Bangladesh creates trust fund to deal with climate change
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A?senior Bangladeshi official said Sunday the Bangladeshi government has allocated 7 billion taka ( 100 million U.S. dollars) in its current national budget to set up a Climate Change Trust Fund to address the climate change issue.
Bangladeshi State Minister for Environment and Forest Hasan Mahmud made the remarks after the first meeting of the Climate Change Trustee Board, the national news agency BSS reported.
Hasan said despite its limitations and various crises, the Bangladeshi government puts due importance to dealing with the climate change issue.
Although Bangladesh is one of the Least Developed Countries, the government has formulated Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan 2009 which has been appreciated globally, he added.
Hasan said the Trustee Board will work with Climate Change Cells in all ministries and the action plan would be implemented under the overall guidance of the National Environment Council and its Executive Committee.
"Bangladesh is one of the most climate vulnerable countries in the world and it will become more vulnerable as a result of climate change, which will cause further poverty and hunger thus creating an obstacle to achieving the Millennium Development Goals," he said.
Hasan said that under the Trust Fund, projects from both government and non-government organizations (NGOs) would be accepted for undertaking projects on adaptation with the climate change for a maximum period of two years.
For the government projects, maximum 250 million taka (3.57 million U.S. dollars) would be allocated from this fund, while the highest allocation for any project by NGO would be 50 million taka (about 714,000 U.S. dollars), he said.
