Recently I came to Rajshahi to attend America Week. Rajshahi is known as the district of silk manufacturing that borders India and the Padma River runs through it.

One evening my team and decided to make a visit to the riverside. What a sad sight! The river is a mere shadow of what we see in films and hear about in folk songs.

Why? Well, partially due to industrialization and climate change, of course. When you ask local residents however, they say that India has taken their river. What they are referring to is Farrakka Barrage.

Farrakka Barrage is a dam that India uses to divert water that comes down from the Himalaya Mountains. They say they are doing this to reduce flooding, but the environmental impacts have been severe in Bangladesh.

Farrakka Barrage has long been a controversial issue between the two countries.

When you turn on any given cable channel here in Bangladesh, you are bombarded with Malaysia, Truly Asia or Incredible India advertisements that highlight what is Incredible in India or what is perceived as Truly Asia in Malaysia. Bangladesh launched it’s “brand” officially almost a year ago, but where are the advertisements?

I have received messages that state that this “brand” was chosen without much discussion and only with the input of a few.  Secondly, any one who knows about branding will tell you “A “brand image” is important for every tourist destination. If developed with awareness the brand serves to distinguish a destination from competing destinations. However some destinations do not have a brand strategy, and are supported by inconsistent advertising campaigns, creating a confused image to prospective customers. Image must be controlled by a clear projection of brand identity. Bangladesh needs this clear projection of self-identification right away.” In this context, how does “Beautiful Bangladesh compete with Malaysia, Truly Asia, Uniquely Singapore or Incredible India?  Can it compete?

In addition the brand needs to appeal to international corporations so that they will want to maintain offices in Bangladesh or import manpower. This is critical to the economy of Bangladesh.  An instructor at NYU on Brand Development stated, ” The key to any brand positioning endeavor is to start with your target audience and their current perceptions, needs, etc. Bangladesh has a negative image in many ways, which warrants a new re-branding effort. Benchmarking is always helpful for an emerging country with relatively low awareness. Estonia did this after the wall fell, with a focus on attracting investments and new business sources, comparing its culture, values and work ethics to its Scandinavian neighbors, even positioning itself as Eastern Europe’s next Netherlands (both small but making the most out of a diligent, cohesive, educated work force).”

I am not alone in my disappointment of the chosen “brand” for Bangladesh. Many readers of this blog have expressed similar views, one such view stated, “Country branding is a long term continuous process. A slogan and a logo are not sufficient to develop a country as a world class brand. I believe, this slogan will not that much effective.”

The last caretaker government created this image of “Beautiful Bangladesh”, but the question remains where has it taken Bangladesh and what are the possibilities for the future? Bangladesh could have a bright future, if re-branded properly.

Send me your thought and ideas! I’ll post them here!

Bangladeshi Heart

Since my last post, there have been many changes in Bangladesh. Congratulations are due to our Honorable Prime Minister on her landslide victory and her tremendous initiative to make changes not only in Bangladesh, but by establishing an entirely new administration since she last held office.

Lately, we see many headlines in our newspapers calling for development, talking about a bleak economic outlook and digital dreams. It seems in Bangladesh we are always looking for handouts. From ADB, World Bank, USAID, DFID and all the foreign donor agencies. The money is well used, don’t misunderstand me. However, we also spend a great sum on importing fuel among other resources that we could develop within Bangladesh.

With the world researching renewable fuel resources to slow and, eventually, a hope to revert the global warming process to save our planet, where are we? When people hear the term renewable energy, they think Windmills and solar panels for electricity. Electricity is important to us all. Yet, what about renewable fuels for cars, buses, trains and airplanes?

Recently, Continental Airlines conducted a flight test using bio fuel that came from Jatropha. It was hugely successful. With the fuel surcharge we are all paying now-a-days we should be paying attention to this, Of course, Continental is not the first airline to do this. Virgin Atlantic conducted a similar test 2 years ago. Mercedes Benz in India also conducted a similar test in 2007. So, why not Jatropha in Bangladesh? 

