Community representatives from Patuakhali train BPATC staff on People’s Adaptation Planning process

Savar, Bangladesh, 13 May 2025 – Community members from Patuakhali, a municipality in Bangladesh where the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) is supporting the development of People’s Adaptation Plans, today trained faculty members of the Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre (BPATC) on the People’s Adaptation Plan process, explaining how local leadership can make investments in resilience more effective, efficient, and sustainable. The session took place during a week-long workshop in Savar, Bangladesh, aimed at developing a course module on locally led adaptation (LLA) for public administrators across vulnerable sectors in Bangladesh.

Rita Akter and Sajeda Islam from Sachiar Badh, a highly climate vulnerable informal settlement in Patuakhali, explained how 112 settlements in the municipality were profiled, and 33 settlements shortlisted on the basis of climate vulnerability, tenure security, urban informality, and climate migration, by community mobilizers – community members who were trained to lead this process. Focus group discussions were then conducted by the community mobilizers in these 33 settlements, to assess hazard exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. This step was also informed by a scientific climate vulnerability risk assessment by Patuakhali Science and Technology University (PSTU), using indicators identified by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Twenty highly vulnerable settlements were identified on this basis, for more detailed mapping and enumeration, to further explore the root causes of climate vulnerability.

During the community-led mapping and enumeration process, detailed house-to-house and geotagged data was collected (and houses numbered) by community mobilizers, using a questionnaire developed in consultation with the community and municipality officials.

The data generated during this census was analyzed by PSTU and brought back to the community to inform their deliberations on climate hazards and risks, prioritization of these risks, and identification of potential solutions. The process, which ensured diversity across age, gender, socio-economic status, religion, and ethnicity at every stage, helped community members take stock of settlement boundaries, existing infrastructure (such as roads, cyclone shelters, drains, water supply points, schools and mosques), and natural features (such as rivers, ponds and canals).

Rita and Sajeda described the multiple benefits of the locally led planning process:

• Residents came together to explore their joint climate vulnerability as a community, rather than as individuals or households.

• The process changed the relationship between the community and their local government representatives. Backed by the data they collected, community leaders were able to first approach the ward councilors, and then the Mayor, for support in implementing the solutions they identified. The fact that the prioritization had the backing of the entire community, and was based on concrete data, strengthened their negotiating power. As a result, funds were made available to implement parts of the Plan.

• The process helped them understand the impacts of climate change on their lives, and this understanding is helping them redefine their development needs and solutions in the context of a changed climate. They described how a 2.5 km road, called for in Sachiar Badh’s People's Adaptation Plan and built with funds from the city’s Annual Development Fund, reflected the heightened risk of cyclones in future – it was elevated, and drains were built on either side to contain overflow. The width of the drains was increased to increase drainage capacity. They also reflected on how a peer-to-peer learning session with counterparts in Mongla, another municipality where GCA is supporting People’s Adaptation Plans, demonstrated to them the value of initiating a community operations and maintenance fund, to protect infrastructure through community investments. There was peer-to-peer learning within Patuakhali: one community showed the others how planting vegetation on the sides of roads reduces flood risk, while recharging depleting aquifers.

The People’s Adaptation Planning process in Patuakhali is facilitated by GCA partners BRAC, the Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centers and the International Center for Climate Change and Development. The approaches used during the planning conform with the eight LLA Principles and draw on best practices documented in GCA’s Guide for building resilience in urban informal settlements.

The residents of Sachiar Badh prioritized the following climate risks:

• Cyclones: Cyclones used to occur between May and August, but now occur from mid-March to November, multiplying the risk of damage to houses and destruction of household assets.

• Riverbank erosion: This used to be a risk between June and September, but this period has now extended from mid-March to mid-August, resulting in increased risk of loss of agricultural land and structural damage to houses on the riverbank.

• Waterlogging and erratic rainfall: This used to be a risk from May to September, but irregular downpours now persist from March to October, causing waterlogging, disrupting transport, and spawning vector-borne diseases.

• Heatwaves: The hot period has extended from May to July in the past, to February to October now, contributing to heat-related illnesses (such as fever and diarrhea), reduced labor capacity, and concentration of salinity in water sources.

• Saline intrusion: The period in which water sources are depleted and therefore more saline, now extends from mid-March to November, compromising freshwater for daily use, reducing crop yields, and causing skin and gastrointestinal ailments.

The following sectoral risks were also identified by the community:

• Housing: High risk of structural collapse and roof loss during cyclones; medium risk from erosion.

• Agriculture: High crop failures due to cyclones, salinity, erratic rains, and heat stress.

• Livelihoods: Income losses for farmers, laborers, and small traders during extreme events; demand for alternative skills.

• Health: Increased incidence of respiratory, skin, and waterborne diseases.

• Water Resources: Declining groundwater tables, salinization, and contamination from flooding.

• Transportation: Blocked roads from fallen trees and flooding hinder access to markets and services.

• Livestock: Shelter damage and feed shortages cause livestock mortality and economic strain.

The priority interventions identified in the People’s Adaptation Plans developed in Patuakhali, and in two other municipalities (Kuakata and Burhanuddin), will be supported by the Asian Development Bank’s Coastal Towns Climate Resilience Project. Some of the interventions have already been implemented, with funding from the GCA and from the Annual Development Funds. In the settlement of Sachiar Badh, for instance, tube wells and rainwater harvesting tanks now supply water to approximately 80% of the households, and a key road has been rebuilt to be more resilient – it is elevated and has large drains on either side to contain flooding. Households on the side of the road were convinced by the community to give up a portion of the land they were on, to reduce the overall risk of flooding. Fifty young people have also been trained in driving and growing food in urban spaces, to diversify income sources.

The training session with Rita and Sajeda helped BPATC faculty understand the benefits and strengths of locally led adaptation planning. Similar interactions with the community will be included in the course module that is being developed by GCA for BPATC to deliver to public administrators, in collaboration with the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS) and the Centre for Participatory Research and Development (CPRD), and with funding from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the Government of the United Kingdom.