Home ›› 30 Oct 2021 ›› Opinion
Rural Bangladeshis are no strangers to tropical storms, frequent and prolonged flooding and other natural disasters. Over the decades, they’ve dealt with such events with ingenuity, flexibility and resilience. Yet today’s climate emergency – which is accelerating old forces of destruction and creating new patterns of displacement – is too volatile and dangerous to cope with.
According to a World Bank report, 13.3 million Bangladeshis could be displaced by the varied impacts of climate change by 2050. By the end of this century, the sea level along the coastline is expected to rise by up to 1.5m, displacing millions more and flooding villages and agricultural land. The regularity of waterlogging is already making it impossible to farm, and certain crop varieties have a tough time coping with saltwater. For a nation where agriculture still plays a vital role in the economy -- accounting for 13.47 percent of its GDP and employing about 40 percent of the workforce – this is a looming catastrophe.
Smallholder farmers, who produce 70-80 percent of Bangladesh’s food, are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change – and, ironically, contribute to it the least. As world leaders gather at the 26th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 26 at UNFCCC), we must ask: what can be done to ensure the security and survival of smallholder farmers?
It’s not all doom and gloom
The good news is that Bangladesh is a leader on climate action. The ambitious draft Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan – the first of its kind anywhere in the world – promises to enhance resilience, grow the country’s economy, create jobs and expand opportunities for its citizens, using action on climate change as the catalyst. Earlier this year, the government cancelled plans for 10 coal-fired power plants and is committed to obtaining 30 percent of its energy from renewables by 2030. It is the first plan from a Climate Vulnerable Forum (a grouping of 48 of the world’s most climate vulnerable countries, which together contribute less than 5 percent of global emissions, currently chaired by Bangladesh) country to detail a strategic investment framework to mobilize financing for initiatives that build climate resilience, particularly that of smallholder farmers and poor rural communities.
In a demonstration of her government’s bold commitment to urgent climate action, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has assured the international community that “Bangladesh can implement this plan independent of other countries”, having already invested more than US $6 billion dollars into adaptation activities since 2016. Yet this also reflects the stark fact that the international community has failed to meet its pledge of raising US $100 billion in climate financing every year.
Show me the money
Indeed, finance flows directed at the adaptation needs of developing countries are outstripped by mitigation flows by a ratio of 1:18. Adaptation – which means increasing the ability of communities and nations to absorb the impacts of climate change and remain resilient – is a key pillar of the 2015 Paris Agreement. According to the UN Environment Programme, by 2030, developing countries will need US $180-300 billion per year for adaptation efforts. This is money well-spent: more immediately impactful and more beneficial to developing countries like Bangladesh – and especially the poorest and most vulnerable within them – than closing the mitigation finance gap, which runs to trillions. Yet, in 2018, only 21 percent of global climate finance was earmarked for adaptation.
And the smallholder farmers who are at the frontline of the climate crisis and with whom we work at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) remain underserved. Only 3 percent of all climate finance goes to agriculture, forestry, and land use, and less than 2 percent is targeted to smallholder farmers – a tiny fraction of the support they desperately need to adapt to a changing climate.
Without the necessary financial resources and knowledge, their very survival will be at stake.
At IFAD, we aim to channel 40-plus years of experience working with the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach communities across the world to direct the global flows of climate finance to those who need it the most. Our multi-million dollar climate adaptation funds for smallholder farmers – ASAP and ASAP+ -- are key to our efforts to channel global climate finance to smallholder farmers and poor rural communities. We also amplify the voices of poor rural communities in climate dialogues and highlight the climate change impacts on smallholder agricultural producers.
A little help from friends
Bangladesh offers many successful examples on how poor rural communities can adapt to the impacts of climate change, build resilience and restore livelihoods. Our work with the Government of Bangladesh, for instance, embraces innovative solutions and an integrated approach that helps the rural poor to secure their livelihoods by diversifying sources of income while building the communities’ resilience against climate change by improving market access through climate-resilient rural roads and market infrastructure, as well as climate information services.
For example, in the Haor region, where climate change has intensified the frequency of rains and extreme weather events, and where roads, houses and livestock can be washed away in a matter of hours, IFAD and the Government of Bangladesh have developed a flash flood early warning system that can predict floods up to 10 days in advance. Smallholder farmers receive alerts through two channels: from the Bangladesh Water Development Board, which notifies the district administration and local agricultural officers, and through a smartphone application. Climate-resilient infrastructure like raised embankments and submersible roads protect villages, roads and markets. Nature-based solutions, such as reforestation and the planting of vetiver, a plant whose deep roots can reduce erosion, are proving to be impactful and cost-effective at addressing adaptation in the Haor basin.
Despite considerable progress, Bangladesh – and particularly rural people – continue to face immense pressure from climate change. With dedicated financial support, Bangladesh could expand the scale of its climate action efforts – from increasing the ability to respond effectively to emergencies, strengthening river embankments, building emergency cyclone shelters and resilient homes to adapting rural households’ farming systems, reducing saline water intrusion, especially in areas dependent on agriculture, and implementing early warning systems. Finally, with its track record of developing cutting-edge home-grown solutions, it could point the way for other countries to tackle climate-related challenges.
If smallholder farmers can bounce back from climate crises, they can continue to grow our food, earn decent incomes, and live secure and stable lives. As PM Hasina has said, COP 26 might be our last, best chance to not only mitigate climate change, but also adapt to its impacts. We must not squander it.
Authors’ info:
Arnoud Hameleers, Country Director for Bangladesh, IFAD (a.hameleers@ifad.org)
Kisa Mfalila, Lead Environment and Climate Specialist for Asia and the Pacific Region, IFAD (k.mfalila@ifad.org)
Sherina Tabassum, Country Director for Maldives and Sri Lanka, IFAD (s.tabassum@ifad.org)
