Unified efforts of vulnerable countries urgent to tackle climate impacts: State Minister for Environment

This dialogue titled ‘Living Waters, Shared Rights’, organized by Change Initiative in cooperation with the Embassy of Switzerland and WaterAid Bangladesh, emphasized a natural rights-based water governance system and the protection of transboundary rivers. The State Minister for Environment said that rising sea levels pose a serious threat to Bangladesh’s drinking water, food security and housing. To tackle this situation, climate-vulnerable countries must collectively raise their demands and priorities in international forums.

​At the dialogue, M. Zakir Hossain Khan, Chief Executive of Change Initiative, presented the keynote paper. Highlighting the context of the expiry of the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty on 12 December, he called for effective integrated initiatives in transboundary river management. He also called for increasing grant-based financing instead of loans in climate finance. Member of Parliament Mansura Akter and representatives of various international organizations, including Turkey and Nepal, attended and spoke at the event.