Ministers and representatives from some 30 countries, among the most vulnerable to the harmful effects of climate change, will participate in the Climate Vulnerable Forum 2011 held in Dhaka, Bangladesh on November 13-14 to pursue green development.

Delegates are expected to issue a declaration firming united political calls from vulnerable countries for action by industrialized nations and urgent support to limit increasing loss of human life and other damages.

José María Figueres, former President of Costa Rica, said: “We should be paying close attention to the forum’s message, because with this particular challenge the fate of the world is firmly tied to the fate of its most vulnerable groups.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Dipu Moni, Bangladesh Foreign Minister, said: “Absence of a clear will and concrete steps to reduce emissions place our countries at the risk of peril. So, we must raise our voice unitedly and demand accountability for inaction.

While doing so, we, as the most affected, ought not to simply wait for international support. We must manifest our firm resolve to act, to the extent possible, autonomously and pursue green growth paths in our endeavors,” he added.

The Forum’s Dhaka ministerial meeting, at the threshold of the Durban climate change talks, will provide a significant platform for the growing activities of the participant states, with global powers including China, the US and the UN taking part as observers. The Dhaka meeting aims to lay the path for what will become a series of regular interactions for raising awareness on the dangers of climate change and expressing the shared concerns of vulnerable countries in all relevant global forums.

The group intends to maintain concerted pressure for enhanced low-carbon leadership among industrialized countries, and external support for adapting to climate stresses and for pursuing independent green development through a combination of finance, capacity building and technology transfer – none of which have been adequately forthcoming from 16 previous annual conferences on climate change since parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) first met in Berlin in 1995.

According to a report, nearly 350,000 people already die each year as a result of the negative effects of climate change.

Here are some photos showing mangrove forest and salt encroachment as the result of global climate change in Ben Tre Mekong delta province in southern Vietnam: