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Dilruba Banu 1
GTZ Bangladesh
Background Paper for Conference on the “The Environments of the Poor”, 24-26 Nov 2010, New Delhi 2
SUMMARY
Climate change challenges linked to unmanaged urban growth increase
vulnerability of slum poor. It adds up new challenges against fighting poverty in
urban areas. Climate adversity affects slum infrastructures including water
systems, housing and settlements, transport networks, utilities, and income
connectivity. The prevalence of diseases link to climate change increases slum
poor’s vulnerability that constrain their economic activities. All of these conditions
are worsened by several climate change risks such as high rainfall intensity, high
tide, drought, cyclone, or other extreme events. Women and children are
differently vulnerable than men under climate variability. The adversity of climate
change still remains a low priority area. Challenges need inclusion of urban poor
within decision making and action. Developing community based adaptation
strategies to prevent the climate change risk and to take advantage of the
opportunities from this unavoidable global climate change event is a current
demand for Bangladesh.
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number of migrants from rural area and new migrants as well as second generation of migrants
are living in slum area without housing and basic urban service.
Rapid urbanization places great pressure on a city’s physical and social infrastructure.
Overstretched city administrations find it increasingly difficult to provide adequate housing,
transportation, waste and sanitation, education, health and other essential services to an ever-
growing number of residents. The slum poor feel the consequences of inadequately managed
urbanization in terms of their vulnerability to poor health, insecurity and other risks. The public
services offered are often inaccessible to them. This situation drives the growth of more severe
forms of urban poverty as vulnerable citizens, both new migrants and long-term residents. They
find themselves unable to protect their families against the consequences of unemployment, ill-
health, eviction, crime or other shocks that strip them of their assets destroy their livelihoods
and keep them trapped in poverty.
Despite considerable progress in reduction of the number of people living below poverty
line between 1992 and 2005, Bangladesh is still one to the world’s poorest nations. In terms of
urban poverty, the urban population living below the poverty line declined from 45% to 37% over
the 1990s. Measuring urban poverty is a highly complex issue. The national measures needed
for policy purposes often ignore the diversity of experiences and characteristics of the slum
poor. Age, gender, educational background, livelihood, ethnicity, religion and a host of other
factors vary within and between groups and individuals. Policy measures that seek to address
the needs of the urban poor must be sensitive to this diversity. Slum poor rely heavily on cash
income to secure their basic needs. Income-based poverty measures tend to underestimate
urban poverty in comparison with those that look at consumption or take other dimensions of
poverty into account such as access to basic services. Trends in other measures of poverty also
indicate that the level and distribution of consumption among the poor has also been reduced.
The improvements occurred at similar rates for both urban and rural areas (Narayan, et al.,
2007).
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those cause deaths. Climate change affects the distribution of climate sensitive diseases.
Malaria is a frequently cited example, because its prevalence increases in line with the warmer,
wetter climates that are anticipated with climate change. Other diseases such as dysentery,
diarrhea, dengue, and hypertension associated with heat stress. Asthma and skin diseases are
also increasing, particularly during the summer. These ultimately constrained the economic
activities of the poor even though it is difficult to prove the connection between climate change
and these diseases. The conditions associated with climate change like temperature, rainfall,
and salinity, and the impacts on water supply, sanitation and food production generates
favorable environments for the incidence and spread of such diseases (Huq and Ayers, 2008).
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• Involve poor and women in planning of comprehensive urban development strategies, that
include gender sensitive adaptation for climate change;
• Network and promote community access to gender-sensitive information and
communication technologies supporting information exchange on environmental
management and climate change.
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developing urban infrastructure and services, enhancing municipal management and
strengthening capacity to deliver municipal services (specially to the poor) in 35 targeted
Secondary Towns or Municipalities (Pourashavas) of Bangladesh. Local Government
Engineering Department (LGED) acts as the executing agency of the project while the
participating Pourashavas implement project components. To achieve the objective, the project
assists the selected Pourashava to:
• Enhance capacity of Pourashava to implement, operate, manage and maintain basic urban
services;
• Improve urban governance by implementing a set of programmes;
• Increase accountability of Pourashavas towards their citizens, especially poor and women;
and
• Provide improved physical infrastructure and urban services.
