Nava Thakuria

The experts and journalists of Asia Pacific region have expressed deep concern at the slow progress in the current round of climate negotiations given the scale and magnitude of the adverse impacts of sea-rise because of continued green house gas emissions by industrialised and developed countries.

Adopting a Dhaka Declaration, the participants of 18th Congress of Asia Pacific Forum of Environmental Journalists (APFEJ) and the 5th meeting of World Water Forum of Journalists (WWFJ) in Dhaka in the first week of September, also concerned at the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”deterioration in both the quality and quantity of water, river bank erosion and natural disaster, bad management, wrong practices, inappropriate technologies, trans-boundary water issues and abrupt climatic behaviour across the worldƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢.

While appreciating the role of World Water Council and efforts of World Water Forum Secretariats, the declaration said that the WWFJ members would collect water voices (especially from the local level) from their respective countries and initiate and participate in the global internet debate and discussions.

The WWFJ will also document indigenous knowledge and practices of water harvesting, water management and water related issues in the different regions of the world both in electronic and print media, where as the WWFJ and APFEJ would try to participate all global and regional consultations on water, sanitation and climate change initiated by various UN agencies and other institutions so that the consultations and the outputs could be brought to the common people.

The participants also insisted that the western (and industrialised) countries should bailout the developing countries to cope up with the devastation of sea level rise, flood and drought and salination of surface water in those populous countries. More over, a consensus among the countries, which are affected by the climate change, becomes essential for a pragmatic culmination of the negotiation process that is leading to the final round of climate change negotiation in the forthcoming Copenhagen summit, they said.

The Congress, supported by the Bangladesh Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF), the event themed ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Reaching Copenhagen Climate Summit and Beyond: Role of MediaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢, also called for a deeper cut in emissions of the industrialised countries in order to protect the lives and livelihoods of the most vulnerable countries like Bangladesh, Maldives, Fiji, Mozambique, Benin, Lao PDR, Lesotho, Sudan, Pakistan, Nepal, India etc.

The Congress was inaugurated by the Bangladesh government environment Secretary, Dr Mihir Kanti Majumder, where Festus Luboyera, the programme officer of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Danish Ambassador to Bangladesh Einar Hebogaard Jensen, the Dutch Ambassador Alphons JAJMG Hennekens were present.

Quamrul Islam Chowdhury, the APFEJ chairman argued for launching a global climate bailout plan with US$ 1 trillion for adaptation per annum to face adverse impacts of climate change by the most vulnerable countries.

The Secretary General of WWFJ also pledged that the members of both the organisations (APFEJ-WWFJ) would leave no stone unturned to mainstream the water, climate change and other relevant issues in the international media and extend all out support to the global campaign to stop the unsustainable exploitation of water resources and mitigate the emission of greenhouse gases.