There is an increasing awareness that climate

change may nullify much of the hard earned

economic and social gains in Bangladesh. In
addressing the problems associated with climate
change, the Government of Bangladesh initiated
the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and
Action Plan (BCCSAP), a 10-year program, in 2008
which was later revised somewhat in 2009. The
BCCSAP, purportedly a knowledge-based
strategy, is a 10 year action plan to build capacity
and resilience within the country to meet climate
change challenges over the next 20-25 years
under six thematic areas for implementation.
These thematic areas are: (i) food security, social
protection, and health; (ii) comprehensive
disaster management; (iii) infrastructural
development; (iv) research and knowledge
management; (v) mitigation and low-carbon
development; and (vi) capacity building and
institutional strengthening. The BCCSAP has been
incorporated within the Sixth Five Year Plan as
well as the Perspective Plan for the country.
To operationalise the BCCSAP, the Government also
established the National Climate Change Fund and
allocated about $45 million to it in the budget for
the year 2008-09 which has been replenished
several times since then. Furthermore, a
Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund, a
multi-donor trust fund, was established to pool
funds from development partners to implement a
long-term strategy to adapt to the adverse effects
of climate change in Bangladesh.
Despite all these, there are concerns regarding
the slow pace of implementation of the
BCCSAP. There has been issues which have
come up since the formulation of BCCSAP
which have implications for proper
implementation of the Action Plan. We are now
midway through the planned project period
and time is now ripe to revisit the BCCSAP and
critically review a few issues of importance.
Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods
(CSRL) initiated a study in 2012 to identify
barriers and constraints and to provide a policy
direction towards enhanced implementation of
BCCSAP including programme prioritization,
mainstreaming, and monitoring and evaluation.
The study findings and recommendations are
listed as follows.
A. Program Prioritization
The resources (financial, institutional,
human skill as well as awareness) available
for implementing the BCCSAP are limited.
Some kind of prioritisation would therefore
be necessary to implement them.
There is a need to focus on and prioritise the
most vulnerable communities, who also tend
to be among the poorest (sometimes called
the Climate Vulnerable Poor) as they are the
ones who will suffer the adverse impacts the
most. This should be a critical requirement to
prioritise action plans, programmes and
projects under BCCSAP.
B. Mainstreaming Climate Change
Adaptation
Mainstreaming climate change into planning
needs to be done at every level (sectoral
ministries, local level planning, NGOs) not
just national plans.
The process of mainstreaming has to be
grounded on certain principles that inter alia
include: precautionary principle, stitching
the NAPA and NAP into a coherent whole,
realising co-benefits with mitigation,
principle of learning by doing, accountability
and transparency, participation of all
stakeholders, efficiency and
cost-effectiveness, synergy with national
and sectoral policy objectives and other
multilateral environmental agreements
(MEAs), flexibility and adaptability and
subsidiarity i.e. decentralisation of
decision-making etc.
The National Adaptation Plans (NAP) process
should be seen as a process of
mainstreaming rather than producing a
stand-alone plan.
For long-term resilience, climate change
adaptation (as well as mitigation) needs to
be embedded (or mainstreamed) into regular
national planning at all level.
C. Nationally Appropriate Mitigation
Actions (NAMA)
Preparation of a plan for Nationally
Appropriate Mitigation Action(NAMA)has
become an urgent necessity owing to
current climate negotiation process.
Appropriate policy direction and action
programmes are also required to attract
national and international private sectors
and other related stakeholders on NAMA.
D. Research and Knowledge
Management
There is a lack of thrust on Research and
Knowledge Management. It would be
imperative to establish a Centre for
Research and Knowledge Management on
Climate Change (or a Network of Centres) to
ensure Bangladesh has access to the latest
ideas and technologies from around the
world and to ensure that data is widely and
freely available to researchers.
E. Monitoring and Evaluation
Attention needs to be put on a robust
monitoring and evaluation procedure to
monitor implementation of the projects
under the two funds which support BCCSAP.
Both domestic and external funds will be
required to be mobilised but will have to be
measured, reported, and verified.