While UGIIP2 supports the improvement of urban governance and infrastructure, it
adopts a performance-based allocation of investment funds as an incentive mechanism for
governance reform. Performance criteria are defined in six key areas of urban governance
including “integration of the urban poor”. Investment funds are utilized to improve municipal
transport, drainage, solid waste management, water supply, sanitation, municipal facilities, and
basic services in slums. The project design is based on the lessons from the ongoing Urban
Governance and Infrastructure Improvement (Sector) Project (UGIIP 1).
All 35 Pourashavas already formulated their Pourashava Development Plan (PDP) in a
participatory manner, including a visioning exercise, a situation assessment, priority investments
and activities for governance improvement. Each PDP includes a Poverty Reduction Action Plan
(PRAP) to identify and formulate the specific actions for poverty reduction in Pourashava. A
Slum Improvement Committee (SIC) has been established in each target slum to execute the
PRAP. There are some committees formed under the project in Pourashava like Town Level
Coordination Committee and Ward Level Coordination Committees which have representation
of low income group as well as women to ensure their participation in decision-making
processes of Pourashava management. To ensure adequate budget to implement the PRAP, a
minimum of 5% of total investment funds allocated to each Pourashava has been earmarked for
basic services in urban slums and trained SIC is responsible for operation and maintenance of
the infrastructure identified in PRAP. Outside of slums, Community Based Organizations have
been formed to manage community infrastructure focusing on low income groups.
Representatives of the poor include the chairperson of SIC, selected among themselves. The
selection procedure has been specified in guidelines for PDP development.
Under the project Pourashava intends to invest in its basic services to urban slums
aiming the improvement of the living conditions of slum dwellers. The components include
improvements in roads, drains, foot paths, water supply, sanitation, solid waste management
and lighting in slum areas. Specific components are identified in PRAP. The investment
projects are supposed to accomplish the Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) for sustainable
environment management in the Pourashava.
Within the area of governance and infrastructure improvement, UGIIP 2 has commenced
community adaptation through participatory planning by Pourashava citizens including the slum
poor against climate change challenges. Community-based adaptation to climate change is a
community-led process, based on communities’ priorities, needs, knowledge, and capacities,
which should empower people to plan for and cope with the impacts of climate change (Reid, et
al., 2009). Adaptation in built environment emphasizes exploring innovative measures
affordable for the urban poor. Bangladesh has experience on community based disaster
management. There are enormous possibilities to explore how the built environment of the
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urban areas can be designed and improved to include the urban poor in city level development
process. These can include how to invest in resilient infrastructure -- improving drainage,
adequate disaster-safe housing, increasing access to services such as health, water and
sanitation, increased security of tenure for the informal settlements, etc. (Khan, 2008).
Climate change adaptation response depends on country specific capacity on economic,
social and human development which is closely related to income levels, inequity, urban poor
development capacity, illiteracy rate, and area disparity. The adaptive capacity is also
influenced by the finance capability of the government (ADB, 2009). In this context of fast
growing cities in Bangladesh, development in many other sectors (for instance transportation,
housing, and regional development) has been drawn the attention of the policy makers,
development practitioners and donor agencies.
Under UGIIP 2 Pourashavas, the urban poor have stipulated infrastructure development
in their PRAP that have strategic implications in response to the climate change challenges.
Install deep tube-well for pure drinking water and sanitary latrines in slum areas have been
given most priority by the poor among Pourashava services. Connect slums to pipeline water
service of Pourashavas is another priority area for the poor. The poor demands narrow drains
inside the slum to avoid water logging that can be covered with slabs to use as footpath for safe
walking. They have insisted involvement in alternative income generation that may reduce
natural resources dependency. They have initiated community based management on collecting
solid kitchen waste from door to door and dumping in Pourashava located areas.
6. CONCLUSION
Poverty and climate change challenges are closely correlated and urban poor are
disproportionately affected by a badly managed urban environment. Because of climate change
and variability, the slum poor face environmental risks in water systems, housing and
settlements, transport networks, utilities and industry that require proper environmental
management. Climate change initiatives offer clear opportunities to transform gender relations
which limit the ability of both women and men to look forward to, survive, cope with, and recover
from climate adversity. In this broad context, a holistic and gender-sensitive approach to
sustainable development of slum poverty and climate change adaptation need to be addressed.
