DHAKA: Bangladesh will ask for Saudi expertise and partnership in water and forestation projects addressing the impacts of climate change, the environment minister said on Tuesday.
The South Asian country is highly vulnerable to climate change, especially in its coastal regions, which face severe drinking water shortages due to rapidly rising sea levels. Saltwater intrusion has salinized both surface water and groundwater, leaving many coastal districts without access to safe drinking water for several months each year.
To address the situation, the Bangladeshi government is planning to introduce a system of rainwater harvesting plants in two coastal districts, Khulna and Satkhira.
Syeda Rizwana Hasan, adviser for environment, forest, and climate change to the interim Bangladeshi government — effectively serving as the environment minister — told Arab News that it would be the first project of its kind by a Bangladeshi administration.
“We would like to see if there is any possibility of getting into a partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on this. If it materializes and we get into some partnership, then we will be able to supply potable water to no less than 10 million people,” Hasan said, as she departed Dhaka to attend the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s Water Ministers Meeting in Jeddah.
Saudi Arabia has developed expertise in rainwater harvesting due to its arid climate, scarce freshwater resources, and growing water demand from urbanization and agriculture.
While rainfall in most regions is irregular, the Kingdom has been employing traditional and modern solutions to capture and utilize rainwater effectively.
“Saudi Arabia is supplying water to its people, operating in a very difficult water system. It knows how to overcome those barriers,” Hasan said.
Another area where Bangladesh wants to seek partnership and support is related to the Saudi and Middle East Green Initiatives — one of the Kingdom’s flagship environmental and sustainability programs under its Vision 2030.
The initiatives, which target planting billions of trees across Saudi Arabia and the region over the coming decades and rehabilitate millions of hectares of degraded land, are expected to position the Kingdom as a leader in environmental stewardship.
The Bangladeshi minister will also explore potential cooperation on carbon mitigation, in which the Kingdom could support forest projects in Bangladesh.
“We know that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is planning to green itself,” Hasan said. “In that process of greening, we are trying to find out whether the Bangladesh Forest Department, with extensive experience in plantation, can be of any assistance, technical assistance to Saudi Arabia.”