FLOATING
GARDENS HELP LIFT BANGLADESHIS OUT OF POVERTY AND STAVE OFF WORST IMPACTS OF
CLIMATE CHANGE
UNEP-UNDP partnership is building resilience to climate change in one
of the world's most vulnerable countries
With its low elevation and fierce tropical storms,
Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate
change.
Changing rainfall patterns, melting glaciers in the Himalayas,
more floods and storms, and rising sea levels all threaten to have devastating
impacts on Bangladesh, especially among the poorest communities in the country.
More than 31 per cent of the population lives below the poverty
line and depends directly on natural resources for their livelihood. The
impacts of climate change are already being felt in some of the country's
poorest areas.
Abdul Mazid, who lives in the flood-prone Sunamgonj district of
the country, says the region has witnessed a severe drop in fish stocks
recently. "Our parents could catch fish in two or three hours, now we need
at least three days to get the same amount of fish."
To boost resilience to the damaging effects of climate change,
the Poverty-Environment Initiative (PEI) - a joint programme of the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) – is providing supports to 28 government projects in
Bangladesh.
The projects are to help reverse environmental degradation while
creating job opportunities for some of the poorest people in the country.
One of the key achievements of PEI in Bangladesh has been the
introduction of new government procedures for projects that need public funds
to get off the ground.
Thanks to the new requirements, ministries asking for money to
fund projects must now state what percentage of poor people will benefit, what
impact the project will have on natural resources and how resilient to climate
change any new infrastructure will be.
"More projects are coming up that reflect an awareness of
climate change impacts on development, as well as environmental sustainability
and poverty alleviation," said Ms Nurun Nahar, a planning expert in
Bangladesh.
In the flood-prone district of Sunamgonj, the PEI project has
helped boost the livelihoods of 100,000 households by increasing fish stocks
and improving agricultural management.
Experts from PEI helped to improve the district's water
management system, introduce crops that are resistant to climate change and
increase the number of floating gardens and fish cages. Environmentally-friendly roads that are resistant to natural
disasters while improving access to local markets, education and sanitation have
been built. "The forest swamp is a
source of food for fish and we can earn a lot of money selling the leaves. Poor
people of this area now can get fish," says Abdul Mazid.
UNEP/Kech
