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The Resilience Academy 2016: Enhancing resilience to minimize Loss and Damage – providing knowledge for the UNFCCC April 2017. Ahmed I., Ayeb-Karlsson S. & van der Geest K.

This bulletin updates the outputs of Resilience Academy 2016.


Shrimp and coastal adaptation: on the politics of climate justice March 2017. Kasia Paprocki & Saleemul Huq

Adaptation measures which do not first and foremost address power and equity are part of the problem, not the solution.


The Role of Microfinance in Household Livelihood Adaptation in Satkhira District, Southwest Bangladesh January 2017. Adrian Fenton, Jouni Paavola, Anne Tallontire

This journal article investigates the role of microfinance on climate change adaptation


Loss and Damage Livelihood Resilience November 2016. ICCCAD

This Policy Brief first frames the challenge and then introduces the Resilience Academy, highlighting 5 key insights that both feed the debate and inform action. Finally, it provides 5 recommendations to the Executive Committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM ExCom) for its 5-year work plan.


Detecting climate adaptation with mobile network data in Bangladesh: anomalies in communication, mobility and consumption patterns during cyclone Mahasen Auguest 2016. Xin Lu, David J. Wrathall, Pål Roe Sundsøy, Md. Nadiruzzaman, Erik Wetter, Asif Iqbal, Taimur Qureshi, Andrew J. Tatem, Geoffrey S. Canright, Kenth Engø-Monsen and
Linus Bengtsson

This article used mobile phone network data to provide rich information on the behavior of people affected by cyclone Mahasen


The role of universities in capacity building under the Paris agreement July 2016. Victoria Hoffmeister, Marilyn Averill, & Saleemul Huq

This paper discusses how empowering universities to educate students on climate change could create systems that continue to build countries’ capacities to tackle climate-related problems for decades to come.


Effect of salinity on food security in the context of interior coast of Bangladesh June 2016. Tanzinia Khanom

This article explored local people’s experience with salinity intrusion in interior coast of Southwest coast of Bangladesh.


A people-centred perspective on climate change, environmental stress, and livelihood resilience in Bangladesh June 2016. Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson, Kees van der Geest, Istiakh Ahmed, Saleemul Huq, Koko Warner

This study aims to understand how people in the study sites build resilience against environmental stresses, such as cyclones, floods, riverbank erosion, and drought, and in what ways their strategies sometimes fail.


Ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation: evidence from two sites in Bangladesh May 2016. Hannah Reid & Sarder Shafiqul Alam

This research looks at two components of effective EbA: ecosystem resilience and the maintenance of ecosystem services. It assesses EbA effectiveness in terms of how such approaches support community adaptive capacity and resilience at two sites in Bangladesh: Chanda Beel wetland and Balukhali Village in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.


Climate change induced loss and damage in Pakistan: An investigation of impacts on society and economy.
June 2016. Hina Lotia, Basharat Saeed, and Areej Riaz from LEAD Pakistan.

This paper aims to raise awareness about Loss and Damage (L&D) and ignite conversation about how Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and Loss & Damage (L&D) can be linked in order to ensure more sustainable resiliency strategies for Pakistan.


Building Climate Resilience to Noapara Town: A Coastal Urban Centre of Bangladesh   May 2016. Sarder Shafiqul Alam, A. T. M. Jahangir Alam, M. Feisal Rahman, Sowmen Rahman & Niaz Rahman

This paper attempts to identify ways of making the town of Noapara, a coastal urban centre in the Jessore district in Bangladesh, resilient to the impacts of climate change, with specific focus on the water and sanitation sectors. The situation in Naopara was investigated to see what investments would need to be made in the town to make it an attractive option for migrants.


Impact of climate change on Least Developed Countries: are the SDGs possible? April 2016. Helena Wright, Jonathan Reeves, & Saleemul Huq

This briefing summarises the projected impacts of climate change on the ability of the LDCs to achieve each SDG, based on evidence primarily from the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.


Climate change-induced loss and damage in The Gambia: An investigation of impacts on The Gambia Farming Community. March 2016. Sadat Yaffa and Alexis Durand.

This paper aims to raise awareness about Loss and Damage (L&D) and ignite conversation about how Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and Loss & Damage (L&D) can be linked in order to ensure more sustainable resiliency strategies for The Gambia.


Unveiling Hidden Migration and Mobility Patterns in Climate Stressed Regions. February 2016. Xin Lua, David J. Wrathall, Pål Roe Sundsøy, Md. Nadiruzzaman, Erik Wettera, Asif Iqbal, Taimur Qureshi, Andrew Tatema, Geoffrey Canright, Kenth Engø-Monsen and Linus Bengtsson.

