In an open letter to the Chief Adviser to the Government of Bangladesh and Douglas Alexander MP, the UK Secretary of State for International Development, Bangladeshi and other South Asian civil society groups, including SAAPE and LDC Watch, have criticised the planning and financing of Bangladesh's ‘Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan'.

The strategy, which is the outcome of the UK-Bangladesh climate conference held in London on 10 September 2008, is to be financed via a Multi Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) which is set to be established by December 2008. The letter stresses that the planning of this fund has entirely lacked transparency and that civil society has been excluded from the process. It is highly critical of the involvement of the World Bank in the MDTF and warns that financing the MDTF partly through loans will worsen Bangladesh's debt burden and hinder progress towards the Millennium Development Goals.

The letter says: "The current onerous burden of debt servicing indicates to many in Bangladeshi society that development partners, and particularly the international financial institutions (IFI)'s, are more interested in getting their money back than in protecting Bangladesh's interests."

It argues that the climate financing mechanism should be developed and provided by the developed countries in addition to their existing ODA commitment (still far from fulfilled) of 0.7% of their GNI "as compensation for the historical responsibility of the developed counties in being the main drivers of current global climate change."  It therefore protests the proposed contribution of Bangladesh's government to the MDTF, on the grounds that it will result in further indebtedness and the redirection of funds away from much-needed public services such as health and education.

Source:

• SAAPE