Between April 21 and 28 2016, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) in collaboration with International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD), Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS) and Independence University of Bangladesh (IUB) organised the 10th International Conference on Community-Based Adaptation (CBA10), which takes place in the city of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Participants included more than 300 representatives of governmental and non-governmental organisations from over 30 countries in the world. Ph.D Saleemul Huq, senior member of IIED as well as Director of ICCCAD, chaired the conference. This is an annual event, pioneered by IIED together with other relevant organisations in various countries, aiming at enhancing community resilience against climate change. Previous CBA conferences were held in many countries such as Vietnam, Tanzania, Kenya and Nepal. The primary aims of CBA10 are to:

– Share and consolidate the latest developments in CBA best practice, policy and theory in different sectors and countries, in Asia and globally. Enhancing urban community resilience will be a key theme;

– Capture and disseminate this knowledge and experience more broadly, to CBA10 participants and through online web coverage and conference proceedings;

– Strengthen the existing network of practitioners, policymakers, planners and donors working on CBA at all levels by bringing them together at CBA10 and supporting knowledge sharing and collaboration, and

– Enhance the capacity of practitioners, governments and donors to help those most vulnerable to climate change to improve their livelihoods.

The conference consists of a two-and-a-half field visit to CBA projects in different ecosystems across Bangladesh, such as drought, flood-prone, forest and urban areas, followed by three-and-a-half days of interactive conference discussions, with the format ranging from formal plenary and parallel sessions and high level panels, and interactive sessions for a more hands-on approach to learning.

At the conference, Mr. Saleemul Huq said Bangladesh is bearing many negative impacts of climate change such as sea level rise, unpredictable floods occurring more frequently, droughts becoming worse and typhoons causing devastating losses to the community. To confront these situations, Bangladesh government have developed Climate change strategy and Action plan on adaptation with total fund of more than 500 million USD. The country is not a big GHG emitter so that the plan focuses mainly on community adaptation, especially urban communities.

Mr. Saleemul Huq chairs the conference

By Quang Viet, Da Nang CCCO

Source: Da Nang CCCO

Da Nang Climate Change Coordination Office (Da Nang CCCO)

Mr. Dinh Quang Cuong, Director

Address: 13th Floor, Da Nang Administrative Centre, 24 Tran Phu Str., Hai Chau Dist., Da Nang City

Phone: 0511.3888508 – Fax: 0511.3825321

Email: danang.ccco@gmail.com – Website: http://ccco.danang.gov.vn/