Building the climate resilience of Bangladesh through climate-risk mapping and adaptation planning

To provide technical support on identifying climate risks and adaptation planning using participatory approaches, the CGIAR Initiative on Asian Mega-Deltas (AMD) conducted a training workshop on Climate-Smart Mapping and Adaptation Planning (CS-MAP) for national and local research partners in Bangladesh. The CS-MAP will support strategic planning and investments in Khulna, Barishal, and Chattogram Divisions.

The workshop was attended by participants from the Department of Agricultural Extension-Khulna, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Bangladesh Water Development Board-Khulna, Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Bangladesh Office, as well as representatives from AMD and Climate Resilience Initiatives.

With the significant outcomes achieved in Vietnam, CS-MAP will be introduced in Bangladesh under One CGIAR’s AMD initiative. It is expected that CS-MAP will also help Bangladesh farmers in the targeted countries mitigate climate-related risks in rice production, such as flooding, drought, and salinity intrusion.

Bui Tan Yen, the senior scientist at IRRI Vietnam, shared success stories and lessons learned in CS-MAP implementation by the Department of Crop Production of Vietnam. He emphasized that CS-MAP addressed the need for a bottom-up risk response.

“It takes into consideration the local specific conditions and the conflicts in natural resources management, and supports climate-smart management of food production,” Dr. Yen said.

During the workshop, the AMD team used a learning-by-doing approach to facilitate participants to quickly get familiar with  each of the steps in the CS-MAP, including: defining climate risks and agriculture products; mapping climate risks, proposing adaptation plans; mapping integration; and revising climate-smart maps and adaptation plans.

During the open forum, the participants collaboratively discussed how to adapt the CS-MAP approach to the local-specific conditions in  Bangladesh such as integrating scientific studies with local knowledge, finding ways to define levels of climate risks across the divisions, and engaging the relevant local authorities and stakeholders.

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