projects of care bangladesh

The project will work at the following levels:

Grassroot Level
The majority of activities under this component have focused on increasing awareness of current climate-related vulnerabilities, their linkages with the livelihoods of grassroots people in the southwest of Bangladesh, potential adverse impacts of climate change, and potential coping options available. The project is undertaking a number of activities to raise awareness, including grassroots cultural activities, working with local Eco-clubs for sensitization of mass audiences, dissemination of information for the literate population through newsletters and other publications, and the development of a school program on climate change.
Adaptation at the Household and Community Levels
The RVCC approach at the household level consists of building the capacity of beneficiaries to cope with a particular climate-related vulnerability context, such as salinity, as it impacts on a specific indicator of household well-being, such as food security. Adaptive strategies have been identified to address these priority issues, and group-based learning has been undertaken to provide participants with the motivation and skills to adopt the adaptation measures. A large number of participants are implementing adaptation measures on a pilot basis. For reducing threats at the community level, the approach taken is to work with local government and community leaders to build their capacity to plan and implement community-level measures that will reduce threats from the vulnerability contexts of flood, salinity, cyclone and water-logging. As well, access to common property was identified as a need for landless beneficiaries in order to implement measures under the agriculture and livelihoods strategies. Activities in this area focus on local-level advocacy to ensure rightful access to these resources by beneficiaries.
Advocating for Appropriate Action
An advocacy campaign is being undertaken by RVCC in partnership with a local NGO, along with the Pani Committee, a civil society organization dedicated to addressing water issues in the region. The advocacy issue chosen by the RVCC Project and its partners is the potable water crisis in the context of increasing salinity in southwest Bangladesh. The campaign aims to raise awareness of key decision-makers on the importance of addressing this issue in relevant policies and programs. Key messages and target audiences have been selected by the campaign partners, and the messages are being communicated through grassroots mobilization, persuasion and lobbying, and a media campaign. Activities for national-level advocacy have begun with a review of relevant Government of Bangladesh national policies for linkages to climate change and to the salinity and potable water issue. Other activities to be undertaken include educating civil society, political leaders and Members of Parliament on climate change, and holding a series of workshops and round table discussions in collaboration with advocacy campaign partners.