Background
Climate change has intensified the water crisis in coastal Bangladesh, with women and girls bearing the greatest burden. Rising salinity due to tidal flooding, storm surges, and saltwater intrusion has contaminated groundwater and freshwater ponds, making potable water increasingly scarce. As a result, women in Shyamnagar Upazila must walk long distances to fetch drinking water, exposing them to physical hardship, health risks, and gender-based violence. The lack of adequate water and sanitation facilities exacerbates health issues, particularly among pregnant women, increasing cases of hypertension, preeclampsia, and cervical infections. Climate change has also worsened food insecurity, forced migration, and livelihood losses, disproportionately affecting female-headed households. Additionally, traditional gender roles and social norms reinforce inequalities, limiting women’s participation in decision-making and economic activities. This project aims to enhance resilience by empowering women and girls through leadership development, climate-adaptive livelihood initiatives, and advocacy for gender- sensitive policies. It promotes access to safe water, improved healthcare, and disaster preparedness while strengthening local governance and collaboration with government agencies. By addressing climate change and gender inequality simultaneously, the project seeks to create sustainable solutions for the most vulnerable communities in coastal Bangladesh.
Goal
Build women’s leadership capacity and increased resilience of the most vulnerable communities to address climate change impact.
Objectives
To build women and girls’ capacity in leadership development and to empower them in taking collective action to tackle climate change impacts, climate poverty, child marriage, domestic
violence and mal-governance public institutions.
Major Interventions
- People Organization Formation and Capacity Development: To promote climate adaptation and strengthen resource user groups for community-led adaptation, LEDARS mobilized Community peoples in Shymnagar Upazila in Satkhira District of Bangladesh. Through this initiative, Climate Resilient Groups (CRGs) have been formed at the village and cluster levels.
- Social Mobilization and Capacity Building: The project has been mobilizing women, adolescents, and youth through group formation, leadership training, and social awareness sessions. Women’s groups and advocacy platforms will be created to ensure their active participation in community development. Capacity-building sessions include training on gender rights, climate adaptation, disaster preparedness, and community mobilization. Awareness campaigns and social accountability tools such as public hearings and community scorecards have been employed to strengthen community participation and governance.
- Climate Resilient Livelihood Promotion: The project has enhanced livelihood opportunities for marginalized women through skill development training on alternative income-generating activities such as handicrafts, tailoring, dry fish processing, and small-scale businesses. Climate- resilient agriculture will be promoted by providing training on adaptive farming practices, distributing salt-tolerant crop varieties, and introducing organic farming techniques. Women have received financial and technical support to implement sustainable agricultural and livelihood initiatives.
- Increase Access to Health and Water: To improve healthcare and hygiene services, the project has been advocating for the reactivation of community clinics and health centers to provide better services for women and adolescent girls. Rainwater harvesting systems will be installed to ensure safe drinking water access, and hygiene kits have been distributed to vulnerable households. Community health awareness sessions will be conducted focusing on maternal health, reproductive health, and WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) practices.
- Lobby and Advocacy at National and International Levels: The project has been facilitating policy dialogues, stakeholder meetings, and advocacy campaigns to influence policy changes for gender- sensitive climate adaptation and women’s rights. Women’s groups are trained to conduct advocacy at local, national, and international levels, engaging with policymakers, government officials, and development partners. The project will develop policy briefs and research reports to strengthen advocacy efforts and raise awareness on climate justice and gender equality.
- Strengthen Local Government and Project Involvement: Local government institutions have been strengthened through capacity-building programs on gender-responsive governance, climate adaptation, and social accountability. The project has facilitated participatory risk assessments and incorporated risk reduction action plans into local development planning. Social protection initiatives, such as women-friendly disaster shelters and legal aid services, have also been implemented to support vulnerable communities.
- Increase Involvement of Government Concerned Departments: Collaboration with government agencies, including agriculture, fisheries, livestock, and health departments, will be strengthened to improve service delivery and policy implementation. Regular coordination meetings and training programs have been conducted to enhance government responsiveness to community needs. The project has established linkages between community groups and government service providers to ensure inclusive and effective development interventions.
- Emergency Response: Disaster preparedness and emergency response mechanisms have been improved through community-based early warning systems, formation of disaster response teams, and provision of emergency relief support. The project has distributed essential supplies such as food, hygiene kits, and emergency equipment to affected communities during climate- induced disasters. Training programs have been conducted for youth groups and volunteers on gender-sensitive disaster response and risk management.