Climate change is likely to drive migration from environmentally stressed areas. However quantifying short and long-term movements across large areas is challenging due to difficulties in the collection of highly spatially and temporally resolved human mobility data. In this study we use two datasets of individual mobility trajectories from six million de identified mobile phone users in Bangladesh over three months and two years respectively. Using data collected during Cyclone Mahasen, which struck Bangladesh in May 2013, we show first how analyses based on mobile network data can describe important short-term features (hours–weeks) of human mobility during and after extreme weather events, which are extremely hard to quantify using standard survey based research. We then demonstrate how mobile data for the first time allow us to study the relationship between fundamental parameters of migration patterns on a national scale. We concurrently quantify incidence, direction, duration and seasonality of migration episodes in Bangladesh. While we show that changes in the incidence of migration episodes are highly correlated with changes in the duration of migration episodes, the correlation between in- and out-migration between areas is unexpectedly weak. The methodological framework described here provides an important addition to current methods in studies of human migration and climate change


Livelihood resilience in a changing world: 6 global policy recommendations for a more sustainable future   December 2015. Sonja Ayeb‑Karlsson, Thomas Tanneri, Kees van der Geest and Koko Warner

This policy / working Paper makes a case to international policy makers, national government representatives, UN agencies and other development actors for an integrative approach across these three inter-related international processes centred on strengthening the lives and livelihoods of all people across the world.


Resilience synergies in the post-2015 development agenda December 2015. Erin Roberts, Stephanie Andrei, Saleemul Huq and Lawrence Flint

Policymakers have committed to tackling loss and damage as a result of climate change across three high-profile international processes. Framing post-2015 development as a means to address loss and damage can synergize these agendas.


Loss and Damage in INDCs: An investigation of Parties’ statements on L&D and prospects for its inclusion in a Paris Agreement. December 2015. Victoria Hoffmeister and Saleemul Huq.

This paper discusses individual nations’ experiences with Loss and Damage (L&D), their plans to respond, and their calls for international support, as expressed in their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). It also considers the developed-developing nation divide that persists in support for addressing loss and damage within the COP and the importance of including L&D in a Paris agreement.


A practical handbook for Green Climate Fund accreditation in Bangladesh. November 2015. Neha Rai and Marek Soanes.

The aim of this handbook is to provide a practical guide to assist prospective national implementing entities (NIEs) in Bangladesh to directly access the Green Climate Fund (GCF). It is designed to provide an all-in-one guidance and analysis of the concept, process, relevant standards, frequently asked questions and previous applicants’ experience of GCF accreditation. Given the purpose of this work, it does not discuss accreditation for multilateral implementing entities (MIEs) via international access modality. The handbook is primarily intended to be used by national institutes aiming to become accredited NIEs. These can be national line ministries or departments, the Central Bank, public financial institutions, private sector companies or civil society organisations.


Urban climate resilience, water and sanitation: Improving multi-stakeholder collaboration in Dhaka, Bangladesh. September 2015. Sarder Shafiqul Alam, ATM Jahangir Alam and Sowmen Rahman.

This paper attempts to identify a strategy for improving collaboration between stakeholders working in Dhaka city to improve climate change resilience of the urban water and sanitation (WATSAN) sector, with a focus on the urban poor. The findings are derived from reviewing existing literature and consultations with 32 key informants and five focus group discussions (FGDs) representing both low-income groups as well as other stakeholders (NGOs, government, academics). The output of the analysis reveals that heavy rainfall, flooding, water logging and heatwaves are the major climatic impacts that affect the water supply, sanitation and health of slum dwellers. Also, women are more vulnerable than men due to the lack of water supply and adequate sanitation facilities particularly during floods and water-logging conditions. Around 35non-governmental organisations (NGOs), along with government bodies and media, play key roles in improving the WATSAN facilities of the urban poor – which are currently inadequate. To improve the situation, NGOs sometimes collaboratively work with other partners but without considering a long-term strategy. Improving the situation will require a sustained effort from all stakeholders – including government, community members, community-based organisations (CBOs), NGOs, media, donors, researchers and academics. The national government should play the lead role by formulating a strategic action plan in consultation with advisors, key personnel and other stakeholders. It should also be the responsibility of the government to ensure that stakeholders work according to the guidelines. Following a government-devised action plan, the private sector and NGOs will be able to develop more robust and effective partnerships.


The Green Climate Fund accreditation process: barrier or opportunity?. September 2015. Neha Rai and Bowen Wang.

As the largest pot of climate funding available to developing countries, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) holds huge promise. As it enters into operation, national institutions, including government, can apply to access GCF’s resources ‘directly’. But the rigorous accreditation process appears a barrier to many, which coupled with unclear benefits is likely to undermine the zeal for direct access in developing countries. But experiences from another key climate fund, the Adaptation Fund, show that preparing for direct access has inherent co-benefits beyond accessing finance. The trials of accreditation may involve vital growing pains that also strengthen national institutions, and even improve country systems. Though cumbersome, the GCF direct access accreditation process presents an opportunity to improve a nation’s future bargaining capacity to access climate finance ‘at scale’, creating a positive cycle of funding success.


