An Open Letter to
Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed, Honorable Chief Adviser to the Government of the
People’s Republic of Bangladesh and
Rt Hon Douglas Alexander MP, the Secretary of State for International Development, United Kingdom

Dear Sir(s)
i)          We the undersigned, the NGOs/CSOs (Non Government Organization/ Civil Society Organization) representatives, would like to draw your kind attention on the modalities and management of Multi Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) which is going to be established by December 2008 to support/finance adaptation projects to cope with the climate change impacts. The establishment of MDTF for the climate change adaptation in Bangladesh is the outcome of UK (United Kingdom) Bangladesh climate conference held in London on10th September 2008. 

(ii)         Prior to the London Conference Bangladesh was asked to prepare 'Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan' to present in the conference. The government of Bangladesh hired several consultants (who are also occasionally involved in consultancy work with both World Bank (WB) and DFID (Department for International Development)) to prepare this strategy document. Therefore the preparation of this document ignored the issues of mitigation, environmental refugees, forced migration, social aspects, irresponsible financing etc.; only emphasized on the implementation of several projects mostly related to infrastructure development. Moreover, in the preparation process there was no participation/ consultation with the people of geographically vulnerable areas and political parties. The contents as well the preparation methodologies of this strategy document have been strongly criticized by many national and international CSOs, NGOs, and proved this document as poorly done.
Hence, the UK government has given 80 days to Bangladesh to re draft/finalize the Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan. This means that UK government wants to finalize this document and launching of MDTF by this interim government. This is not methodologically possible to prepare a strategy document in a participatory way by the next 80 days of stipulated timeframe; also not possible to mobilize political opinion in the preparation of such an important document, as now it is the non political nature of the government. It should be noted that there will be parliament election on 18th December 2008 and it is expected that there will be political government in Bangladesh from the beginning of 2009.

(iii)      The government of Bangladesh is also contributing to the MDTF; as per initial proposal Bangladesh government will contribute around 23 million pounds in 2008-2009, while UK government will contribute 75 million pounds for a five year period (60 million pounds to the trust fund, 12 million pounds for other DFID programme, and 3 million pounds for research).
Again, concern is; what are the sources of fund of Bangladesh's contribution? It’s is either from revenue income or from external/ internal loans sources. It has been clearly stated in many policy documents and also discussed in many multi-lateral dialogue that climate financing mechanism should be developed and provided by the developed countries in addition to their existing ODA (Overseas Development Assistance) commitment of 0.7% of their GNI (Gross National Income), as compensation for their historical responsibility of the developed counties in being the main drivers of current global climate change.  Hence contribution of Bangladesh’s government to the MDTF is not coherent as this would make the country more indebted or force the country directing money from the public service sectors.     

(iv)      Regarding government expenditure, in 2007, the country had to pay US$1.5 billion for external debt servicing, which accounts for around 18% of total government revenue expenditure, 2.4% of Bangladesh's GDP and around 35 times the expenditure that the government has allocated in its national budget of 2008-2009 for addressing climate change effects. The figure has already surpassed annual health; education and agriculture budget of the government, in real term especially the annual budget related to education and health are decreasing. As it is outlined in the country’s second PRSP (Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper) this debt servicing would go up to 25 to 30 % of the government revenue expenditure by the period of 2009-2011. The increasing burden of debt servicing as well as to allocate financial resources increasingly to expand social safety nets has been leaving little space for the government over the years to allocate more resources to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to respond to climate change.

v)         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. Taking this in back of mind perhaps the finance adviser to the government of Bangladesh has proposed WB’s involvement in this regard.   
 
vi)        We protesting the creation of MDTF in a non-transparent way and involvement of WB in its management, because (a) it ignores the basic principle of generating climate financing e.g. polluter pay and exploiter pay principle, (b) it will legitimate the WB to replicate this initiative to other climate change risk countries, (c) in taking the opportunity of the fund management WB will be able to force her conditionality related to whole sale privatization and liberalization. It is already proved that that conditionality is the major reasons for pauperization in our countries.

 vii)      We believe that (a) Government of Bangladesh is capable to manage the fund alone in taking the principles of democratic ownership (i.e., with the involvement of civil society, marginalized groups and climate change victims etc along with government representatives) and (b) the climate change strategy and action plan must be prepared in a participatory manner with political involvement, thus the government should have sufficient time.
                                                  
We are urging both the UK and Bangladesh government to reconsider their position.

