Research facilities to study climate change is a necessity in Bangladesh to help the country formulate a specific plan of action to combat the negative impact of global warming, speakers said in the capital yesterday.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the second annual conference of Gobeshona, a knowledge-based platform in the country, speakers said a good research can identify the state of a particular problem, or crisis, and figure out a way to resolve it.
“The research findings will ultimately help the policy makers to make better decisions when planning, formulating and implementing climate policies,” said Dr Saleemul Huq, director of International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD).
The four-day conference, organised by the ICCCAD, is being held at the Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) in the capital’s Bashundhara residential area.
Gobeshona is a network of experts and activists focusing on the effects of climate change in Bangladesh aiming to make climate research more effective and share knowledge.
Echoing Dr Huq, IUB Vice-Chancellor Dr Omar Rahman said climate research facilities in the country is an urgent need as Bangladesh has already been facing many crises, including the global climatic fallout.
Addressing the session as chief guest, French Ambassador to Bangladesh Sophie Aubert also agreed with Dr Huq and Dr Rahman about the need of such research facilities in Bangladesh as the country is at the forefront of facing climatic hazards.
Regarding the Paris Agreement on climate change which was adopted around a month ago in the French capital, she said the agreement is a big success for the global community as they have finally come to a common understanding to find a way out from the impacts of global warming.
Regarding the importance of research while tackling the negative impacts of climate change, Dr Ainun Nishat, professor emeritus at Brac University, said more research on climate change effects in vulnerable area will reveal what the climate vulnerable people need and their local knowledge that can be used to adapt to the changing situation.
“We need to bring the knowledge to a common platform to find solutions to this crisis collectively,” he added.
Dr Saleemul Huq mentioned that Gobeshona has been emerging as a knowledge hub on the issue of climate change; it has already accommodated 1,000 study reports in its resource pack.
Praising the initiative, Dr Nishat said this kind of dedicated research is completely new in Bangladesh which could be a positive resource for the government regarding policy-making.
The Gobeshona conference consists of several plenary sessions and presentations on sectors including climate change and livelihoods, water, health, migration, and renewable energy.