 A Simple Guide to the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage. September 2015. Saleemul Huq and Alexis Durand.

The purpose of this slide show is to provide accessible, easy-to-understand information about the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage that you can click through on your own. This guide can serve as a primer for people new to the concept of loss and damage, or a reference for those more familiar with the WIM. The slideshow outlines the context of the Warsaw International Mechanism, and presents selections from relevant UNFCCC texts.


 Defining Loss and Damage: Key challenges and considerations for developing an operational definition. August 2015. Saleemul Huq and Alexis Durand.

L&D has historically been a very contentious issue with an ambiguous definition. As L&D becomes more mainstream, we need to reach an agreement on an operational definition that will inform approaches to the issue and catalyze appropriate action.
 

 Financing inclusive low-carbon resilient development – Role of Central Bank of Bangladesh and Infrastructure Development Company Limited. August 2015. Neha Rai, Asif Iqbal, Antara Zareen, Tasfiq Mahmood, Maliha Muzammil, Saqib Huq and Noor Elahi.
 
How can we deliver climate finance to those who need it most? We examine the choices countries make in financing low-carbon resilient development, focusing on experiences in Bangladesh. Case studies of two financial institutions, Central Bank of Bangladesh and Infrastructure Development Company Ltd. (IDCOL), illustrate how core actors and incentives shape the delivery of climate finance, and how well-designed systems and carefully chosen intermediaries can provide lower-income communities with access to this finance.our analysis suggests some key principles and strategies for ensuring finance are inclusive and reach the poorest.


Urban climate change resilience: Role of multi-stakeholder collaboration June 2015. Sarder Shafiqul Alam, ATM Jahangir Alam, & Sowmen Rahman

The paper summarizes the impacts of climatic hazards on water and sanitation infrastructure and services, overview of stakeholder activities and collaboration and ways to improve multistakeholder collaboration for Urban Climate Resilience in water and sanitation sector in the low income settlements of Dhaka.


A brief overview of Community-Based Adaptation April 2015. Patrick Kirkby, Casey Williams, & Saleemul Huq

This briefing paper seeks to fill that gap by providing an overview of CBA, its core principles and challenges.


Bangladesh and the Global Climate Debate. April 2015. Masroora Haque and Saleemul Huq.

How can we deliver climate finance to those who need it most? We examine the choices countries make in financing low-carbon resilient development, focusing on experiences in Bangladesh. Case studies of two financial institutions, Central Bank of Bangladesh and Infrastructure Development Company Ltd. (IDCOL), illustrate how core actors and incentives shape the delivery of climate finance, and how well-designed systems and carefully chosen intermediaries can provide lower-income communities with access to this finance.our analysis suggests some key principles and strategies for ensuring finance are inclusive and reach the poorest.


Climate adaptation technologies in agriculture and water supply and sanitation practice in the coastal region of Bangladesh. February 2015. Saleemul Huq and M. Golam Rabbani.

 The coastal zone of Bangladesh, covering 32% of the land area and home to 30% of the population, is one of the regions that is most vulnerable to climate change and sea-level rise. The fertile land of the Ganges–Brahmaputra delta provides a productive base for agriculture, and the coast offers a diversity of natural resources, such as marine fisheries and shrimps, forest, salt, and min- erals. The high level of physical vulnerability is made worse by factors such as an increasing population density, poverty, and limited access to services, espe- cially water supply and sanitation, energy, and health services. Examples of cur- rent adaptation technologies and practices in agriculture and the water supply and sanitation sectors are presented and relevant components of the National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) discussed. Three potential barri- ers to the effective implementation of adaptation projects have been identified and need to be addressed: lack of awareness of the seriousness of the climate threat; lack of integration of the climate issue in the development of policies, plans, and programs in climate-sensitive sectors; and lack of adequate tools, knowledge, and methodologies for guidance and advice in decision-making.


 Knowledge and adaptive capacityFebruary 2015, Casey Williams, Adrian Fenton and Saleemul Huq.
 

Climate change adaptation has, over the last decade, become an increasingly important topic in international policy discussions. In the research community, considerable work has been devoted to adaptation, and especially to understanding the factors that determine an individual, community, organization or nation’s ability to adapt to the effects
of climate variability and change. This research has produced important insights into the nature of adaptive capacity, and yet the concept remains difficult to bound and measure.


Coming full circle: the history of loss and damage under the UNFCCC January 2015. Erin Louise Roberts and Saleemul Huq

This paper chronicles the history of the rise of loss and damage in the negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the role of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in bringing about this paradigm shift.


Environment, Migration and Adaptation: Evidence and Politics of Climate Change in BangladeshJanuary 2015, Ed. Bishawjit Mallick and Benjamin Etzold.

