Recognizing the threats posed by climate change on the lives and livelihoods of peoples across the BIMSTEC region, BIMSTEC Member States included Climate Change as the 14th Priority area of cooperation in the 14th Senior Officials’ Meeting held in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar on 10 December 2009. This sector is led by Bangladesh.
The BIMSTEC region is exposed to the growing phenomena of climate change, with the poorest and most vulnerable members of society experiencing its harshest effects. The melting of Himalayan glaciers and the occurrence of floods and landslides in the hills and plains or the rise in sea level of BIMSTEC region is exposed to growing phenomena of climate change. In the Third BIMSTEC Summit held in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar on 04 March 2014, Leaders agreed to explore collaborative initiatives to address impacts of Climate Change in the BIMSTEC region.
During the 1st BIMSTEC Summit, India proposed cooperation in information sharing on Remote Sensing for the purpose of agricultural, environmental, and catastrophe management. Additionally, India has put forward a plan to establish the BIMSTEC Centre on Weather and Climate in New Delhi. The Centre has been functioning in National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Being acutely aware of the growing threat to the planet from climate change, and in particular to the lives and livelihoods of peoples in the Bay of Bengal region, The Leaders of BIMSTEC at their Retreat in Goa, India on 16 October 2016 resolved to strengthen cooperation to protect and preserve the environment. The Leaders stressed the necessity of pursuing sustainable development and of the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change at the regional and national levels.
Bangladesh has drafted a Concept Paper with an objective to establish a framework on Cooperation among the BIMSTEC Member States on Climate Change.
Upcoming events:
– The BIMSTEC Experts’ Workshop on Climate Change is scheduled to be held at Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2017.