NDC action: Climate resilient housing in Bangladesh

In March 2023, a team of experts from the NDC Action project visited partners and communities in Bangladesh to gain on-the-ground experience of low-cost climate resilient housing.

The field trip was organized by the technical partner BRAC, and included high-level officials from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the Department of Environment, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, and experts from UNEP and UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre.

The team visited the southern coastal regions of Satkhira and Mongla to learn about low-cost climate-resilient housing interventions and understand the situation and challenges in the area. The visit also included several meetings with the local communities to discuss and understand their needs during climate disasters.

Climate resilient housing to the most vulnerable

Learning from the local community was a significant objective of the visit. The team joined a courtyard meeting with local communities, listened to their concerns and discussed the most suitable locations to build climate resilient housing.
These discussions were crucial for the NDC Action Project to provide high-impact climate-resilient housing in the most vulnerable areas in Bangladesh.

During the visit to Ashashuni in the Satkhira district, Ms. Khuku Moni showed the team her climate resilient house which was built by BRAC and later given to her.

Khuku Moni explained how her house played a significant role in saving her and her neighbour’s lives during the adverse condition of cyclone ‘Sitrang’ in 2022.

The severity of the cyclone meant that people had to flee to cyclone shelters, sometimes walking for hours amidst the chaotic situation. Being the parent of a disabled child, it was previously very difficult for Khuku Moni and her family to move to a cyclone shelter along with her belongings. However last year, Khuku Moni, her family and neighbors took shelter in her house and stayed until the cyclone stopped.

Khuku Moni showed everyone the different components around the house and answered the visitors’ questions about the facilities as well as her opinion and recommendations for further improvement of the house.

Achieving NDC targets

The visit to the coastal regions of Shatkhira and Ashashuni took place in connection with the first Project Steering Committee meeting of the NDC Action project in Bangladesh.

At the meeting the Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr. Farhina Ahmed, praised the NDC Action Project for involving the private sector in achieving the targets of the revised NDC.

“The NDC Action project is a right time initiative that will help Bangladesh to address the targets of the revised NDC”, Dr. Farhina Ahmed, Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

The NDC Action Project aims help Bangladesh achieve the targets of the revised NDC and is an example of how to involve the private sector in achieving these targets.