Staff Reporter:
UN Resident Coordinator Gwyn Lewis and Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan on Thursday discussed unlocking swift and strategic actions to advance climate resilience in Bangladesh, revive the country’s river ecosystems, and harmonise its environmental priorities through cohesive governance.
The two met at the Pani Bhaban, Panthapath, Dhaka.
“While analysis is useful, we now need to prioritize climate action, even if it begins with two or three catalytic projects,” stated Rizwana Hasan, underscoring the need to move from planning to implementation.
She proposed a dedicated day for convening key development partners to streamline coordination across ministries and accelerate water governance efforts. “Let’s stop letting opportunities slip between ministries—we need a day where everyone comes together,” she asserted.
The discussion focused on leveraging the momentum of the Climate Prosperity Plan, the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) updates, and potential synergies with development partners such as ADB, the European Union, and Sweden. Both sides emphasized the importance of activating flagship projects that could serve as scalable models for blended financing—integrating government, donor, and private sector investments.
Highlighting recent achievements, Rizwana Hasan elaborated on the Ministry of Water Resources’ divisional river restoration campaigns, canal rehabilitation projects, and grassroots implementation of Delta Plan components. She stressed the centrality of transparency and citizen engagement, including the institutionalization of public hearings in all development projects.
Gwyn Lewis reiterated the United Nations’ steadfast commitment to supporting Bangladesh through integrated planning, cross-ministerial coordination, and mobilization of technical and financial resources. She commended the government’s leadership and emphasized the need for a renewed push to align national policies with local actions and international climate goals.
The two leaders acknowledged the challenges of fragmented institutional frameworks and the need to reinvigorate mechanisms such as the Environment Community of Practice, which has remained dormant for nearly a decade. They called for improved infrastructure—both physical and institutional—to enable effective inter-agency collaboration.
Also present at the meeting were Dr. Farhina Ahmed, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; Harshard Gaikwad, Climate Change and Environment Specialist of UN Coordinator Office and senior officials from the United Nations missions.
The dialogue concluded with a shared commitment to translating climate vision into impactful action—paving the way for an era of inclusive, innovative, and sustainable environmental governance in Bangladesh.
