Amina J Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group, paid an official visit to Mongla in Bagerhat district yesterday to see how the UN is collaborating with the Government of Bangladesh to build resilience and take local action on climate change adaptation.
During her visit, she saw the ‘Local Government Initiative on Climate Change’ (LoGIC) project, which was launched in 2016 by the governments of Bangladesh, the European Union, Sweden, UNDP, and UNCDF with the goal of delivering climate finance to the most vulnerable households and local government institutions, allowing them to build resilience and take local action on climate change adaptation.
Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed received firsthand experience with community-led climate change adaptation programs during her visit.
She met members of the local community who had benefited from the LoGIC project’s technical and financial assistance. The local community has developed adaptive livelihood alternatives such as brackish water fish polyculture, vegetable gardening, sheep and duck rearing through the project’s Climate Resilience Funds (CRF) and capacity-building efforts.
Furthermore, they now have access to safe and clean drinking water thanks to a community rainwater harvesting system established at a neighboring school, which benefits approximately 200 people, according to a UNDP press statement.
Amina Mohammed expressed her gratitude for the significant effort on climate change adaptation, emphasizing the importance of local leadership, innovation, and nature-based solutions in fostering climate resilience.
She underscored the UN’s commitment to supporting such projects and urged governments, international organizations, and communities to work together to confront the grave problems posed by climate change.
The LoGIC project, which operates in the Bagerhat district, which is very exposed to the effects of climate change, has proven to be a sustainable finance model that improves climate change adaptation efforts.
Additionally, LoGIC advocates gender equality by empowering women and questioning gender conventions. The project enables women to completely realize their potential for personal and economic success by encouraging fair participation.
Habibun Nahar, Deputy Minister for Environment, Forests, and Climate Change; Gwyn Lewis, UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh; Stefan Liller, Resident Representative, UNDP Bangladesh; and Muhammad Abdul Muhith, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN, were also in attendance, along with other senior government and UN officials.
