FP069

Support for livelihoods and provision of clean water

This evaluation focuses on examining the causal impacts of adopting climate-resilient livelihoods and implementing solutions for clean drinking water on the well-being of beneficiaries in two districts in the coastal area of south-western Bangladesh. The south-western region has been facing significant challenges that arise due to its low elevation, saline water intrusion and the increasing occurrence of natural disasters.

Despite efforts to reduce the impacts of disasters and to increase climate resilience, the country's vulnerability remains high. Implemented by UNDP, this project provides adaptive livelihoods to women's livelihood groups for women's engagement and empowerment and constructs rainwater harvesting systems to ensure water supply.

The evaluation will measure the impact of to what extent adaptive livelihoods provide sustainable means of earnings and how much drinking water solutions allow beneficiaries to engage in income generating activities, especially for women.

Impact

The key results of the impact evaluation indicate the livelihood support programme provided women with much-needed income support and positively impacted their families’ food security in the short- to medium term. In particular, the project supported the engagement in at least one income-generating activity, with homestead gardening being the most popular. It also increased women’s annual income by 14,000 Bangladeshi Taka (USD 165). Overall, the project improved their food security by 8 per cent, as measured by the consumption of food types important for well-being and health (from 55 to 60 out of 112 points measured by the Food Consumption Score). Family awareness of the importance of preparing for future climate-related shocks increased by four percentage points (from 91 to 95 per cent).

Despite the ability of women to diversify their income-generating activities, the project did not result in women gaining more autonomy over how to spend their generated income. This limitation can be attributed to the predominantly patriarchal culture in the southwestern provinces of Bangladesh, where males typically make decisions regarding family finances. Changing such deeply ingrained perceptions, lifestyles, and decision-making processes may require more time and sustained effort. Nevertheless, female empowerment remains a crucial objective of FP069. Conducting long-term evaluations of the project could provide valuable insights into gender dynamics and potential avenues for transformation.

For more details, read the full report here.

Impact stories

Is the GCF targeting the right beneficiaries?

30 Jun 2023 / As mandated by the Paris Agreement, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) supports developing countries realize pathways towards low-emissions and climate-resilient development. These pathways are described in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which each Party to the Agreement updates every five years. To support this process, the GCF allocates half of its adaptation programming to particularly vulnerable countries: the small island developing States (SIDS), the least developed countries (LDCs) and African States.

Details

As a response to past disasters and a preventive measure against future disasters, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Bangladesh implemented the GCF funded project FP069 “Enhancing adaptive capacities of coastal communities, especially women, to cope with climate change induced salinity”. The project’s overall goal is to strengthen the adaptive capacities of selected Bangladesh coastal communities against the impacts of climate change through the adoption of climate-resilient livelihoods and an increase in drinking water availability.

Implementing partners of the project include UNDP Bangladesh, the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs (Bangladesh) and the Department of Public Health Engineering (Bangladesh).