Speakers at a dialogue yesterday said the term 'Climate change adaptation' should not only mean coping with the changed situation but upgradation of living standards despite the adverse impact of global warming.
While negotiating with the developed countries in various international conferences, Bangladesh should bargain for the provision of international migration of the climate refugees, they added.
They further said the issue of the rehabilitation of 'climate refugees' should be raised properly in the international forums rather than only talking about funds and adverse impact of climate change.
The speakers said this at a dialogue on 'Understanding climate change adaptation' jointly organised by Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods (CSRL), Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS), Centre for Global Change (CGC) and Centre for Natural Resources Studies (CNRS) at a city centre.
Centre for Global Change Executive Director Dr Ahsan Uddin Ahmed said, “The developed countries do not want to take responsibility of the climate refugees. They just want to disseminate tiny funds for coping with the changed situation due to climate change.”
It is necessary to explain the climate change 'adaptations' in local perspectives. So, for the sake of better negotiation with the developed countries, the description of adaptation should be very clear to all of us, he added.
Development workers and experts working on the climate change issue attended the dialogue.
The speakers further said that in the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report-2007, there is not any proper definition of adaptation.
Country Director of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Dr Ainun Nishat said adaptation is the extra money we need to expend due to the climate change at a certain place or in a certain situation.
“It is really hard to explain the term 'adaptation' as it is not biological adaptations.
CSRL Member Secretary Ziaul Hoque Mukta also spoke at the session which was moderated by CNRS Executive Director Mokhlesur Rahman.