Journal of Science Policy & Governance | Volume 18, Issue 02 | June 21, 2021

Policy Analysis: The Integration of Nature-Based Solutions into Climate Adaptation Policy and Planning in Bangladesh​

Samina Islam (1), Farah Anzum (2), Adiba Bintey Kamal (1),
Mahmuda Akter (1), Ali Mohammad Rezaie (1), Mizan R. Khan (1)
  1. International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD), Independent University Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  2. Independent Researcher, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Corresponding author: samina.islam@icccad.org
Download PDF
https://doi.org/10.38126/JSPG180204
Keywords: national policies; climate change; ecosystem-based adaptation; ecosystem services
Executive Summary: Bangladesh is regarded as one of the most climate-vulnerable regions in South Asia due to its unique geographical location and socio-economic conditions. Natural disasters, changing temperatures, precipitation, and sea level rise have affected agricultural production, infrastructure, and livelihoods in the country. To face these challenges, nature-based solutions (NbS) can address climate change adaptation, protection and management of natural ecosystems, and biodiversity conservation. For example, in Bangladesh, coastal mangroves can protect communities from storm surge and sea level rise, forests in hilly regions can prevent landslides, and green spaces in urban areas can reduce heat stress and promote the well-being of inhabitants. However, effective design, implementation, and upscaling of NbS requires support from national policies and plans.
 
This study reviews relevant Bangladeshi national policies from the past three decades to investigate NbS as a potential framework to address climate change and societal challenges in the country. We systematically analyzed twenty policy documents across three sectors: national development; disaster management and climate change; and environment and forest. Our study found growing emphasis on preservation, protection, and management of natural ecosystems in the national policies. However, our analysis showed that among the twenty policies, nineteen of them have no direct mention of NbS terminology. Instead, the policies include various strategies and terminologies that fall under the NbS umbrella, such as ecosystem-based adaptation, ecosystem services, and green and eco-building. However, these policies are still widely missing specific implementation guidelines, robust financial support, and institutional mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating NbS initiatives in Bangladesh. We recommend several policy actions to facilitate effective and inclusive NbS interventions in Bangladesh: enhance inter-ministry cooperation; develop national funding support; develop a national promotional campaign; pursue evidence-based research and capacity-building activities; and involve youth, marginalized people, and women. These actions can optimize the benefits of NbS to enhance the country’s resilience against climate change and foster sustainable development.

