ALM UNDP

Low economic strength, inadequate infrastructure, low level of social development, lack of institutional capacity, and a higher dependency on the natural resource base makes Bangladesh particularly vulnerable to climate stimuli (including both variability as well as extreme events). Recognizing these vulnerabilities, Bangladesh has developed many adaptation measures to address adverse effects of climate change based on existing coping mechanisms and practices.

Bangladesh, except for the hilly regions in the northeast and southeast and terrace land in northwest and central zones, is one of the largest deltas in the world, formed by the dense network of the distributaries of the mighty rivers namely the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna. The country is located between 20°34’ to 26°38’ north latitude and 88°01’ to 92°42’ east longitude. The total land area is 147,570 sq. km. and consists mostly of low and flat land. A network of more than 230 major rivers with their tributaries and distributaries crisscross the country.

It has a population of about 131 million (BBS, 2002) with very low per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$ 351 per annum (UNDP, 2004). Of this, just about a quarter was in the urban areas including the metropolitan cities . Population of the country has been growing fast in the sixties and the seventies. The inter-census growth rates had been rising and then falling over the last four decades or so. The falling population growth rate had been possible due to a sharp decline in the total fertility rate which had fallen from 6.3 per woman of reproductive age (15-49) in 1975 to 3.0 by 2004 (NIPORT and Mitra and Associate: 2005). For the future under the assumed rates for this report, the expected population for the year 2030 is 186 million, 61 million in the urban and the rest 125 million in the rural areas.

Most people, live in the rural areas. On the other hand, urbanization is growing fast in the country. Between 1961 and 1974, the rate of growth in urban population had been 6.7 % per annum. Between 1974 and 1981 it shot up further to 10.7 % per annum. Since then the rate has fallen, but between 1991 and 2001 it was 3.15 % which is just double the rate of overall population growth.

The following section is found in the Meister Consultants Group study: Floating Houses and Mosquito Nets: Emerging Climate Change Adaptation Strategies Around the World.

Strategy and Actors

Although Bangladesh is among the least developed countries in the world, the country has developed good adaptation approaches, especially in the field of disaster management. Bangladesh has always had to fight floods and other natural disasters; therefore, despite limited resources it has developed a comprehensive system in order to handle these threats. However, unlike countries such as the Netherlands, Bangladesh cannot protect the whole population from the consequences of climate change. The goal is rather to minimize the impacts on people and the economy.

The most important natural disaster program is the Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP), initiated by the government in 2003. CDMP is a comprehensive program that aims to limit the long-term risks and to build operative capacities in the field of disaster control. It also deals with many of the main adaptation challenges. The program is supported both by UNDP and by the British development organization Department for International Development (DFID). The CDMP also includes central guidelines and strategies for the Ministry of Food and Disaster Management (MoFDM), established in 2003. In addition to the steering committee, which is the central decision-making body, there is the Program, Policy and Partnership Development Unit (PPPDU), tasked with coordinating the different actors involved, as well as with mainstreaming disaster control and development policy.

The CDMP is complemented by UNDP’s Participatory Disaster Management Programme (PDMP), which also serves other Asian countries. In Bangladesh, the program targets the most urgent measures with a short-term implementation horizon. It is an action- and project-based addition to CDMP’s strategy, focusing on simple preventive measures and on handling the consequences of natural disasters. Action plans are developed in cooperation with the most important stakeholders in the region. Other measures include the training of catastrophe management staff, the implementation of local risk reduction concepts, and the establishment of early warning systems.

In 2005, Bangladesh also developed a National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) within the framework of the UNFCCC. The preparation process was handled by a steering committee of representatives of the most important ministries. The Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) leads the project. During the development of the plan, strategy workshops with affected stakeholders were organized, and NGOs and academics were involved in the process. The plan identifies the most important vulnerabilities, and recommends a comprehensive catalog of prioritized measures. The 15 most important measures are accompanied by a specific project.

Source: Dr. Hans-Peter Meister, I. K., Martina Richwein, Wilson Rickerson, Chad Laurent. Additional contributors: Jeff Snell, Elisa Burchert, Florian Lux. (2009). Floating Houses and Mosquito Nets: Emerging Climate Change Adaptation Strategies Around the World. Boston: Meister Consultants Group. p. 67-69.

For more detailed information and references refer to Floating Houses - Full Report.