Thrust on enhancing ministries’ capacity to get financing from Green Climate Fund

Ministries need to be equipped with the skill set necessary to design effective projects to easily secure funding from the global Green Climate Fund, said government officials on Sunday.

They should also work on enhancing project implementation capacity, the officials also said at the inaugural function of a training workshop titled "Green Climate Fund - Modalities and Procedures", organised by Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) on Sunday.

Some 25 representatives from 16 ministries, divisions and agencies participated in the workshop to be held on 17-28 October in the auditorium of the National Institute of Local Government in the capital's Agargaon.

Speaking as the special guest, Fatima Yasmin, secretary to the Economic Relations Division, said it is necessary to ramp up the capacity in formulating projects and implementing those properly to get foreign assistance.

In this way, the country will get more money from the Green Climate Fund, and project implementation will be faster with the help of foreign aid, Fatima also said.

"Today's training will enhance officers' skills, which will help them take up effective projects. The sooner we can formulate a project, the faster we can get the money from the fund," she added

The adverse effects of climate change on the poor are more prevalent. In 2009, the government set up the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund on its own initiative to increase the capacity and adaptability of the poor.

The Green Climate Fund is a fund established within the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change as an operating entity of the financial mechanism to assist developing countries in adaptation and mitigation practices to counter challenges posed by climate change.

PKSF is the National Implementing Entity of the Green Climate Fund in Bangladesh.

The organisation is now implementing two projects – GCF Readiness Support Project and Extended Community Climate Change Project-Flood – with the financial support from the Green Climate Fund.

KM Ali Azam, senior secretary to the public administration ministry, said officials of various government divisions through this training will get a clear and comprehensive idea about Green Climate Fund, which will enable them to play an active role in formulating projects, securing funding and implementing the projects. 

There is no alternative to environmental protection to achieve "Vision 2041" and ensure sustainable development, he added.

Dr Nomita Halder, managing director at PKSF, said since its inception in 1990, PKSF has been implementing multidimensional activities through partner organisations with the aim of alleviating poverty through job creation. Alongside the Green Climate Fund GCF, PKSF is also the National Implementing Entity of Adaptation Fund in Bangladesh. 

Saleh Ahmad Mozaffar, director-general of the National Institute of Local Government, also spoke on the occasion.