Bangladesh becomes chairman of new Delta Coalition

Bangladesh has become the chairman of a new coalition, bringing some low-lying countries together and aimed at preventing floods and rendering urban deltas resilient against climate change.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 23 Sept 2016, 07:07 PM
Updated : 24 Sept 2016, 04:45 AM

The Netherlands has formally handed over the chairmanship of the Delta Coalition at a ceremony in New York.

According to its website, Special Water Envoy of the Netherlands Henk Ovink and Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali supervised this ceremonial transfer during the High-level Panel on Water on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Sep 21.

For the next one year, Bangladesh will hold the chairmanship and secretariat of the Delta Coalition.

The Netherlands as outgoing chair will assist Bangladesh “to jointly ensure the success of the Delta Coalition.”

Bangladesh already intends to host a working session during COP 22 in Nov in Marrakesh, Morocco, and a ministerial conference in the second quarter of 2017 in Dhaka.

The coalition was set in motion this year in the Netherlands with 12 countries from four continents being part of it – the Netherlands, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, France, Myanmar, Indonesia, Japan, Mozambique, the Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam.

Such a joint effort involving collaboration among low-lying countries was first initiated a year ago at the UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan.

The coalition emphasises three goals, the focus being on the flood risks facing urban deltas that must be placed on the agenda everywhere. Countries will be working together on achieving national and international goals.

Bangladesh is the largest delta in the world, with a population of 160 million in an area of almost 150,000 square kilometers. Almost a third of the country is situated at less than five meters above sea level.

The country faces natural calamities such as floods and cyclones every year.

The complexity of the delta necessitates Bangladesh's adopting a long-term integrated plan that can adapt to change. The Netherlands is helping Bangladesh to implement the ‘Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100’.