Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Risk Management

Alleviating poverty through Disaster Risk Reduction in North-West Bangladesh

Context Bangladesh is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world.
Natural disasters such as floods, droughts, cyclones and tornadoes regularly occur, destroying wealth, lives and the environment.
Development in the north-west of the country is particularly vulnerable to such damage. The Kurigram and Lalmonirhat districts are surrounded by the mighty rivers Tista, Bramaputra, Dhrala, Dudhkumar.

Objectives

• The project enhances the resilience of poor rural communities to natural disasters and strengthens local authorities' capacity to alleviate poverty.

Impact Major Achievements up to April 2011

• Community-level institutions have been strengthened and developed through training in disaster risk reduction and climate change alleviation. The project facilitated regular meetings of disaster management committees, conducted community risk assessments and contributed to the implementation of community risk-reduction action plans.
• Improved community coping capacity with appropriate structural measures considering highest flood level and climate change predictions of flooding like raising the plinths of high risk and vulnerable houses, emergency safe shelters, emergency evacuation routes, installation of hygienic latrines and tube wells, providing evacuation boat and road side plantation, etc.
• The food security of highly vulnerable people has been improved through training in a range of livelihood options, as well as providing fast-growing and flood-tolerant varieties of rice, maize & potato seeds.