Denmark inks deal with UNDP, UNCDF Bangladesh to extend local govt initiative on climate change for 2 yrs

Photo: PR

Denmark has signed an agreement with UNDP and UNCDF Bangladesh to extend the Local Government Initiative on Climate Change (LoGIC) project for two years from June 2023 to June 2025.

Danish Minister for Development Cooperation and Global Climate Policy Dan Jannik Jørgensen signed an agreement in this regard in the presence of the Danish Ambassador to Bangladesh Winnie Estrup Petersen and UNDP Resident Representative Stefan Liller, reads a press release. 

With a funding support of 40m Danish Kroner ($5.6m approximately) from the Danish government, the extension phase of LoGIC will be implemented in two districts of the Chattogram Hill Tracts (CHT) –Rangamati and Bandarban.

The purpose is to strengthen communities' resilience to the impact of climate change through locally-led adaptation strategies. 

The dignitaries from Denmark, along with representatives of UNDP and UNCDF, visited Mongla in Bagerhat to observe and understand the impact of climate change and how both agencies are building climate resilience through innovative and locally-led solutions.

Danish minister Dan Jannik Jørgensen, during his visit to climate-affected areas in Mongla took note of the adaptive measures taken by the affected communities to strengthen their resilience against climate change.

"Denmark values the strong and longstanding bilateral relation with Bangladesh. Recognising that Bangladesh is at the forefront of the climate crisis, Denmark is committed to supporting Bangladesh's aspirations for climate-oriented economic growth and green transition in the years of graduation from the group of LDCs."

Denmark is also one of the few development partners that have engaged long term in the CHT, most recently with a focus on climate resilience of communities, Jørgensen added.

Winnie Estrup Petersen, Danish ambassador to Bangladesh, said, "Given the significant climate vulnerability of the region, Denmark will continue to support UNDP and UNCDF in the CHT through LoGIC. This model strengthens the national fiscal transfer systems for the channelling of climate adaptation funding to local governments and ensures institutional and financial sustainability." 

"Bangladesh is often cited as one of the world's most climate-vulnerable nations, and it is the poor who are disproportionately affected. As such, we must focus on increasing communities' resilience to the impact of climate change. To this end, we here at UNDP, Bangladesh continue to work on mainstreaming climate change into local level planning and financing processes by blending scientific knowledge with local expertise to identify climate risks and support effective adaptation measures," said Stefan Liller, resident representative of UNDP Bangladesh. 

In 2016, the Government of Bangladesh (GoB), the European Union (EU), and the Government of Sweden, together with UNDP and UNCDF, jointly designed the "Local Government Initiative on Climate Change" (LoGIC) project to develop a mechanism to deliver climate finance to the most vulnerable households and local government institutions for building resilience and promoting local action on climate change adaptation at scale.