F. Policy Support and Institutional
Facilitation
Lead ministries and agencies are required to
provide policy support and institutional
facilitation.Institutionalisation of integrated
planning, programing and project
preparation is also a must - a beginning is to
be made. In fact, Ministry of Planning has
started such an initiative.
The implementation of BCCSAP would also
require significant strengthening of the
coordination capacity of the Ministry of
Environment and Forests (MOEF) with
relevant ministries and agencies.
A mechanism needs to be developed over
how the government ministries, agencies,
non-state actors like the private sector,
non-government agencies can be aligned
with explicit mandates for actions.
The role of Planning Ministry and MOEF in
determining or influencing planning,
monitoring implementation and resource
allocation needs to be identified and
resolved. Furthermore,policy
harmonisation and possibly new policies
with new developments on climate change
would be necessary.
Revisit the BCCSAP-2009
Call to Policy Makers
There is an increasing awareness that climate
change may nullify much of the hard earned
economic and social gains in Bangladesh. In
addressing the problems associated with climate
change, the Government of Bangladesh initiated
the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and
Action Plan (BCCSAP), a 10-year program, in 2008
which was later revised somewhat in 2009. The
BCCSAP, purportedly a knowledge-based
strategy, is a 10 year action plan to build capacity
and resilience within the country to meet climate
change challenges over the next 20-25 years
under six thematic areas for implementation.
These thematic areas are: (i) food security, social
protection, and health; (ii) comprehensive
disaster management; (iii) infrastructural
development; (iv) research and knowledge
management; (v) mitigation and low-carbon
development; and (vi) capacity building and
institutional strengthening. The BCCSAP has been
incorporated within the Sixth Five Year Plan as
well as the Perspective Plan for the country.
To operationalise the BCCSAP, the Government also
established the National Climate Change Fund and
allocated about $45 million to it in the budget for
the year 2008-09 which has been replenished
several times since then. Furthermore, a
Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund, a
multi-donor trust fund, was established to pool
funds from development partners to implement a
long-term strategy to adapt to the adverse effects
of climate change in Bangladesh.
Despite all these, there are concerns regarding
the slow pace of implementation of the
BCCSAP. There has been issues which have
come up since the formulation of BCCSAP
which have implications for proper
implementation of the Action Plan. We are now
midway through the planned project period
and time is now ripe to revisit the BCCSAP and
critically review a few issues of importance.
Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods
(CSRL) initiated a study in 2012 to identify
barriers and constraints and to provide a policy
direction towards enhanced implementation of
BCCSAP including programme prioritization,
mainstreaming, and monitoring and evaluation.
The study findings and recommendations are
listed as follows.
A. Program Prioritization
The resources (financial, institutional,
human skill as well as awareness) available
for implementing the BCCSAP are limited.
Some kind of prioritisation would therefore
be necessary to implement them.
There is a need to focus on and prioritise the
most vulnerable communities, who also tend
to be among the poorest (sometimes called
the Climate Vulnerable Poor) as they are the
ones who will suffer the adverse impacts the
most. This should be a critical requirement to
prioritise action plans, programmes and
projects under BCCSAP.
B. Mainstreaming Climate Change
Adaptation
Mainstreaming climate change into planning
needs to be done at every level (sectoral
ministries, local level planning, NGOs) not
just national plans.
The process of mainstreaming has to be
grounded on certain principles that inter alia
include: precautionary principle, stitching
the NAPA and NAP into a coherent whole,
realising co-benefits with mitigation,
principle of learning by doing, accountability
and transparency, participation of all
stakeholders, efficiency and
cost-effectiveness, synergy with national
and sectoral policy objectives and other
multilateral environmental agreements
(MEAs), flexibility and adaptability and
subsidiarity i.e. decentralisation of
decision-making etc.
The National Adaptation Plans (NAP) process
should be seen as a process of
mainstreaming rather than producing a
stand-alone plan.
For long-term resilience, climate change
adaptation (as well as mitigation) needs to
be embedded (or mainstreamed) into regular
national planning at all level.
