Experts emphasised the need to transform all municipalities in Bangladesh with nature-based solutions to improve climate resilience and strengthen the Delta Plan 2100.

They were speaking at a day-long peer learning session, which was organised by the Altec Consultant Limited (ACL), IHE Delft Institute for Water Education with the support of Partners for Water (Netherlands Enterprise Agency) held at a city hotel in the capital on Sunday.

High officials from the Netherlands and its foreign ministry collaborated on the event.

The session reflected upon Urban Demonstrators' core focus on addressing urban challenges through sustainable solutions and discussed its impact in its pilot areas, Keshabpur and Raozan upazilas, by restoring public spaces and enhancing water storage, cleaning, cooling, and maintaining infrastructure.

In this session, UD shared their plans to extend this approach to 8-10 additional municipalities over the next three years, with the potential to influence 100 towns.

Andre Carstens, ambassador of the Netherlands in Bangladesh, inaugurated the peer learning session.

Sami W Chowdhury, project leader of the UD and managing director of ACL, and Mirza Md Mohiuddin, consultant of SiBDP 2100, delivered detailed presentations focusing on Delta Plan 2100.

Other distinguished guests shared their valuable insights.

Chris Zevenbergen, professor of Flood Resilience of Urban Systems at IHE Delft and one of the initiators of the Urban Demonstrators, addressed the event.

Among distinguished guests, high officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, ACL, IHE Delft, Waterstudio Netherlands, CEGIS, C4RE along with officials of Keshabpur, Raozan, Boalkhali, and Teknaf municipalities were present at the event.

With the initiative of Asian University for Women and Young People for Development (YPD) Bangladesh, student representatives of several universities also participated in the session.