BUF Inter-ministerial Steering Committee
21 members Inter-ministerial Steering Committee (IMSC) has been constituted through GoB official order (headed by Honorable LGRD&C Minister and State Minister for Housing & Public Works Minister as Chair and Co-Chair respectively) on May 31, 2012. The committee has the following Terms of Reference (TOR);
a. National Steering Committee shall coordinate among the concerned organizations/authorities, local government institutions and other stakeholders in the urban sector for urban policy and urban development;
b. Advise on activities related to urbanization and its growing importance and for undertaking pragmatic steps for urban development
c. Other issues related to the above.
The BUF Steering Committee will achieve the objectives for BUF through the support and assistance of the following;
a. BUF Clusters (8 Clusters)
b. Core Group of Clusters and
c. BUF Secretariat
Organizational Structure of BUF
• What is the BUF?
The BUF is conceived of as a broad-based stakeholder platform for dialogue and action to address urban issues. BUF is both a process and event to be institutionalised. This approach will ensure that the dialogue and action—rooted in a broad-based social consensus on the challenges arising from and possible responses to urbanization and urban poverty—will be sustained over the longer-term. Similar to urban forums in a number of other countries, the BUF can promote this by offering urban sector stakeholders a space for mutual exchange of ideas, best practices and policy discussion on urbanization and urban development.
• BUF Objectives
Objectives:
Principles:
Bangladesh is urbanizing rapidly. The annual population growth rate of approximately 4 per cent in urban areas is more than 2.5 times that in rural areas. The majority of the urban population in Bangladesh is concentrated in a few large cities. Dhaka – with 13 million people - accounts for about 40 per cent of the total urban population (UN-HABITAT, State of the World’s Cities 2008-2009). It is predicted that by 2030 about 80 million people will be living in Bangladesh’s towns and cities.
All city dwellers feel the consequences of this boom, but it is the poorest that are affected most; vulnerable to poor health and other risks, and with often limited access to public services. The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics reports that 21 per cent of the urban population is below the poverty line, a third of whom are extreme poor.
A number of national assessments have identified this issue as critical for the development of Bangladesh. The 2009 MDGs Progress Report, jointly prepared with the Government and the UN System in Bangladesh, includes specific references to the centrality of urban policies to poverty reduction. Importantly, stakeholders agree that the challenges arising from rapid urbanization can be met, and indeed, can be leveraged for positive impacts. Urbanization is a driver of economic growth and, managed well, will bring benefits not just to the poor in urban areas, but to the nation more broadly. Effective and positive urbanization requires a comprehensive understanding, the tackling of misconceptions, new partnerships, new policies and new approaches.
The Response
Such directions are also clearly identified in key Government planning documents, including the draft National Urban Sector Policy, the Outline Perspective Plan and the Sixth Five Year Plan. The next cycle United Nations Development Assistance Framework places specific emphasis on working towards improved pro-poor urban development. Several other development partners have indicated that a response to urbanization is reflected in their development work. A number of urban sector programmes already exist, including the Urban Partnerships for Poverty Reduction, Urban Governance and Infrastructure Improvement Project and the Urban Primary Health Care Project.
To build a broader base for action, and to develop consensus on the array of issues that Bangladesh’s rapid urbanization brings, a number of stakeholders have recently begun to see the need and value of a national-level, multi-stakeholder forum on urban issues.
In recent years Bangladesh has sent a number of delegations to the World Urban Forum and in early 2010 the Sylhet Conversation brought together a broad group of urban actors – including Government, civil society, academia, development partners and representatives of urban poor communities. These events have underscored the tremendous potential that participatory action has. They have provided an opportunity to learn from others, to network and to spur further collaboration, and they have stimulated interest in establishing a national-level forum.
Towards this goal, Bangladesh’s most eminent scholar on urban matters together with the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Land convened a stakeholder consultation on January 11, 2011 in partnership with the Secretaries of the Local Government Division and the Ministry of Housing & Public Works, with support from GIZ and UNDP. This consultation was a watershed which confirmed a broad-based commitment to the idea of a nationwide urban forum, titled the Bangladesh Urban Forum (BUF), and the process towards its institutionalisation.
