The Bangladesh National Consultation Workshop on BOBLME-2 Project organized jointly by the BOBP-IGO and
#IUCN in cooperation with the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Government of Peoples Republic of Bangladesh organized successfully from 27 - 29 February 2024. About 60 participants: Senior Government Officials, including Mr. Md Selim Uddin, Secretary, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Dr. Farhina Ahmed, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; Mr. A.T.M. Mostafa Kamal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock & current Chair, BOBP-IGO, Mr. Syed Md. Alamgir, Director General, Department of Fisheries; Mr. Gobinda Roy, Deputy Chief Conservator of Forests, Forest Department, Dr. Md. Zulfikar Ali, Director General, Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute; representatives from fisherfolk organizations, academia, NGOs, regional and international organizations attended. Speaking on the occasion, the participants emphasised on synergy between the BOBLME project and national sustainable development objectives. The Secretary of Fisheries and Secretary, Environment, Forest and Climate Change emphasised on strong commitment of the Government to achieving sustainable development goals and all support to the project to meet its objective. On behalf of the Project team, Dr. P Krishnan, Director, BOBP-IGO, and Ms Maeve Nightingle, Senior Programme Officer Coastal, and Marine Science and Strategy Group (SSG), IUCN Asia Regional Office, explained the work plan of the project and larger objectives. The key outputs from the project include the identification of candidate units for implementing EAFM and marine managed areas (MMAs), issues regarding IUU fishing, marine pollution, and scope for regional cooperation. Speaking during the concluding session, Mr. Syed Md. Alamgir, Director General of the Department of Fisheries, recounted the journey and said that it was an enriching process with active participation from all the stakeholders. The Project had a good start and is now set to contribute to the sustainable development of the Bay of Bengal region.