This edited book aims at reaching policy makers, scientists and the public. It brings together renowned scholars in the field, who discuss environmental chang- es, people’s ways of adaptation and migration patterns in Bangladesh. It presents empirical evidence of climatic changes and natural hazards and how they relate to people’s livelihoods, social vulnerability, food security, and human mobility. The book also addresses the inherent politics of environmental change, adaptation and migration in Bangladesh. The contributions in this book thereby provide a concise overview in the field of ‘environmentally-induced migration’ in Bangladesh. De- cision-makers, students, teachers, and researchers working in this field can learn from the conceptual assumptions, methodological explanations, empirical findings and the critical discussions that are presented in each chapter of this book. Most contributions also derive policy recommendations from their data and key argu- ments. There is a brief summary for policy-makers for each chapter. For the Bangladeshi audience, this summary is also provided in Bangla


Gobeshona Conference Proceedings. January 2015, Claire Stott. 

The first Gobeshona Conference for Research on Climate Change in Bangladesh was held at the Independent University, Bangladesh, from 8-11 January 2015. The conference was preceded by the first Gobeshona Young Researcher Workshop, on 7 January 2015. The workshop reflects the first in a series of activities.


 Meaningful Measurement for Community-Based Adaptation, 2015, Lucy Faulkner, Jessica Ayers, Saleemul Huq.

Evidence indicates ongoing tensions over effective climate change adaptation measurement. Focusing on community-based adaptation (CBA), we stress that some of these tensions stem from a lack of transparency around the knowledge and learning needs of different stakeholders engaged in CBA investments. Drawing on a participatory assessment of stakeholder information needs and appropriate scales required for effective monitoring and evaluation (M&E) for CBA, this article presents a new M&E for CBA framework. The framework identi-fies four levels at which M&E is to be undertaken by CBA practitioners and associated project stakeholders: participatory M&E at community level; M&E at individual project level and comparison across multiple project sites; M&E of capacity of institutions implementing CBA; and M&E of community of practice. The proposed framework tailors its M&E approaches according to these levels. By moving beyond the existing dominant donor-driven M&E perspective, we argue that this more nuanced approach enhances the usefulness of M&E by ensuring that the accountability of stakeholders engaged in CBA landscapes is legitimate across multiple scales. The framework is applicable for M&E of general development practice, as well as the climate change adaptation and resilience remit.


Livelihood resilience in the face of climate change December 2014. Thomas Tanner et al.

A livelihood perspective helps to strengthen resilience thinking by placing greater emphasis on human needs and their agency, empowerment and human rights, and considering adaptive livelihood systems in the context of wider transformational changes.


Up-scaling finance for community-based adaptation. December 2014. Saleemul Huq, Adrian Fenton, Helena Wright, Daniel Gallagher and Charles Nyandigag.

While most adaptation actions occur at the local level, there is an absence of commitment at the international level to channel adaptation finance to local communities. Without such a commitment, there is a risk that climate finance will continue to support top-down, centralized activities that may struggle to address the needs of vulnerable communities. This paper explores ways in which community-based adaptation is presently being mainstreamed through the multilateral funds that are used to channel adaptation finance under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change process, and points to two promising examples that demonstrate this. The first is the Small Grants Programme of the Global Environmental Facility, an established modality through which community organizations can access finance to manage their adaptation needs. The second is the direct access modality of the Adaptation Fund, which devolves decision-making power from multilateral agencies towards the national and local levels. At the country level, experiences from Nepal demonstrate an institutional environment that helps to prioritize the adaptation needs of the most vulnerable. Nepal achieves this by mandating that at least 80% of available finance flows to the community level, and that the implementation of projects is conducted in a bottom-up and inclusive process.


 Mainstreaming climate change adaptation into development in Bangladesh. December 2014. Jessica Ayers, Saleemul Huq, Helena Wright, Arif M. Faisal and Syed Tanveer Hussain.

The close linkages between climate change adaptation and development have led to calls for addressing the two issues in an integrated way. ‘Mainstreaming’ climate information, policies and measures into ongoing development planning and decision making has been proposed as one solution, making a more sustainable, effective and efficient use of resources than designing and managing climate policies separately from ongoing activities. But what does mainstreaming look like in practice? This paper reviews the process of mainstreaming in Bangladesh, one of the countries that has made significant progress on adaptation planning and mainstreaming. The paper begins by making the case for mainstreaming, by exploring linkages and trade-offs between adaptation and development and reviewing the literature on mainstreaming. Second, it considers how to implement mainstreaming in practice, reviewing an existing four-step framework. Examining this framework against the plethora of mainstreaming experiences in Bangladesh, the paper considers how the framework can be used as a tool to review progress on mainstreaming in Bangladesh. The paper concludes that while the framework is useful for considering some of the preconditions necessary for mainstreaming, experiences in Bangladesh reflect a much more complex patchwork of processes and stakeholders that need to be taken into consideration in further research


 Moving towards inclusive urban adaptation: approaches to integrating community-based adaptation to climate change at city and national scale. December 2014. Diane Archer, Florencia Almansi, Michael DiGregorio, Debra Roberts, Divya Sharma and Denia Syam

