UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Gwyn Lewis met Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan on Thursday and discussed pressing environmental challenges and the path forward for climate resilience and water governance in Bangladesh.
The high-level meeting, held at Pani Bhaban in Dhaka, focused on the urgency of advancing climate action, particularly through swift and strategic initiatives aimed at enhancing the nation’s resilience to climate change and improving the management of its water resources.
They stressed the need for accelerating the restoration of river ecosystems and create a coordinated approach to environmental governance.
Adviser Rizwana Hasan emphasised the need to move beyond planning and take immediate action.
“While analysis is useful, we now need to prioritize climate action, even if it begins with just two or three catalytic projects,” she said, highlighting the importance of implementing tangible projects.
Rizwana Hasan also suggested convening a dedicated day for key development partners to enhance coordination across ministries and avoid missed opportunities, calling for a collective effort to streamline actions across government departments.
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The discussion also focused on leveraging Bangladesh’s Climate Prosperity Plan, updates to the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), and collaborating with international partners such as the ADB, the European Union, and Sweden to enhance the country’s environmental efforts.
Rizwana outlined several significant initiatives, including divisional river restoration campaigns, canal rehabilitation projects, and grassroots implementation of the Delta Plan.
She stressed the importance of public participation and transparency in all development projects, proposing that institutionalising public hearings would further strengthen the governance process.
Gwyn Lewis reaffirmed the UN’s commitment to supporting Bangladesh in achieving its environmental goals, through integrated planning, cross-ministerial cooperation, and mobilising technical and financial resources.
She praised the government’s leadership and called for a renewed focus on aligning national policies with local actions and global climate objectives.
Both sides recognised the challenges posed by fragmented institutional frameworks and underscored the need for reinvigorating mechanisms like the Environment Community of Practice, which has been dormant for nearly a decade.
They also agreed on the necessity of improving both physical and institutional infrastructure to facilitate better inter-agency collaboration.
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The meeting concluded with a shared commitment to turning climate policies into actionable initiatives, ushering in a new era of inclusive, innovative, and sustainable environmental governance for Bangladesh.