The Sundarbans Management Project (SMP), implemented by GIZ Bangladesh and Bangladesh Forest Department, has been promoting collaborative management to ensure the sustenance of the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest.
Funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the project had its closing ceremony on Wednesday, after running for seven years, said a press release.
Courtesy“In March this year both of our governments, during the development cooperation consultations, identified biodiversity as one of our core areas of activities to widen and strengthen the networks among different conservation initiatives. The Government of Bangladesh has taken the work of conservation very seriously, and we as development partners are proud to contribute to decisive action in conservation,” commented H E Achim Tröster, German Ambassador to Bangladesh and guest of honour of the event.
The closing ceremony of the project, chaired by Md Amir Hossain Chowdhury, chief
Conservator of Forests of the Forest Department was hosted at the Westin Dhaka Hotel.
Dr Farhina Ahmed, secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) attended the event as the chief guest. She was joined by Professor Monirul H Khan from Jahangirnagar University and Mr Mizanul Hoque Chowdhury, additional secretary of the MoEFCC.
“The project also included a special Covid-19 mitigation project. The lessons learned and experiences from this project will inform the implementation of the upcoming SONG project,” said Dr Andreas Kuck, Country Director, GIZ Bangladesh and special guest of the ceremony.
The event comprised two parts, an inaugural session and breakout technical sessions. The inaugural session included testimonials from various beneficiaries of the project along with a theatre production by school children from one of the schools that the project had worked with.
Participants at the breakout sessions discussed ways of carrying forth the work commenced by the project, the future of collaborative management in the Sundarbans, Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool, and Ecological Monitoring.
“The Sundarbans Management Project has worked with various levels of stakeholders - from the grassroots level through local government up to the national level,” said Md Mizanul Hoque Chowdhury, additional secretary (development wing), Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
From 2019 to 2022, the Sundarbans Reserved Forest Project (SMP II) has supported the collaborative management of the forests and their resources. Building on the best practices from the first phase of the project (SMP I, 2015 – 2019), the project has enabled stakeholders to claim their rights and understand the benefits of conservation. To that end, SMP II works with the Village Conservation Forum (VCF), Resource User Groups (RUG) and Women’s Groups (WGs).