National Steering Committee
The National Steering Committee, the highest level advisory body for the BUF, will be convened by the Hon’ble Minister for LGRDC and co-chaired by the Hon’ble State Minister for MoHPW. This body will provide the BUF’s governance structure as an institution and its mandate, as well as policy guidelines as necessary. The National Steering Committee will ensure coordination with GoB agencies, local urban authorities, and urban sector stakeholders on policy developments and urban sector development activities.
Organizing Committee
The Organizing Committee was formalized by the Local Government Division on 18th August 2011 through LGD Office Order 6.063.014.01.00.012.2011-953. It is chaired by the Hon’ble Secretary of LGD and co-chaired by the Hon’ble Secretary of MoHPW. The Committee provides the governance and has a mandate for overseeing and guiding the preparation and organization of BUF events. The Committee ensures coordination with relevant GoB agencies, municipalities and urban sector stakeholders that will participate in the management of the future BUF events. The Organizing Committee will also guide the Secretariat, providing direction while the National Advisory Board is yet to be formalized. Its members are listed below:
| Chief Executive Officer, DCC | Joint Secretary (Development), LGD |
| Director General, PMO | Chief Engineer, LGED |
| Chief Engineer, DPHE | Chairman, Rajuk |
| Chairman, NHA | Commissioner, Dhaka Metropolitan Police |
| Director, Urban Development Directorate | Deputy Secretary (Poura), LGD |
| Representative of Bangladesh Municipal Development Fund | Representative of Planning Commission |
| Representative of Economic Relations Department | Professor Nazrul Islam, Eminent urban researcher |
| Country Director, UNDP | President of Municipal Association of Bangladesh |
| Representative, GIZ | Representative of FBCCI |
| Representative, ADB/World Bank | President of Bangladesh Institute of Planners |
| President of REHAB | President of Institute of Architects |
| President of Bangladesh Asiatic Society | Representative of Center of Urban Studies |
| President of Engineers Institution of Bangladesh | Representative of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association |
| Representative of BUET | Representative of Coalition for the Urban Poor |
| Representative of Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon | Representative of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad |
| Representative of Nagar Daridro Bastibasider Sangthaton (NDBUS) | Secretariat |
The Secretariat is responsible to the Organizing Committee for ensuring an effective and timely implementation of the BUF, particularly initially its First Session, ensuring the participation of relevant stakeholders and coordinating and guiding their contributions. The Secretariat is headed by Professor Nazrul Islam, an eminent urban sector expert, who is supported by a Core Group and a team of professional staff. The Secretariat is initially hosted at UNDP on an interim basis, with funding support at the request of LGD, while transition measures to the NILG for a long-term sustainable forum setting are developed. An external private event management company will be employed to support the Secretariat and manage the venue and logistics of the First Session of the BUF.
Core Group
A Core Group will be positioned to assist the Secretariat to operationalize and implement the First Session of the BUF. Comprised of the leads of the BUF sub-committees and/or the institutions committing substantial resources to the BUF and possibly urban sector members, the Core Group will contribute to coherence, coordination and operationalization of the First Session.
Subcommittees
Seven sub-committees manage the multiple thematic and functional arrangements of the BUF First Session. The sub-committees are chaired by members of the Organizing Committee and comprise representatives from stakeholder groups willing to participate actively in the event. The list of sub-committees is as follows:
বাংলাদেশ আরবান ফোরাম সচিবালয়, লেভেল ১০, এলজিইডি ঢাকা জেলা নির্বাহী প্রকৌশলীর কার্যালয়, ৬২, পশ্চিম আগারগাঁও, ঢাকা-১২০৭
Bangladesh Urban Forum Secretariat, Level 10, LGED Dhaka Office, 62, West Agargaon, Dhaka-1207
ইমেইল: bufsecretariat@bufbd.org; ওয়েব: http://bufbd.org/
BUF Secretariat runs with support
from the GoB and UNDP
