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microfinance
Protecting Houses against Floods through Microcredit and Microlending
Submitted by tianyili on Fri, 2010-04-23 18:18
Summary:
The following case study is featured in the Meister Consultants Group study: *Floating Houses and Mosquito Nets: Emerging Climate Change Adaptation Strategies Around the World*.
Bangladesh is one of the countries that will be most affected by climate change. Two thirds of the country is located in low lying coastal wetlands less than five meters above sea level, so rising sea levels pose an especially serious threat. In the past, Bangladesh has frequently been hit by natural disasters, and climate change threatens to make such catastrophes even more common. Despite its financial constraints, the country is trying to prepare for these enormous threats as much as possible in order to minimize the number of potential victims and economic impacts. In this regard, Bangladesh’s case offers some best practices. For instance, in the event of an imminent flood the population is alerted through an early warning system that uses volunteers to alert people via megaphones as well as over the radio. Given the massive threats and its limited financial means, Bangladesh depends on international support for its measures to adapt to climate change.
_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. 21._
For more detailed information and references refer to: [Floating Houses - Full Report](http://files.mc-group.com/clst/Study%20Climate%20Change%20Adaption.pdf).
[Meister Consultants Group](http://www.mc-group.com/)
Adaptation Experience:
The Grameen Bank has become famous for its microcredit program. In 2006, the founder, Muhammad Yunus, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his pioneering work in the field of microfinance. These small loans are paid back on a weekly basis. The microcredit system builds on a system of shared responsibility: Families and communities support each other, thereby realizing a payback rate of close to 100 percent.
The Grameen Bank plays an important role for the adaptation to the impacts of climate change.
Results and Learning:
Information not available yet.
Sustainability:
Information not available yet.
Replication:
Information not available yet.
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Assessing the Role of Microfinance in Fostering Adaptation to Climate Change
Submitted by robertaannan on Sat, 2010-03-27 00:10Year:
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This paper offers the first empirical assessment of the linkages between microfinance supported activities and adaptation to climate change. Specifically, the lending portfolios of the 22 leading microfinance institutions in two climate vulnerable countries – Bangladesh and Nepal - are analysed to assess the synergies and potential conflicts between microfinance and adaptation. The two countries had also been previously examined as part of an earlier OECD report on the links between macro-level Official Development Assistance and adaptation.
Assessing the Role of Microfinance in Fostering Adaptation to Climate Change
Submitted by andrea on Tue, 2010-03-23 04:05Year:
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The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released a new working paper on “Assessing the Role of Microfinance in Fostering Adaptation to Climate Change”.
This report, as part of the OECD Environmental Working Paper series, is authored by Shardul Agrawala and Maëlis Carraro. The paper offers the first empirical assessment of the linkages between microfinance supported activities and adaptation to climate change. Specifically, the lending portfolios of leading microfinance institutions in two climate vulnerable countries – Bangladesh and Nepal – are analysed to assess the synergies and potential conflicts between microfinance and adaptation. The paper identifies areas of opportunity where microfinance could be harnessed to play a greater role in fostering adaptation, as well as its limitations in this context. It also explores the linkage between the top-down macro-financing for adaptation through international financial mechanisms and the bottom-up activities that can be implemented through microfinance.
Microfinance and Climate Change Adaptation
Submitted by andrea on Mon, 2009-12-14 03:53Year:
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Anne Hammill, Richard Matthew and Elissa McCarter suggest that microfinance deserves careful consideration by the climate change adaptation community. The authors "believe that the potential for a constructive linkage is there – in some cases much has already been realised – and should not be ignored." The focus of this article is to identify possible links between microfinance services and climate adaptation and to highlight the opportunities and the risks of these links for vulnerability reduction among the world’s poorest populations.
