Blog posts
31 March 2011
There has been growing interest in measuring progress in climate change adaptation. This has partly been driven by the Bali Action Plan adopted at the Conference of Parties 13, which stressed the need for prioritising and incentivising adaptation actions. Without knowing how effective adaptation actions are it is impossible to prioritise and incentivise them.
30 March 2011
Visiting rural communities in Bangladesh has always been like ‘homecoming’ for me. But I seem to learn something new every time I visit. This time was no different. I, along with 25+ participants of the Fifth Conference on community-based adaptation (CBA5), visited the Gopalgang area in southern Bangladesh. Historically, the Gopalgang area is highly vulnerable to disasters, like flooding and water logging.
29 March 2011
This question was asked by a participant during a debrief from our field trip to Chapai Nawabganj district - a drought affected area north west of Dhaka, close to India.
29 March 2011
Witnessing children in rural areas marching in parades to commemorate Bangladeshi Independence Day on 26 March was a beautiful sight that filled my heart with joy. And my three-day visit to various communities in the Rajshahi District gave insights into Bangladeshi society. But it also gave us an indication of how climate adaptation programmes will have to penetrate a landscape of entrenched social injustice and feudalism. Will climate adaptation in such circumstances merely be old wine in new bottles, or could it mean a real paradigm shift in development that will help poor people to take the future into their own hands?
29 March 2011
A field trip to Gaibandha District in Bangladesh uncovers a plethora of strategies used by local communities to cope with flooding and river bank erosion.
28 March 2011
A field trip to a mangrove island near the Bay of Bengal highlights the determination and creativity of local communities in adapting to climate change.
28 March 2011
The annual international conferences on community-based adaptation are unique in that they include field trips where participants can see for themselves how vulnerable people are coping with climate-change related impacts. I went on my field visit on Saturday (26 March) — to a site in Manikganj District, about three hours from Dhaka city in Bangladesh.
28 March 2011
The 5th International Conference on Community Based Adaptation to Climate Change, takes place in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 24 to 31 March 2011. Saleemul Huq will be keeping us updated from the conference in a series of daily video logs.
24 March 2011
A first visit to a country is often the time when we ‘see’ the most, and our recent brief visit to Nepal certainly afforded some lasting impressions. High Himalayan ranges glistening in the sun contrasting with the air pollution and traffic congestion of Kathmandu; immense cultural, religious and architectural wealth side by side with acute poverty; roads without streetlights or traffic lights, and shops in the city centre lit by candles, (power cuts were increased from 12 to 14 hours per day during our visit).
21 March 2011
Climate change adaptation may cost US$75–100 billion per year between 2010 and 2050. Where these funds will come from, how they will be channelled and how adaptation should be achieved is still being debated. I propose part of the solution is to go micro: linking microfinance with community-based adaptation.