-Read the full article through download.-
Download PDF

References

  1. Alam, Shamsul. 2019. Bangladesh development perspectives: Planning strategies. The Financial Express. https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/public/views/bangladesh-development-perspectives-planning-strategies-1575038474
  2. Alam, Khorshed, and Md. Abu Taiyeb Chowdhury. 2018. "Floating Vegetable Gardening (FVG) as a Sustainable Agricultural System in Bangladesh: Prospects for Kaptai Lake, Rangamati, Chittagong Hill-Tracts." OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development 43-58. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3251130
  3. Almenar, Javier Babí, Thomas Elliot, Benedetto Rugani, Bodénan Philippe, Tomas Navarrete Gutierrez, Guido Sonnemann, and Davide Geneletti. 2021. "Nexus between nature-based solutions, ecosystem services and urban challenges." Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104898
  4. Augusto, Bruno, Peter Roebeling, Sandra Rafael, Joana Ferreira, Ana Ascenso, and Carole Bodilis. 2020. "Short and medium- to long-term impacts of nature-based solutions on urban heat." Sustainable Cities and Society. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2020.102122
  5. Badola, Ruchi, and S.A. Hussain. 2005. "Valuing ecosystem functions: an empirical study on the storm protection function of Bhitarkanika mangrove ecosystem, India." Cambridge University Press 85-92. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0376892905001967
  6. Bhattacharjee, Atasi. 2021. "Energy efficiency and green building pathways." New Age. https://www.newagebd.net/print/article/130872
  7. Carro, Inti, Leonardo Seijo, Gustavo J. Nagy, Ximena Lagos, and Ofelia Gutierrez. 2018. "Building capacity on ecosystem-based adaptation strategy to cope with extreme events and sea-level rise on the Uruguayan coast." International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management 504-522. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCCSM-07-2017-0149
  8. Clemett, Alexandra. 2006. A review of environmental policy and legislation in Bangladesh. Department of International Development.
  9. Cohen-Shacham, E., C. Janzen., Stewart Maginnis, and Gretchen Walters. 2016. Nature-based solutions to address global societal challenges. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.CH.2016.13.en
  10. Cohen-Shacham, Emmanuelle, Angela Andrade, James Dalton, Nigel Dudley, Mike Jones, Chetan Kumar, Stewart Maginnis, et al. 2019. "Core principles for successfully implementing and upscaling Nature-based Solutions." Environmental Science & Policy 20-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2019.04.014
  11. Eckstein, David, Vera Künzel, Laura Schäfer, and Maik Winges. 2019. GLOBAL CLIMATE RISK INDEX 2020. Germanwatch e.V.
  12. Eggermont, H., E. Balian, J.M.N. Azevedo, V. Beumer, T. Brodin, J. Claudet, B. Fady, et al. 2015. "Nature-based solutions: new influence for environmental management and research in Europe." GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society 243-248. https://doi.org/10.14512/gaia.24.4.9
  13. European Commission. 2015. Towards an EU research and innovation policy agenda for naturebased solutions & re-naturing cities. Final Report of the Horizon 2020 Expert Group on Nature-Based Solutions and Re-Naturing Cities. https://doi.org/10.2777/479582
  14. GED. 2018. Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100. Dhaka: General Economics Division, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
  15. GED. 2020b. Eighth Five Year Plan. Dhaka: General Economics Division, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
  16. GED. 2020a. Perspective Plan of Bangladesh 2021-2041. Dhaka: General Economics Division, Ministry of Planning, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
  17. GED. 2015. Seventh Five Year Plan FY 2016-FY2020. Dhaka: General Economic Division, Ministry of Planning, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
  18. GoB. 1994. National Forest Policy. Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
  19. IFRC Report. 2020. Final Report Bangladesh: Cyclone Bulbul. International Fedaration of Red Cross and Red Cresent Society.
  20. Irfanullah, Hasib Md., Md.A.K. Azad, A.K.M. Kamruzzaman Khan, and Md. Ahsanul Wahed. 2011. "Floating gardening in Bangladesh: a means to rebuild lives after devastating flood." Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge 31-38.
  21. Islam, Md. Tarikul, and Melissa Nursey-Bray. 2017. "Adaptation to climate change in agriculture in Bangladesh: The role of formal institutions." Journal of Environmental Management 347-358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.05.092
  22. IUCN. 2020. Guidance for using the IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.CH.2020.09.en
  23. Jato-Espino, Daniel, Luis Angel Sañudo-Fontaneda, and Valerio C. Andrés-Valeri. 2018. "Green Infrastructure: Cost-Effective Nature-Based Solutions for Safeguarding the Environment and Protecting Human Health and Well-Being." In Handbook of Environmental Materials Management, 1-27. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58538-3_46-1
  24. Kibria, Golam. 2014. "Mangrove forests-its role in livelihoods, carbon sinks and disaster mitigation." https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.1848.8800
  25. MoDMR. 2017. National Plan for Disaster Management. Dhaka: Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
  26. MoEF. 2013. Bangladesh Climate Change and Gender Action Plan. Dhaka: Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
  27. MoEF. 2009a. Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan. Dhaka: Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
  28. MoEF. 2017. Bangladesh Country Investment Plan for Environment, Forestry and Climate Change. Dhaka: Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
  29. MoEF. 1995b. Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act. Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
  30. MoEF. 2015. Intended Nationally Determined Contributions. Dhaka: Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
  31. MoEF. 2009b. National Adaptation Programme of Action. Dhaka: Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
  32. MoEF. 1995a. National Environmental Management Action Plan. Dhaka: Ministry of Environment anf Forests, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
  33. MoEF. 2018. National Environment Policy. Dhaka: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.
  34. MoEF. 2016a. National Forestry Policy. Dhaka: Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.
  35. MoEF. 1992. The Environmental Policy 1992. Dhaka: Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
  36. MoEF. 2016b. National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan of Bangladesh. Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
  37. MoEFCC. 2017. Bangladesh National Biodiversity Act. Dhaka: Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
  38. MoEFCC. 2020. Nationally Determined Contributions (Interim). Dhaka: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
  39. MoFA. 2018. Climate Change Profile: Bangladesh. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
  40. Molino, Grace D., Melissa A. Kenney, and Ariana E. Sutton-Grier. 2020. "Stakeholder-defined scientific needs for coastal resilience decisions in the Northeast U.S." Marine Policy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2020.103987
  41. Mondal, M. Shahjahan, Mohammad Towheedul Islam, Debanjali Saha, Muhammad Shahriar Shafayet Hossain, Prodip Kumar Das, and Rezaur Rahman. 2019. "Agricultural adaptation practices to climate change impacts in coastal Bangladesh." Springer 7-21. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05237-9_2
  42. Nelson, D. R., B. P. Bledsoe, S. Ferreira, and N. P Nibbelink. 2020. "Challenges to realizing the potential of nature-based solutions. In Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability." Elsevier B.V. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2020.09.001
  43. Pauleit, S., T. Zölch, R. Hansen, T.B. Randrup, and C.K van den Bosch. 2017. "Nature-based solutions and climate change–four shades of green." Nature-Based Solutions to Climate Change Adaptation in Urban Areas. Theory and Practice of Urban Sustainability Transitions. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56091-5_3
  44. Reza, Ahm Ali, and Md. Kamrul Hasan. 2019. "Forest Biodiversity and Deforestation in Bangladesh: The Latest Update." In Forest Degradation Around the World, by Mohd Nazip Suratman. IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.86242
  45. Rezaie, Ali Mohammad, Celso M. Ferreira and Mohammad Rezaur Rahman. 2019. "Storm surge and sea level rise: Threat to the coastal areas of Bangladesh." In Extreme Hydroclimatic Events and Multivatiate Hzazards in a Changing Environment, 438. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-814899-0.00013-4
  46. Rezaie, Ali Mohammad, Jarrod Loerzel, and Celso M. Ferreira. 2020. "Valuing natural habitats for enhancing coastal resilience: Wetlands reduce property damage from storm surge and sea level rise." PLoS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0226275
  47. Seddon, Nathaile, Alison Smith, Pete Smith, Isabel Key, Alexandre Chausson, Cecile Girardin, Jo House, Shilpi Srivastava, and Beth Turner. 2021. "Getting the message right on nature-based solutions to climate change." Global Change Biology (Global) 1-29. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15513
  48. Seddon, Nathalie, Alexandre Chausson, Pam Berry, Cécile A. J. Girardin, Alison Smith, and Beth Turner. 2020. "Understanding the value and limits of nature-based solutions to climate change and other global challenges." Royal Society. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2019.0120
  49. Tasnim, Tasfia, Farah Anzum, Haseeb Md. Irfanullah, Nathalie Seddon, and Saleemul Huq. 2020. A Roadmap for Nature-based Solutions in Bangladesh: Promises and Challenges. December 2. Accessed December 24, 2020. http://www.nbsbangladesh.info/news/policy-brief-on-a-roadmap-for-nbs-in-bangladesh/.
  50. USAID. 2013. Bangladesh Climate Vulnerability Profile. USAID.
  51. World Bank. 2018. Nature-based Solutions for Disaster Risk Management. World Bank Group.
  52. Zongo, Bilasse, Frédéric Zongo, Aboubacar Toguyeni, and Joseph I. Boussim. 2017. "Water quality in forest and village ponds in Burkina Faso (western Africa)." Journal of Forestry Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-017-0369-8
Samina Islam is currently working as a Junior Research Officer at the International Centre for Climate Change and Development. Her research interest is in human security and rights with special focus on climate change policies, sustainable development, and climate-induced migration and displacement. Samina plans to pursue a master’s degree to enhance her knowledge and research skills around the nexus between human rights and climate change and their placement in the policy sphere.
 
