SAARC ministerial meeting emphasized five principles

SAARC ministerial meeting emphasized five principles



Of recent the Saarc ministerial meeting has taken place in the city of Dhaka. The meeting took place at such critical moment when we are really confronted with new and undeniable change of climate which threatens our very existence. The horror of the Sidr that occurred on November in Bangladesh and the very recent Nargis in Myanmar which was declared to blow over Bangladesh bear the burning examples of natural wrath infuriated by unreasonable human behaviour towards nature. The south regions of Bangladesh are really vulnerable. Many a time people of these parts became the victims of natural wraths in its dangerous pictures and forms. Our big neighbour India is not less vulnerable to natural disasters. The concerted efforts of Saarc members must foster the notion of climate change. The member states first start from within to develop environment-friendly behaviour. This meeting should strive to uphold our basic rights to climate –resilient development in the Saarc region. The Chief Advisor said, “ Saarc can occupy a high moral ground on this issue and put pressure on the developed countries and must remind them individually and collectively that procrastination is not an option.”. really Saarc stands as an effective forum to keep the developed countries under pressure to minimize the environmental hazarders which they play the key role in inviting them at the cost of poor countries’ unbearable loss.

The points talked about in the ministerial meetings include deeper cuts to greenhouse gas emission by developed countries with effective timeframe, commitment period, provision of adequate additional resources by developed countries to tackle climate change adaptation needs in addition to regular overseas Development Assistance Arrangements and development of insurance mechanism as a tool of risk reduction compensation for climate victims , facilitating effective access to and funding assistance for the transfer of environment friendly technologies for the developing countries as well as for adaptation and mitigation of sharing the environmental burden equally. Each point calls for serious consideration and attention of the industrially developed countries and our healthy existence on earth is closely related to it.

“The adverse effect of global warming would derail all our efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. It will unleash the tragedy in human history far graver than the’ Black Death’ or the atrocities or World War II.”, warned by the environmentalists.Many developing countries are already pursuing effective adaptation strategies to cope with climate change. Bangladesh is one bright example. But adaptation is a costly proposition. Saarc countries should speak in one voice to ensure that developed countries commit new and additional resources to support our adaptation efforts.Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon ( BAPA) said with warning “ Climate change would jeopardize the right to food. Regional food production is likely to fall as a result of increasing temperature, which causes grain sterility , desertification and also rise in the sea level.” This well founded warning must make us all concerned. Already the food crisis has gravely threatened the world people. It is getting intense with further natural calamites some parts of the globe face at almost a regular interval.


IPCC (Inter-governmental Panel of Climate Change) predicted that .50 metre to 2 metre sea many rise by 2050. this may be taken as serous warning for the developing countries in particular and developed countries in general. The only difference lies in the fact the developed countries can face natural disasters as they have adequate measures and resources. But the developing ones become seriously affected by any sort of climatic phenomenon. But the whole globe must undergo its adverse effect. So, it is the imperative of all to give a serous thought to this issue. Developed countries hardly take the climatic issues seriously as they don’t have to suffer so intensely as the developing countries do from time to time. So, the developing countries both individually and collectively approach the industrially developed countries to reduce the emission. our chief Advisor has rightly said, “ To demonstrate the world that together they can tackle the threats of climate change through a cooperative and collaborative arrangements in South Asia and let Saarc be a model of cooperation for combating climate change.” G-77 grouping of 134 developing countries have long been demanding for additional one percent of GNP of developed countries industrial countries for tackling the adverse effects of climate change but the industrially developed ones seem to turn a deaf ear to it. For making this planet habitable for all, the industrially developed countries must give a serous thought to this issue as it concerns the whole humanity, animal world and plant life.


Md. Masum Billah
Programme Manager: Brac Education Programme, PACE and regularly writes on various national and international issues.
Phone: 9355253(home), 01714-091431(cell)
Email: mmbillah2000@yahoo.com