$10 million climate change adaptation project in Bangladesh wins Earth Care Award 2012
A community based climate change adaptation project in Dhaka, Bangladesh has won the ‘Earth Care Award 2012’.
A community based climate change adaptation project in Dhaka, Bangladesh has won the ‘Earth Care Award 2012’.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests implemented the $10 million Coastal Afforestation Project project through the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) of Global Environment Facilities (GEF) to reduce climate change vulnerability in sub-districts including Barguna, Bhola, Noakhali and Chittagong.
This year’s Earth Care Award was given in the category of Community-based Adaptation and Mitigation and Dhaka's project has been described as an important adaptation plan. Afforestation, agriculture, livestock, and fishery-based livelihood adaptation initiatives have benefited more than 18,000 households according to a GEF statement.
A particularly significant adaptation measure used in the project is development of the FFF (Forest-Fish-Fruit) model that comprises short and long-term resource and income generation, as well as livelihood diversification, officials said. The model is being used in barren land, behind coastal mangrove forests. By using a combination of protective and productive vegetation, mound and ditch land structures, the FFF model has prevented land encroachment and ensured water security through rainwater harvesting in ditches.