Thanks and regards

Initial Signatories

From Bangladesh

Action on Disability and Development (ADD), Barendra Unnayan Prochesta (BUP), Bangladesh Association of Rural & Social Advancement (BARSA), Bangladesh Development Partnership Center (BDPC), Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC), Chetona Manobik Unnayan Sangtha, Community Development Library (CDL), Consumer Associating of Bangladesh (CAB), Development Center International (DCI), Climate Change Network-Bangladesh, COAST Trust,  Equity and Justice Working Group (EquityBd), Grameen Pragoti Sanghta, Paribesh Bachaw Andolon, PRADIP, PRADIPAN, RUPANTAR, SOLIDARITY, Shilidah Rabindra Sangsad, UDDIPAN, Village Development Center (VDC), Young Power in Social Action (YPSA), Resource Integration Centre
                                                              
From South Asia and Asia

South Asia Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAAPE),
LDC Watch and  
Jubilee South-Asia Pacific Movement on Debt and Development.

Frequently Asked Questions: Campaign against World Bank involvement in MDTF

Why UK-Bangladesh Climate Conference

Following the massive destruction caused by cyclone SIDR in late 2007, the United Kingdom (UK) Government showed its interest to support Bangladesh in climate change adaptation practices. In this relation a “Bangladesh-UK Climate Change Conference” was held in Dhaka on 25th March 2008, which was jointly initiated by the Bangladesh and the UK Governments to discuss the impacts of climate change and shed light on the current challenges.  During the conference, International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and developed countries said explicitly that helping Bangladesh on climate change-related issues is on their list of main priorities. In this conference representatives of diplomatic missions in Bangladesh and representatives of bilateral/multilateral donors were present. All of them assured that they would take the necessary steps to support climate change adaptation in Bangladesh.

What is MDTF?

In the 1st Bangladesh-UK climate conference held in Dhaka, Bangladesh the representatives of IFIs and developed countries said that they were considering the creation of a “Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF)” for Bangladesh. Different donors were expressing an interest to bilaterally finance Bangladesh to address climate change and putting the various monies through a single fund seemed a more efficient mechanism. It was decided to organize another high-level conference in London later fixed for 10th September 2008 wherein modalities and operational structure of the MDTF were discussed.

What is Climate Strategy and Action Plan for Bangladesh?

Prior to the 2nd Bangladesh-UK climate conference held in London, Bangladesh was asked to prepare 'Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan' to present in the conference. The government of Bangladesh hired several consultants (who are also the consultants of the WB and DFID) to prepare this strategy document.

What are the limitations of Climate Strategy and Action Plan for Bangladesh?

The preparation of this document followed top-down approach, in the preparation process there was no participation/ consultation with the people of geographically vulnerable areas, also has not discussed with political leaders. Please note that, here is now a interim type of government, and country is heading toward parliament election during December 2008, expecting that there will be a political government in the begaining of 2009. This strategy document also ignored the issues of mitigation, environmental refugees, forced migration, irresponsible financing etc.; only emphasized on the implementation of several projects mostly related to infrastructure development. The contents as well the preparation methodologies of this strategy document have been strongly criticized by many national and international CSOs, NGOs and proved this document as poorly done.

Climate change impact in Bangladesh

The Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) mentions four regions as most vulnerable to climate change impact: the areas are the Arctic, Africa, small islands and the megadeltas of Asia and Africa.3 Bangladesh is situated in one Asian megadelta.