Jatropha is a plant source for bio fuel that can be used directly as diesel and further refined to be used as octane. It is ecologically friendly, not a threat to food security and most importantly a renewable resource for fuel. In fact, if Bangladesh were to dedicate only 5 hectares of wasteland, coastal land, train and highway bi-ways, we could put an end to fuel imports and save the country millions. The Jatropha tree, once planted, begins to produce a non-edible fruit that contain oil laden seeds. It continues to produce this fruit for approximately 50 years without replanting. Additionally, Jatropha tree and fruit, has multiple intrinsic values that could be developed to make money and help develop our rural areas. Employment and female empowerment are only two areas that could be targeted.

So, again I ask, why not Jatropha?

Bangladeshi Heart

We have all heard the talk about making Bangladesh a middle income country. One of the key components is remittances by expatriate Bangladeshis living and working in other countries. Sadly, those with the largest capacity to send remittances, i.e. professional Bangladeshis are low on the list of remitters. In fact, laborers working in middle eastern countries, such as UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia send much higher amounts of remittances than the professionals in America or the U.K.

It has been suggested that increasing Manpower exports could help Bangladesh in achieving its goal of becoming a middle income country. This week the Executive Times has run a series of articles on this very topic. The introductory article is copied and pasted below, but I urge you read the entire series to learn more about this valuable part of Bangladesh’s economy and the possibilities for the future.

Like many developing countries, Bangladesh heavily depends on the remittances or transfers of money by the Bangladeshis living abroad. Indeed, Bangladeshi migrant manpower is the greatest source of earning foreign currencies for Bangladesh. It generates a lot more money than the international Foreign Aid or FDI flow to the country.
In recent years remittance flow into the country has increased hugely. This is mainly due to the increase in the country’s manpower export. With more than $ 6.5 billion in foreign exchange earnings generated by remittances per year, Bangladesh is one of the highest remittance-receiving countries of the world: it has been ranked 5th among developing countries and 11th among all countries.
According to Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training, about 5.4 million (5390854) people went abroad for overseas employment during the period from 1976 to 2007, accounting for almost $48 billion’s ($ 47973.52 million’s) worth of remittance inflow into the country. The actual figure is expected to be higher if remittances sent through informal channels are taken into account. Formal channels include banks, credit unions, MTOs such as Western Union, and postal services, while the informal money transfer agents include friends, families, unregistered money transfer businesses such as hawla dealers, and trading companies. As in most of the developing countries, the informal channels here are quite prominent.
There is no exaggerating the importance of manpower export and its impact on the economy. Over the years, remittance inflows into the country have been growing significantly. In 2007 remittances received were to the tune of $ 6,568.03 compared to $ 5,484.08 in the previous year, a growth of almost 20 percent. This year, so far, the remittance has been very satisfactory. According to Bangladesh Bank, Remittances receipts during July-October 2008 increased to $2985.32 million from $ 2187.78 during July-October, 2007, an increase of $797.54 million or 36.45 percent.
However, with the current global financial crisis continuing, remittance flow into the country in the coming months may slow down because earnings by the Bangladeshi expatriates may be affected and also because the number of Bangladeshis getting employed overseas may fall. So far the Middle East countries, especially Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have been the major destinations for overseas employment for Bangladeshis, together accounting for the largest amount of remittance. Compared to European countries, the Middle East has still been less affected by the global financial crisis. But as months roll, the global credit crunch is having its impact on some of the countries in the region such as the Emirates which employs a huge portion of Bangladeshi workforce especially in the construction sector. Some of the real estate projects in this area have already been halted, which means laying off workers, and consequently Bangladesh may see a number of its workers returning to their country. Also, less construction work in this area will mean less export of manpower in the coming months.
So, exploring new destinations for manpower export is vital. Recently, Libya has shown a keen interest in recruiting a large number of Bangladeshis and manpower export to Malaysia has also increased substantially. However, most of the manpower exported to these regions is still in the category of unskilled workers. In terms of exporting professionals or highly skilled workers, Bangladesh is still lagging far behind. In order to export more skilled workers the government needs to ensure that Bangladeshi workforce get quality training at home. Moreover, adequate consultations and other types of assistance need to be provided.
A vast portion of recruitment, almost 40%, is managed by the private recruiting agents in the country. Some of these agents are allegedly involved in fraudulent activities, not only causing inhuman sufferings of the workers but also tarnishing the image of the country abroad. Bangladesh Government needs to regulate the recruiting agents properly and ensure that the culprits in the sectors are brought to justice. The Government should also ensure strict monitoring so that no fraudulent activities can be carried out by any dishonest recruiting agents in the country.

