The eight principles of locally-led adaptation (LLA) are designed to empower the local communities to address the adverse impacts of climate change. When the local communities are part of designing and implementing the adaptation measures, they can ensure that the measures are context-specific, need-driven, and curate effective solutions.
That is why Climate Bridge Fund (CBF) adapted the LLA principles in its modalities to introduce sustainable solutions. CBF was established by BRAC with support from the government of Germany through KfW.
How CBF practices the LLA approach
The impacts of climate change are different for all people, based on their contexts. This is why the first principle of LLA talks about a bottom-up approach to decision-making. CBF believes that only context-specific solutions can be effective and sustainable. Each and every project supported by CBF is designed through consultation with targeted local communities and relevant government authorities.
This is a mandatory step in project designing which ensures the involvement of the lowest appropriate level from the beginning of the project. The project interventions are prioritized based on the needs of the people. While identifying those needs, CBF projects also focus on the marginalized groups, especially people who migrated due to the impacts of climate change. With the increasingly adverse impacts of climate change in different parts of the country, the mobility of people has increased to a great extent.
The climate migrants, already affected due to climate change, become more vulnerable after arriving in the overcrowded slums in the urban areas. Their struggle to fulfil their basic needs and uncertainties regarding income and housing makes them suffer more. The main target population for CBF is thus the climate migrants with special attention to women and any other group that are in a marginalized situation.
They suffer disproportionately during any crisis which is in line with the second principle of LLA –which is about addressing structural inequalities faced by different marginalised groups. The support that the affected communities require needs to be timely to ensure that they can recover from the crisis. LLA tells us to provide patient and predictable funding which can be easily accessible. CBF is developed based on this principle as the modality ensures that the funding can be accessed quickly and easily by the implementing organisations.
The disbursement mechanism is also very quick and procedurally should not take more than six months between submission of a concept and the first disbursement, as guided by the Operational Manual of CBF.
CollectedIt is important to strengthen local capacity to manage such funding and design effective adaptation measures. CBF has an inbuilt capacity development process for the main stakeholders including climate migrants, project staff, and city authorities. They all are equally important and need simultaneous attention to ensure the sustainability of the measures and an institutional legacy which is the fourth principle of LLA. The continuous engagement of the city authorities with the adaptation projects eventually helps them review their future plans, and projects and disseminate the learning in the sector.
CBF puts additional emphasis on building the capacity of the project staff and thus organizes a series of training sessions. The projects are designed in consultation with the communities and then implemented through community-led organizations. Those originations are empowered and capacitated in a manner that they can continue being the voice of the community. They receive different training to enhance their skills, function as a group of leaders, and ensure the maintenance of the project interventions beyond the project timeline.
While developing the capacities of the project staff and the community, CBF highlights the discussion on context-specific climate risks and uncertainties. They share their experience of the past and present situations and CBF tries to help them have a clear understanding of the future risks as well.
This field-level exercise largely helps the partner organizations and the project team to improve their understanding of how best their interventions link with the impacts of climate change. The fifth LLA principle includes building a robust understanding of climate risks and uncertainties which CBF follows from the beginning of the project design with different consultations.
CBF-awarded projects are implemented by the partners and CBF facilitates the implementation process including monitoring of the projects. There is a quarterly monitoring process that allows CBF to visit the fields and observe the progress and document the learning on a regular basis.
Moreover, there is a process to revise the annual work plan and budget after six months of implementation to make those more realistic and adaptive. The main purpose of CBF is to support the people who are in need, thus, partners are always encouraged to share their challenges and field learning and allowed to make justified changes in the project based on the field reality. This flexibility to adapt learning ensures that the measures are more effective which is another principle of LLA.
CBF maintains transparency in both the evaluation and implementation stages of projects. CBF secretariat is accountable to its advisory committee, KfW, and trustee board. All decisions are finalized through these three bodies and everything is reviewed and assessed by them. Project Fact sheets are uploaded on the website once the agreements are signed through which anyone can know about basic project information.
Moreover, CBF also brings the partners and the management representatives together to ensure that the management can directly learn about the projects from the partners. LLA principles include transparency and collaboration action. CBF also believes in collaborative action and co-financing to address sustainable adaptation measures. Regular consultation takes place with the relevant government agencies, CSOs, and local communities in different stages of projects.
Conclusion
The CBF mechanism includes comprehensiveness which is the main essence of the LLA. The proper implementation of the principles can help any fund to be effective and sustainable. People are at the centre of the CBF projects and they are consulted and involved adequately throughout the project cycle. It is they who will ensure that the adaptation measures will sustain beyond the project.
Dr Golam Rabbani is the head of the Climate Bridge Fund (CBF) Secretariat, BRAC. Can be reached at rabbani.golam@brac.net. Anindita Hridita is working with CBF as senior manager and can be reached at anindita.h@brac.net