spending a fraction of money for adaptation to the hazard is rational,” he said.

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

http://www.trust.org/item/20140519102734-yuzqi/?source=spotlight

Bangladesh moves to clean up dirty climate spending

Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation - Wed, 12 Feb 2014 12:19 PM

Author: Syful Islam

DHAKA, Bangladesh (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Amid allegations of misuse of climate funds, Bangladesh is formulating a plan to coordinate expenditures across agencies and ensure greater transparency and accountability in climate change-related activities.

Officials said the move is part of efforts to ensure appropriate and effective use of funds in offsetting the impacts of climate change on Bangladesh, one of the most vulnerable nations to the global warming.

“In the fiscal budget, funds are being allocated for climate change-related projects for almost all the ministries. But the spending lacks coordination thus (it is) sometimes being misused which now we are trying to bring under strict regulations,” Rafiqul Islam, the joint chief of the Planning Commission, told Thomson Reuters Foundation.

He said huge amounts of money are being spent in a scattered way which causes frequent repetition and duplication of projects. “Several organisations embark on the same types of projects, while many areas remain unattended,” he noted.

Islam said if a “climate fiscal framework” is formulated and properly followed, agencies would have a clearer idea what projects are in place and how much money is involved with each of them.

DEVELOPMENT SPENDING

The government has already changed the format of development project proposals (DPP) to include climate change issues.

“From now on, while preparing a DPP for a project, it has to be mentioned if any climate change-related components are there or not. That will help in keeping track of how much money is being spent in what types of climate change-related projects,” Islam said.

He said countries like Indonesia and Cambodia already have in place climate fiscal frameworks that help them more easily tracking spending on climate change programmes.

The Bangladesh framework is being formulated under a project on “Poverty, Environment and Climate Mainstreaming”, funded by the United Nations Development Programme.

Currently, Bangladesh spends money on climate change projects from two major government and donor-sponsored funds.

The Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund (BCCRF) is a fund operated by the Bangladesh government, development partners and the World Bank. A separate Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund (BCCTF) is financed solely by the government from public funds.

Alongside the two major funds, there is spending to reduce climate change impacts by various non-government organisations, foreign sources, and even private households.

As of June 2013, developed nations had made climate finance pledges of $594 million to Bangladesh, although much of the money has yet to be delivered. In addition, the South Asian nation had received $147 million out of $149 million promised by a group of wealthy states through BCCRF, the multi-donor fund administered by the World Bank.

NO CLEAR SPENDING PICTURE

Rezai Karim Khondker, a professor at the Dhaka School of Economics and head of the team building the climate fiscal framework, said so far there has been no clear calculation of how much money was being spent on climate change and from which sources.

“The framework aims at bringing coordination in climate change-related spending,” he said.

Khondker said a large amount of money was needed to combat the impacts of climate change on low-lying Bangladesh. The framework will help keep a tally of the sources of funds and also of where those are being spent, and for what purpose.

Experts and various civil society organisations have raised questions about transparency in climate fund spending and produced evidence of mismanagement of money. The Bangladesh chapter of Transparency International (TIB) last October released a study on climate fund governance which revealed political influence, nepotism and corruption in the selection of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to carry out work on the ground.

It said some groups paid 20 percent of their allocation as “commission” in order to be chosen for adaptation projects.

Transparency International Bangladesh Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman told Thomson Reuters Foundation that civil society organisations have been demanding transparency and accountability in climate fund spending from the very beginning.

“There should be policy directives for spending funds in need-based projects. Transparency has to be ensured at the implementation level so that people who are in need benefit,” he said.

BASIS FOR COMPENSATION?

Iftekharuzzaman said industrialised nations, who are primarily responsible for climate change, should offer compensation for countries hardest hit by climate impacts, but are unlikely to do so without transparency in how funds are being spent.

“Unless the good governance of funds is ensured, they won’t cooperate,” he said.

He said participation of civil society and experts needs to be increased in governance of climate funding, and that people with conflicts of interest need to be kept out of policy decisions.

Ainun Nishat, a noted environmentalist and vice chancellor of Brac University, agreed that monitoring mechanisms for climate spending have to be made stronger to ensure transparency, and that the decision to create a climate fiscal framework was “timely.”

“Steps have to be taken to eliminate the causes of slow release of funds by the donors,” he said.

Nishat said information on spending of climate funds and on projects underway should be made publicly available via websites to help reduce misuse of funds.

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

Climate fiscal framework on cards to coordinate use of funds

21 Jan, 2014

Syful Islam

The government is formulating a climate fiscal framework to coordinate spending in the climate change-related activities, official sources said.

The move is taken to ensure appropriate and effective use of funds in offsetting the impacts of climate change on Bangladesh, one of the countries most vulnerable to global warming.

Officials said presently a significant amount of money is being spent for different types of climate change-related projects. The government, non-government organisations, foreign sources, and even private households are also spending money in this connection.

They said since there is no coordination in the spending, repetition and duplication of projects is frequently occurring. Several bodies are embarking on the same types of projects, while many areas remain unattended.

Joint chief of the general economics division under the Planning Commission, Rafiqul Islam, told the FE that funds were being spent in a scattered way for offsetting the impacts of climate change.

"In the fiscal budget, funds are being allocated for climate change-related projects for almost all the ministries. There is no coordination in spending. We are formulating the climate fiscal framework to bring about coordination between them," he said.

Once the framework is formulated and properly followed, agencies concerned would be able to know easily about how many and what types of projects are in place and how much money is involved with them, Mr Islam said.

He said countries like Cambodia and Indonesia have formulated climate fiscal frameworks.

Mr Islam also said changes have been brought to the format of development project proposal (DPP), in which the issue of climate change has been incorporated.

"While preparing a DPP for a project, it has to be mentioned from now on if any climate change-related components are there or not. That will help in keeping track on how much money is being spent in what types of climate change-related projects," he said.

The climate fiscal framework is being formulated under a project titled 'Poverty, Environment and Climate Mainstreaming,' funded by the United Nations Development Programme.

Prof Dr Rezai Karim Khondker of Dhaka School of Economics, the team leader of the climate fiscal framework study, told the FE Monday that there was no calculation on how much money was being spent and from which sources.

The framework aims at coordination of the climate change-related spending, he said.

Mr Khondker said a large amount of money was needed to combat the impacts of climate change on Bangladesh, a low-lying country.

The framework will keep a tally of the sources of funds and also of where those are being spent for what purpose, he added.

Presently, Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund (BCCRF) and Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund (BCCTF) are funding major climate change-related projects.

The BCCRF is a financing mechanism operated by the Government of Bangladesh (GoB), development partners and the World Bank to address the impacts of climate change. On the other hand, BCCTF is being solely financed by the GoB from public exchequer to carry out activities to offset the impacts of climate change.