The speakers expressed the view at the concluding session of the two-day regional workshop on 'Climate change negotiations in South and Southeast Asia: The role of Bangladesh and Least Developed Countries' in the city yesterday.

The workshop was held to get more regional cooperation and to have a good bargaining with the developed countries in next summit in Montreal, Canada.

LDCs, whose current chair is Bangladesh, have a specially important role to play in getting a successful outcome from the Montreal meeting, said Saleemul Huq, director of Climate Change Programme of International Institute for Environment and Development, U K.

Prof Gordon Conway, chief scientific advisor of DFID, said science on climate change is very clear at the global level.

"But more analysis and monitoring is essential at regional and local level for better understanding of sea level rise, tropical cyclone and monsoon issues," he said.

"We are yet to properly forecast those things," he added.

Benitof Muller, director and head of Fellowship Programme of European Capacity Building Initiative (ECBI), said he would submit proposal to the donor agencies so that least developed countries get more fund to meet the crisis caused by climate change.

Mohammed Reazuddin, technical director of environment department, presented the views that LDCs should present at the Montreal summit on climate change.

Reaz Rahman, advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was present at the concluding session as chief guest while Jafar Ahmed Chowdhury, secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Forest, was in the chair.

Dr A Atiq Rahman conducted the concluding session.

Forty participants from government and civil society of seven South Asian countries as well as three Southeast Asian countries attended the workshop.

It was jointly organised by the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies, International Institute for Environment and Development, European Capacity Building Initiative, and British High Commission and Department for International Development.