1. Group Discussion
Member of Parliament

2. Overview
•
•
•
•
Afghanistan
Bhutan
Nepal
Pakistan
(Bangladesh, India, Maldives & Srilanka

3. South Asia and Climate Change
Afghanistan
Bangladesh
Sea Level Rise
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Glacier
Retreat
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
No
Increase in
intensity of
Floods
Not so far
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Not so
far
Increase in
Intensity of
Droughts
Yes
In some
parts
No
Yes
No
No
Yes
No
Temperature
Rise
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Source: IPCC AR4
Bhutan
India
Maldives
Nepal
Pakistan Sri Lanka

4. Afghanistan
• Committed regardless of challenges within the country
• To meet development goals, need to make use of our
untapped natural resources.
• challenges to achieve the goal of sustainable development still
today is not limiting the growth but it should rather be the
promotion of the right kind of growth, the green growth.
• promotes investment in the sustainable management of key
resources and natural capital, with required regulatory
frameworks for the private sector involvement
From Country submission made to RIO+20

5. Afghanistan
Key initiatives:
• National Environment Protection Agency
• Disaster Preparedness Directorate
• Cross-Cutting issue at National Development Strategy
• Environmental Committee on both houses
• Disaster management Committee led by Second-vice
President
• Climate Change Strategy under development
Challenges: Security problem within the Country and with
neighbouring countries. For example Water and timber use are
some of the reason for conflict and is also being affected by
conflict.

6. Afghanistan
Thematic – initiatives
• Number of projects addressing Adaptation
and Mitigation to CC on going. Tree plantation,
fuel switching etc
• Government has been encouraging private
sector to develop/promote environment
friendly technology

7. Bangladesh
• for developing countries and particularly for the LDCs, of stepping into the
transition to a green economy.
• Need clarity on its definition: “green economy”, which is still somewhat
fuzzy in its early conceptual stage
• Bangladesh is committed to a low carbon development path, provided the
process does not put additional burden on its already overstressed
economy and financial capacity
• “Green economy” and provides “green jobs” in the future. …. Bangladesh’s
priorities for accelerating economic growth, poverty reduction, ….
• Any green development initiative has to be home–grown and country
driven; and externally imposed conditions are not acceptable.
From Country submission made to RIO+20

8. Bhutan
• The idea of green economy fits in very well within the
framework of the GNH development philosophy.
• These include: a constitutional mandate to maintain 60% of
the land under forest cover; limited number of polluting
industries; predominantly agrarian society; nature-based
economy;
• Major avenues for green economy: Hydropower, agriculture,
forest, Transportation, industry , SWM
From Country submission made to RIO+20

9. Bhutan
Key initiatives
• Provision of more than 60% land coverage by forest
• Signatory to all the three RIO conventions
• Legislation: traditional culture of living at Harmony and
with nature
• National Environment Commission
• EIA guideline, Vision 2020, Road to Sustainable
Development, Environment issue asKey on GNH
Challenges
• Some of the resources are also being impacted by the
behaviour of Neighbouring country
• Lack of Human resources and Finance

10. Bhutan
Thematic – initiatives
Mitigation
• Adaptation
Technology
• Strategic
Environment
Assessment
• Provision of
60% last
forest
coverage
• Car free day
and electric
car
promotion
• NAPA
• Env
Commission
coordination
with other
ministry in
planning
process
• TNA
• Establishmen • Bhutan Trust
• Encourage
t of Degree
Fund on
use of Low
college
Environment
Carbon
course
• Committee
emission
• Capacity
of
technology
building
Environment
• Ban of Plastic
training and
at House
bag
workshop in
country and
abroad
Capacity B
Finance

11. India
• Poverty eradication has been acknowledged as the
benchmark for formulating Green Economy policies.
• Green economy was not an alternative to sustainable
development. Green economy should make economic sense
to be sustainable. Sustainable and inclusive economic growth
was important for poverty eradication
From Country submission made to RIO+20

12. Nepal
•
•
•
•
•
CC Policy
CC Council headed by Rt. Hon. PM
CC Management Division at MoSTE
MCCICCC – Bringing stakeholder together
Informal Parliamentarian working group on
earlier CA
• Academic: CC and Development Master Course
• Agriculture and Metrological services on CC
related issue

13. Nepal
Thematic – initiatives
Mitigation
• Adaptation
Technology
Capacity B
Finance
• LCDS in
process
• REDD plus
initiatives
NAPA, 2008
NAP in process
LAPA
• TNA
• Encourage
use of Low
Carbon
emission
technology
• Initiatives by
NAPA
• Knowledge
mngt center
• Awarensess
raising and
Capacity
building
initiatives
• Climate
Change
Budget Code

14. Pakistan
Pakistan
• transformation towards green economy would be critically
dependent on the availability of abundant and affordable
energy along with important adjustments in the global
economic architecture
From Country submission made to RIO+20

15. Srilanka
• … need to regulate market mechanisms to promote new and innovative
investments in green technology.
• Governments alone cannot manage and fund the transition to a green
economy; the private sector and the civil society can and must play a
fundamental role but requires incentives.
• Sri Lanka has identified the way for moving towards a new “Green Growth”
paradigm by seeking to harmonize “economic growth” with
“environmental sustainability”
• . … developed a new programme named Green Lanka (2009 -16) to evolve
long term plans for sustainable economic and social development “National Action Plan for Haritha (Green) Lanka Programme”
From Country submission made to RIO+20

16. Proposal from Hon. MPs
• Need to recall the outcome from earlier South
Asian Parliamentarian workshop
• Institutionalization of SA parliamentarian
forum on Climate Change
• Start discussion about hosting the secretariat
office to formalize and continuity of this
important forum