I’ve been away for a bit, but today I felt the need to make a post. I felt the need because the Government has finally announced its re-branding campaign, but there are many reasons their effort is flawed before it even gets started.

 Financial Express News

Monsters and Critics News

1. The name – Beautiful Bangladesh – many countries will object to Bangladesh declaring that it is beautiful or more beautiful than other countries.

2. How can Bangladesh compare it’s beauty to countries such as Italy, France, Spain, Thailand, England and the U.S. among many others?

3. What sort of marketing can be done with this brand?

Now, I am not saying that Bangladesh is not beautiful, indeed it is, but Bangladesh needs a brand that presents a more compelling image and can carry it into the future proudly. More than beauty, Bangladesh has its people and those people have heart, hospitality, and friendliness. Truly Bangladesh is the Heart of Asia, with a brand like this there would be so many more possibilities and moreover it carries a much more powerful, positive image. You can feel it.

There are many people out there with opinions about how Bangladesh should re-brand itself. Mostly they all agree on the reasons why this needs to happen, but the way to go about it varies. There is only one who has been helping his countrymen for over 20 years. Dr. Ehsan Imdad has worked to help many migrating Bangladeshis in the U.S. for over 20 years through the Bangladesh Association of NY (BANY) and Bangladesh Shangshod among many other affiliated organizations, and is also a Marketing Professional with over 20 years experience gained from his career in the U.S. with Corporate America’s top financial and pharmaceutical companies. He has launched many brand products and knows first hand the way it works best. He is also the author of , “The Art of Marketing Communication and Corporate Culture published by UPL and was recently featured on Channel I’s most popular talk show, Grameenphone’s “Tritomatray Apni”. During the program he, too suggested that Bangladesh be re-branded as “Bangladesh, the Heart of Asia”. When you analyze it, this is the brand that truly fits Bangladesh.

Any country can be beautiful on the outside, but what will keep tourists coming back? It is not the exterior beauty of Bangladesh. It will be the warmth of the people who serve them, the hospitality in the hotels across the country, the smiles in the faces of the children. The Heart of Bangladesh.

Please read the document written by Dr. Ehsan Imdad on Branding Bangladesh. It is truly worth your time and full of many enlightening ideas.

Branding Bangladesh by Dr. Ehsan Imdad

Happy Holidays and Eid Mubarak

–Bangladeshi Heart

I have been talking about Jatropha (bio diesel tree) on this blog for some time now. Today I thought I’d elaborate to clarify about Jatropha and its possible uses in Bangladesh.

Firstly, Jatropha is NOT a threat to food security. In fact, it is completely inedible. It is doesn’t need to be grown in crop land because it can be grown anywhere, even wastelands. Did you know that Bangladesh has approximately 37 lac hectares of wasteland? Did you know that Jatropha is even grown in the Sahara Desert?

To produce enough diesel to fulfill Bangladesh’s needs only requires 100 hectares of land. Jatropha is not even consumed by animals so it is an excellent border plant to be used to prevent animals from wondering onto and destroying valuable crops. It’s leaves also enrich the soil as the fall. It also can be planted along riverbanks and coastlines to prevent erosion.

Jatropha begins to produce fruit from the second year after plantation and continues to produce fruit for 50 years without replanting.

The process of expressing the oil is similar to that of mustard oil expression and therefore it is not cost intensive.

