Adaptation to Climate Change in Bangladesh Workshop Held

Young women return from fetching drinking water. Rising sea levels and the salination of the soils is beginning to pollute the underground water sources forcing women to travel further and further to find drinking water. © Laurent WEYL / Collectif ARGOS / In Vision Images.

Despite the impressive amount of research on the implications of climate change on Bangladesh, there still remains gaps in these studies on the comprehensiveness of the climate change issue. In particular, studies have not examined the cross-sectoral, cross-spatial, and longer term inter-temporal implications of climate change on Bangladesh. Similarly, the current adaptation program developed by Bangladesh has not been integrated into the broader development strategy.

This workshop was therefore convened to examine these gaps and develop a comprehensive research and adaptation plan. 

The workshop was structured in three parts. The first day focused on providing common background in terms of the workshop’s objectives, the current climate change research, the lessons and gaps in the literature, and a presentation of MI’s Threshold 21 (T21) model. The second day was dedicated to brainstorming on the main physiological impacts of climate change in Bangladesh (such as sea level rise, floods, cyclones, and droughts); and the third day to brainstorming the sectoral implications of climate on health, education, and agriculture/fisheries. A final session was dedicated to outlining the next steps.

Thirteen participants, representatives, government, climate change researchers, local Bangladesh experts, and civil society groups attended the workshop.