Climate Change Adaptation for Sustainable
Livelihoods in the Agricultural Sector: the case
of Bangladesh
Selvaraju Ramasamy
Environment, Climate Change and Bioenergy Division
FAO, Rome
Drought Prone Areas in Bangladesh
600
40
Rainfall (mm) ET (mm/month)
Tmax(°C)
Tmin (°C)
35
500
Rainfall / ET (mm)
400
25
300
20
15
200
10
100
5
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Jan
0
Feb
0
Rabi– KarifI KarifII Rabi
Seasons
Temperature (°C)
30
Analytical Framework
Assessments
Outcomes/interventions
Livelihood profiles
and assets
Local risk perception
and coping strategies
Climate change
scenarios and
anticipated risks
Awareness raising & Advocacy
Inter- ministerial coordination
Risk
Analysis
Impacts of climate
variability and change
Hazard and
vulnerability
analysis and
monitoring
Enabling and
disabling
institutions and
support
services
Hazard risk mitigation and
climate adaptation (options)
• Institution Building (entry point DRM)
 Agricultural technology diversification
 Better integration of hazard risk management
rehabilitation-development efforts
 Enhanced Climate Forecast Applications
 Livelihood enhancement or diversification
 Gender sensitive adaptation
Capacity building
• Legislation, standards setting
• Training of key stakeholders
• Policy advice
Future Climate Change:
downscaling scenarios
Year
Sea level
rise (cm)
Season
Temperature
increase (ºC)
Precipitation
fluctuation (%) as
compared to 1990
(%) change in
evaporation
2030
30
Monsoon
+0. 7
+ 11
+15.8
Winter
+1.3
-3
- 0.9
Monsoon
Winter
+1.1
+1.8
+28
-37
+16.7
0
2050
50
Source: National communication DoE, BGD, 2002
Year
Temperature change (ºC) mean
(standard deviation)
Precipitation change (%) mean (standard deviation)
Annual
Annual
DJF
JJA
2278 mm
33.7 mm
1343.7 mm
DJF
JJA
Baseline average
2030
1.0 (0.11)
1.0 (0.18)
0.8 (0.16)
+3.8 (2.30)
-1.2 (12.56)
+4.7 (3.17)
2050
1.4 (0.16)
1.6 (0.26)
1.1(0.23)
+5.6 (3.33)
-1.7 (18.15)
+6.8 (4.58)
Agarwala et al., 2003
Strengthening Institutional set-up
MoA- DAE Operational Structure
MoFDM Operational Structure
DMB
NTIWG
DAE – Technical
Core Group
DMB, DAE, BMD,
DRR, LI, DoE
DAE: Department of
Agriculture Extension
DMC: District Disaster
management Committee
DMB: Disaster
Management Bureau
District DMC
District Deputy
Director
Upazilla
DMC
Upazilla Ag.
Officer
UTIWG
Union DMC
Project
officers
SubAssistant
Ag. Officer
NTIWG: National Technical
Implementation Working
Group
Community/Farmer Groups/Associations/Local Facilitation Team
National
expert
advisory
group
Typology of adaptation options
in AG/LI, FI and FO
1. Agronomic management
2. Water harvesting and
exploitation
3. Water Use efficiency
4. Crop intensification
5.
Alternative crop
enterprises
6. Post harvest practices
Seasonal planning for
implementation of options


Pre-seasonal good practice identification
and validation meeting (Clearing house
mechanisms) to decide on new good
practices for demos and on replications
seasonal working plans before each
cropping season for immediate
implementation
Community Mobilization and
Field Demonstration



Awareness raising
 cultural programmes for awareness
creation of local people about climate
change adaptation
Extension strategies
 orientation meetings, farmer field
schools, folk songs and drams,
demonstration rally, exchange visits
Mobilization of local community
 Farmer Groups
 Local facilitation Team (LFTs)
Capacity Building
i) Climate risk and impact analysis

climate risk analysis methods

climate change impacts
ii)


iii)


Climate forecast applications for
drought mitigation
introduction to forecast products
Application of weather and
climate forecast products
Available adaptation options in
Agriculture
viable adaptation options
Prioritized adaptation options
and methods of implementation
Integration of climate forecasts
to enhance adaptive capacity
Providing climate
outlook
Interpreting global
climate outlook into
local outlook
Translating local
climate outlook into
impact scenarios
Communication to/
from farmers
Complementary adaptation measures
Physical adaptive measures
Livelihood enhancement
Income diversification
Strengthening community
as well as formal
institutional structures
Financial mechanisms for
risk transfer
public private partnerships
Testing of locally selected
adaptation options
Mini pond for supplementary irrigation during drought spells
Homestead gardening
Testing of locally selected
adaptation options
Dry seedbed practice with minimal supplemental irrigation
Jujubi (Ziziphus jujuba) was considered as a potential
alternative option to existing autonomous mango cultivation
Adaptation Framework
Improving Livelihood Adaptation to Climate Change
Stakeholder engagement and feedback
Up-scaling and
mainstreaming
Advocacy, broader awareness raising and networking
Economic feasibility studies
Advocacy, broader awareness raising and networking
Designing local adaptation
strategies
Economic feasibility studies
Field based demonstration and application of adaptation options
Validation and selection of adaptation options
Identify suitable adaptation options and extension methods
Identification and testing
Adaptation options
Institutional and technical capacity building
Community mobilization and local awareness raising
Identification of adaptation options including local technologies
Future climate impact assessment & outlooks
Assessing future
risks
Local agro-meteorological data collection and monitoring
Downscaling climate change scenarios
Assessing natural, socio-economic and institutional framework
Assessing current
vulnerability
Assessing current climate risks
Livelihood assessment & profiling
Assessing local perception on risks
to be addressed in second phase of LACC
Key Lessons: Entry points




Current climate variability and DRM
Awareness raising
Doing better on known sustainable
land and water management practices
Indigenous knowledge and no regret
options
Key Lessons








Climate change further declines the adaptive capacity need to launch adaptation measures now. BUT HOW to
work in a relatively uncertain state;
Climate Change Adaptation is location specific and social
learning process – learning how to adapt better;
Strengthening institutions with clearly determined
responsibilities
DRR, climate change adaptation and development goes
together at the local level
strengthening research-development linkages to address
the future risks
Community based adaptation links bottom up livelihood
perspectives and government led top down approaches
monitoring on-going adaptation practices, alert on risks of
mal-adaptation, and establish links with policy making
promote public – private partnership to support inputs
THANK YOU