Bangladesh
Transparency (Open Budget Index) 56/100
The Government of Bangladesh provides the public with limited budget information.
Public Participation 23/100
The Government of Bangladesh is weak in providing the public with opportunities to engage in the budget process.
Budget Oversight
By legislature 49/100
Budget oversight by the legislature in Bangladesh is limited.
By auditor 75/100
Budget oversight by the supreme audit in Bangladesh is adequate.
Recommendations
Improving Transparency
Bangladesh should prioritize the following actions to improve budget transparency:
- Publish a Pre-Budget Statement.
- Produce and publish an Audit Report in a timely manner.
- Increase the comprehensiveness of the Year-End Report.
Improving Participation
Bangladesh should prioritize the following actions to improve budget participation:
- Provide detailed feedback on how public perspectives have been captured and taken into account.
- Hold legislative hearings on the budgets of specific ministries, departments, and agencies at which testimony from the public is heard.
- Establish formal mechanisms for the public to assist the supreme audit institution to formulate its audit program and to participate in audit investigations.
Improving Oversight
Bangladesh should prioritize the following actions to strengthen budget oversight:
- Ensure the Executive’s Budget Proposal is provided to legislators at least three months before the start of the budget year.
- Ensure the executive receives prior approval by the legislature before implementing a supplemental budget.
- In both law and practice, ensure the legislature is consulted prior to the spending of any unanticipated revenue and the spending of contingency funds that were not identified in the Enacted Budget.
Climate Finance Accountability Synthesis Report
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the world today. Significant amounts of finance are and will be required to enable governments around the globe to support adaptation and mitigation efforts. There is growing interest among government, civil society, the private sector and international actors on how to mobilize finance, from both international and national sources, to address the climate crisis.1 Climate finance creates opportunities to mitigate the worst effects of climate change on poor and marginalized groups. Whether it will do so or not depends on the strength of public finance accountability ecosystems through which funds – both domestic and from international donors – are allocated and executed to deliver climate-adapted local development. In this paper, we will use the term “CFA ecosystem” to refer to the public finance accountability ecosystem, but with particular attention to climate-specific funding for inputs and development outcomes related to climate change adaptation.
This report synthesizes lessons learned from a two- year pilot project supported by the Swedish Postcode Foundation and implemented in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Indonesia by ActionAid Bangladesh (AAB), Forest Resource Studies and Action Team (ForestAction) Nepal, the Indonesian Traditional Union of Fisherfolk (KNTI) and the National Center for Indonesia Leadership (INISIATIF) with support from the International Budget Partnership (IBP). Launched in 2019, the project set out to explore:
- How CFA ecosystems function
- The strategies and roles of various actors within them – including civil society – to strengthen and engage in the systems to ensure that resources reach marginalized communities.
The report synthesizes lessons from this project on what needs to be done to ensure that climate finance is used responsively and accountably to mitigate the worst effects of climate change on poor and marginalized groups. The purpose of this study, conducted by the TAP Room, was to draw out insights and learning from the project to deepen knowledge of CFA ecosystems for the organizations involved and the broader field. The research team conducted a desk review of relevant project documents, interviews with IBP staff, and interviews and focus groups with the implementing civil society organizations (CSOs) in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Indonesia. However, the study is not intended to evaluate IBP’s contribution to, nor the final outcomes of, of the CSO efforts.
Download the full report and executive summary.
Tackling gender inequality and climate change through the budget: A look at gender-responsive climate change budgeting in Bangladesh and Mexico
It has become increasingly critical for countries to adopt a gender-responsive climate change budgetary approach to support gender equity while mitigating the adverse effects of global warming. Alongside our partners, we have undertaken research on how governments are incorporating gender-responsive climate change budget approaches.
This study aims to accelerate progress toward more effective ways of integrating (“double mainstreaming”) gender equality and climate change considerations as equally important imperatives in public financial management and presents findings from exploratory research in Bangladesh and Mexico. Download the paper.
Related reading:
Gender-responsive climate change budgeting in Bangladesh: Exploring opportunities toward an inclusive climate resilient future
It has become increasingly critical for countries to adopt a gender-responsive climate change budgetary approach to support gender equity while mitigating the adverse effects of global warming. Alongside our partners, we have undertaken research on how governments are incorporating gender-responsive climate change budget approaches.
This study seeks to identify steps the government of Bangladesh has taken to integrate gender into its climate-related investments and investigates opportunities and challenges in mainstreaming gender-responsive climate change budgeting across all climate action plans. Download the paper.
Related reading:
- Integrating gender and climate change in public budgeting: The case of Mexico
- Tackling gender inequality and climate change through the budget: A synthesis of Bangladesh and Mexico case studies