Other advantages include:

• Jatropha can be grown in less productive areas, shallow fields, rocky terrains and areas with scanty or excess rainfall.
• Animals do not consume Jatropha, hence it could be used on mass level to improvise barren land.
• Jatropha could be easily grown from stem and seeds.
• It grows extremely fast.
• Within 2 years of plantation, it starts to produce seeds and keeps on producing until the age of 50 years.
• For one hectare of plantation, depending on density and quantity, 3-10 tonnes of Jatropha seed could be obtained.
• Jatropha is a plant with many uses, its skin produces tannin, and various parts have different medicinal properties. The oil produced by Jatropha seeds has various medicinal properties.
• The latex of Jatropha contains an element jatrophene which is ’Anti-Cancerous’. The extract from the leaves is used to cure piles and raw leaves help in cleaning teeth and other dental problems.
• Jatropha oil is strongest substitute for diesel. Apart from this it is used for producing soap, candles and cosmetics.
• While burning, Jatropha does not emit fumes, hence in rural areas it is used for lighting purposes.
• In China Jatropha oil is used for making varnish.

In India, railways use Jatropha fuel to fulfill approximately 20%  of the annual needs. 

The skin and leaves of Jatropha are used in making dye.

In Bangladesh, there are many uses for Jatropha. Like India trains that run on diesel could be switched to Bio Diesel.

The same is true for buses, heavy machineries and trucks.

Added benefits for Bangladesh if implemented correctly:

• Rural Development
• Female Empowerment
• Reduction in Rural to Urban Migration
• Among many others.

This article expands on the reasons that the country needs to make a change for the betterment of all the people.

This story is by Matt Wade, the New Delhi Herald Correspondent in Bhola for the Sydney Morning Herald and elaborates on a study conducted by the United Nations Panel.  The story appeared in the October 11, 2008 edition of the paper.

Fighting a losing battle… last month Humayun Kabir watched as his 100-year-old ancestral home was washed away. Boats now sail where his home once stood. 

Nasir Ahmed is terrified of the full moon. In the dead of night three weeks ago it induced an unprecedented tidal surge that inundated his coastal village on the island of Bhola, in southern Bangladesh, leaving him, his wife Nasima, and their six children without shelter.

“I was quite well set up before, but my situation has become desperate,” says Nasir, a fisherman who earns less than a dollar a day. “We are now going without food.”

The family has taken refuge in an abandoned hut on a crumbling embankment a few metres from the new shoreline. When the next full moon comes, the tide could devour that shelter too.

Bhola’s geography has put it at climate change ground zero. It is a flat slither of land – 15 kilometres by 150 kilometres – flanked by huge rivers and with the Bay of Bengal to the south.

Increased temperatures mean a torrent of additional melt-water from Himalayan glaciers is gushing down the great rivers of India – the Ganges and the Brahmaputra – into the Bangladeshi delta, causing savage erosion. At the same time coastal areas are being gradually flooded by rising sea levels. If that wasn’t enough, Bhola is cyclone-prone and likely to experience more frequent and extreme storms as sea temperatures rise because of global warming.

But Bhola is also home to nearly 2 million people. The experience of Nasir Ahmed and his family will be replicated over and over as global warming reshapes Bangladesh, where climate change is not a problem limited to the future. Already it takes a toll. The massive tide that washed away Nasir Ahmed’s home last month was the worst inundation of Bhola that anyone can remember. Canals four kilometres inland broke their banks, flooding homes and businesses never before affected by tidal flows.

“I have no doubt the tides are getting higher,” says Nozrul Islam, a village leader in Bhola’s Khash Mahal.

Even under optimistic global warming scenarios, much of the densely populated island is likely to be underwater by the middle of the century. A Dhaka environment researcher, Mohammad Shamsuddoha, says that if the current rate of erosion continues Bhola could be completely lost within 40 years.

