Piloting Community-Based Adaptation Activities: Early Experiences in Bangladesh

1. Piloting Community-Based Adaptation Activities: Early Experiences in Bangladesh Angie Dazé and Ahsan Uddin Ahmed Adaptation Day at CoP11 Sunday, December 4, 2005

2. The Reducing Vulnerability to Climate Change (RVCC) Project • Project Goal: To increase capacity of communities in the southwest region of Bangladesh to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change • Funding provided by the Canada Climate Change Development Fund (CCCDF) at CIDA • Managed by CARE Canada and implemented by CARE Bangladesh through local partner organizations • Duration: January 2002- January 2006 • RVCC works in six districts in the southwestern coastal region of Bangladesh

3. Assessment of Vulnerability • Project undertook 78 group vulnerability assessments • Examined what people are vulnerable to, what aspects of well-being are affected, and what coping strategies are currently employed • Vulnerability contexts were ranked in terms of their impact on well-being • Out of the ten elements most frequently identified as having high or medium impact on well-being, six will be directly affected by climate change: Salinity Flood Waterlogging Drought Wind/storm Erratic/heavy rainfall

4. Developing Adaptation Strategies • Based on findings of vulnerability assessment, adaptation strategies were designed • Focus on practical solutions for food and income security and access to safe water to increase coping capacity • Strategies designed to address current challenges and development needs in a way that is sustainable in the longer term context of climate change

5. New ways to cope • End of project evaluations showed that project participants feel that their coping capacity has increased • Reliance on drastic coping strategies such as migrating for work, selling land and assets, and eating non-traditional foods was reduced • People also felt that their ability to access services and to participate in local organizations was increased, and this supported their ability to adapt

6. An Integrated Approach to Adaptation • Approach focused on capacity development (for project participants, local partners, government) and this was found to facilitate adaptation • Awareness raising and advocacy efforts have had positive results in terms of generating interest in climate change in the region

7. Working in Partnership • Working with local partners increased relevance and sustainability of adaptation activities • Emphasis on creating linkages with local government leaders and service providers • Supportive relationship has been established which will extend beyond the life of the project

8. Final Thoughts • RVCC piloted an integrated, community-led approach to reducing environmental vulnerability • Created an enabling environment for coping with current challenges, while addressing poverty and developing adaptive capacity for the future • Project clearly demonstrates the relevance of climate change issues to rural development and livelihoods programming