C. Nationally Appropriate Mitigation
Actions (NAMA)
Preparation of a plan for Nationally
Appropriate Mitigation Action(NAMA)has
become an urgent necessity owing to
current climate negotiation process.
Appropriate policy direction and action
programmes are also required to attract
national and international private sectors
and other related stakeholders on NAMA.
D. Research and Knowledge
Management
There is a lack of thrust on Research and
Knowledge Management. It would be
imperative to establish a Centre for
Research and Knowledge Management on
Climate Change (or a Network of Centres) to
ensure Bangladesh has access to the latest
ideas and technologies from around the
world and to ensure that data is widely and
freely available to researchers.
E. Monitoring and Evaluation
Attention needs to be put on a robust
monitoring and evaluation procedure to
monitor implementation of the projects
under the two funds which support BCCSAP.
Both domestic and external funds will be
required to be mobilised but will have to be
measured, reported, and verified.
F. Policy Support and Institutional
Facilitation
Lead ministries and agencies are required to
provide policy support and institutional
facilitation.Institutionalisation of integrated
planning, programing and project
preparation is also a must - a beginning is to
be made. In fact, Ministry of Planning has
started such an initiative.
The implementation of BCCSAP would also
require significant strengthening of the
coordination capacity of the Ministry of
Environment and Forests (MOEF) with
relevant ministries and agencies.
A mechanism needs to be developed over
how the government ministries, agencies,
non-state actors like the private sector,
non-government agencies can be aligned
with explicit mandates for actions.
The role of Planning Ministry and MOEF in
determining or influencing planning,
monitoring implementation and resource
allocation needs to be identified and
resolved. Furthermore,policy
harmonisation and possibly new policies
with new developments on climate change
would be necessary.
There is an increasing awareness that climate
change may nullify much of the hard earned
economic and social gains in Bangladesh. In
addressing the problems associated with climate
change, the Government of Bangladesh initiated
the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and
Action Plan (BCCSAP), a 10-year program, in 2008
which was later revised somewhat in 2009. The
BCCSAP, purportedly a knowledge-based
strategy, is a 10 year action plan to build capacity
and resilience within the country to meet climate
change challenges over the next 20-25 years
under six thematic areas for implementation.
These thematic areas are: (i) food security, social
protection, and health; (ii) comprehensive
disaster management; (iii) infrastructural
development; (iv) research and knowledge
management; (v) mitigation and low-carbon
development; and (vi) capacity building and
institutional strengthening. The BCCSAP has been
incorporated within the Sixth Five Year Plan as
well as the Perspective Plan for the country.
To operationalise the BCCSAP, the Government also
established the National Climate Change Fund and
allocated about $45 million to it in the budget for
the year 2008-09 which has been replenished
several times since then. Furthermore, a
Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund, a
multi-donor trust fund, was established to pool
funds from development partners to implement a
long-term strategy to adapt to the adverse effects
of climate change in Bangladesh.
Despite all these, there are concerns regarding
the slow pace of implementation of the
BCCSAP. There has been issues which have
come up since the formulation of BCCSAP
which have implications for proper
implementation of the Action Plan. We are now
midway through the planned project period
and time is now ripe to revisit the BCCSAP and
critically review a few issues of importance.
Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods
(CSRL) initiated a study in 2012 to identify
barriers and constraints and to provide a policy
direction towards enhanced implementation of
BCCSAP including programme prioritization,
mainstreaming, and monitoring and evaluation.
The study findings and recommendations are
listed as follows.
A. Program Prioritization
The resources (financial, institutional,
human skill as well as awareness) available
for implementing the BCCSAP are limited.
Some kind of prioritisation would therefore
be necessary to implement them.
There is a need to focus on and prioritise the
most vulnerable communities, who also tend
to be among the poorest (sometimes called
the Climate Vulnerable Poor) as they are the
ones who will suffer the adverse impacts the
most. This should be a critical requirement to
prioritise action plans, programmes and
projects under BCCSAP.
B. Mainstreaming Climate Change
Adaptation
Mainstreaming climate change into planning
needs to be done at every level (sectoral
ministries, local level planning, NGOs) not
just national plans.