Masud Akbar, co-ordinator of a disaster management program for HEED (Health, Education and Economic Development), has seen hundreds of Bhola people lose their homes in the past few months. “I am really frightened about the future of this island,” he said. “Bhola is under threat from every side. People see it, they feel it.”

Last month Humayun Kabir watched his 100-year-old ancestral home get washed away by the enormous Meghna River, which spans more than 25 kilometres at the point where it empties into the Bay of Bengal at Bhola. Boats now sail where Humayun’s home stood.

“It was so sudden,” he said. “My family had been living in that house for generations. I don’t really know why this is happening but I know things here are changing quickly.” Humayun, a 52-year-old school teacher, has shifted his family to a new house more than a kilometre inland. “I feel sad and disappointed, but what can I do?”

But many poorer families, without the resources to rebuild on safer ground, have nowhere to go. Fatema Begum was forced to put her two small children and few possessions in the ceiling to stop them washing away when last month’s tidal surges hit. Like many landless people in the village of Murat Sabulla, Fatema has now elevated her family’s only bed on to bricks in the desperate hope the next big tide will be more charitable. “I have no land of my own so I have no option but to stay here,” she says. “I am very worried about my children.”

It’s not just homes being destroyed. In Murat Sabulla a sturdy concrete madrasa, or religious school, is being demolished because of constant inundation. At nearby Hashan Nagar a two-storey concrete building that housed the Mirja Kalu School, established in 1928, was abandoned last month because the river is lapping at the classroom doors. “The river just kept getting higher,” says the caretaker. “It became impossible to run the school.”

Now fishermen tether their boats on what was the playground and repair their nets on the verandah. This poor community has such precious little to lose.

The damage inflicted on Bhola is a bellwether of what climate change will do to Bangladesh. More than 155 million Bangladeshis are crammed into a land mass about two thirds the size of Victoria, making it the world’s most densely populated country. It is also one of the world’s poorest countries, and lowest lying, a nation at the mercy of global warming. “The climate change predictions for Bangladesh are particularly grim and people are already feeling it,” says World Vision chief economist Brett Parris.

The United Nations Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change predicts rising sea levels will devour 17 per cent of Bangladesh by 2050, displacing at least 20 million people. Already, each hour, an average 11 Bangladeshis lose their homes to rising waters, according to the Dhaka-based Coastal Watch.

Some experts think the toll will be considerably higher. In a Greenpeace report in March, Chella Rajan, professor of humanities and social sciences at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, warned that South Asia must brace for a massive wave of migration resulting from rising sea levels, floods, cyclones and drought associated with shrinking water supplies and monsoon variability. He estimated 75 million Bangladeshis and 50 million Indians could be displaced by the end of this century under the worst sea level rise scenarios. “We cannot wait for the inevitable to happen and hope to adapt to it,” said Rajan.

Bangladesh has made significant progress over the past 30 years. Life expectancy has risen from 50 years to 64, population growth has halved and the adult literacy rate has doubled. But the World Bank warns that climate change could undo decades of progress.

Parris said “climate poverty” in Bangladesh already was on the rise. “We’re seeing a convergence of climate change and poverty that is reducing the ability of poor communities to grow crops, access water and house and feed themselves,” he said.

The global warming threat was underscored last year when Bangladesh was hammered by a series of devastating weather events. Two unusually severe floods were followed immediately by cyclone Sidr, a category five storm that killed more than 3300 people and left about two million homeless. Despite growing risks, however, people are not fleeing the Bangladesh coast.

A.Q.M. Mahbub, a professor in Dhaka University’s geography and environment department, said population density is increasing in the most vulnerable coastal regions. Population is moving to areas of climate risk because of job opportunities. “Poor and landless people are flocking to the south in search of a livelihood,” he said.

When forced to shift by climate change, where will they go?

Millions are expected to head for neighbouring India. Chella Rajan says big inland Indian cities like Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad are in danger of being swamped by climate change refugees. “It is likely that large cities … which already have serious resource constraints of their own, by the middle of the century will have to be prepared to accommodate enormous numbers of migrants from the coasts,” he said.

