Thirty thousand (30,000) families will get safe drinking water in Satkhira, Bangladesh
Fazilatun Nesa Indira, State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Bangladesh, said, “The government was helping 43,000 families in coastal areas cope with the effects of climate change.
The government is working to ensure climate tolerable and safe drinking water throughout the year for these families. Under the Green Climate Adaptation (GCA) project, installing a food-based rainwater harvesting system for 13 thousand of families in 5 Upazilas of Khulna and Satkhira districts has been completed.
The project will provide drinking water to 30,000 families through 228 communities, 19 institutions, and 41 pond-based ultra-filtration rainwater harvesting systems.”
The state minister spoke these during the inauguration of the handover and operation activities of Rainwater Harvesting under the project
‘Rainwater Harvesting’ under the project’ Adaptation Capacity Enhancement for Climate Change, mainly Women, Climate Change’ on the premises of Garhkhali Pallimangal Government Primary School in Dakop Upazila of Khulna.
“Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries due to climate change, but Bangladesh has no contribution to climate change. Adverse effects of climate change have led to severe cyclones, tidal surges, and rising sea levels in the coastal areas of Bangladesh.
As a result, saltwater is inducing into freshwater areas, a more significant barrier to access to drinking water for endangered coastal populations.
It has a more significant impact on freshwater-dependent agriculture. Women and children are more vulnerable to these consequences. If there is no drinking water in the house, women have to work hard to collect it,” the state ministry added.
This is the first GCF project in Bangladesh and globally, working under the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs leadership to increase the climate tolerance of women.
The government implements various plans, programs, policies, and strategies to tackle climate change and reduce disaster risk.
The project, ‘Adaptation Capacity Enhancement for Coastal Peoples, Especially Women, to Combat Climate Change Salinity,’ will run from 2019 to 2024 and cost $276.86 million.
The total beneficiaries of the project implemented in 39 unions in 5 Upazilas of Khulna and Satkhira districts are 0.7 million 19 thousand 229 people. The main objectives of the project are
- To increase the resilience and livelihood of women in coastal areas due to climate change risk;
To increase the adaptive capacity of women, ensure potable water, and economic empowerment of women.
The project implements with the help of the Government of Bangladesh, the Green Climate Fund (GCF), and UNDP to address the climate tolerant livelihoods and drinking water of the people at risk due to adverse effects of climate.