Adaptation to climate change in urban areas presents a complex challenge. Consequently, approaches to urban adaptation should be both multilevel and multidimensional. Community-based adaptation (CBA) presents an opportunity for local level participation in framing adaptation planning and activities, with wider transformative potential for urban governance. This paper presents five case studies from cities in the Global South which offer insights into the different scales at which CBA can be mainstreamed in urban contexts, and the various ways in which this is happening. These examples demonstrate five emerging opportunities for mainstreaming urban CBA, which include using CBA as part of a wider package of approaches; seizing processes of institutional reform as an opportunity to integrate community perspectives; institutionalizing new actors and approaches as a mechanism for scaling up multi-stakeholder approaches; ensuring top down planning approaches are connected to local dynamics; and using participatory research to facilitate local communities in shaping planning processes. The cases also demonstrate that while obstacles to mainstreaming in urban contexts remain, some lessons in addressing these challenges have emerged, and CBA should, therefore, be a part of the toolbox of local and national urban adaptation policy frameworks.


 Farmers, food and climate change: ensuring community-based adaptation is mainstreamed into agricultural programmes. December 2014. Helena Wright, Sonja Vermeulen, Gernot Lagandac, Max Olupotd, Edidah Ampairee and M.L. Jaff.

Climate change creates widespread risks for food production. As climate impacts are often locally specific, it is imperative that large-scale initiatives to support smallholder farmers consider local priorities and integrate lessons from successful autonomous adaptation efforts. This article explores how large-scale programmes for smallholder adaptation to climate change might link effectively with community-led adaptation initiatives. Drawing on experiences in Bangladesh, Mozambique, Uganda and India, this article identifies key success factors and barriers for considering local priorities, capacities and lessons in large-scale adaptation programmes. It highlights the key roles of extension services and farmers’ organizations as mechanisms for linking between national-level and community-level adaptation, and a range of other success factors which include participative and locally driven vulnerability assessments, tailoring of adaptation technologies to local contexts, mapping local institutions and working in partnership across institutions. Barriers include weak governance, gaps in the regulatory and policy environment, high opportunity costs, low literacy and underdeveloped markets. The article concludes that mainstreaming climate adaptation into large-scale agricultural initiatives requires not only integration of lessons from community-based adaptation, but also the building of inclusive governance to ensure smallholders can engage with those policies and processes affecting their vulnerability.


 A review of decision-support models for adaptation to climate change in the context of development. December 2014. Helena Wright, John Jacob Nay, Mark Abkowitz, Eric Chu and Daniel Gallagher.

In order to increase adaptive capacity and empower people to cope with their changing environment, it is imperative to develop decision-support tools that help people understand and respond to challenges and opportunities. Some such tools have emerged in response to social and economic shifts in light of anticipated climatic change. Climate change will play out at the local level, and adaptive behaviours will be influenced by local resources and knowledge. Community-based insights are essential building blocks for effective planning. However, in order to mainstream and scale up adaptation, it is useful to have mechanisms for evaluating the benefits and costs of candidate adaptation strategies. This article reviews relevant literature and presents an argument in favour of using various modelling tools directed at these considerations. The authors also provide evidence for the balancing of qualitative and quantitative elements in assessments of programme proposals considered for financing through mechanisms that have the potential to scale up effective adaptation, such as the Adaptation Fund under the Kyoto Protocol. The article concludes that it is important that researchers and practitioners maintain flexibility in their analyses, so that they are themselves adaptable, to allow communities to best manage the emerging challenges of climate change and the long-standing challenges of development.


 Livelihood resilience in the face of climate change. December 2014, Saleemul Huq et al.

The resilience concept requires greater attention to human livelihoods if it is to address the limits to adaptation strategies, and the development needs of the planet’s poorest and most vulnerable people. Although the concept of resilience is increasingly informing research and policy, its transfer from ecological theory to social systems leads to weak engagement with normative, social and political dimensions of climate change adaptation. A livelihood perspective helps to strengthen resilience thinking by placing greater emphasis on human needs and their agency, empowerment and human rights, and considering adaptive livelihood systems in the context of wider transformational changes.


Knowledge flows in climate change adaptation: exploring friction between scales. November 2014. Saleemul Huq and Clare Stott.

Effective mainstreaming of climate change adaptation (CCA) into related policy and development initiatives relies on comprehensive knowledge sharing between multiple stakeholders. In Bangladesh, community-based adaptation (CBA) practitioners are critical for facilitating communication among global, national and local scales. They can also take responsibility for finding appropriate channels through which to share relevant information. Interviews with CBA practitioners examine how knowledge is gained and transmitted between practitioners and other CCA stakeholders, focusing on the challenges experienced. These challenges represent friction in knowledge transmittal. Key to lubricating smooth knowledge flows is an understanding of the specific contexts within which knowledge is to be exchanged. At the professional level, multidisciplinary knowledge must be made accessible through provision of widely comprehensible content shared in an appropriate format. At the local level, understandings of trust, priorities and power relations are vital for ensuring relevance in the knowledge shared by professional stakeholders. Mobilizing appropriate knowledge can allow widespread comprehension of adaptation aims, enabling the mainstreaming of CCA and ensuring that resulting action is beneficial at the local level, for communities that are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.