Rich countries such as Australia are likely to come under pressure to accept more migrants, too. But this will cater only for a relatively wealthy and well educated minority. Mahbub believes the vast majority of Bangladeshis will have nowhere to go. “My guess is that the largest number of people will just stay put and adapt over here in Bangladesh,” he said.

Despite gloomy forecasts, many Bangladeshis – experts and coastal villagers alike – are optimistic about their adaptability. Nozrul Islam, a farmer in a flood-prone area of Bhola, is typical of the bravado. “I have been fighting with the river and the cyclones my whole life and we will keep fighting them,” he said. “We cannot leave so we have no alternative to adapt – it’s what I have been doing since 1970.” While the world talks about reducing greenhouse gases, many Bangladeshis like Nozrul are doing what they can to stave off the worst effects. With the help of HEED, Nozrul established his village’s disaster management committee to help prepare for climate change. HEED’s disaster management work in Bhola is funded by the Melbourne-based aid agency, TEAR Australia.

Community worker Masud Akbar said: “Even simple measures like introducing a basic warning system, repairing pathways or planting trees can reduce the vulnerability of these communities.”

Last month, one of these disaster management committees gathered 32 young women to learn about caring for others during and after a natural disaster. Sathie Begum, 18, said it was the first time she had heard about climate change. “I’m now more confident about what to do if there is a disaster,” she said.

HEED’s Masud Akbar said most Bhola people have little or no knowledge of climate change’s consequences. “We need to be working on a much bigger scale to make people aware,” he said.

While the Government cites the millions of Bangladeshis already suffering from climate change, senior officials speak in calmer tones about making the country resilient to its effects. “Whatever we have gained from recent development is under threat because of climate change,” says Muhammad Syeedul Haque, of Bangladesh’s Environment Department. Research has begun on challenges ranging from health risks to new farming techniques. Saline-resistant rice varieties are being demonstrated. Haque dismisses as “totally baseless” the doomsday climate change scenarios on Bangladesh, and Mahbub is even more upbeat. “We have got a wonderful flood adjustment culture here in Bangladesh,” he said. “What people will need is strong, safe housing that can withstand extreme weather events and to be shown new ways to earn a livelihood.”

Bangladesh will need a lot of help to do that. Last month the British Government donated more than $198 million to a fund to assist Bangladesh adapt to climate change. Denmark and the Netherlands, as well as the World Bank, are also expected to contribute soon. Australian Government sources say a climate change assistance package for Bangladesh is in the pipeline.

There is a strong case for wealthy countries to do much more. Global warming has been exacerbated by the behaviour of the world’s wealthiest nations, and very poor Bangladeshis will pay a high price for it.

Why, am I not surprised? When you rely on foreign resources for oil you pay the price.  Many things impact that price. Market fluctuations, weather, and supply availability at any given time. Of course the concern in this article is the cost to developed countries. What comes around, goes around and eventually this will also impact Bangladesh and other developing nations.

When do we stop relying on the Gulf Countries for Oil? When do we work on developing our own resources?

This will reduce the cost over petrol at home and have further reaching benefits for us as well. Bio Fuel is being looked at across the globe as one alternative. It need not impact food security, if the correct choices are made.

So, again I ask what is causing the delay to take action? Why is the Government keeping silent on this issue?

________________________________________________________________________

Oil prices up sharply in Asia on hurricane threat .

World oil prices rebounded sharply from five-month lows in Asian trade Monday on worries that Hurricane Ike will threaten production facilities in the US Gulf Coast, analysts said.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October, was up 1.89 dollars to 108.12 dollars a barrel from its close in New York floor trading on Friday.

Brent North Sea crude for October surged 1.71 dollars to 105.80 dollars a barrel.

‘Oil prices are reacting to the threat of Hurricane Ike, which is heading toward the Gulf of Mexico,’ said Victor Shum, an analyst with energy consultancy Purvin and Gertz in Singapore.

