A three day residential workshop on “Strengthening Partnership for Capacity Building and Finance of Local Level Climate Change Adaptation in Bangladesh” was conducted by ICCCAD and Action Research for Community Adaptation in Bangladesh (ARCAB) in Partnership with UNDP’s Poverty Environment Climate Mainstreaming (PECM) project of General Economic Divisions (GED), Government of Bangladesh. Lasting from the 14th to the 16th February, 2014.
An opening seminar was held in Spectra Convention Center in Gulshan, Dhaka on the 13th of February. Special guests at the seminar were Professor M. Omar Rahman vice chancellor of Independent University, Bangladesh and Dr. Aminul Islam, Assistant Country Director, CCED, UNDP. The event was inaugurated by the chief guest Dr. Shamsul Alam, Member, GED, Planning Commission and welcome speech was given by Dr. Saleemul Huq, Director of ICCCAD. In a second session 5 policy briefs were presented along with presentations from PECM and GED, by A K M Mamunur Rashid, National Project Manager, PECM, and Mohammad Rafiqul Islam, Joint Chief, GED. Dr. Mesbah ul Alam, Secretary, Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, joined the closing session of the seminar as a Special Guest. On the same day participants travelled to the venue for the workshop BRAC Centre for Development and Management (CDM), Savar.
The first day of the workshop was initiated by Dr. Saleemul Huq. A series of presentations started with Kairos dela Cruz from the Institute of Climate and Sustainable Cities (iCSC) of the Philippines. The presentation session was continued by participants from different INGOs like Islamic Relief, Save the Children, Care Bangladesh, Practical Action Bangladesh, ActionAid Bangladesh and Transparency International Bangladesh. There were local NGOs like BEDS and Progoti, also national groups like BCAS and CPRD, who took part. Participants from CDMP, UNDP, GIZ, ARCAB, BRAC University, Murdoch University, Jagannath University were also present. Several Planning Commission officers from the GED also took part in the workshop.
The second day of the workshop primarily involved group work. Groups were assigned based on issues of Pilot Projects, Gender Youth and Children, Capacity Building, and Finance. Each of these four groups had focus discussion on identifying potential problems, ways to solve them and possible stakeholders that are to take part in it. In a later session the leads of each group shared their outcomes through presentations.
On the closing day, participants were given the floor to share their views and further discuss their action notes both individually and as part of an organization. After a closing speech and promise to make full effort to put plan in action the workshop came to an end.
