Bring back green: post-COVID-19 recovery plans and what Bangladesh is doing

Syed Matiul Ahsan and Muzammel Haque
Published : 3 July 2020, 00:23 AM
Updated : 3 July 2020, 00:23 AM

Globally we are passing through an unprecedented complex situation and often it is termed a routine a 100-year cycle of a pandemic. Others are strongly connecting it to the impact of our ruthless behaviour on natural resources and environment. Whatever might the reason be, hopefully, the situation will be over at some point. But experts have emphasised "Build Back Greener" when to think about post-COVID-19 recovery phases. The pandemic is an extreme crisis that affects everyone and every nation in the world.

Many scientists believe that the outbreak has a direct link with environmental degradation, deforestation and illegal poaching, bringing wild animals into close contact with humans, which have led us to face the pandemic. Many experts also think that poorer communities will be more vulnerable to pandemic due to climate change. According to the United States Agency for International Development, about 75 percent of all emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic – meaning they come from animals. These include, among others, SARS, H5N1 avian flu, and H1N1 influenza virus. Due to climate change and loss of habitat, an increasing number of animal carriers of diseases are changing their behaviour and migrating to new areas.

Bangladesh Parliament has passed the national budget of Tk 5.68 trillion for the FY2020-21 in Parliament when the country is winding under adverse health, social and economic impacts of COVID-19. The government has set an allocation of Tk 12.46 billion to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change in the new budget. The money will be spent by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The cumulative budget allocation for the environment ministry is 0.22 percent of the total budget while development allocation has increased by 130 percent but operation expenditure decreased by 20 percent due to the coronavirus crisis. According to the Country Investment Plan for Environment, Forestry and Climate Change – the minimum allocation for the ministry should be approximately Tk 28.5 billion. The government has allocated 7.5 percent of the total budget for the climate-relevant interventions while Environment Conservation Budget per person is roughly Tk 75. Physical infrastructure development is the main priority for the government but the nature-based solution is absent in the budget. The 2019-20 Climate Financing for Sustainable Development budget report provides climate financing breakdown of allocation for each ministry or division by the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan thematic areas. The report shows that among the six thematic areas, the maximum allocation was for food security, social protection and health, followed by infrastructure and mitigation and low carbon development. The thematic area on food security, social protection and health got the highest allocation of 93.1 percent of the ministry budget in FY2019-20.

Bangladesh government should spend the budget in a highly effective way to accelerate economic recovery after the pandemic. This is likely to be particularly true in a deep "pancession"– a pandemic-induced recession. In the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, countries are likely to mobilise significant spending to reinvigorate the economies. While the economic consequences of the lockdown offer a reminder that financial stress and insecurity are grinding daily realities for many people globally, leading figures are calling for action for regeneration. We know a green recovery makes economic sense, and it will need support from the government and leading research academics in green job. What we urgently need to see now, and post-pandemic, is commitments from the government on turning this into action. The best way to show this leadership is to put resilience at the heart of our economic recovery by restoring nature and supporting the most vulnerable communities where disaster is a common phenomenon.

The government should invest more in green recovery programmes for economic reconstruction, better health and biodiversity conservation. Carbon dioxide emission declined rapidly when lockdowns took effect. Experts fear that without strong government interventions, the development activities will return to business as usual with high carbon emissions, or that emissions could rise to pre-lockdown levels. We have one chance and we should not waste it.

The pandemic is showing us the fact that if we destroy nature, we actually ruin the nature that supports plants and animal to exist as well as human life. Nature is now breathing deeply due to the lockdowns – from clean air and water. Many of the cities around the world are also planning for life after COVID-19, and some of them have decided to share knowledge and expertise to implement immediate green recovery programmes. A series of environmental initiatives are already being rolled out from the world to ensure public safety and bolster the fight against the climate crisis.

The nature-based solution should get more importance for Bangladesh's development. Increasing investments in green recovery and climate-resilient infrastructures will make the country more resilient to natural disasters. Amid the pandemic, the impacts of the Cyclone Amphan were mitigated thanks to the preparedness. As efforts to enhance a green recovery take hold, Bangladesh is also thriving to be the best place to attract foreign investment that will contribute to climate change mitigation and disaster risk reduction.

The significance of biodiversity to ensure human wellbeing and to achieve sustainable development is unquestionable. Climate change and environmental degradation undermine the rights of every people, especially of children and women. The role of biodiversity conservation should get the utmost importance to achieve many of the Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs. While some countries are focusing on building a sustainable economy in line with the Paris Agreement, others are using the COVID-19 crisis to step back from green evolution and human rights. Bangladesh's focus should be shifted to green recovery action and the government should give it the highest priority.

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Syed Matiul Ahsan is Deputy Director, Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation, Humanitarian Department at Save the Children International.

Muzammel Haque is Senior Officer, Climate Change Adaptation, Humanitarian Department at Save the Children International.