‘In the short term, hurricanes will determine the price direction of crude oil. It’s likely that the market will test new lows this month if the hurricane season does not do any damage to oil production in the Gulf of Mexico.’The hurricane slammed into Cuba on Sunday, officials said. Ike, packing 195-kilometre per hour winds, earlier left dozens of people dead in a rampage across Haiti.

The hurricane is expected to eventually churn past Florida into the Gulf of Mexico and sweep toward Louisiana and the storm-battered city of New Orleans as early as Tuesday.

Last week, Hurricane Gustav forced the closure of US oil production in the Gulf, but analysts said the storm did little long-term damage to oil rigs and production platforms there.

Oil prices, which rose to record highs above 147 dollars in July, had tumbled to five-month lows close to 104 dollars last week as the cooling global economy stoked fears of waning energy demand. After hosting the 2008 Olympic Games last month, China had cut its imports of gasoline and diesel, Shum said, adding that slowing demand in the eurozone and the rest of Asia was likely to weigh on oil prices. Shum said the market was also closely watching the results of a policy meeting on Tuesday by oil ministers of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna.

Some analysts are expecting the ministers to agree to trim output to help keep crude above 100 dollars a barrel. ‘I think in the end, OPEC’s actions — whether it will be at tomorrow’s meeting or in the next month or two — will be the key to determine prices for the rest of the year,’ Shum said.

Two interesting articles appeared in the Daily Star today:

Dhaka to present climate change plan

Britain and Bangladesh will jointly hold a high-level conference on climate change on Wednesday in London to launch a possible Bangladesh-specific climate change action plan and trust fund in line with the Bali Declaration.

Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam and Environment Special Assistant Raja Devasish Roy will present a strategy and action plan, including plans to start a billion dollar multi-donor trust fund, to combat climate change.

“At the conference we hope to present a strategy and an action plan which is in the final stage at this moment,” said Devasish in a statement, adding that the strategy outlines how climate change issues will be mainstreamed towards development over 10 years.
British International Development Minister Douglas Alexander and World Bank Managing Director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala will attend the conference along with 200 other participants including speakers from vulnerable countries, donors, private sector, academia and NGOs.
The joint effort by the two countries will try to link mitigating and adapting to climate changes with meeting the Millennium Development Goals and overall development.

The government consulted selected members of the civil society, private sector and donors to draw up the strategy to identify potential physical impacts of climate change.

“The main concern raised is that the pace of climate change could overwhelm development efforts and reverse the gains of recent decades,” said a government statement. The strategy calls on donors to support Bangladesh in developing climate change resilient capability.

The conference will focus on highlighting Bangladesh as one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change effects and how Bangladeshis are already struggling to adapt to the effects.

Looking ahead to the new international climate change agreement expected to be signed in Copenhagen in 2009, the British and Bangladesh governments will highlight the need for global participation in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and support climate change adaptation.

“The aim is to increase international focus on how Bangladesh is adapting to climate change and how much more needs to be done, both domestically and globally to stop it from worsening,” said DFID Bangladesh chief Chris Austin.

He added that Britain would announce a significant package of support to address climate change in Bangladesh.
According to government projections, the country is likely to suffer from more intense and frequent floods, droughts, cyclones and storm surges, with adverse impact on agriculture, water security and health.

By 2050, rising sea levels could permanently flood 8 percent of the country with production of rice declining by 8 percent. Around 70 million people could be annually affected by floods with up to 12 million people being affected by drought in the dry season.

Dhaka should ask for compensation, not aid

Dialogue blasts developed countries over climate change

Bangladesh should not ask for charity or aid from industrially developed countries to combat climate change, but demand compensation from them, speakers at a dialogue in the city said yesterday.
The reason for this, they said, is that the industrially developed countries are themselves causing the change in climate.
The comments came at a dialogue arranged by BBC Bangla Sanglap (Dialogue) at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre on “Bangladesh Sanglap on Climate Change” yesterday.

Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, convener of Equity-BD and a panel member at the dialogue, said, “We should not be seeking help from developed countries. It is a question of justice and reparation.”
“The developed countries have caused loss to Global Public Goods and they must compensate,” he said.
The effects of climate change are causing a huge loss to the government economically, speakers pointed out, citing the example of Sidr. Bangladesh received US$ 600 million in foreign aid though the loss caused by Sidr is estimated at US$ 3 billion. Bangladesh has an existing bank loan of Tk 17,000 crore while natural disasters like cyclone, flood and other climate change effects add to the deficit every year.

Dr Atiq Rahman, chairman of South Asia Climate Action Network, Prof Shahnaz Haque Hossain, dean of environment sciences faculty of Dhaka University, Prof Mominul Haque Sarker and CEGIS Head Morphologist Mominul Haque Sarker were the other panel members of the dialogue, while BBC’s Masud Hasan Khan moderated the event.
Dr Atiq Rahman pointed out that “the sea level will rise by at least one metre by 2050 — with possibilities of rising upto 1.5 metres,” causing unthinkable damage to the world.

“A one metre rise will affect 13% of the agriculture land and 17% of the remaining land of the country as Bangladesh will be among the first countries to be affected by this change,” he said.
In that case, Dr Atiq pointed out, the sea will come within 60 to 100 km of the capital city and most of the southern areas of the country will go under water. Other countries like the Maldives would go totally underwater.
Dr Atiq also said that the loss from climate change would be higher than that estimated by the International Panel for Climate Change (IPCC).

The speakers at the dialogue also criticised the paper that is to be presented in the upcoming bilateral talks on climate change in UK, saying the paper was “limited towards effects on infrastructure” and was ‘ research-centred’ and not based on any field level work or information.
The talks are scheduled for September 10.
They stressed the need for the developed and developing countries’ making a commitment to address the issue of climate change.
Experts at the dialogue called on the government to formulate a coordinated policy to address the issue. They praised the government for allocation in this year’s budget in this regard but pointed out that Bangladesh is not responsible for climate change, and countries causing the problem must take responsibility for their actions.
Funds for adaptation and research to combat the situation should come from the countries causing the damage, they said.
The speakers also urged the industrially developed countries to introduce special quota for Bangladesh to help people migrate from the affected areas in accordance with existing international laws.
Shahnaz Haque said that we must overcome the fear of damage caused by climatic change and take effective steps to combat it.
“Our real concern is whether human activities is harming the natural system,” she said.
It was revealed at the dialogue that fifty percent of Kutubdia Island has already gone under water. At the present rate of land erosion, both Kutubdia and Bhola will go completely underwater in another 40 and 70 years.
Mominul Haque said, “What really matters is how much the sea level will rise and for how long?”

Global Warming is a threat looming over Bangladesh. I have talked about this issue a few times and that Bangladesh as a nation needs to take steps to avert the impending threat as it has been revealed by Al Gore and his team of environmental experts. Recently I was browsing a few blog sites and came across this one Adhunika Blog where in the July 30th post they make a lot of valid points. What are we leaving for our children? What world? Even if Bangladesh survives the Global Warming threat, its own inhabitants are polluting the environment everyday.

From dumping trash into the waterways, factories billowing smoke into the air, the blaring horns from the cars as the drive through the city and villages. We face pollution every single day. I see the women and children suffering from skin disease begging on the street. Nobody wants to go near them. Literally, I get chills just looking at them.

There are solutions to the issue of garbage and the Dhaka city is making some efforts to centralize incinerators for garbage. Unfortunately, so far their efforts are focus in the old part of the city.

DCC Garbage Management Project News

Bangladesh should be looking for Green solutions to many of its problems, beginning with pollution. Recently, I heard of a project in China where they are burning trash to generate electricity. The electricity generated is not from fossil fuel or carbon based so it is considered Green the same way using biofuel for cars is Green.

Bangladesh is a country on the brink of being under water due to Global Warming, shouldn’t it be looking to reduce the carbons in the air at home?

Bangladesh is has a rich history