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ALM Case Study 2010 - Community Based Adaptation to Climate Change through Coastal Afforestation
Summary:
Vulnerability in Bangladesh is worsened due to the high dependence of a majority of the population on climate-sensitive sectors, such as agriculture, forestry and fisheries. Compounding these vulnerabilities, Bangladesh is challenged with weak infrastructure facilities, institutional mechanisms and a lack of financial resources. Given the general lack of institutional capacity to systematically identify and address climate-driven changes in risk patterns, the Government of Bangladesh is implementing a project to reduce the vulnerability of coastal communities to climate change-induced risks in 4 coastal districts. The project is based on enhancing the resilience of coastal communities and protective ecosystems through community-led adaptation interventions. Efforts are also being made to enhance national, sub-national, and local capacities of government authorities and planners to understand climate risk dynamics in coastal areas. In short, the project is focusing on reviewing and revising coastal management practices and policies to increase community resilience to climate change impacts in coastal areas. Project outcomes include developing a functional system for the collection, distribution and internalization of climate-related knowledge. Key lessons learned from the project thus far indicate the need to actively involve stakeholders from different government departments and ensure on-going cooperation and consistent support between the stakeholders and the government.
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Adaptation Experience:
Coastal communities are highly resource poor and extremely vulnerable to anticipated climate induced threats. Given the general lack of institutional capacity to systematically identify and address climate-driven changes in risk patterns, the Government of Bangladesh is proposing a project to reduce the vulnerability of coastal communities to climate change-induced risks in 4 coastal districts (Barguna, Patuakhali, Bhola, Noakhali, and Chittagong) under 4 coastal forest divisions.The project is based on the following components: Enhancing the resilience of coastal communities and protective ecosystems through community-led adaptation interventions, focusing on coastal afforestation and livelihood diversification; Enhancing national, sub-national, and local capacities of government authorities and planners to understand climate risk dynamics in coastal areas and implement appropriate risk reduction measures; Reviewing and revising coastal management practices and policies to increase community resilience to climate change impacts in coastal areas; and Developing a functional system for the collection, distribution and internalization of climate-related knowledge.
Results and Learning:
Progress to date: In a poverty stricken coastal zone, land and farming are the limiting factors for poverty alleviation where rational use of land comes to the fore. The major contribution of Fish, Fruit and Forest (FFF) model is that it ensures livelihood security by accommodating 15 families/ha and appears as one of the pioneering rational land use model for a highly land scarce country like Bangladesh. Besides, in terms of rational income, the outcome of the model is highly rational for participating communities because it provides two to threefold added income in addition to their routine livelihood activities. FFF Model differs in that it comprises the following Early, Mid-term, Mid/long-term and Long-term resource generation options for livelihood security of coastal communities. It provides opportunity to grow large number of improved variety vegetables on the 2.7m × 86.7m long top surface of the mound. Moreover, further expansion is possible through special supporting arrangements (scaffold) on the margins of ditch to support hanging vegetables for growing country bean, cucumber, bottle, bitter and sweet gourds (cucurbitaceous vegetables) and other creeper vegetables.Key lessons learned:
- Involve stakeholders from different government departments to create appropriate adaptation measures: Identifying different needs and implementing them with multiple perspectives. Given the multitude of stakeholders, integrated communication and coordination will be key to success. The project aims to address these potential risks by coordinating closely with ongoing activities of the government and International Union for Conservation of Nature.
- Ensure that there is on-going cooperation and consistent support between the stakeholders and the government: Communication with stakeholders, project team, sponsors and people of Bangladesh. In the absence of an integrated coastal development strategy which incorporates climate risks for the Government to utilize over the coming decades, the current set of ad-hoc activities is unlikely to address emerging climate change, including variability, problems coherently. There is a need to develop strategies based on existing opportunities, understanding of the level of climatic risks, political and economic feasibility of adaptation to climate change response options.
- Involve district authorities and local communities at an early stage of project design: Involving local residents in various stages of the project has been beneficial. Awareness-raising of projected impacts and potential solutions has been conducted through local media and other appropriate channels.
- Identify risk management/ vulnerability and areas for synergies with other sectors during the initial stages of the project: Identify complementarities and establish linkages with other programmes and sectors (e.g. disaster risk management). The project will further generate adaptation benefits by facilitating the integration of climate risk into existing poverty reduction and rural development strategies, especially as they pertain to coastal regions.
Sustainability:
The recurrent income generation from continuous flow of resources will increase the adaptive capacity of the coastal people and such recurrent livelihood support might sustain the Fish, Fruit and Forest (FFF) model in any anticipated stressed conditions, induced by climate change. Additional measures necessary to ensure the sustainability of the proposed interventions, including those that focus on management and technical capacity, will be identified and incorporated into the project design. The project design will be informed by an in-depth root-cause analysis which will be guided by the principles of the UNDP APF. This approach will ensure that the implementation of the NAPA priority profiles is not undertaken in isolation but contributes to ongoing activities by government and other donors who are actively working towards coastal development.Institutional linkages will be strengthened, and community-based adaptation measures will include innovative mechanisms for sustainable livelihoods, which in turn will enhance the sustainability of project outcomes. The capacity-building components of the project will empower stakeholders at all levels—from community members to district authorities to policymakers—with a greater understanding of climate change risks, adaptation options, and enhanced adaptive capacity.
Replication:
In regards to replicability and integration, the project will further generate adaptation benefits by facilitating the integration of climate risk into existing poverty reduction and rural development strategies, especially as they pertain to coastal regions.Once the project demonstrates the viability of adaptation interventions and effectively builds national and local adaptive capacity, there will be opportunities for further up scaling and replication in other coastal sites exposed to climate-induced hazards. Learning is ensured through activities in Outcome 4, including contributions to the Adaptation Learning Mechanism, so that government ministries and other organizations will have access to new knowledge and resources developed through the project. National and international dialogue forums will provide opportunities for identifying similarly vulnerable areas within and outside of Bangladesh. The approach used will be replicated in other non-coastal areas where climate change-induced risks are very high, for example, the haors, or low-lying floodplain depressions located mostly in the north-eastern region of the country and covering about 25% of the entire region. In the northeast, flash floods have been occurring earlier in the season and with increasing intensity, causing much damage to crops and livelihoods.
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