Please download the PEI Country fact sheet on Bangladesh (PDF)


Basic facts of the PEI in Bangladesh

• The focus of PEI in Bangladesh is on poverty reduction, environment sustainability and climate change adaptation mainstreaming. The project aims to contribute to reversing environmental degradation and adapting to climate change impacts in a way that will benefit the poor, particularly destitute women as well as to help enabling growth consistent with a better environment.
• PEI aims at improving natural resources management and environment outcomes for poor people through mainstreaming pro-poor and gender sensitive environment and climate change issues into the design and implementation of national development processes, budgets and economic decision-making.
• Following a prolonged preparatory phase (2008-June 2009), which resulted in government and UN commitment to broaden the institutional framework for environment and climate change mainstreaming, a Joint Programme Document was developed by the Government of Bangladesh, UNDP- Bangladesh and PEI. It was signed in December 2009 for a three year period.
• The programme will be lead by the Planning Division. It will be coordinated by the General Economic Division and by the Ministry of Planning with other partners from the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Main activities of the PEI

• Develop and disseminate analysis of linkages between social and economic factors, climate change and key development priorities (e.g. agriculture, infrastructure, trade, food security, gender equality and poverty reduction).
• Increase awareness, knowledge of and commitment to poverty-environment- climate mainstreaming through dissemination of analysis and findings (building on lessons from national level analysis and field experience).
• Develop Project Performa to integrate poverty-environment-climate issues into key national and sector planning documents and appraisal processes.
• Improve the current development budget to ensure adequate investment in poverty-environment-climate related purposes.
• Support the Planning Commission to institutionalize climate mainstreaming process.
• Integrate poverty-environment-climate linkages into the UNDP country programmes.

What has been achieved to date?

• Scoping and preparation with in-country consultations translated into a country-led PEI programme.
• PEI-Bangladesh has been linked to the UNDAF and is expected to contribute to the outcome “Survival and development rights of vulnerable groups are ensured within environmentally sustainable frameworks and the country programme outcome “Enhance carrying capacity of the environmental and natural resource base and increase access to sustainable energy services resulting in human and income poverty reduction”.

• In line with the PEI programmatic approach, it is critical to engage the actors in charge of development planning and encourage them to take the lead in the mainstreaming effort.
• Changes in extreme weather events, average temperature, and precipitation all have implications for the environmental and socio-economic status of a country. Poor people are highly vulnerable to external shocks that they have little control over. Climate change adaptation mainstreaming is thus an integral part of poverty-environment mainstreaming.