“Building on past successes, the Watershed Co-management Activity II programme aims to scale up our work to improve watershed management, forest and biodiversity conservation, improve community water access, reduce disaster risks and promote social cohesion and gender equality through a community-driven approach that has already shown great potential to improve lives, livelihoods and local ecosystems,” said UNDP Resident Representative Stefan Liller.
Amir Hossain Chowdhury, Chief Conservator of Forests of the Bangladesh Forest Department, emphasizes the importance of cooperation: “We must work together to protect our forests and wildlife for future generations.”
CHTWCA II aims to address climate change, illegal logging and wildlife crime, as well as promote climate-resilient livelihood measures. The initiative focuses on reducing disaster risks, improving access to water and sanitation in remote areas, and promoting equity among stakeholders in forest and wetland management.
Among others, Fahmida Khanam, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Raja Debashish Roy, Muhammad Khan, Director of Economic Development at USAID Bangladesh, Pradeep Kumar Mahottam, Additional Secretary (Development) at MOCHTA, and Sonali Dayaratne, Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP Bangladesh, also spoke at the event.