Bangladesh and IFAD launch $324 million in projects to help 2.5 million rural people adapt to climate change
Two new projects worth a combined $324 million, backed by IFAD, Bangladesh and Denmark, aim to reach 2.5 million rural people with flood shelters, early warnings, roads, finance and training.
The Government of Bangladesh and the International Fund for Agricultural Development have launched two projects worth a combined US$324 million to help an estimated 2.5 million rural people cope with floods, droughts and other climate shocks, IFAD announced on 9 October.
Shelters, early warnings and roads for flood- and drought-prone regions
The first, the US$112 million Climate Resilience and Livelihood Enhancement Project (CRALEP), will run for six years across 33 sub-districts and aims to reach 1.45 million people. It focuses on the flood-prone Haor wetlands and the drought-prone High Barind region.
CRALEP will improve village roads, markets and boat landings. In the Haor, it will build raised shelters for people and harvested crops and use nature-based methods against erosion, while flash-flood warnings and drought forecasts will help communities prepare. It is financed with US$70 million from IFAD, a US$10 million grant from Denmark and about US$31.75 million from Bangladesh.
Finance and skills for 250,000 households
The second, the US$212 million GREEN project, aims to reach more than 250,000 rural households over six years in the Haor, coastal, High Barind and river island areas. It combines loans with technical help, skills, green technologies and market links to raise incomes for small producers, and aims to reduce post-harvest losses.
“These two investments address connected priorities for rural development: infrastructure that withstands climate shocks and the finance, skills and market opportunities to build more secure livelihoods.” — Moslema Naznin, Wing Chief, Economic Relations Division, Ministry of Finance of Bangladesh
Both projects are run by national institutions: CRALEP by the Local Government Engineering Department and GREEN by the rural finance foundation PKSF. Vocational training is aimed at young people, and labour contracting societies will create work for poor women.
Bangladesh and IFAD have worked together since 1978 on 39 projects worth about US$4.9 billion, reaching 11.7 million rural households. Earlier this week, IFAD also launched a project to help 4,000 herding families in Mongolia withstand harsher winters.
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