 An Examination of the Least Developed Countries in the IPCC AR5 WGII. November 2014. Clare Stott.

The Fifth Assessment Report of Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was released in 2014. It examines the impacts of climate change, inherent vulnerabilities and adaptation responses across the globe. The Least Developed Countries are identified as being particularly vulnerable to climate change due to economic and capacity barriers. This paper examines the LDCs within the IPCC report to highlight how climatic impacts, vulnerabilities and adaptation are portrayed for these countries. It illuminates a need for a greater focus on the LDCs by the IPCC and for further research concentrated on the LDCs in general, in order to enhance the state knowledge on LDCs and appropriately guide related policy.


Ecosystem-based Approaches to Adaptation: Evidence from two sites in Bangladesh, November 2014, Hannah Reid and Sarder Shafiqul Alam.

This paper describes two components of effective EbA: ecosystem resilience and the maintenance of ecosystem services. Research assesses how effectively EbA supports community adaptive capacity and resilience at two Action Research for Community Adaptation in Bangladesh (ARCAB) sites. Findings suggest that more attention should be paid to EbA as an important response to climate change.


Mainstreaming community-based adaptation into national and local planning. November 2014, Hannah Reid and Saleemul Huq.

Community-based adaptation (CBA) to climate change can be defined as ‘a community-led process, based on commu- nities’ priorities, needs, knowledge, and capacities, which should empower people to plan for and cope with the impacts of climate change’ (Reid, Cannon, Berger, Alam, & Milligan, 2009). Early CBA initiatives were generally implemented by non-government organizations, and oper- ated primarily at the local level. Emphasis was placed on applying ‘bottom-up’ participatory processes to identify the climate change problem and appropriate local responses to this problem (Ayers & Forsyth, 2009).


The Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) (2014), is the fifth in the series of IPCC assessment reports and provides an update of knowledge on the scientific, technical and socio-economic aspects of climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a scientific body established to provide a scientific view on the current state of knowledge in climate change and its impacts. Working Group I covers the Physical Science Basis, Working Group II is on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, and Working Group III is on Mitigation of Climate Change. In this report, we have focused on Working Group II (WG2) of the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) for relevance for Bangladesh and we will now present our findings. The objective of this report is to provide a guide for stakeholders and decision makers in Bangladesh.


ICCCAD-GIBIKA Second Workshop Report: Index-Based Insurance. October 2014. Salma Islam.

The International Center for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) in collaboration with United Nations University (UNU) and the Munich Re Foundation (MRF) held the Second Workshop on Index-Based Insurance on Thursday the 23rd of October, 2014 at Ascott the Residence in Dhaka. This workshop was organized as a follow up to the first one held last year which looked at the contributions of different stakeholders to the area of IBI. At the time, some organizations were in the planning and pilot stages of their IBI programmes. This year the main purpose of the event was to share knowledge and information amongst participants on what has been done and what lessons have been learnt since last year.


 

Non-Economic Loss and Damage Caused by Climatic Stressors in Selected Coastal Districts of Bangladesh. October 2014. Stephanie Andrei, Golam Rabbani and Hafij Islam Khan.

This report aims to respond to this gap in knowledge by presenting findings from the community level in South-West Bangladesh. The main goal of this research study was to begin deconstructing what non-economic losses and damages might entail and evaluate qualitative methods for its research. The research was conducted in partnership with the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) and the Bangladesh Center for Advanced Studies (BCAS) and made possible by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). This report feeds into ADB’s projects to support the implementation of the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy Action Plan (BCCSAP) and in particular, items related to loss and damage.


Mainstreaming and Decentralizing Climate Change Adaptation Finance, September 2014, Mizan R. Khan.

We already live in a climate changed world. Such is the conclusion reached by the IPCC AR4 and the latest findings of Working Group I of the AR5. The impacts are manifest already in different parts of the world in varying degrees of sea level rise and greater frequency and severity of climate disasters. The LDCs are particularly vulnerable to these impacts, which have very weak adaptive capacity. Climate change tends to undo their hard-won development gains. Their vulnerability is a joint product of cumulative development and adaptation deficits. Obviously, mainstreaming of adaptation makes common sense, since it is difficult to differentiate between development and adaptation in these countries.


Combating Climate Change: The Case of Knowledge Management. August 2014. Dr. Chowdhury Saleh Ahmed.

