Alternative livelihoods can cut climate risks
Speakers tell workshop
Food security with alternative livelihoods is vital to reduce the risk of the people vulnerable to climate change disasters, speakers told a national workshop yesterday.
The UK-based Practical Action, Bangladesh organised the workshop on disaster resilience and risk reduction through livelihood-oriented approach at Brac Centre Inn in the city.
A discussion was also held about the lessons learnt from a five-year programme under Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) project.
Food security with diversification of livelihood options and strategies with new technologies are key to building resilience to climate change disasters, said Pieter van den Ende, team leader of Reducing Vulnerability and Natural Resource Management project of Practical Action.
Community-based activities and involvement of the local government bodies and service providers are important to make the approach successful, he said.
Experience shows, according to Pieter, that the DRR programmes contribute to poverty reduction.
The DRR, climate change adaptation and combating poverty are all interrelated, said Hilary Warburton, head of vulnerability reduction programme of Practical Action.
Farhana Sharmin, programme manager of the five-year project, said the project was implemented among 6,000 poor households of five unions in three Upazilas including Gaibandha Sadar, Sariakandi (Bogra) and Kazipur (Sirajganj) located in the flood plain of mighty Jamuna.
The prime goal of the project, which comes to an end in December, is to reduce disaster risks creating livelihood opportunities and lower poverty, she said.
Under the project, 106 families were provided with flood-proof (raised-plinth) houses and 16.5 percent of the targeted households were provided with flood-proof tube-wells and latrines, she added.
Veena Khaleque, country director of Practical Action, Bangladesh; Dr Haseeb Md Irfanullah, team leader, Reducing Vulnerability and Natural Resource Management of Practical Action; and AHM Abdullah, director of government's Disaster Management Bureau; among others, also spoke.
The project was implemented simultaneously in five countries including Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Peru and Zimbabwe, which was funded by the Department for International Development, UK.
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