Attachments
Authors:
Dr. Dwijen Mallick Prof. C Emdad Haque & Prof. Sharmind Neelormi
Advisors: Dr. Atiq Rahman and Dr. Saleemul Huq
Prepared by BCAS, ICCCAD, DWA and The University of Manitoba, Canada
The SAKTEE has been a multi-institutional, collaborative and action research project in Bangladesh for the duration of 3 years (May 2019 to April 2022), and it received a sixmonth no-cost extension to carry out the activities that were hampered by the global CODID19 Pandemic. Coordinated by the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS), the project was implemented by the Department of Women's Affairs (DWA) of the Government of Bangladesh, the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) and the University of Manitoba (UoM), Canada. The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada supported the project with technical guidance and finance. The general purposes of the action research project were to scale-up appropriate, socially transformative technologies for adaptation to climate change, to enhance development planning capacity and policy sensitivity at multiple institutional levels, and to support the empowerment of women and the disadvantaged segments of the population in the climate hotspots of Bangladesh. The specific objectives of the project were to:
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Explore and understand the interrelationships of various environmental, socioeconomic, political and cultural factors and climate change that may exacerbate gendered vulnerability as well as social and gender inequity.
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Scale-up innovative, locally tested adaptation technologies to address worsening climate change impacts, through gender responsive and socially appropriate adaptation, particularly in water, agriculture and resilient livelihoods by promoting multi-level institutional coordination and collaboration.
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Support empowering women, students and poverty-stricken disadvantaged households in the climate-vulnerable regions; and
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Engage and inform policy and decision makers about transformative climate change adaptation technologies and the potential for integration of social and gender equity in relevant policies, strategies and programs.
Research Framework and key Components: The Project was based on a wellconstructed research framework. The research framework had five key components with clear inter-linkages and possible outcomes to meet the goal and objectives. The key components and approaches, portrayed in the research framework included: i) Feminist principles of research and actions; ii) Exploratory research (for improving understanding and knowledge of gender and other intersecting social dynamics and inequality as well the effects and attribution of climate change to them); iii) Capacity building for adoption and scaling up of gender-responsive adaptation technologies; iv) Integrative and transdisciplinary approach; and v) Co-generation of new knowledge and locally appropriate technologies for risk reduction, social transformation, and gender equality. The methods and tools for exploratory research, promotion of adaptation technologies and capacity building for empowerment and policy engagement were developed and applied in the light of feminist principles that included: reflectivity, inclusiveness, participation, gender equity and social justice.
Project Areas, Activities and Key Outcomes: The targeted communities and project beneficiaries were located in four Upazilas (sub-districts) of two districts of Bangladesh: Satkhira (in coastal zone) and Sunamganj (in Northeaster wetland in Haor Basin). These two districts were identified as the most vulnerable regions in the country to the impacts of global climate change and frequent extreme climatic events such as cyclones, storm surges, and floods, with widespread poverty, social inequity, and food insecurity. The targeted sub-populations were poor women, disaster-affected and disadvantaged households, youths, students, women stakeholders and representatives of local communities, government departments (like the Department of Women's Affairs, Department of Agriculture Extension, Department of Public Health and Engineering, Department of Disaster Management, Department of Social Welfare, and Department of Environment), NGOs, universities, and private sectors at different levels. A total of 12,090 and over 1,606,000 persons were targeted to benefit directly and indirectly respectively by the project activities.
In the last three and a half years, over 50 activities were implemented under the four key objectives to benefit the vulnerable communities directly, local actors, and stakeholders indirectly to make long-term impacts through policy influencing and gender-responsive climate actions. The activities at local, regional, and national levels were planned and implemented under the four key objectives of the SAKTEE Project. The initial activities were implemented in 2019 without any interruption, for example, the desk review of the relevant literature and revision of methods and tools. However, with the commencement of the COVID-19 pandemic, contingency plans were prepared in 2020 and 2021 in consultation with the IDRC Program Lead and project partners. Necessary adjustments were made in the implementation plan and all the incomplete activities were carried forward to the following years during the COVID pandemic period. Upon request, the Project received a six-monthh no-cost extension initially to complete all the activities in the final year of 2022. Sincere, rapid and additional efforts were made by BCAS and the partners (ICCCAD, DWA, and the University of Manitoba) to complete all remaining activities with quality outputs and outcomes. The following table-1a shows the key activities and outcomes of the SAKTEE project in brief.