The objective of this policy brief is to inform Members of Parliament (MPs) about adverse effects of climate change on the economy of Bangladesh and outline their role in using research-based information in advocating policy changes that would institutionalize, build capacity and raise efficiency in knowledge management system for combating adverse climate change effects.


Commentary: Debt relief and financing of climate change action. August 2014, Adrian Fenton, Helena Wright, Stavros Afionis, Jouni Paavola and Saleemul Huq.

Slow progress in scaling-up climate finance has emerged as a major bottleneck in international negotiations. Debt relief for climate finance swaps could provide an alternative source for financing mitigation and adaptation action in developing countries.


Climate resilient planning in Bangladesh: a review of progress and early experiences of moving from planning to implementation.  August 2014, Neha Rai, Saleemul Huq & Muhammad Jahedul Huq.

Bangladesh is one of the first least developed countries (LDCs) to develop a long-term climate change strategy, the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP). Two funds were set up after developing the BCCSAP, one using government resources (BCCTF) and the other using donor resources (BCCRF). This paper uses the “building blocks” framework to analyse changes that occur when progressing from planning to finance and implementation by comparing the BCCRF and BCCTF. This analysis reveals how governance enablers are influenced by political economy dynamics that steer funding decisions and implementation outcomes, and provides lessons for countries pursuing climate resilience.


The objective of this policy brief is to inform the decision makers and the wider stakeholders about the importance of improving and in some cases introducing transparency and accountability mechanisms for managing the climate funds available in Bangladesh. Efficient, effective and equitable use of the climate funds is the key to improve the governance of climate change initiatives in Bangladesh. This policy brief has special focus on financing local adaptation and governance of climate change activities in the local level.


This document is the result of an almost two-year engagement with the issue of loss and damage in Bangladesh. By providing an assessment of the first comprehensive process to better understand loss and damage at the national-level and presenting key research findings, we hope to inform policy makers in other countries, who might be planning to undertake a similar process. To that end this summary for policy makers summarises the key messages of the document. It must be noted that this document is based on research that is still in progress and there is still a lot that needs to be understood. In addition, we acknowledge that context matters and thus national research must be tailored to the individual needs of each country, taking into account not just the climate change impacts but the political situation and socio- economic realities.


The Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund (BCCTF), supported by national budgetary endowment and the Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund (BCCRF), a multi-donors trust fund have started their journey in 2010 as National Finding Entities (NFEs). Bangladesh, among the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), is the first country that has established and operationalized NFEs to address adverse impacts of climate change within the scope of strategic direction articulated in the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP)-2009. The BCCSAP-2009, as policy document, has identified six thematic areas to reduce climate vulnerability that include I) Food Security, Social Protection & Health, II) Comprehensive Disaster Management, III) Infrastructure, IV) Research and Knowledge Management, V) Mitigation and Low Carbon Development and VI) Capacity Building and Institutional Strengthening (BCCSAP-2009) by short and medium actions.


 Planning and Financing of Community Resilience in Bangladesh. April 2014, A.K.M. Mamunur Rashid and Md. Rafiqul Islam.

The objective of this policy brief is to explore opportunities and challenges to planning and financing community (local) resilience, which demands strengthening of the governance of climate change finance at the local level. It provides a critical review of the major trends, main challenges and opportunities and proposed ways forward in relation to the local delivery and management of climate finance (intended as all climate-related finance, and not only as the provision of international climate-specific funds) in Bangladesh.


Urban Disaster Risk Reduction Report In Dhaka, April 2014, WorldVision.

The research presented in this report examines the urban DRR landscape of Dhaka. In doing so, it identifies the hazards faced by slum residents in Dhaka and examines existing initiatives in the city to address DRR. The information in the report was done by academics working at the International Centre for Climate Change and Development with support from WorldVision.


Loss & Damage: Early Lessons from the Process to Enhance Understandings of Loss and Damage in Bangladesh November 2013, Erin Roberts, Saleemul Huq, Anna Hasemann and Stephen Roddick.

This document is the result of an almost two-year engagement with the issue of loss and damage in Bangladesh. By providing an assessment of the first comprehensive process to better understand loss and damage at the national-level and presenting key research findings, we hope to inform policy makers in other countries, who might be planning to undertake a similar process. To that end this summary for policy makers summarises the key messages of the document. It must be noted that this document is based on research that is still in progress and there is still a lot that needs to be understood. In addition, we acknowledge that context matters and thus national research must be tailored to the individual needs of each country, taking into account not just the climate change impacts but the political situation and socio- economic realities.


 Loss and damage: from global to local. November 2013, Saleemul Huq and Erin Roberts.

At the 18th Conference of the Parties (COP18) in Doha a landmark decision on loss and damage was reached to establish institutional arrangements to address loss and damage at COP19. Though the form these arrangements will take is still being debated, a consensus is developing. Research in Bangladesh, for example, has highlighted the need to address loss and damage in comprehensive risk management frameworks, facilitate cross- sectoral collaboration and integrate disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation agendas. Local-level research in nine developing countries suggests targeting adaptation support better, providing policymakers with signals about the limits to adaptation and involving communities in decision- making processes. At COP19 in Warsaw, parties must have these and other needs in mind if they are to establish institutional arrangements to mobilise the necessary action and support.