It is now essential to develop urban adaptation strategies to prevent the climate change
risk and to take advantage of the opportunities from this foreseeable global climate change
event. In addition, sustainable adaptation is an investment to mitigate potential disasters in the
future (Laukkonen, et al., 2009). In response to these challenges, action research is needed on
testing tools for community adaptation, knowledge generation and capacity development.
Projects should share lessons learned from project activities with key stakeholders at local,
national, regional and international levels and to elicit their support for climate change
adaptation in urban areas. Successful adaptation on climate challenges should be scaled up
and lessons learned should be incorporated into the planning process.
Climate change adaptation policies should consider risks at different scales – local,
national, regional and global. Climate change adaptation discourses should be expanded by
listening to the priorities of slum poor. At the local level, actions need inclusion of effective urban
planning that insists on urban poor in decision making process and actions. Efforts should be
taken to work on improving effective participation in planning processes for the urban poor in
challenging climate, in general, and active engagement in the maintenance of community
facilities, in particular. Creation of an inventory of the challenges adaptation for slum poor
should be considered.
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Urbanization needs to be championed by all stakeholders to improve reaction and
actions to climate change. Economic growth threatened by the impacts of severe poverty which
is worsened by climatic vulnerability. Particular attention is needed for the development of
coping strategies to address poverty that relates to the impact of climate change and that
special emphasis should be placed on the problems faced by the poor urban population. It is
needed to protect the poor against climate change impacts to ensure social and economic
stability of the country. The broad range of impacts that could be produced by climate change
on slum poverty is overwhelming. It is important to make the understanding clear of these
impacts where climate change is becoming obvious. Foremost impacts are apparent, but the
critical part is yet to come.
Finally, in line with increasing international attention to climate change, donors are
increasing their focus on climate change in Bangladesh. They now provide direct support for
programmes that reduce vulnerability to climate variability and climate change. Bangladesh has
developed some capacity for dealing with the impacts of climate change at the national level.
Policy response options have been activated to deal with vulnerability reduction to
environmental variability in general, and more recently, to climate change in particular.
Furthermore, Bangladesh Government has undertaken an initiative to establish a separate
Department of Climate under the Ministry of Environment and Forests to deal with the climate
issues and respond to climate related challenges in future.
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LITERATURE
Ahsan S. M. M., Jachnow, A. and Walsham, M., 2010, Ensuring Socially Inclusive Urban
Development - An International Perspective on Planning in Bangladesh, Paper presented in
World Town Planning Day 2010, GTZ Bangladesh, Dhaka
Chowdhury, N. A., 2008, Men, Women and the Environment - Gender Issues in Climate
Change, Climate Study Series, Unnayan Onneshan, Dhaka
Febi, D. Climate Change Urban Adaptation Strategy, Briefing paper, Institute for Essential
Services Reform (IESR)
GTZ Bangladesh, 2010, Bridging the Urban Divide in Bangladesh, Expert Report for the Joint
Conversation of the Local Government Division, Ministry of Local Government, Rural
Development and Cooperatives and the Local Consultative Group Urban Sector, GTZ
Bangladesh, Dhaka
Huq, S. and Ayers, J., 2008, Climate Change Impacts and Responses in Bangladesh, Note for
Policy Department Economic and Scientific, European Parliament
Khan, H., 2008, Challenges for Sustainable Development: Rapid Urbanization, Poverty and
Capabilities in Bangladesh, unpublished
Narayan, A., Yoshida, N. and Zaman, H.,2007, Trends and Patterns of Poverty in Bangladesh in
Recent Years (draft), A background paper for Bangladesh Poverty Assessment, South Asia
Region, World Bank
Neelormi, S., 2010, Addressing Gender Concerns in Adaptation Discourse: Leadership Awaits
Bangladesh, A keynote paper presented in a National Dialogue, organized by Gender CC and
Center for Global Change, Dhaka
Reid, H., et al., 2009, Community-based Adaptation to Climate Change: An Overview, In
Participatory Learning and Action 60, International Institute for Environment and Development,
UK
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