28 March 2010 | Dhaka, Bangladesh
An Expert Roundtable on the “Security Implications of Climate Change in South Asia” was held from 28th – 29th March 2010 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The Roundtable was organized by RCSS, together with International Alert in London, the Peacebuilding and Development Institute in Sri Lanka (PDI-SL) and the Bangladesh Institute for Peace and Security Studies (BIPSS). The two day Roundtable focused on the impact of climate change on countries in the South Asian region and policy responses to climate change. Eminent participants from Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka elaborated on the climate change impacts in their respective countries in order to give a broader insight into the problems faced by countries in the region. The Roundtable thereafter took into consideration the prevailing institutional responses and made an attempt to identify policy challenges and knowledge gaps in forging regional cooperation.
At the end of the two day discussion, the Roundtable decided unanimously to initiate a process to continue with its efforts to identify and address the gaps in policy and institutional understanding of climate change and its security impacts in South Asia. Accordingly, the group will reach out to law makers, policy makers and opinion makers, at the national and regional levels, with the decisions taken at the Roundtable.
At the conclusion of the discussion, the organizers addressed a well attended briefing to the media on the Roundtable and its outcomes.
Secretary General Dan Smith and Mr. Markus Mayer of International Alert, Mr. Mohammed Mahuruf, Director, PDI-SL in Colombo and Major General A.N.M. Muniruzzaman, President, BIPSS, represented their respective organisations at the Roundtable. RCSS was represented by Amb. Geetha de Silva, Associate Director and Ms. Dilkie Koelmeyer, Financial and Administration Officer.