 Commentary: Loss and Damage. November 2013, Saleemul Huq, Erin Roberts and Adrian Fenton

Loss and damage is a relative newcomer to the climate change agenda. It has the potential to reinvigorate existing mitigation and adaptation efforts, but this will ultimately require leadership from developed countries and enhanced understanding of several key issues, such as limits to adaptation.


Weather Index Insurance: Lessons and Best Practices for Bangladesh. September 2013, Ahmed, T. and Hasemann, A.

Human-induced climate change adds another dimension to this traditional arena of disaster risk reduction (DRR) by making the frequency and magnitude of weather-related disasters greater. In the climate change global policy arena under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), this issue covers both adaptation to climate change (ACC) and the new, emerging topic of loss and damage (L+D) from climate change. Index-Based Insurance (IBI) is an emerging tool that cuts across these three arenas; namely, DRR, ACC and L+D. It is in this spirit that the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) at the Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), together with WorldFish, undertook an initial scoping study and then convened a workshop with relevant stakeholders in Bangladesh to explore the interest in this topic.


Taking Effective Community-based Adaptation to Scale: An assessment of the GEF Small Grants Programme Community-Based Adaptation Project in Namibia, June 2013, ICCCAD.

This report is an exploratory study on scaling up and scaling out the GEF SGP community-based adaptation (CBA) project, implemented by UNDP. Using Namibia in sub-Saharan Africa as a case study, this report identifies which processes used and results obtained are effective.


Religious Interpretations for the Causes of the Indian Ocean Tsunami , February 2013, Bimal  Kanti Paul and Md. Nadiruzzaman.

A key element of culture, religion helps us understand how people across the globe interact with their environment on a daily basis, as well as during extreme events. This paper offers an analysis of the religious causes for the 2004 Tsunami through four religious groups who were affected in South and Southeast Asia.


Scoping Report – Current Status of IBI in Bangladesh, 2013, Ahmed, T, WorldFish.

With current and anticipated increases in magnitude of extreme weather events and a declining consistency in weather patterns, particularly challenging for agriculture, there has been a growing interest in weather index-based insurance (IBI) schemes in Bangladesh. A number of weather index-based insurance products have already been tested and applied across Asia and Africa, with varying degrees of success, as a mechanism to improve livelihood security by enabling vulnerable populations to transfer risk associated with climate change, extreme weather events and other hazards. In the process, these efforts have generated important new knowledge on how these schemes can be designed and implemented for optimal results. However, the practice of index-based insurance is still limited in Bangladesh, and the experience and knowledge generated by the different stakeholders involved needs to be better communicated.


Moving Towards Transformed Resilience Assessing Community-Based Adaptation in Bangladesh, December 2012, ActionAid Bangladesh, ICCCAD.

This study explores the effectiveness of ActionAid Bangladesh’s community-based adaptation (CBA) interventions in fostering progress towards ‘transformed resilience’ of the climate vulnerable poor. 


This chapter emphasizes observations on the impacts of climate change on water resources and human health with special reference to the coastal zone in Bangladesh. It is part of larger volume edited by Velma I. Grover called “Impact of Climate Change on Water and Health”. 


 Ensuring Access for the Climate Vulnerable in Bangladesh: Financing Local Adaptation, September 2012, Kevan Christensen et al.

ActionAid Bangladesh, in association with experts, academicians, scientists and other stakeholders, conducted the study “Financing Local Adaptation: Ensuring Access for the Climate Vulnerable in Bangladesh”. It captures ground experiences to provide some guidelines for a structure that ensures equitability, transparency and effectiveness. AAB will remain dedicated for achieving justice and a climate-resilient future for those most at risk.


Adaptation Experts in Training, October 2012, IIED.

This reflects and showcases our work at the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD). It looks at how Southern institutions like ICCCAD in Bangladesh can help build capacity in countries most vulnerable to climate change, and highlights lessons learnt from this project.


Ensuring Access for the Climate Vulnerable in Bangladesh (Report Summary), May 2012, ICCCAD, ActionAid, BCAS, ARCAB.

The study proposes a mechanism for channeling climate adaptation finance to LGIs in Bangladesh. The proposal envisions an ideal future funding system while acknowledging that it will require time and some institutional changes to implement.


 A brief overview of Community-Based Adaptation, Patrick Kirkby, Casey Williams and Saleemul Huq.

Many consider Community-Based Adaptation (CBA) to be a ‘vital approach to the threat climate change poses to the poor.’1 However, no concise yet comprehensive overview of CBA exists. This briefing paper seeks to fill that gap by providing an overview of CBA, its core principles and challenges.