Planned city a must to fight climate impact

Experts say at seminar

27 November 2011, 18:00 PM

Staff Correspondent

Planned development of Dhaka is a must to combat climate change challenges, including rehabilitation of climate refugees, said ministers and experts at an international seminar in the city yesterday. They said local government bodies have a vital role to play in making urban development resilient to climate change impacts and ensuring sustainable housing, transport, water supply and sanitation facilities. Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) and Citynet, a network of over 100 local government bodies of Asia and the Pacific, organised the two-day seminar on climate change and role of local government. One third of the city's population lives in the slums and one third of them are displaced due to river erosion, said Atiq Rahman, executive director of Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies. Innumerable people displaced by river erosion, cyclones, drought, salinity, floods and sea-level rise could flock to the urban slums and migrate in millions in the future with aggravating climate change impacts, he said. Eighty percent of the global carbon emission comes from the cities due to lifestyle and economic activities, Atiq said, adding that the cities are heat islands and badly need afforestation. Climate change is integrally linked with urbanisation, said Mary Jane Ortega, secretary general of Citynet. It is crucial to learn how to adapt to and mitigate the impacts, Ortega added. State Minister for Environment and Forests Hasan Mahmud said local governments' development schemes in urbanisation should be on a long-term basis keeping climate change challenges in view. He also underscored the need for urban afforestation. Dhaka's population had doubled in the past one and half decades, he said. The speakers said half of the global population lives in cities. The figure for Bangladesh is 27 percent. State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Jahangir Kabir Nanak also spoke at the seminar. DCC Chief Executive Officer Md Abul Kalam Azad was in the chair.