The geographic location and geo-morphological conditions of Bangladesh have made the country one of the most vulnerable ones to climate change, particularly to Sea Level Rise (SLR). Bangladesh is situated at the interface of two different environments, with the Bay of Bengal to the south and the Himalayas to the north. This peculiar geography of Bangladesh causes not only life-giving monsoons but also catastrophic ravages of natural disasters, to which now are added climate change and SLR. The country has a very low and flat topography, except the northeast and southeast regions. About 10% of the country is hardly 1 meter above the mean sea level (MSL), and one-third is under tidal excursions.

The climate (and variability) change shall impact all spheres of life and livelihoods of millions in Bangladesh by increasing;

• More weather extremes leading to more disasters like more floods (river flood, flash flood, tidal flood), cyclones, storm surges
• Gradual impacts on livelihood

Bangladesh is prone to hazards and 75% of all disasters are originated by weather-climate extremes. The climate (and variability) change are increasing the weather extremes. In 2007 Bangladesh faced two consecutive floods and a cyclone (SIDR) of very high intensity.

It is also predicted that in Bangladesh, production of rice and wheat might have dropped by 8% and 32%, respectively, by the year 2050 due to the effects of climate change. It is estimated that more than 22 - 30 millions people in Bangladesh will be directly affected by sea level rise in 2050, who will be affected in loosing lands (which is one third of total Bangladesh) and will become environmental refugees.   It has already been found that the Bay of Bengal was unusually rough in 2007 and the Port Authority issued a total of 83 warnings from January 1 to October 24, 2008

Why we are opposing IFIs involvement in the management of MDTF ?

We protest the involvement of WB in the management of MDTF, because, (a) it will legitimate the WB to replicate this initiative to other climate change risk countries, and (b) the conditionality of WB will create more pauperization as it is related to blanket privatization and liberalization, historically which has lead increased level of pauperization,  inequality, and indebt ness of the country.

Besides, the World Bank remains heavily committed to investments in carbon-intensive energy projects and reforms in energy sectors that focus on large-scale, privatized energy provision without corresponding safeguards to ensure universal access. The prime investment of the World Bank and other multilateral banks is energy; exploration of fossil fuel and exporting to the countries of the North. From the 1992 Earth Summit through to late 2004, the World Bank Group approved USD 11 billion to 128 fossil fuel extraction projects in 45 countries – all of which contributed over 43 billion tons of carbon emissions.

Overall, international financial institutions invest 17 times more to fund projects and policies that aggravate climate change, than in financing the energy efficient sector. The inconsistencies emphasized by civil society groups between the World Bank’s rhetoric on climate change and its operational policies and practice should not be dismissed.

Moreover, we believe that the Government of Bangladesh has the capacity of manage such a fund.

Why we are opposing climate change strategy and action plan in a given time period

CSOs and NGOs has expressed concern on the “Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan” which has presented in the 10th September UK Bangladesh conference. This has basically prepared by some consultants who are occasionally involved with World Bank and DFID. The paper has shared with limited number of NGOs and CSOs in Dhaka, but it has not consulted with the wider stakeholders, especially with the victim communities and with the political leaders. The paper has been criticized as it is biased to infrastructure projects. In the face of criticism DFID has given 80 days time to reframe it. But we feel that, this is also limited time and moreover this is at present a care taker and non political nature of government, so there should be sufficient time and there should be a space for participation of political government. It should be noted that parliamentary election date has set and it is hoped that in the beginning of 2009 there will be a political government. We feel that, such a plan should also have the involvement of political government.

What is our appeal to the UK government?

We urge to the UK government to reconsider its position in proposing the World Bank in the management of MDTF.

We also protesting the creation of MDTF in a non-transparent way, because (a) it ignores the basic principle of generating climate financing e.g. polluter pay and exploiter pay principle.

What is our appeal to the Bangladesh government?

We want a sovereign role of the government of Bangladesh in the management of MTDF with its own initiative.