Background

Sustainable development in Bangladesh has long been constrained by inadequate environmental and social (ES) performance in development projects, posing risks to public health, productivity, and the natural resource base. To address this challenge, the World Bank introduced its Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) in 2018 to provide a structured approach for managing ES risks. Early implementation of the ESF in Bangladesh, however, revealed critical capacity gaps among Implementing Agencies (IAs), including limited staff expertise, inconsistencies between ESF requirements and domestic law, and weak monitoring frameworks.

In response, the World Bank partnered with the Centre for Environmental and Resource Management (CERM) at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) to establish a dedicated Learning Center (LC), a national hub for strengthening institutional and technical capacity in environmental and social risk management. With resources mobilized from FY22 onward, the initiative focused on curriculum development, structured training delivery, and the cultivation of collaborative professional networks. As one of its first milestones, a graduate-level, 14-week course aligned with the ESF and international best practice was developed. The Learning Center was formally launched on February 15, 2023, marking the beginning of a sustained national effort to build environmental and social risk management expertise in support of Bangladesh's development priorities.

Key Highlights

• Graduate-level, 14-week course curriculum designed in FY22, aligned with the ESF and international best practice.
• LC operations formally launched on February 15, 2023, with pilot training programs commencing the same year.
• Curriculum refined and updated in FY24, alongside the introduction of multiple short-format training programs.
• Training delivery scaled substantially in FY25, with 12 programs delivered across ESF thematic areas, including ESIA, resettlement, labor management, and occupational health and safety.
• FY26 (to date): 5 specialized programs delivered, including a dedicated practical ESIA development training and deep-dive trainings on ESF instruments: RAP, GRM, SEP, and LMP.
• Since inception, the Learning Center has delivered 28 training and capacity-building programs, cumulatively strengthening the ES risk management capacity of Implementing Agency staff nationwide.

Training Programs Delivered (2023–2026)

The table below presents the complete list of training and capacity-building programs delivered by the Learning Center since its establishment, arranged in reverse chronological order.