Context
The negative effects of climate change in Bangladesh include increasingly heavy rainfall, prolonged periods of drought and rising sea levels. Flooding and erosion, crop failures, salinisation of the groundwater and loss of land are the consequences, which threaten to jeopardize the past and future development gains of the country. Therefore, adaptation to climate change is a priority in Bangladesh's climate and development strategies such as the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). The increase in climate resilience is also established as a key objective in Bangladesh's Seventh Five-Year Plan, the main national development strategy of Bangladesh.
Despite important climate policy decisions and significant climate financing, it remains a major challenge to translate climate policy objectives into measurable improvements for the population. National climate strategies and goals so far have not been sufficiently integrated in sector strategies and plans. Climate risks and climate policy objectives are hardly taken into account in the project development and implementation and are therefore not yet reflected in concrete measures. The main reason lies in the lack of the required capacities and of the corresponding information or support services for the sector ministries.
Objective
Selected sector ministries, including subordinate technical authorities at national and local level, use improved capacities and processes for the integration of climate risks and national adaptation goals.
Approach
The project aims to systematically integrate climate risks and national adaptation goals into technical and financial planning processes of selected sector ministries. The priority is the improvement of abilities and procedures for the climate-resilient planning of concrete projects. It also improves the delivery of climate data and information as a key basis for the identification and integration of climate risks and the development of concrete adaptation measures. Thus, the project aims to make an important contribution to the implementation of the NDC and the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) of Bangladesh. The improved planning and implementation of specific adaptation measures in selected sectors contributes to the overall increase of the resilience of particularly vulnerable populations to the effects of climate change. Poverty relevance and gender equality are additionally ensured through the improved provision of poverty- and gender-differentiated climate information for consideration in project planning.
The intended results of the project pertain to three fields of action:
- strengthening the knowledge and skills of professionals for the improved integration of climate risks and national adaptation goals in project and strategy development in selected sector ministries and their associated authorities at national and local level;
- making needs-based and gender-sensitive climate information and climate services available to relevant actors for systematic use and promoting the exchange and cooperation between sector ministries and climate information service providers;
- piloting procedures for improved integration of climate risks and national adaptation goals into project and strategy development in selected sector ministries and associated authorities, addresses existing regulatory planning processes.