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Thrust on linking poverty reduction with environmental management
11/21/2005
Speakers at a workshop Sunday stressed the need for linking poverty reduction with environmental management by improving the knowledge base on poverty-environment linkages in the region, derive policy and assess institutional capacity.
The two-day workshop on "Poverty-Environment Nexus UNDP Asia Pacific Poverty and Environment Initiative," organised by the UNDP-Bangladesh and the Regional Centre, Bangkok began at the IDB Bhaban in the city Sunday, reports BSS.
Environment and Forest Secretary Jafar Ahmed Chowdhury inaugurated the workshop while Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP-Bangladesh Larry Maramis delivered the welcome address.
Speaking on the occasion, Jafar Ahmed said the government is committed to take any type of initiatives for conserving sustainable environment and mitigate sufferings caused by natural disaster.
Larry said that as a promoter of sustainable development, the UNDP is very keen and active in facilitating a process to achieve an enabling environment.
"Revenue targets and overall finance as well as annual development programme cannot be harmonious with the concept of sustainable development if environment and natural resources economics is not included in the national accounting system," he added.
He also stated that the UNDP in partnership with the Ministry of Environment and Forest will be formulating an environmental governance programme, implementation of which will hopefully be started by the end of the current fiscal year.
Two papers titled on "Asia Pacific Regional Poverty and Environment Initiative" and "Growth, Poverty and Environment in Asia: An overview" were presented at the inaugural session.
Later, another paper titled on "Poverty- Environment Nexus Current Initiatives in Bangladesh and Potentials" was presented by Atiur Rahman, chairman of Unnayan Shamannay.
About 60 participants from home and abroad including Thailand, Cambodia and Sri Lanka took part in the workshop.
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