South Asia

seeking Climate aid: Bangladesh's interim leader Fakhruddin Ahmed has called on rich nations to pay
billions of dollars to help his country fight the effects of climate change because they are the biggest environmental culprits. Ahmed said this while
speaking at the International Symposium on Climate Change and Food Security in South Asia, which concluded in Dhaka recently. Ahmed said
that his country needs at least US $4 billion by 2020 to build dams, cyclone shelters, plant trees along the coast and build infrastructure and
capacities to adapt to increasing number of natural disasters.

Experts, too, emphasized on increased financial support to combat the impacts of climate change in South Asia. Climate change will increase
temperature, decrease availability of fresh water, contribute to sea level rise, glacial melting in the Himalayas, increased frequency and intensity
of extreme events and shifting of cropping zones in South Asia affecting agriculture and food sector, economy, societies and environment, they
said.

Fruit promotion: To achieve self sufficiency in food production, Sri Lanka has launched a Rs (Lankan) 15
million programme Api Wawamu, Rata Nagamu, literally, Let us grow more food to build the Nation. As part of the programme, the
government plans to promote the cultivation of 11 fruit categories, including banana, pineapple, mango, avocado, jak, pomegranate, grapes,
mangoes, rambutan and selected species of the citrus family.