NAP needs to focus climate adaptation priorities, say experts

Experts at a workshop have suggested that the National Adaptation Plan (NAP), which is now being formulated to fight climate changes, should focus on adaptation priorities, identify investment strategies and establish monitoring mechanisms.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the Economic Relations Division (ERD) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with support from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) organised the strategic planning workshop on Saturday at the BRAC CDM in Gazipur to discuss the progress of Bangladesh's NAP, said an UNDP release here on Sunday.
The workshop focused on key strategic papers drafted by the NAP formulation team. Other issues including its proposed structure and contents; monitoring, evaluation and financing framework; possible investment plan and capacity building and knowledge management on climate change adaptation were also discussed.
The participants highly emphasised the local vulnerability issues, investment plan, adaptation measures and assessment of adaptive capability and capacity development needs of the climate-vulnerable localities.
Advisor of the NAP formulation team Prof Dr Ainun Nishat said NAP should focus on adaptation priorities for combating climate change, identify investment strategies and establish monitoring, reporting and verification mechanisms.
"For successful formulation and implementation of NAP, we need to have consensus on different aspects of the NAP," he said
Elaborating the capacity development plan in NAP, Dr Nishat said, "The transformative capacity development approach of the NAP will define climate change and answer how it is interlinked with national and sectoral level planning."
Secretary of MoEFCC Md Mostafa Kamal said, "We need to highly focus on de-carbonization of development efforts and in doing so we should look for all possible avenues to promote green growth without compromising development aspirations."
Director General of Department of Environment (DoE) Md Ashraf Uddin emphasised strategies, meaningful and effective ways to mobilise resources from internal and external sources. "Resource mobilisation will be a key challenge for NAP implementation," he said.
National Project Director of the NAP Formulation Project Md Mizanul Haque Chowdhury, who chaired the workshop, said "We need to identify the potential engagement of private sectors who are willing to contribute to climate change adaptation by investing in promoting a resilient market and reducing carbon emissions."
Stating the objective of NAP formulation, Deputy National Project Director Mirza Shawkat Ali said NAP will address long term adaptation investment and enhance the national capacity for integration of climate change adaptation in planning, budgeting and financial tracking process.
Programme Specialist of UNDP Arif M Faisal briefly stated the need for an inclusive NAP that would incorporate the development agenda so that it can contribute to Bangladesh's journey in becoming a developed country by 2041.
To make it an internationally accepted policy document, he emphasised peer review of the NAP by national and international experts.
Faisal also emphasised enhancing resilience building in both society and the ecosystem.
More than 40 representatives from relevant ministries and line agencies attended the event.
Earlier, a series of consultations were held at the local, district and national levels that provided valuable insights for the formulation of NAP.
Through the NAP formulation, Bangladesh is rolling to a future where all of its development interventions will be adaptive and climate-resilient.
To this end, the plan will contribute to the resilience building of the vulnerable people in the climate risks prone areas so that the local community can adapt to climate change and eternally graduate from the chronic poverty trap.