a new idea which brings the changes of vulnerable people’s livelihoods in the coastal area of Bangladesh.

Background
Coastal embankment was built to protect saline water but it often breached out due to poor maintenance and pressure of wave action that inundate agricultural lands. People initiated shrimp farming in the area taking advantage of saline water. Shrimp farming caused salinity in land, water and agriculture production deteriorated over time. Marginal farmers became unemployed and they migrate to city and compel to change their occupations. The deteriorating physical environment impacted livelihoods of the poor, ethnic minority and women headed families.

Some national and local NGOs initiated Micro-credit program for poverty reduction. They offer the micro-credit to the people with interest. Vulnerable groups taking micro-credits for coping, but NGOs are not providing skill training and appropriate technology. For that reason, people always misuse the money and are sinking into debt. 92% of the poor people of the coastal area are engage with the micro-credit program and they now grabbed of debt cycle.

On the other hand, these people are trying to adapt but do not have the skills. In the community, there have indigenous copping mechanism. Besides this CARE Bangladesh, CDMP, and some institute identified some adaptation strategies but no initiatives for scaling up copping/adaptation mechanism for the community. In this situation LEDARS is trying to establish an adaptation center for coastal people.

Objectives

• The specific objectives of the adaptation center are;
• To provide training, information and conduct research on adaptation of climate change and disaster risks;
• To find out best practice from the community and necessary development of practices;
• To develop curriculum/training module on the climate change adaptation through accumulate the existing adaptation mechanism/practice.
• To offer package training (classroom and practical) for the vulnerable people.
• To building capacity of the vulnerable people for replicate the best practices;
• To develop linkage with the universities (Khulna university) for conduct thesis of the Master’s student
• To assist the national and international researcher for getting knowledge from the field;

Present Situation
We started to build this adaptation institute since 2009. It is situated in the southwest coastal region of Bangladesh where people are moving to other area for secure livelihoods. Currently the center is accumulating the adaptation knowledge, existing adaptation practice, conduct research and demonstrate best practice and capacity building of vulnerable people on adaptations to reduce the livelihood vulnerability of peoples.

It is established 33 demonstration plot of agriculture based adaptation (identified by CDMP), demonstrate 8 water technologies like PSFs and Rain Water, and distribute 35 bio-sand filters as test basis. The center is providing skill training on adaptation.

But it is the very initial phase of the adaptation center which already create people’s acceptance. In future the center will able to reduce migration of the coastal people.

It is a collaborative initiative of the Bangladesh Center for Advance Studies (BCAS), BARCIK and Khulna University. The initiation phase supported by Niagara Volunteer for Bangladesh, Action Aid Bangladesh, CAWST and one film company LiGHT+BYTE, Switzerland.

Location of Adaptation Center
The adaptation center is located in the southwest coastal area of Bangladesh, village-Munshigonj, Post Office-Kadamtala, Upazila-Shyamnagar, District-Satkhira, Bangladesh.



For more information, please contact
Mohon Kumar Mondal, Executive Director,

Local Environment Development and Agricultural Research Society (LEDARS)
Village: Munshigonj, Post Office: Kadamtala,
Upazila Shyamnagar, District: Satkhira, Post Code: 9455 Bangladesh.

Telephone: +88 01713 462821, +88 01712 030338
E-mail: ledars_bd@yahoo.com, info@ledars.org
Website: www.ledars.org