Bangladesh’s low-lying coastal regions are vulnerable to Sea level rise and increased occurrence of intense, extreme weather conditions such as the cyclones. In addition, yields from rain fed agriculture could be reduced to 50% by 2020. And for a country with increasing population and hunger, this will have a devastating effect on food security.
Bangladesh needs therefore to prepare for long term adaptation and identify all present vulnerabilities and future opportunities. A consultation workshop on “Building Climate Resilience in the Bangladesh Delta: Managing for effective Water Solutions” was held on 27 February 2013.
High-Level Participation
The Honorable Minister for Water Resources Mr. Ramesh Chandra Sen MP was present as the Chief Guest. Mr. Shaikh Altaf Ali, Senior Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources and Professor Dr Shamsul Alam, Member, GED, Planning Commission were present as special guests. Mr. Azizul Haque, Director General, Bangladesh Water Development Board graced the occasion as the Guest of Honour. Mr. Md. Shahidul Hasan, President, Bangladesh Water Partnership chaired the inaugural session.
Dr. Pervaiz Amir, Consultant & Director from Pakistan Water Partnership and Ms. Priyanka Dissanayake, Regional Co-coordinator, GWP South Asia from Sri Lanka attended the workshop which had a total of 113 participants representing different stakeholder groups.
Workshop sessions
The workshop was divided into following technical sessions:
- Problem Analysis of Coastal Region of Bangladesh
- Sustainable Management of Bangladesh Delta
- Objective setting of a Pilot Scheme
Ten technical papers describing different aspects of water management in the costal delta of Bangladesh were discussed.