Farah Anzum is an independent researcher from Bangladesh. Her interest lies in the field of environmental management and policies, ecosystem services, and climate finance. She has more than three and a half years of working experience with local communities, policymakers, and academicians. She has published more than twelve articles related to environmental issues, climate finance, and nature-based solutions.
 
Adiba Bintey Kamal works as a project associate at the International Centre for Climate Change and Development. She holds a master’s degree in development studies. Her research interest lies in nature-based solutions, adaptation, community-based adaptation, climate finance, and gender.
 
Mahmuda Akter has around four years of working experience in the research sectors of Bangladesh. Currently, she is a Research Officer of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development. Her research interest lies in climate change adaptation, capacity building, migration, and urban development. Her M.Sc. in Disaster Management was from the prestigious Dhaka University (Dhaka, Bangladesh), and her B.Sc. in Environmental Management was from Independent University (Dhaka, Bangladesh).
 
Ali Mohammad Rezaie is the Research Coordinator at the International Centre for Climate Change and Development and a Graduate Research Fellow at Virginia Sea Grant (Gloucester Point, VA, USA). He holds a Ph.D. in Civil, Infrastructure and Environmental Engineering from George Mason University (Fairfax, VA, USA). His recent research focuses on how nature-based solutions and ecosystem services can address the impacts of natural disasters and climate change and enhance societal resilience.
 
Mizan R. Khan has a Ph.D. in Environmental Policy and Management from the University of Maryland School of Public Policy (College Park, MD, USA). He is currently Deputy Director at the International Centre for Climate Change and Development. Dr. Khan’s recent research and publications include three books: “Toward a Binding Climate Change Adaptation Regime: A Proposed Framework” (Routledge, 2014), “Power in a Warming World: The New Politics of Climate Change and the Remaking of Environmental Inequality” (MIT Press, 2015), and “The Paris Framework for Climate Change Capacity Building” (Routledge, 2018).
DISCLAIMER: The findings and conclusions published herein are solely attributed to the author and not necessarily endorsed or adopted by the Journal of Science Policy and Governance or issue partners/sponsors. Articles are distributed in compliance with copyright and trademark agreements.

ISSN 2372-2193
© 2022 Journal of Science Policy & Governance, Inc. All rights reserved. The opinions, findings and conclusions from JSPG publications, additional article commentaries and related events do not necessarily reflect the views of the journal.