RAJSHAHI, Feb 5, 2019 (BSS) – Concerted efforts of all government and non-
government entities concerned has become an urgent need to face the adverse
impact of climate change in the region including its vast Barind tract.
Climate change is becoming a threat to the urban environment and
development and livelihood as well the uncertainty. The urban poverty is
highly linked with rural disaster risks. The urbanisation situation,
particularly the housing in the city is getting more acute with every passing
year.
The observation came at a daylong workshop styled “Stakeholder
Consultation and Management Implementation of Communication and Visibility
Plan” held at conference hall of Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) here
yesterday.
Bangladesh Centre for Advance Studies (BCAS) organized the workshop in
association with Urban Management Migration and Livelihood (UMML) Project and
GIZ.
RCC Mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton addressed the workshop as chief guest
with its panel mayor Tahera Khatun in the chair.
During his keynote presentation, Dr Dwijen Mollik, Climate Change
Adaptation Expert of BCAS, depicted the present scenario of climate induced
urban migration.
He told the meeting that the UMML project intends to improve the social-
economic status of those who are forced to migrate to the city area due to
climate change.
Short and long term job oriented training and health care facilities will
be provided to the ultra-poor and poor class people and infrastructure will
be built in city areas for providing shelter of those people.
In his remarks, Mayor Liton mentioned that the rural poor people with their
recurrent disaster exposures are migrating into urban areas. These new comers
face a high employment crisis in city and with very poor-quality housing and
other well-being further tapping them into a deeper urban poverty cycle.
Disaster and climate-change impacts have deeper relationship with urban
poverty in Bangladesh. So, this is the high time for proper documentation on
climate change resilience initiative and strategy development, he added.
RCC Panel Mayor Shariful Islam, Ward Councilors Ayesha Khatun, Shirin Ara
Khatun, Mazeda Begum and Laily Begun and Executive Engineer Nur Islam also
spoke on the occasion.