Sweden Ambassador to Bangladesh Charlotta Schlyter and Counsellor Anne-Charlotte Malm, head of Development Cooperation at the Swedish Embassy in Bangkok, visited the Deluti Union Parishad of Paikgacha Upazila in Khulna District to see the Gender Responsive Climate Change Adaptation initiative on Friday.
The visiting team also included Göran Schill, controller at the Swedish Embassy in Bangkok, and Reazul Islam, controller at the Swedish Embassy in Dhaka, as well as representatives from UNDP.
Bangladesh is considered among the most climate vulnerable countries and women in hard to reach areas, such as Deluti union, face the greatest risk from climate related hazards in the country, said a UNDP press release.
UNDP in collaboration with the Finance Division has been working to address the challenges posed by climate change. The Inclusive Budgeting and Financing for Climate Resilience (IBFCR) funded by Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and UNDP considers women in the national strategy for climate change and is working to implement the local climate action plan to demonstrate gender-responsive climate actions at the local level.
The team visited the project and met a group of vulnerable women and learned how the women are becoming change makers and fighting climate change with support from UNDP and SIDA. Under the project, women are trained on alternative livelihoods such as crab fattening, alternative agri-systems such as hydroponics and more. They are also being provided with a “Women Centre” under the project, to be used for training and other purposes.
During her visit, Charlotta Schlyter said: “Women take care of their families in this male-dominated society and usually don’t appear in public. But Bangladesh, one of the world’s poorest countries and hard hit by global warming, needs the support of women to fight and adapt to climate change. Being a feminist government, Sweden will continue its support for the vulnerable women in Bangladesh.”
The team also visited Bainpara of Sutarkhali in Dakop upazila to see the Disaster Resilience Habitat made by the Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP) of UNDP after cyclone Sidr.
