CA urges SAARC countries to tackle climate change threats unitedly

DHAKA, Bangladesh July 4 (BSS) - Chief Adviser of Bangladesh caretaker Government Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed today called upon the SAARC countries to tackle the threats of climate change through cooperative and collaborative arrangements in South Asia.

"Climate change will disproportionately hurt the poor. Its
irreversible impacts will steal the livelihood options of
millions of our citizens living below the poverty line," he said.

Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed said these while inaugurating the SAARC
(South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Ministerial
Meeting on Climate Change at Hotel Sheraton here this morning.

The Chief Adviser said the South Asian region, home to
nearly one-third of humanity, is particularly vulnerable due to
the adverse effect of climate change.

He said floods, draughts and salinity intrusion will wreak
havoc on our agriculture and fisheries while starvation,
malnutrition and consequent fear of extinction will haunt our
impoverished citizens.

He said the adverse effects of global warming will derail
all our efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by
2015 and it will unleash the gravest tragedy in human history,
far graver than the "Black Death" of the atrocities of World War
II.

Referring to a report of the Inter- governmental Panel on
Climate Change -IPCC, he said Bangladesh could lose as much as
one-third of its landmass due to the rise in sea level while
Maldives could disappear entirely.

The IPCC has predicted that monsoon rainfall would continue
to increase in South Asia, resulting in excessive flows in our
rivers and the melting of the Himalayan glaciers is likely to
further worsen the conditions.

Putting emphasis on mitigation and adaptation efforts to
combat the climate change, he said mitigation efforts are keys to
rein in the deleterious effects of global warming and on the
adaptation front it is, in fact, the code name of resilience.

Referring to Bangladesh's position in this regard, the Chief
Adviser said we have made significant progress in achieving
climate-resilience with various adaptation measures. Our
experience could serve as a model for many others facing similar
challenges, he added.

Besides, Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed said we are actively seeking
to establish an International Adaptation Centre in Dhaka to share
our knowledge and best practices.

Foreign Affairs Adviser Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury,
Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser for the Ministry of
Environment Raja Debashish Roy, Secretary General of SAARC Dr
Sheel Kant Sharma also spoke on the occasion when Secretary to
the Ministry of Forest and Environment A H M Rezaul Karim gave
welcome speech.