Editorial
Efficiently utilizing adaptation fund
Performance should be verifiable as well as measurable
Bangladesh's extreme vulnerability to climate change has been well recognized by the developed nations and especially by the relevant international forums. So, it is only expected that Bangladesh is a strong candidate to draw the Green Climate Fund pledged by the rich countries at the recently held Cancun Climate Summit.
But once the country begins to receive such fund, the question that would naturally arise is how best we are able to utilize it. So, it will be necessary to mark out the areas where the fund would go. Then comes the question of strengthening of the institutions through which the fund would be channeled to its ultimate beneficiaries. But do the institutions such as the local government bodies, the various government and non-government bodies have the necessary preparedness to utilize the fund? How are the communities to be addressed with the fund might be mobilized efficiently? How are the exact needs of the beneficiaries at the grass-roots identified? And how would the involvement of the target group members in the climate adaptation and mitigation activities be ensured? Will they also be engaged in the decision-making process and if that is the case, then how? These questions are pertinent because here we are talking about a non-conventional kind of fund for an objective that, too, is quite new. That means the task before us is one of huge capacity building work for the relevant institutions. Such activities will necessarily involve training adequate manpower with the knowledge about adaptation and mitigation measures in response to climate change.
Secondly, the tasks of community mobilization and strengthening of the implementing agencies would entail fund use. And as with all funds, maintenance of transparency and accountability will be a sine qua non for the work to succeed. Again, as we would be getting into uncharted waters, it will also be necessary to develop a fail-safe mechanism for fund utilization. Such a mechanism should be in place in order to make the implementation outputs measurable as well as verifiable.
One suggestion, on this score, might be the creation of a nodal agency comprising representatives of the government, local government bodies, Non-government Organisations (NGOs) as well as community representatives. That will function mainly as an oversight body to monitor efficient use of fund. These steps are crucial for sustainable use of the climate fund.
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