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Research and knowledge management continue to receive the smallest share of climate-related funding in Bangladesh, underscoring the need for greater attention and investment in this critical area in order to ensure sustainable development, experts say.
Among the 25 ministries and divisions analysed from FY22 to FY26, research and knowledge fall at the bottom of the six broad categories of climate funding.
According to official documents, the allocation for this sector in the upcoming fiscal year has been estimated at Tk 10.78 billion - an increase of about 5.0 per cent from the current fiscal year.
On average, this category has received just over Tk 10 billion annually.
In contrast, food security, social protection, and health dominate climate-related allocations, accounting for 47 per cent of total funding across the five-year period analysed, including the upcoming FY2025-26.
This is followed by infrastructure development, which receives 28 per cent.
Mitigation and low-carbon development receive the third highest share at 11 per cent, while comprehensive disaster management and capacity building/institutional strengthening get 6.0 per cent and 5.0 per cent respectively.
Although the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change dedicates the highest share of its own budget to climate-related activities, it still does not rank among the top ministries in terms of overall climate expenditure.
The documents suggest the ministry could increase its impact by expanding its climate-focused programmes and securing greater funding.
"This is unfortunate," said Dr Fazle Rabbi Sadek Ahmed, a climate scientist and deputy managing director of the Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF).
"We are facing increasing climate risks, yet the most critical area, research, receives the least allocation."
He stressed the need for developing new varieties of crops that can withstand salinity, drought, heat, and floods.
"We need heat-tolerant and drought-tolerant varieties," he said. "That's why we need significant investment in research.
Adaptation is science-based, and that requires funding to conduct researches.
"I don't understand how the government expects to achieve sustainability without adequate investment in research," the climate scientist said.
Dr Jiban Krishna Biswas, former director general of the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), said many climate-resilient crop varieties and technologies have been developed over the years, but extension to farmers has remained limited.
"I think we need research on why these new salinity- and heat-tolerant varieties are not reaching the farmers," he said.
"We also have technologies to combat climate change that haven't been disseminated widely."
Mr Biswas, who also served as the head of the Krishi Gobeshona Foundation, a non-profit supporting sustainable agricultural research, said: "We must expand our research areas and significantly increase allocation if we truly want sustainable development.
jasimharoon@yahoo.com