UNEP - 5 Colombo Declaration
On 5 October 2023, in the 5th Forum of Ministers and Environment Authorities of Asia Pacific, , held in Colombo, under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP -5), a proposal from the Minister of Environment of Sri Lanka for establishing a new multilateral development bank for climate finance for the Global South by the name of Biosphere Reserve Bank was received and endorsed with a huge show of sense of urgency by the environment leaders of all Asia Pacific member states of the UN.
On 6 October 2023, UNEP issued a press release stating that there is a need to establish the Biosphere Reserve Bank to give direct access to funds for countries most vulnerable to climate-related disasters.
Saiful Amin Bhuiyan and Hon. Naseer Ahamed, Minister of Environment of Sri Lanka, in a bilateral meeting with H.E. Habibun Nahar M.P., Deputy Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of Bangladesh, discussing the proposed Biosphere Reserve Bank on the sidelines of the 5th UNEP Forum of Ministers and Environment Authorities of Asia Pacific in Colombo, October 4, 2023.