Climate-Smart HousingBangladesh

Background 1

In Southern Bangladesh, cyclones such as Sidr (2007) and Aila (2009) periodically disrupt rural livelihoods. As a result of climate change, such extreme events are likely to be more frequent and require solutions which enhance rural communities’ resilience to the damages caused by the cyclones. In this context, the WorldFish Center and Practical Action embarked on the development of climate-resilient housing for these rural communities. A successful prototype, which is resilient to cyclones and is water, food, energy, and space efficient, has been developed at a cost of USD 6,000. The house is built on an elevated platform, in order to ensure that it remains above the flood line and combines various climate-smart technologies, including:

  • Rainwater harvesting system with filter: to provide water for drinking and irrigation.
  • Rainwater-fed multipurpose fish tanks: for aquaculture, as well as the use of nitrogen enriched water for irrigation/fertilization.
  • Vertical agriculture system: increases food production and protects plants from flooding and saltwater intrusion.
  • Drip irrigation: reduces water wastage by 17.5% and increases production by 28.4% in chili cultivation.
  • Barrel composting system: for waste management and fertilization of vertical agriculture system.
  • Improved cook stoves: portable and can be shifted during floods, reduces health risks, and requires 50% less firewood.
  • Twin pit sanitary toilet: protected from floodwater intrusion, and reduces flies, odours, and pathogens.
Relationship to CSA

The combination of different climate-smart innovations and the unique house design increases occupants’ resilience to extreme weather events, while increasing productivity. Some mitigation co-benefits can also be expected from the waste management system and improved cook stoves.

Impact and lessons learned

The ‘Climate-Smart Housing’ project is still at the pilot stage. However, the prototype provides valuable lessons on integration of multiple climate-smart innovations at the household level.

References

  • 1

    Hossain E, Nurun Nabi SM, Kaminski A. 2015. Climate-smart house: Housing that is cyclone resistant and food, energy and water efficient in Bangladesh. Program Brief: 2015-27. Penang, Malaysia: WorldFish.

    https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/56873/retrieve Since cyclones Sidr (2007) and Aila (2009), communities in southern Bangladesh have increasingly needed to protect their homes and livelihoods from destructive natural disasters. WorldFish embarked on a climate-resilient housing project in 2013, building a prototype climate-smart house that is resilient to cyclones and is also water, food, energy and space efficient.

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CCAFS Climate-Smart Agriculture 101

Case Studies

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The basics

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is an integrative approach to address these interlinked challenges of food security and climate change, that explicitly aims for three objectives:

A. Sustainably increasing agricultural productivity, to support equitable increases in farm incomes, food security and development;

B. Adapting and building resilience of agricultural and food security systems to climate change at multiple levels; and

C. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture (including crops, livestock and fisheries).

Entry points

Agriculture affects and is affected by climate change in a wide range of ways and there are numerous entry points for initiating CSA programmes or enhancing existing activities. Productivity, mitigation and adaptation actions can take place at different technological, organizational, institutional and political levels. To help you navigate these myriad entry points we have grouped them under three Thematic Areas: (i) CSA practices, (ii) CSA systems approaches, and (iii) Enabling environments for CSA. Each entry point is then described and analysed in terms of productivity, adoption and mitigation potential and is illustrated with cases studies, references and internet links for further information.

Develop a CSA plan

Planning for, implementing and monitoring CSA projects and programmes evolves around issues of understanding the context including identification of major problems/barriers and opportunities related to the focus of the programme; developing and prioritizing solutions and designing plans; implementation; and monitoring and evaluation. Most major development agencies have their own framework for project and programme formulation and management but CCAFS has developed a specific approach for planning, implementing and assessing CSA projects and programme called CSA plan. CSA plan was developed to provide a guide for operationalizing CSA planning, implementation and monitoring at scale. CSA plan consist of four major components: (1) Situation analysis; (2) Targeting and prioritizing; (3) Program support; and (4) Monitoring. evaluation and learning.

Finance

To meet the objectives of CSA, such as agricultural development, food security and climate change adaptation and mitigation, a number of potential funding sources are available. For instance, climate finance sources may be used to leverage agriculture finance and mainstream climate change into agricultural investments. This section offers an overview of potential sources of funding for activities in climate-smart agriculture (CSA) at national, regional and international levels and for a number of different potential ‘clients’ including governments, civil society, development organizations and others. Additionally, it includes options to search among a range of funding opportunities according to CSA focus area, sector and financing instrument.

Resource library

CSA Guide provides a short and concise introduction and overview of the multifaceted aspects of climate-smart agriculture. At the same time it offers links to references and key resources that allows for further investigations and understanding of specific topics of interest. In the resource library we have gathered all the references, key resources, terms and questions in one place for a quick overview and easy access that can be used as a part of or independently of the other sections of the website. The resource library is divided into six sections; (1) References – list all publications, links and blogs referred to on the website; (2) Tools – list all the CSA tools presented on the website; (3) Key terms – explains the most important and frequently used terms related to CSA; (4) Frequently asked questions (FAQ) – provides a rapid overview of the most common questions asked on climate-smart agriculture; (5) About – where you can find out more about the purpose and structure of, as well as on the organizations and authors behind the website; (6) Contact.

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