A project on "Building Climate Resilient Livelihoods in Vulnerable Landscapes in Bangladesh (BCRL) was launched on Thursday with an inception workshop organized in Dhaka.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Environment (DoE), Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) launched the project.
Dr Farhina Ahmed, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) participated the event as the chief guest.
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In addition, Dr Fahmida Khanom, Additional Secretary (Development Wing), Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Climate Change, Badal Chandra Biswas, Director General, Department of Agricultural Extension, and Dr Dicky Simorangkir, Team Leader, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Unit, FAO attended the event as special guests.
Dr Abdul Hamid, Director General, Department of Environment also joined the event.
USD 10 million-budget project aims to strengthen resilience for impacts of climate change with improved livelihoods and reduced vulnerability in three selected areas of climate vulnerable areas such as High Barind Tract-(HBT), waterlogging-prone and saline-prone areas, and Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh.
The project will be implemented through cross-sectoral approach and institutional capacity building, supported by dissemination, and scaling up of adaptation technologies and innovations along all value chains.
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The BCRL project will be implemented with technical assistance from FAO where DoE is the lead implementing agency, and the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) is the co-implementing agency.
Under this project, FAO will support DAE for Bangladesh’s transition to a climate resilient and nature positive production system, consistent with national development goals and adhering to best practice social and environmental safeguards.
DoE will be supported to develop an innovative financial instrument, investment models, and inter-sectoral planning and investment prioritization framework.
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The overall objective of the BCRL project is to improve the resilience of vulnerable people, and ecosystems to climate change, improve livelihoods through increased value addition in the agricultural food systems of Bangladesh and enhance national capacity for integrated adaptation.
Dr Dicky Simorangkir, Team Leader, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Unit, FAO Bangladesh said, “FAO’s relationship with DoE and DAE is very diversified and BCRL project will ultimately promote most effective and locally appropriate adaptation options in Bangladesh’s climate hotspots. In addition to BCRL project, FAO has the capacity to provide technical assistance to foster climate resilient development in the country and in a position to mobilize more climate finance from multilateral funding sources such as GEF, GCF and Adaptation Funding in the future.”
Badal Chandra Biswas, Director General, DAE said, “The project will promote integrated adaptation in Bangladesh’s climate hotspots to reduce climate risks and loss and damage. For instance, the project will support approximately 30 000 farmers and 120 000 household members through improved seeds, machineries, rainwater catchment structure, vermi-compost pits, community seed banks, agro-met advisories, and capacity building grant for farmers organizations.”
Dr Farhina Ahmed, Secretary, MoEFCC stated that “BCRL is a country-owned project where DoE and DAE will implement most of the activities. Most of the resources will go to the key climate hotspots of the country to reduce the vulnerability of poor and marginal people. During formulation phase of this project, three sub-national workshops, and three national level workshops were conducted, and more than 300 national and local stakeholders were consulted.”