The process of mainstreaming has to be
grounded on certain principles that inter alia
include: precautionary principle, stitching
the NAPA and NAP into a coherent whole,
realising co-benefits with mitigation,
principle of learning by doing, accountability
and transparency, participation of all
stakeholders, efficiency and
cost-effectiveness, synergy with national
and sectoral policy objectives and other
multilateral environmental agreements
(MEAs), flexibility and adaptability and
subsidiarity i.e. decentralisation of
decision-making etc.
The National Adaptation Plans (NAP) process
should be seen as a process of
mainstreaming rather than producing a
stand-alone plan.
For long-term resilience, climate change
adaptation (as well as mitigation) needs to
be embedded (or mainstreamed) into regular
national planning at all level.
C. Nationally Appropriate Mitigation
Actions (NAMA)
Preparation of a plan for Nationally
Appropriate Mitigation Action(NAMA)has
become an urgent necessity owing to
current climate negotiation process.
Appropriate policy direction and action
programmes are also required to attract
national and international private sectors
and other related stakeholders on NAMA.
D. Research and Knowledge
Management
There is a lack of thrust on Research and
Knowledge Management. It would be
imperative to establish a Centre for
Research and Knowledge Management on
Climate Change (or a Network of Centres) to
ensure Bangladesh has access to the latest
ideas and technologies from around the
world and to ensure that data is widely and
freely available to researchers.
E. Monitoring and Evaluation
Attention needs to be put on a robust
monitoring and evaluation procedure to
monitor implementation of the projects
under the two funds which support BCCSAP.
Both domestic and external funds will be
required to be mobilised but will have to be
measured, reported, and verified.
F. Policy Support and Institutional
Facilitation
Lead ministries and agencies are required to
provide policy support and institutional
facilitation.Institutionalisation of integrated
planning, programing and project
preparation is also a must - a beginning is to
be made. In fact, Ministry of Planning has
started such an initiative.
The implementation of BCCSAP would also
require significant strengthening of the
coordination capacity of the Ministry of
Environment and Forests (MOEF) with
relevant ministries and agencies.
A mechanism needs to be developed over
how the government ministries, agencies,
non-state actors like the private sector,
non-government agencies can be aligned
with explicit mandates for actions.
The role of Planning Ministry and MOEF in
determining or influencing planning,
monitoring implementation and resource
allocation needs to be identified and
resolved. Furthermore,policy
harmonisation and possibly new policies
with new developments on climate change
would be necessary.
CO2
There is an increasing awareness that climate
change may nullify much of the hard earned
economic and social gains in Bangladesh. In
addressing the problems associated with climate
change, the Government of Bangladesh initiated
the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and
Action Plan (BCCSAP), a 10-year program, in 2008
which was later revised somewhat in 2009. The
BCCSAP, purportedly a knowledge-based
strategy, is a 10 year action plan to build capacity
and resilience within the country to meet climate
change challenges over the next 20-25 years
under six thematic areas for implementation.
These thematic areas are: (i) food security, social
protection, and health; (ii) comprehensive
disaster management; (iii) infrastructural
development; (iv) research and knowledge
management; (v) mitigation and low-carbon
development; and (vi) capacity building and
institutional strengthening. The BCCSAP has been
incorporated within the Sixth Five Year Plan as
well as the Perspective Plan for the country.
To operationalise the BCCSAP, the Government also
established the National Climate Change Fund and
allocated about $45 million to it in the budget for
the year 2008-09 which has been replenished
several times since then. Furthermore, a
Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund, a
multi-donor trust fund, was established to pool
funds from development partners to implement a
long-term strategy to adapt to the adverse effects
of climate change in Bangladesh.
Despite all these, there are concerns regarding
the slow pace of implementation of the
BCCSAP. There has been issues which have
come up since the formulation of BCCSAP
which have implications for proper
implementation of the Action Plan. We are now
midway through the planned project period
and time is now ripe to revisit the BCCSAP and
critically review a few issues of importance.
Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods
(CSRL) initiated a study in 2012 to identify
barriers and constraints and to provide a policy
direction towards enhanced implementation of
BCCSAP including programme prioritization,
mainstreaming, and monitoring and evaluation.
The study findings and recommendations are
listed as follows.
A. Program Prioritization
The resources (financial, institutional,
human skill as well as awareness) available
for implementing the BCCSAP are limited.
Some kind of prioritisation would therefore
be necessary to implement them.
There is a need to focus on and prioritise the
most vulnerable communities, who also tend
to be among the poorest (sometimes called
the Climate Vulnerable Poor) as they are the
ones who will suffer the adverse impacts the
most. This should be a critical requirement to
prioritise action plans, programmes and
projects under BCCSAP.
B. Mainstreaming Climate Change
Adaptation
Mainstreaming climate change into planning
needs to be done at every level (sectoral
ministries, local level planning, NGOs) not
just national plans.
The process of mainstreaming has to be
grounded on certain principles that inter alia
include: precautionary principle, stitching
the NAPA and NAP into a coherent whole,
realising co-benefits with mitigation,
principle of learning by doing, accountability
and transparency, participation of all
stakeholders, efficiency and
cost-effectiveness, synergy with national
and sectoral policy objectives and other
multilateral environmental agreements
(MEAs), flexibility and adaptability and
subsidiarity i.e. decentralisation of
decision-making etc.
The National Adaptation Plans (NAP) process
should be seen as a process of
mainstreaming rather than producing a
stand-alone plan.
For long-term resilience, climate change
adaptation (as well as mitigation) needs to
be embedded (or mainstreamed) into regular
national planning at all level.
C. Nationally Appropriate Mitigation
Actions (NAMA)
Preparation of a plan for Nationally
Appropriate Mitigation Action(NAMA)has
become an urgent necessity owing to
current climate negotiation process.
Appropriate policy direction and action
programmes are also required to attract
national and international private sectors
and other related stakeholders on NAMA.
D. Research and Knowledge
Management
There is a lack of thrust on Research and
Knowledge Management. It would be
imperative to establish a Centre for
Research and Knowledge Management on
Climate Change (or a Network of Centres) to
ensure Bangladesh has access to the latest
ideas and technologies from around the
world and to ensure that data is widely and
freely available to researchers.
E. Monitoring and Evaluation
Attention needs to be put on a robust
monitoring and evaluation procedure to
monitor implementation of the projects
under the two funds which support BCCSAP.
Both domestic and external funds will be
required to be mobilised but will have to be
measured, reported, and verified.
F. Policy Support and Institutional
Facilitation
Lead ministries and agencies are required to
provide policy support and institutional
facilitation.Institutionalisation of integrated
planning, programing and project
preparation is also a must - a beginning is to
be made. In fact, Ministry of Planning has
started such an initiative.
The implementation of BCCSAP would also
require significant strengthening of the
coordination capacity of the Ministry of
Environment and Forests (MOEF) with
relevant ministries and agencies.
A mechanism needs to be developed over
how the government ministries, agencies,
non-state actors like the private sector,
non-government agencies can be aligned
with explicit mandates for actions.
The role of Planning Ministry and MOEF in
determining or influencing planning,
monitoring implementation and resource
allocation needs to be identified and
resolved. Furthermore,policy
harmonisation and possibly new policies
with new developments on climate change
would be necessary.
The study has been conducted by a group of experts under the over-all guidance of
Dr. M. Asaduzzaman, BIDS, Dhaka. Other members of the team are Dr. Mahfuzul
Haque, Former Secretary and Adjunct Professor, DU, Dhaka; Dr. Mizan R. Khan,
Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences, NSU, Dhaka; Md. Ziaul Haque,
Deputy Director, Department of Environment (DoE), Dhaka; Mirza Shawkat Ali, Deputy
Director, Department of Environment (DoE), Dhaka. Mohammad Reazuddin, former
Director of Department of Environment acted as the coordinator of the study. We
also acknowledge the contribution of around 120 policy makers and climate actors
who contributed in the process through number of consultations on this study.