Findings from the locally led people鈥檚 adaptation plans for inclusive water and sanitation services for 106 low-income communities across 17 wards of the Chattogram City Corporation area were presented at a national level consultation at the Lakeshore Hotel in Dhaka on Monday.
The locally led process to develop people鈥檚 adaptation plans were facilitated by WaterAid Bangladesh and Dushtha Shasthya Kendra, with support from the Global Center on Adaptation and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom government to inform World Bank-financed Chattogram Water Supply and Sanitation Project, said a press release.
The consultation was organised to present the results of the people鈥檚 plans; gather feedback from stakeholders and identify gaps; and establish a consensus regarding next steps for finalising the people鈥檚 adaptation plan.聽
The event was attended by more than 60 key stakeholders, including representatives from Chattogram WASA, Chattogram City Corporation, Local Government Division and British high commission and civil society.
As part of the people鈥檚 adaptation planning process, GCA local partners WaterAid Bangladesh and DSK facilitated locally led climate risk profiling and participatory risk assessments in 106 low-income communities.
This community led data collection process was completed by scientific climate risk assessments by Chattogram University of Engineering and Technology.
The process was initiated in Chattogram in June 2024 with endorsement from Chattogram City Corporation and Chattogram WASA, to inform investments by the World Bank鈥檚 Chattogram Water Supply and Sanitation Project.
鈥楥limate change is an everyday reality; not a distant threat鈥攂ut its complexity, cloaked in jargon, often alienates the very people it impacts most. To make adaptation meaningful, we must internalise climate action, embed it into national planning, and empower locally led responses,鈥� said Hasin Jahan, country director for WaterAid Bangladesh.
Appreciating the partnership with WaterAid and DSK, M Feisal Rahman, country manager of Global Centre on Adaptation Bangladesh highlighted that through the Global Hub on LLA, GCA aims to scale up LLA by linking people鈥檚 adaptation plans developed by communities to investments by international financial institutions under its adaptation acceleration programme.
鈥榃e are responsible for climate change鈥攐ur consumerism drives it. In the WASH sector, which is critically important, we can鈥檛 afford to wait until it鈥檚 too late. We must be proactive, shift our mindset, and step up before we reach the point of no return,鈥� said Md Fazlur Rahman, additional secretary, Water Supply Division, Local Government Division and managing director, Dhaka WASA.
