$36m deal to protect wildlife
The WB loan carries a 40-year maturity with a 10-year grace period and a 0.75pc service charge
The government yesterday signed a US$ 36 million credit agreement with the World Bank (WB) to finance a project for protection of the wildlife.
The project titled "Strengthening regional cooperation for wildlife protection in Asia", first of it's kind, will address illegal cross-border trade of wild animals through regional cooperation and capacity building, and support of the country's initiative for habitat protection, especially for the Bengal Tiger.
The credit from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank's concessional lending arm, has a 40-year maturity, including a 10-year grace period and carries a service charge of 0.75 percent, a press statement of the WB reads.
"This project will be the entry point to regional cooperation for wildlife protection and conservation," said Prime Minister's Economic Affairs Advisor Dr Mashiur Rahman.
"Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan are joining the project at this stage. Participation by other tiger range countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia is envisaged in later phases," said Mashiur who was present during signing ceremony.
The Indian ministry of environment and forests has also shown willingness to join the regional initiative and had participated in a regional consultation meeting, the statement added.
Economic Relations Division (ERD) Secretary Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan and World Bank Country Director to Bangladesh Ellen Goldstein signed the agreement on behalf of the Government of Bangladesh and the WB respectively at ERD.
South Asia is home to 13-15 percent of the world's biodiversity and hosts some of the most endangered species on the Earth. But deforestation, habitat loss, pollution, and poaching of wild animals have exposed the environmental and ecological balance to serious threat.
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