Bangladesh seeks IUCN support to restore Dhaka’s waterways with Blue Network initiative

Bangladesh has called for financial and technical assistance from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to establish a Blue Network in Dhaka city.

This initiative aims to restore the city's rivers, canals, and water bodies, addressing major challenges such as pollution and encroachment.

Farhina Ahmed, Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, also stressed the need for a 'Comprehensive River Health Assessment System' to monitor and improve the ecological condition of rivers across Bangladesh.

Farhina Ahmed made these remarks during a bilateral meeting on December 5 with James Dalton, Director of IUCN’s Global Water Programme, on the sidelines of the UNCCD COP16 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Farhina Ahmed stated that Dhaka’s urban water system, once the city’s lifeline, is under severe strain due to pollution, encroachment, and climate change. She emphasised that collaborative efforts and global support are essential to restoring these water bodies and incorporating them into sustainable urban planning.

In response, Dalton of the IUCN invited Bangladesh to join the Freshwater Challenge partnership programme, which involves 47 nations and the European Union.

The programme aims to restore 300,000 km of rivers and 350 million hectares of wetlands globally by 2030. He highlighted that Bangladesh’s participation would align with its national freshwater restoration goals and contribute to the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030).

Earlier in the day, Farhina Ahmed addressed a High-Level Interactive Dialogue on Sustainable Agri-Food Systems. She emphasised the need for a supportive global framework to promote sustainable and inclusive agricultural practices in climate-vulnerable countries like Bangladesh.

She said that transitioning to agri-food systems that ensure food security while respecting environmental boundaries is critical. Integrating land, water, and biodiversity conservation into agricultural planning is key to achieving this goal.

The Bangladesh delegation included Abdul Hamid, Director General of the Department of Environment, among others.

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