Bangladesh’s Rajshahi City Steps Up Its Climate Actions

Rajshahi is a city located in west-central Bangladesh, close to the border with India. It has a tropical weather, with high temperatures, considerable humidity, and moderate rainfall. It is the fourth-largest city in Bangladesh with a population of over 700,000 people. The city might be well-known for its mangoes, but it is gaining even more recognition for its effective measures on urban sustainability.

Four years ago, Rajshahi hit the headlines for achieving the largest reduction in the levels of harmful PM10 particulates between 2014 and 2016, as per UN data. It was the result of a number of initiatives taken by the city authorities over several years.

These initiatives have transformed Rajshahi into a ‘green city’ – it is now known for its abundant greenery and open spaces – helped to reduce air pollution, besides bringing other social and environmental benefits for its citizens. Meanwhile, the city authorities have continued to implement other strategic interventions:

  • A major initiative by the Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) has been a programme called Zero Soil, which aims to cover all open spaces and pavements with plants to reduce the amount of dust particles. The city has been undertaking plantation as an incentive for people to get involved in the campaign, the city’s Mayor A H M Khairuzzaman Liton offered to give property tax waivers to residents who plant trees in their premises and build rooftop gardens.
  • The city’s government has focused on adopting low carbon solutions in its street lighting infrastructure. About 180 solar streetlights have been installed within the municipal area, supporting the country’s Solar Street Lighting programme and the national target that aims at 5% electricity consumption from renewable energy sources by 2015 and 10% by 2020. To further scale up this action, the RCC has recently submitted a proposal to the Government of Bangladesh for the modernization of its entire street lighting system.
  • The RCC introduced smart e-rickshaws recently to enable people to move around in a clean and well-managed manner.

The remarkable motivation of the city authorities to persevere with efforts to address climate change and urban sustainability might be a result of the optimism of its citizens, as their city was reportedly voted the happiest in the world by the World Happiness Survey in 2006.  As a model city in Urban-LEDS phase II, Rajshahi will focus on developing a climate action plan that brings together its mitigation and adaptation efforts, formulating a long term city-wide greening strategy, and carrying out energy efficiency pilots in its public buildings.

ICLEI WORLD SECRETARIAT
Kaiser-Friedrich-Str. 7
53113 Bonn
Germany
T: +49-228/97 62 99-00
F.+49-228/97 62 99-01 Email: iclei.org
EUROPE
European Secretariat
Leopoldring 3
79098 Freiburg, Germany
www.iclei-europe.org
Brussels Office
Av. de Tervuren 35
1040 Bruxelles
Belgium
Berlin Office
St. Oberholz ROS Team Room 4.02 Rosenthaler Str. 72a 10119 Berlin, Germany
AFRICA SECRETARIAT
Physical address:
3 Knowledge Park
Century City
Cape Town
8001
South Africa
Postal address:
PO Box 5319
Tygervalley
7536
South Africa
www.iclei.org/africa
NORTH AMERICA
Canada Office
401 Richmond St. W
Studio 204
Toronto, Ontario
M5V 3A8, Canada
www.iclei.org/canada
USA Office
536 Wynkoop St.
Suite 901
Denver, Colorado
USA 80202
www.icleiusa.org
MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
Mexico, Central American and Caribbean Secretariat
Eje Central Lazaro Cardenas 13 Building Miguel Abed, Floor 5 Office 506 and 507, Col. Centro, CP 06050 Del. Cuauhtemoc, Mexico City, Mexico
www.iclei.org.mx
Colombia Office
Área Metropolitana del Valle de Aburrá Carrera 53 N° 40A - 31 Medellín, Antioquia – Colombia
ICLEI Argentina
Boulevard Gálvez, 1150 Planta Alta. Santa Fe, Argentina
SOUTH AMERICA
South America Secretariat Brazil Project Office
Rua Ibiraçu, 226, Vila Madalena
São Paulo / SP - Brazil
CEP 05451-040
www.iclei.org.mx
SOUTH ASIA
South Asia Secretariat
Ground Floor, NSIC-STP Complex NSIC Bhawan, Okhla Industrial Estate New Delhi – 110020, India
southasia.iclei.org
EAST ASIA
East Asia Secretariat
14/F, Seoul Global Center Building, 38 Jongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea (110-110)
eastasia.iclei.org
SOUTHEAST ASIA
Southeast Asia Secretariat
c/o The Manila Observatory Ateneo de Manila University Campus Loyola Heights, Quezon City 1101 Manila, Philippines
seas.iclei.org
ICLEI Indonesia Project Office
Rasuna Office Park III WO. 06-09 Komplek Rasuna Epicentrum Jl. Taman Rasuna Selatan, Kuningan DKI Jakarta, 12960, Indonesia
OCEANIA
Oceania Secretariat
Level 1, 200 Little Collins Street Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia
icleioceania.org
Advocacy
Training
Consultancy
Research
Associate Partnership
Associate Partnership
Associate Partnership
Associate Partnership
Associate Partnership
ICLEI membership application
ICLEI membership application
ICLEI membership application
ICLEI membership application
ICLEI membership application
Want to be a model?
Want to be a model?
Want to be a model?
Want to be a model?
Want to be a model?
ICLEI membership online application form
ICLEI membership online application form
ICLEI membership online application form
ICLEI membership online application form
ICLEI membership online application form