NATIONAL DIALOGUE EVENT ON URBAN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT HELD IN BANGLADESH
The 2nd National Dialogue Event on Urban Environmental Management took place in Dhaka on 28 May. Moderated by GFA governance consultant Hendrik Jaschob, the event was part of GFA's GIZ project, 'Livable and Inclusive Cities for All'.
The event aimed to create a platform to strengthen the participatory input of all relevant stakeholders, from the national to the municipal and community levels, in preparing the National Guideline on Urban Environmental Challenges in Bangladesh. The event therefore focused primarily on the Local Government Engineering Department and ten cities, including the four partner cities of German development cooperation in Bangladesh: Khulna, Kushtia, Sirajganj and Satkhira. It also involved stakeholders from civil society and academia.
"Urban environmental challenges are multi-dimensional in Bangladesh”, Shamaun Al Noor, GFA Team Leader in GIZ LICA says: “In collaboration with GIZ, we are focusing on specific issues such as solid waste management, green and public spaces and also water bodies through various case studies in the GIZ partner cities and other multiplier cities, which will help us to strengthen the national guideline on how to better manage environmental challenges in cities in Bangladesh."
The municipalities were very engaged in presenting their case studies from Khulna, Kushtia and Sirajganj, as well as from the Urban Living Labs. The case studies demonstrated a wide range of approaches to managing water bodies, also known as 'blue spaces', including cooperation and beautification, public space development through community engagement, and smart solid waste management through public-private partnerships.
Hendrik Jaschob, the GFA Project Coordinator and anchor moderator of the 2nd National Dialogue Event, states: "Conceptually, our objective was to generate participatory input from all relevant stakeholders in this 2nd National Dialogue Event, which overall aims to strengthen the debate on urban environmental issues in Bangladeshi cities and bringing together various stakeholders from the government, municipalities and civil society."
The dialogue successfully fulfilled its aim of gathering participatory input from stakeholders for the development of national guidelines on urban environmental management and associated challenges. The dialogue event demonstrated significant potential for facilitating further discussions among practitioners in Bangladesh. The third and final National Dialogue Event will take place in August 2025.
Further information about the project can be found on our website.
