Bangladesh : Climate Change Capacity Building and Knowledge Management

Agriculture, natural resources and rural development / Agricultural policy, institutional and capacity development

Water and other urban infrastructure and services / Urban policy, institutional and capacity development

The Government of Bangladesh considers climate change as a priority concern and is committed to take urgent and long term actions to reduce the vulnerability of its people and risks to national development. The objective of combating climate change has also been manifested in the GoB's the _Sixth Five Year Plan_ (2011-15), as well as in the _Outline Perspective Plan of Bangladesh (2010-2021): Making Vision 2021 A Reality_. The Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan outlines 44 programs under six thematic areas to to address the climate change challenges in Bangladesh.

ADB's Country Partnership Strategy for Bangladesh (2006-11) emphasizes the need for mainstreaming climate change in all ADB operations and climate change become an integral focus of ADB support in Bangladesh. ADB will ensure that its operations help build the resilience of vulnerable sectors, including preparing resilient sector road maps and climate-proofing projects. Country Operation Business Plan (2012-2014) highlights the significance and the need for mainstreaming of climate change in ADB's operations. The challenges in mainstreaming climate change in development planning and budgeting need a transformational shift which would be facilitated by policy dialogue, capacity building, and knowledge management services .

1. A well-defined and operational climate change adaptation IKM network

2. Enhanced institutional capacity with respect to climate change adaptation IKM

3. Quality climate change adaptation information and knowledge products generated and disseminated

All of the three outputs of the TA is completed. Output related implementation progress of the TA is described below:

TA inception mission was conducted on 20-24 January 2013 and TA mid-term review mission was conducted on 2-12 March 2014. TA successfully delivered all the activities and outputs.

CCIKM network: In support of the setup of a web based portal on CCIKM network, expert consultations, a 4-days 'hackathon' and several meetings were conducted with the MOEF and relevant ministries and line agencies for agreement on overall design and architecture of the web portal. MOEF approved domain name (www.climatechange.gov.bd) on 23 January 2014 and Bangladesh Computer Council hosted domain server on 22 June 2014 at MOEF. A pre-launching ceremony for demonstration of the portal was conducted on 29 January among key relevant ministries, line agencies, and ICT and climate change experts. Another pre-launching ceremony was organized on 22 February 2015 at MOEF Secretariat. Finally the web based CCIKM network was hosted at MOEF and launched by the Hon'ble Minister, MOEF on 5 March 2015. A committee is formed and mechanism is placed for sustainable management of CCIKM network with engagement of trained ICT team at MOEF.

Enhanced capacity of MOEF and relevant agencies on CCA: A report on capacity needs assessment on CCA is prepared where prioritized capacity building training courses were identified. Based on this report, five short training on various prioritized and emerging aspects of CCA were conducted in February and March 2014 where 200 government officials were participated. Based on the available training materials, 5 training manuals were prepared and uploaded to CCIKM web portal for wider dissemination.

Knowledge management on CCA: A report on knowledge gap assessment on CCA is prepared and submitted to MOEF on 29 October 2013. This report identified key knowledge gaps on CCA in eight thematic areas' and 5 key sectors' where knowledge management is required and identified prioritized research lists on CCA. Based on this report, six small analytical studies have been commissioned in January 2014. MOEF endorsed commissioning of these prioritized research on 22 January 2013. Results of the six analytical studies were submitted by TA consulting firm on 16 March 2014. It was initially agreed that an expert working group (EWG) will be formed by MOEF who will peer review the research process, validate and endorse the study findings. However the EWG was not formed during TA implementation period. Since the TA is closed on 30 June 2015, ADB submitted all the six research reports and final TA completion report to MOEF on 23 March 2015.

The TA is successfully completed on 30 June 2015.

This CDTA is outcome of the wide ranging stakeholder consultation process that led to the development of Government of Bangladesh's Strategic Program for Climate Resilience (SPCR) under the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR). The process included a multi-stakeholder consultation workshop with participation of representatives from concerned ministries, line agencies, NGOs, civil society organizations, community based organization (CBOs), research and academic institutes, private sector, and development partners. Presentations on the nature and scope of the CDTA as a component of the SPCR were made to the stakeholders and other development partners in various group meetings and bilateral discussions. The multi-stakeholder consultation had strong GOB ownership and good coordination among various involved ministries, line agencies, multilateral development banks, and other development partners.

A TA fact-finding mission was fielded during 28 March-7 April 2011. The government concurred with the TA impact, outcome, outputs, cost, implementation and financing arrangements, and terms of reference for consultants.