Reliable, accessible climate data critical for resilient development: Experts

Reliable and accessible climate data is critical for resilient development, say climate experts.

At the inaugural session of the regional conference at the Hotel InterContinental in Dhaka on Wednesday, they also elaborated how to make data accessible and create a path for integrated collaboration in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region.  

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), and the Programming Division of the Bangladesh Planning Commission, organised the two-day "Climate data: Opportunities for resilient development" conference.

Malik Fida A Khan, executive director, Centre for Environment and Geographical Information Services (CEGIS), presented the keynote paper in the opening session, clarifying the status of climate data and accessibility in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region.

"The National Adaptation Plan (NAP) has properly identified the problems and given the best solutions. Now its effectiveness will depend on implementation. The NAP has been incorporated into the Delta Plan of the government and the SDG of the United Nations," he said.

Malik Fida A Khan also said, "We need to prepare for future temperature and rainfall anomalies in implementing the Social Security Policy Support (SSPS) Programme and so we need reliable and accessible climate data."

It is crucial to have access to climate data and climate risk information to implement these plans, he added.

As chief guest, Habibun Nahar, deputy minister, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, said, "Bangladesh, one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change impacts, has formulated policies and plans such as the National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPA), the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan, and the Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan to combat these impacts."

The conference will give various stakeholders a chance to measure barriers and opportunities in assessing climate risk information.

Sudip Pradhan, programme coordinator, International Center for Integrated Mountain Development, Anuj Sharma, co-founder, Earth Analytics, Hasna Jamiuddin Moudud, councillor, South and East Asia, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and Shamim Ahmed Mridha, founder, Eco-Network Bangladesh, were the panel discussants.

On the first day of the conference, climate experts and stakeholders explained the status, and analysed the various challenges of climate data availability and accessibility in the region.

They also explored technical solutions for issues pertaining to the lack of up-to-date, reliable, and accessible climate data, and practitioners networked to find innovative solutions.

Sanjay Kumar Bhowmik, additional secretary, chaired the inaugural session, and Nusrat Noman, joint secretary, Programming Division, Bangladesh Planning Commission, also spoke at the conference.

An art exhibition was arranged at the venue of the conference too, showcasing the art work of children from Sirajganj municipality who witnessed the impacts of climate change firsthand. Many of them were forced to take shelter in the municipal town from rural areas.