20. Integration of National Policies towards Addressing the Challenges of Impacts of Climate Change in the GBM Region

The countries those share watersheds of the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna River (in short, the GBM Region) are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. They should be concerned because their unique natural systems are such that the Himalayan snow and glaciers, glacier lakes, and inland and coastal wetlands could suffer irreparable loss from climate change. Therefore, water resources and the dependent ecosystems will be affected. Changes in precipitation will affect water resources availability. Climate change will also alter magnitude and extent of extreme weather events, for example, timing of floods. Although the pattern of vulnerability and impacts would be similar (with some exceptions) in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal, their climate change policies are mostly different. Regional integration of climate change policies is proposed under a suitable institutional framework. It is proposed that the BBIN Sub-Regional Cooperation Initiative under the SAARC may be the designated institution to address the key concerns and vulnerabilities. The GBM region is brought into focus in this discussion in order to understand the need for regional cooperation with respect to Sundarbans in the final chapter based on details of the features that exist on a much larger and root-level platform.