Date: 12 and 14 November, 2023

Place: Segun Restaurant, Segunbagicha, Dhaka, Bangladesh

The liaison and lobbying meeting is one of the important activities of the project. The objectives of the meeting are:

• To convince political leaders and manifesto preparation committees to include citizens' issues in their manifestos and pledges.
• To accelerate opportunities for incorporation of local environmental issues in the election manifesto of political parties.

Two liaison and lobbying meetings were held on 12 and 14 November 2023. The first meeting was held on 12 November 2023 with the participation of representatives of the Jatiyo Party and the second one with representatives of some leftist political parties of Bangladesh. Some journalists and coalition members also attended the meeting. The meeting was also held at Segun Restaurant in Segunbagicha, Dhaka, and started at 12:00 PM and ended at 01:30 PM. Both meetings were facilitated by Mr. Sharif Jamil.  The Project Coordinator briefed participants about the project activities, objectives, and background of liaison and lobbying meetings. Project Lead, Sharif Jamil informed the participants about the background of the project and past activities. Mr. Sharif Jamil informed the participants that Waterkeepers Bangladesh (WKB organized 2 workshops with project participants to identify environmental issues in which a large number of issues were identified. Later on, those issues were reviewed by the project team and CPI. CPI also arranged a workshop on the issues. Finally, a few issues were recommended for inclusion in the election manifestos of political parties. The Project Coordinator read out the issues and sub-issues from the One Pager for the participants. He told the participants that WKB has been engaged in environmental protection activities for a long time and in 2021 it took the initiative for scientific research/analysis on environmental pollution. This project has been implemented for the last 2 years, and under the project WKB, jointly with Jahangirnagar University, Stamford University Bangladesh, and other organizations collected samples of water from different rivers in Dhaka city. Samples of air were also collected from 10 spots to measure the air quality. The reports of these activities have not been finalized yet. Under the current phase of the project, initiatives have been taken to follow environmental pollution issues so that political parties are sensitized and take initiatives to include environmental issues in their election manifestos. Here, commitment from political parties is very important for the protection of the environment, he added. Through the initiatives of WKB, both the political parties and the people will be benefited as the parties will get support from the people, while the people will also be benefited through the fulfillment of their demands by the political parties.

Meeting with Jatiya Party

Mr. Sunil Shuvo Roy, Presidium Member of the Jatiya Party said that he has long been engaged in the preparation of party election manifestos. Because of his long engagement in this work, he got the opportunity to include different issues raised by the people in his local constituencies. But the Jatiya Party was not in power for long and the party did not have much representation in Parliament. So, it was difficult to take activities or to ensure implementation of environmental protection activities though some issues were included in the party election manifestos. The Jatiya Party gave importance to the provincial administration system and when it was in power it went through the process and could be very effective in making decisions and implementing activities at the local level, but could not complete the process. Now it has been proposing the establishment of 8 provinces in the country for administrative purposes. Jatiya Party also gives importance to activities like river dredging, plantation, and agricultural farming for the protection of the environment.  When the Jatiyo Party was in power, it took such initiatives.  If the Jatiya Party returns to power, it will emphasize the issues of environmental protection. Jatiya Party wants reformation of the electoral system also, he added. Jatiya Party is also in favor of the engagement of experts in activities for environmental protection. He assured his cooperation for the inclusion of the recommended issues on environmental protection in election manifestos. The meeting was attended among others by Shofiqul Islam Shohagh, Senior Reporter of the Daily Bangladesh Protidin, Ibnul Sayeed Rana, Chairman of NDF, Shakila Parvin, Senior Reporter of ParliamentNewsbd.com, Nikhil Bhadra, Senior Reporter of the Daily Kaler Kantho, Tanvir Ahmed, Senior Reporter of Bangladeshnews24.com. Project Lead Sharif Jamil, Project Coordinator Syed Taposh, Advocacy Officer Sayeed Hossain and Sr. Programme Associate Anika Tabassum attended from WKB.

Meeting with Leftist Parties

There was a threadbare discussion among the participants on some points of the One Pager. One of the participants opined that the National River Conservation Commission should not be given magistracy power as recommended in the One Pager, while others opposed it. One participant said the issue of river grabbing/encroachment is not highlighted in the One Pager. The participants stressed the need for the engagement of expert people in the implementation team of different projects. The participants said they are informed of the activities of other organizations (NGOs) that are working on environmental protection issues. In recent times, NGOs are taking initiatives to inform political parties of their activities which is appreciated, because the political parties get more information about environmental pollution and other public health issues of the country. Being informed on the problems of people they become aware of the environmental issues which will make them able to take initiatives for environmental protection at their levels. The NGOs should arrange orientation programs on environmental issues for party representatives. The participants stressed the need for introducing modern and advanced techniques for recycling waste materials (including hospitals and factories) and proper/effective monitoring systems for the implementation of environmental protection activities. Some participants opined that a specific person at the local administration offices at district and upazila levels should be deployed by authorities to listen to the problems of community people and place the issues to their higher authorities. All the participants agreed on the point that the issues highlighted in the One-Pager are essential for environmental protection and assured of their cooperation for the inclusion of those in their party manifestos. The meeting was attended among others by Advocate Mr.  Hasan Tariq Chowdhury, Member of Central Committee, Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), Mr. Sajjad Hossain, Office Secretary of Central Executive Committee, Jatiya Samajtantric Dal (JSD), Mr. Ratan Chandra Balo, Special Correspondent of the Daily Amar Barta, Nikhil Bhadra, Sr. Reporter of the Daily Kaler Kontho, Ismail Hossain, Executive Secretary/Member of National Awami Party, Mostofa Alamgir Ratan, Head of Media Department of Workers Party of Bangladesh, Bazlur Rashid Feroz, General Secretary of Socialist Party of Bangladesh, Ibnul Sayeed Rana, Chairman of NDF, Foysal Ahmed, Editor of River Bangla, Shafiqul Islam, Chief Reporter of the Delta Times. From WKB, Sharif Jamil, Project Lead and Executive Director of BPI, Syed Taposh, Project Coordinator, Sayeed Hossain, Advocacy Officer and Anika Tahsin, Sr. Program Associated attended. The meeting was moderated by Sharif Jamil.

Photographs

Meeting of 12 November 2023(with Jatiya Party)

Meeting of 14 November 2023(with Leftist Parties)